Global Financial Governance – Fragile, Conflict Contexts

IMF – Managing Director’s Statement on the Role of Fund Engagement in Fragile and Conflict-Affected States
October 4, 2018
In light of the recent Independent Evaluation Office report on The IMF and Fragile States and to ensure that we deliver our best to these countries in terms of capacity development (CD), policy advice, and financial support, I seek endorsement by the IMF membership of an ambitious package of interlinked actions to further strengthen the effectiveness of our engagement and to underline the importance of our work in FCS.

The IMF is a global institution with a responsibility to address the risks and fragilities that threaten economic stability in each member, to the best of its ability. In addition, supporting countries in fragile and conflict situations (FCS) is an international priority that affects all Fund members, including through rising migration, forced displacement, trafficking, and terrorism.

The IMF is committed to put in place HR policies, in the context of a new HR strategy, that would ensure staff expertise and experience are appropriate to effectively meet FCS needs including by introducing stronger career incentives to work on FCS and low-income countries. These actions, along with staff training and consideration in the budget of additional resources to provide appropriate staffing in FCS missions, will lay the foundation for more effective support to these members.

As institutional weakness is a defining characteristic of fragility, CD must be front and center in our engagement. Each FCS country team will articulate a succinct engagement strategy that identifies the nature of fragility, surveillance and, where applicable, program priorities, where and how CD can be best delivered in the short and medium term to address identified institutional weaknesses in areas of Fund competence, complemented by, as warranted, Fund financial support. The country strategies will be discussed with country authorities and as needed with development partners as part of the Article IV consultation process and in new program requests. It will underpin alignment of the Fund engagement strategy with the authorities’ needs while also improving CD coordination.

We will continue to look for ways to make our CD in FCS more impactful, by reaping benefits from our investment in results-based management, learning lessons from our FCS engagement in financial sector and statistical capacity development, taking stock of the existing Capacity Building Framework pilots, stepping up training on macro policies in FCS, and aiming to raise adequate funding for CD provision in FCS, particularly long-term experts in-country or in the region, that are able to help country authorities implement CD recommendations.

We are committed to continue to improve and tailor financing facilities to FCS needs, recognizing the strong catalytic role of Fund’s financing. The ongoing Review of Facilities for LICs explores proposals to raise access, and to both extend the duration of arrangements and provide shorter-term options for countries meeting specified criteria.

To deliver on these plans, a high-level interdepartmental Committee on FCS, reporting to Management, will assess progress made in delivering this Management Implementation Plan (MIP) through end-2020. The Committee will be supported by a Technical Taskforce comprising of staff from departments engaged in FCS work, that will review the MIP implementation, revisit FCS guidance, and conduct policy and analytical work on FCS issues. These efforts will be complemented by stronger Fund staff engagement with agencies, country groupings, and other organizations that tackle FCS issues including OECD, World Bank, United Nations, bilateral agencies, G7+, Think Tanks, and CSOs.

As is often the case, the combined impact of these actions should be significantly greater than the sum of the parts—so this is a package deal where success is measured across many dimensions, by efforts of many staff across the IMF. We will report to the Board on progress in 2019 and 2020.

In closing, let me thank the IEO for bringing these long-standing issues to the fore, and the Board for acknowledging that the Fund needs to be more agile and integrated in its support of members in fragile and conflict situations.

Featured Journal Content

The Lancet
Oct 06, 2018 Volume 392 Number 10154 p1167-1278 e10
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/issue/current
Articles
Measuring human capital: a systematic analysis of 195 countries and territories, 1990–2016
Stephen S Lim, Rachel L Updike, Alexander S Kaldjian, Ryan M Barber, Krycia Cowling, Hunter York, Joseph Friedman, R Xu, Joanna L Whisnant, Heather J Taylor, Andrew T Leever, Yesenia Roman, Miranda F Bryant, Joseph Dieleman, Emmanuela Gakidou, Christopher J L Murray
Open Access
Summary
Background
Human capital is recognised as the level of education and health in a population and is considered an important determinant of economic growth. The World Bank has called for measurement and annual reporting of human capital to track and motivate investments in health and education and enhance productivity. We aim to provide a new comprehensive measure of human capital across countries globally.
Methods
We generated a period measure of expected human capital, defined for each birth cohort as the expected years lived from age 20 to 64 years and adjusted for educational attainment, learning or education quality, and functional health status using rates specific to each time period, age, and sex for 195 countries from 1990 to 2016. We estimated educational attainment using 2522 censuses and household surveys; we based learning estimates on 1894 tests among school-aged children; and we based functional health status on the prevalence of seven health conditions, which were taken from the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study 2016 (GBD 2016). Mortality rates specific to location, age, and sex were also taken from GBD 2016.
Findings
In 2016, Finland had the highest level of expected human capital of 28·4 health, education, and learning-adjusted expected years lived between age 20 and 64 years (95% uncertainty interval 27·5–29·2); Niger had the lowest expected human capital of less than 1·6 years (0·98–2·6). In 2016, 44 countries had already achieved more than 20 years of expected human capital; 68 countries had expected human capital of less than 10 years. Of 195 countries, the ten most populous countries in 2016 for expected human capital were ranked: China at 44, India at 158, USA at 27, Indonesia at 131, Brazil at 71, Pakistan at 164, Nigeria at 171, Bangladesh at 161, Russia at 49, and Mexico at 104. Assessment of change in expected human capital from 1990 to 2016 shows marked variation from less than 2 years of progress in 18 countries to more than 5 years of progress in 35 countries. Larger improvements in expected human capital appear to be associated with faster economic growth. The top quartile of countries in terms of absolute change in human capital from 1990 to 2016 had a median annualised growth in gross domestic product of 2·60% (IQR 1·85–3·69) compared with 1·45% (0·18–2·19) for countries in the bottom quartile.
Interpretation
Countries vary widely in the rate of human capital formation. Monitoring the production of human capital can facilitate a mechanism to hold governments and donors accountable for investments in health and education.
Funding
Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation.

Research in context
Evidence before this study
Previous studies have examined the association between a range of dimensions of human capital and economic growth. These studies have shown that the average number of years of completed schooling is associated with subsequent economic growth and that incorporation of measures of the distribution of education might explain more of this variation. More recent analyses from the past 5–10 years that use performance on international student assessments as a measure of educational quality or learning find it to be a more predictive measure of economic growth than attainment alone. Far fewer efforts have been made to expand the measurement of human capital so that it also encompasses health; however, these studies suggest that an expanded measurement might also be important for understanding economic growth. Despite the accumulated evidence of the associations between the core dimensions of human capital—education and health—and economic growth, no comprehensive measure presently exists for all countries globally.

Added value of this study
This study provides a new measure of expected human capital for 195 countries, consisting of four components: educational attainment, learning, health, and survival, based on a systematic analysis of all available data. This measure, in units of health, education, and learning-adjusted expected years lived between age 20 and 64 years, is estimated each year from 1990 to 2016 and can be updated annually. Compared with existing metrics of human capital, this more comprehensive measure provides a detailed characterisation of these differences across countries and over time, revealing marked variations in expected human capital for children born in different countries and differential progress in the improvement of expected human capital over the past 25 years. An inconsistent gender differential exists—for countries below approximately 10 years of expected human capital, this tends to be higher in males; for countries above this level, it is higher in females.

Implications of all the available evidence
Human capital is an important factor in economic development that requires improved metrics and regular monitoring. The systematic analysis of data on four components—educational attainment, learning, health, and survival—establishes the feasibility of an annual measurement of expected human capital, providing a means to monitor and assess investments in health and education. This more comprehensive measure of human capital has revealed variability across countries in building human capital that is independent of baseline levels of health and education, suggesting that building human capital is amenable to policy intervention.

Featured Journal Content

Discovering Invisible Truths
Ilaria Capua, DVM, PhD, Professor, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, IFAS, University of Florida
Journal of Virology, October 2018; Volume 92, Issue 20

The rise of populist movements worldwide is challenging science and motivating scientists to join the debate and enter politics. Based on my experience, taking a public stand will not come without slanderous personal and institutional attacks as an attempt to shake scientific credibility.

INTRODUCTION: GIVING VOICE TO SCIENCE
Several years ago, I was a leading influenza scientist (1). I headed a fantastic team at the Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Venezie, Legnaro, Italy. There, I was very fortunate to lead at least two impactful projects. First, we developed a vaccination system for avian influenza in poultry that successfully controlled and eradicated subsequent epidemics of the disease in Italian farms (2). Second, we ignited an international debate on sharing avian influenza virus genetic sequences in an open-access environment to boost research and preparedness in a pre-pandemic phase (3, 4). The latter challenged an existing paradigm on data sharing across disciplines and organizations and was covered broadly in the popular press (5, 6).

However, scientific research and the efforts of scientists are not often fully recognized or appreciated by the general public, stakeholders, and policymakers. In the current environment, some believe that standing up and fighting for science has become part of the responsibility scientists hold and is a moral imperative. I had that opportunity and I grasped it. The Italian Prime Minister in office in 2013, Mario Monti, asked me to run for a seat in the Italian Parliament “to populate the Italian Parliament with members who understand the complexity of science policy and who can defend and promote science to make Italy more competitive” (M. Monti, personal communication, 6 January 2013). I accepted (7).

MATERIALS AND METHODS: CONSPIRACY THEORY AND SLANDER
I was elected to the House of Representatives of the Italian Parliament and then selected as Vice Chair of the Science, Culture and Education Commission of the Chamber. I was motivated to make a difference. I was the speaker for the nation’s research budget (Fondo Ordinario per il finanziamento degli Enti e istituzioni di ricerca; FOE), and I achieved a unanimous vote on my proposed modification of part of the nation’s €1.7 billion research funding scheme. It was a complicated and challenging task and I was respected and appreciated for how I was managing the process.

One year after my election, an Italian weekly magazine, l’Espresso, published a cover article entitled “Virus traffickers: scientists have agreements with ‘Big Pharma’ to sell their vaccines and create epidemics” (8). The magazine cover was bright yellow and pictured a scientist in a biosafety level 4 (BSL4) lab suit with subheadlines screaming “Commercial agreements between scientists and pharmaceutical companies to manufacture and sell vaccines for their own profit,” alleging that bird flu strains were being “smuggled through the mail,” and referring to epidemics as “big business” (8) (the publisher declined a request to reproduce the image here). The article summarized a secret investigation led by the Rome Deputy District Attorney into a purported criminal organization that was selling influenza field viruses to pharmaceutical companies to enable them to produce vaccines for contemporary strains. The investigation also clearly alleged that there was evidence of deliberate spread of pathogenic viruses into the environment, with the criminal intention of establishing avian influenza epidemics in poultry and in humans in Italy between 1999 and 2008. The magazine cited me as the criminal mastermind behind an organization of approximately 40 people (8, 9).

I learned about the accusations with horror and dismay by reading the 6-page article, which also included distasteful pictures from layer poultry farms and infected sites during culling operations. The story was based on an absurd distortion of real events occurring between 1999 and 2007 that had been extensively reported in the scientific literature by myself, my collaborators, and external observers in review articles. To exemplify the level of inaccuracy of the investigation, investigators and prosecutors had confused outbreaks occurring in different years and caused by different viruses in different countries. As an example, they stated or believed that highly pathogenic (HP) A/H7N3/Pakistan/1995 (A/H7N3/PAK/95) was the causative agent of outbreaks caused by low-pathogenic viruses, such as A/H7N3/Italy/2003. These two viruses were addressed generically as H7N3 and then were additionally confused with an A/Italy/H7N1/HP/2000 virus. The “subtle” genetic, pathogenetic, and antigenic differences between H7 viruses were not taken into account in the narrative, and relevant scientific literature was completely ignored by the investigators (10). According to their reconstruction of events, I had taken personal advantage of the avian influenza vaccination campaign for my own profit, through royalties and contracts with pharmaceutical companies. A simple fact-checking exercise would have clearly shown that all intellectual property rights related to the DIVA (Differentiating Infected from Vaccinated Animals) test had been transferred to my home institution (9, 11). Another accusation was that I had actually promoted sharing of influenza virus sequence data globally so that I could create “killer” viruses in the lab. Further, conversations with colleagues, captured through phone tapping, in which I discussed my commitment to provide strains held in our repository to other scientists worldwide, were used against me as proof of misconduct. My words were repositioned in space and time and misrepresented to support a conspiracy theory between scientists and Big Pharma. I was accused of a dozen crimes, one of which was punishable with life imprisonment (9).

RESULTS: VISIBLE TRUTHS
Justice is never fast enough, and certainly it is particularly slow in Italy. For over 2 years, I was shamed in the media and violently attacked in the Italian Parliament. I was asked publicly and repeatedly to resign and was the subject of multiple interrogations by populist parliamentarians. But the worst was the personal shame—neighbors’ and acquaintances’ slippery looks and abrupt shifts on the sidewalk left me in great distress. I was also shamed in the scientific community. The story was covered by both Science and Nature (12–16). The personal and professional alienation was paralyzing (9).

Notwithstanding my status in Parliament as a full-fledged lame duck, I continued to advocate for science and for greater attention to emerging threats, including antimicrobial resistance, Ebola preparedness and response, and Xylella fastidiosa infection in olive trees. I also was dedicated to maintaining a balance and institutional representation during the Commission sessions I chaired.

But a new challenge had begun. I had to provide evidence for my innocence, and to prove that members of my team had nothing to do with this. I spent endless days and nights assembling a 400-page dissertation to defend my professional work—digging out old papers, reviews, emails, calendars, presentations, and records of trips and meetings. I had to recover and document everything that happened in my professional life between 1999 and 2008, compiling evidence to nullify the accusations. Those were years of fear—fighting for science and my reputation against a system that is highly bureaucratized and scientifically incompetent.

A little over 2 years after the leak to the press, the judge for the preliminary investigation reviewed the case and dropped all charges against me and others because “there was no case to answer” (17). My 400-page defense had convinced the judge of our innocence. After being completely cleared, I resigned as a Member of Parliament (9).

DISCUSSION: THE INVISIBLE TRUTHS
The series of events that have triggered this rather devastating experience are irrelevant to the argument I would like to make. The detail is just an example; the context is instead very concerning. This happy-ending horror story is not only about me—it is about all of us and it holds multiple invisible
truths.

The winds of anti-science ideology are now strong on both sides of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. The rise of populist movements and the dawn of the post-truth era are a threat to the values we cherish as scientists and to scientific competence. The populist movements generate oversimplified solutions to complex problems, and the post-truth era contributes to this framework by giving more value to sensationalism and opinions than to facts. The combination of these effects is destructive and should be of great concern to all, as it has the power of undermining basic scientific tenets, such as the efficacy of vaccination.

Scientists are entering or approaching politics in record numbers to stand up for and defend science and science-based investigation. In the current environment, this is both important and necessary. From my experience, it is a calling that comes with personal and professional sacrifice and risk, especially in a populist and post-truth setting. It is possible that increased exposure of scientists in the political arena might elicit stronger anti-science campaigns from populist movements. Anti-science movements often support Big Pharma conspiracy theories and include extremists of the anti-vaccination movement or of animal rights activist groups. As a community, we must be vigilant and prepared.

Microbiologists and molecular biologists have easily become among their targets. Some of us work with pathogens that elicit fright with even a mention. Terms such as “cloning,” “mutation,” and “virulence” are a small part of the peculiar verbiage we use to describe daily work and ordinary challenges. Snippets of these conversations can be easily misconstrued and interpreted incorrectly or deliberately taken out of context, especially by people who are motivated to do so from a political point of view.
We should be mindful that we are in an era in which competence and truth are devalued. Certain groups may go beyond demonstrating against some of our activities and may try to attack our credibility. This is an asset we cannot afford to lose.

We do science because we want the world to be a better place. But we cannot take for granted that science stands on its own. Some of us have taken on the challenge of fighting for science to defend its place in society, and more and more scientists are expected to join in. Perhaps as a community, we should reflect on how to proactively manage the challenges to come before they manifest themselves with the destructive force of slander.

Inappropriate reactions to slander could nullify important achievements of the past and weaken our strength in battles we are called to fight, such as tackling antimicrobial resistance or continuing our work on developing novel vaccines. As scientists, we have the moral responsibility to support the advancement of science rather than its devaluation and decline. Hard times seem to be approaching, and we cannot be caught unguarded, unprepared, or unable to respond to attacks fueled by anti-science movements.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This is a summary of the keynote lecture I delivered in Baltimore, Maryland, on 14 February 2018 at the Biothreats 2018 meeting (18). The audience present gave me the most overwhelming standing ovation. I thank those who were there and gave me that long applause—it meant very much to me.
My thanks also to Stefano Bertuzzi, Chief Executive Officer of the American Society for Microbiology, and Stacey Schultz-Cherry, President of the American Society for Virology, who strongly encouraged me to put pen to paper.
Writing this Gem was hard. I would like to thank my collaborators for kneading my words with questions, ideas, and thoughts that have made this Gem more precious.
References available at title link above

PDF available at: https://jvi.asm.org/content/92/20/e00757-18.full-text.pdf

Emergencies

POLIO
Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC)
Polio this week as of 25 September 2018 [GPEI]
:: Preparations for World Polio Day are in full swing:  partners and stakeholders across the world are preparing for World Polio Day on 24 October, to raise awareness and resources for the global eradication effort.  Join Rotarians around the world in making this year’s World Polio Day a huge success.  Click here to view a video message by Rotary International President Barry Rassin, inviting everyone to join in World Polio Day activities.

Summary of new viruses this week:
Afghanistan – one case of wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) and five WPV1-positive environmental samples;
Pakistan – seven WPV1-positive environmental samples;
Nigeria – three cases of circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 (cVDPV2);
Horn of Africa (Somalia) – one cVDPV type 3-positive environmental sample
 
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Editor’s Note:
WHO has posted a refreshed emergencies page which presents an updated listing of Grade 3,2,1 emergencies as below.

WHO Grade 3 Emergencies  [to 6 Oct 2018 ]
Democratic Republic of the Congo
:: 09: Situation report on the Ebola outbreak in North Kivu  4 October 2018
:: Disease Outbreak News (DONs)  Ebola virus disease – Democratic Republic of the Congo
4 October 2018
[See Milestones above for detail]

Nigeria
:: Yobe State requests WHO’s expertise over fresh cholera outbreak
Damaturu, 27 September 2018 – The Yobe state Government has called on the World Health Organization (WHO) to deploy its human resources and technical expertise to contain the ongoing outbreak of cholera in the state. The request was contained in a Press statement in Damaturu, the state capital by the Commissioner for Health, Dr Muhammad Bello Kawuwa…

Syrian Arab Republic
:: WHO delivers largest cross-border shipment of health supplies to northwest Syrian Arab Republic to date
5 October 2018 — The World Health Organization (WHO) supported close to 180 health facilities in northwest Syrian Arab Republic in September 2018 with essential medical supplies, totaling over 104 tonnes worth US$ 1.3 million. This is one of the biggest monthly shipments to date this year from its operational hub in Turkey, delivered to prepare for any possible escalation of conflict.
With these supplies, health facilities will be able to provide approximately 677 000 medical treatments for surgery and trauma, communicable and non-communicable diseases, and more. Medical supplies allow health facilities to remain functional and continue providing medical services to both trauma patients and those in need of primary health care…

Yemen – No new announcements identified
[See joint WHO-UNICEF press release above]

Bangladesh – Rohingya crisis – No new announcements identified
Somalia – No new announcements identified
South Sudan – No new announcements identified

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WHO Grade 2 Emergencies  [to 6 Oct 2018 ]
Zimbabwe
:: Zimbabwe to vaccinate 1.4 million people against cholera in Harare

3 October 2018, Harare – The Government of Zimbabwe with the support of the World Health Organization (WHO) and partners is launching today an oral cholera vaccination (OCV) campaign to protect 1.4 million people at high risk of cholera in Harare…
[See OCV above for more detail]
 
Iraq
:: Restoring mobility and hope in Mosul   5 October 2018
 
MERS-CoV
:: Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) – Saudi Arabia  3 October 2018
 
Cameroon  – No new announcements identified
Central African Republic  – No new announcements identified
Ethiopia – No new announcements identified
Hurricane Irma and Maria in the Caribbean – No new announcements identified
occupied Palestinian territory – No new announcements identified
Libya – No new announcements identified
Myanmar – No new announcements identified
Niger – No new announcements identified
Sao Tome and Principe Necrotizing Cellulitis (2017) – No new announcements identified
South Africa Listeriosis (2017) – No new announcements identified
Sudan – No new announcements identified
Ukraine – No new announcements identified

Outbreaks and Emergencies Bulletin, Week 37: 22 -28 September 2018
The WHO Health Emergencies Programme is currently monitoring 54 events in the AFRO region. This week’s edition covers key ongoing events, including:
:: Ebola virus disease outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
:: Cholera outbreak in Zimbabwe
:: Cholera outbreak in Cameroon
:: Plague outbreak in Madagascar
:: Monkeypox outbreak in Nigeria.
::::::
 
WHO Grade 1 Emergencies  [to 6 Oct 2018 ]
Afghanistan
Angola (in Portuguese)
Chad
Ethiopia
Kenya
Lao People’s Democratic Republic
Mali
Papua New Guinea
Peru
Tanzania
Tropical Cyclone Gira
Zambia
 
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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. 
Yemen
:: Yemen Humanitarian Update Covering 18 – 27 September 2018 | Issue 28

Key Issues
– Food and fuel prices have skyrocketed following a sharp depreciation of the Yemeni Rial against the US dollar. Crippling fuel queues are reported in Sana’a.
– Food security has further deteriorated, which could add another 3.5 million people to the 8.4 million people who currently need emergency food assistance in Yemen.
– The main Al Hudaydah-Sana’a road remains inaccessible due to fighting; access to the city is only from the north, on the Al Hudaydah-Hajjah road.
– Over 2.3 million people have been displaced by conflict since 2015; and an additional 58,000 households were displaced between June and August 2018.
– Efforts are underway to expedite the release of humanitarian cargo currently held at Yemen’s main entry points awaiting import approval.

Syrian Arab Republic   – No new 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.
Ethiopia 
:: Ethiopia Humanitarian Bulletin Issue 64 | 17 – 30 September 2018
Somalia   
:: Humanitarian Bulletin Somalia, 5 September – 4 October 2018

The Sentinel

Human Rights Action :: Humanitarian Response :: Health :: Education :: Heritage Stewardship ::
Sustainable Development
__________________________________________________
Week ending 29 September 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: The Sentinel_ period ending 29 Sep 2018

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  [see PDF]
:: Journal Watch – Key articles and abstracts from 100+ peer-reviewed journals  [see PDF]

Human Rights – 70th Anniversary of Universal Declaration

.
Universal Human Rights Declaration Must Continue Guiding Path to Development, Security, Secretary-General Says at Anniversary Event for Historic Document
SG/SM/19246-HR/5407
26 September 2018
Following are UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ remarks to the high level event marking the seventieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights: “A Prevention Tool to Achieve Peace and Sustainable Development”, in New York today:

It is indeed a pleasure to be here with all of you to mark the seventieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

The rights enshrined in this foundational document belong to everyone, everywhere; they have no physical or [moral] frontier. Human rights are not the sole purview of north, south, east or west; or of developed or developing countries. They are independent of nationality, circumstances, gender or sexual orientation, race, religion or belief. The first article of the Universal Declaration is clear: “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.”

Human rights are of value in themselves; they are not at the service of any other agenda. And no one ever loses their human rights, no matter what they do.

Over the past 70 years, the concept of human rights set out in the Universal Declaration has had a revolutionary impact. It has permeated policies and Constitutions, from the global level to national and regional frameworks.

In this way, the Universal Declaration has unleashed the power of women’s full participation; it has spurred the fight against racism, xenophobia and intolerance — including the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa, as Nelson Mandela told the General Assembly 20 years ago.

The Universal Declaration has heralded movements by groups of all kinds, from indigenous people to people with disabilities, to claim their rights.

There is now broad recognition that, as Kofi Annan said: “The human family will not enjoy development without security, will not enjoy security without development and will not enjoy either without respect for human rights.”

Sadly, we still have a long way to go before respect for human rights is truly universal. Many people around the world still suffer from abuse of their rights. Gender inequality is one of the greatest human rights challenges we face. Refugees and migrants, people who do not conform to gender norms, and minorities of all kinds are frequently targeted for denial and abuse of their rights.

There is still resistance to supporting human rights, often linked to a false dichotomy between those rights and national sovereignty. But, human rights and sovereignty must go hand in hand.

Human rights strengthen States and societies and reinforce sovereignty. We have ample evidence that State-sponsored human rights abuses are a sign of weakness, not strength. They are often precursors to conflict and even to collapse.

I urge all Member States to heed these lessons and to strengthen support for United Nations action on human rights, including the Human Rights Council and the Office of the High Commissioner [for Human Rights]. It is a pleasure to see Michelle, my dear friend, Michelle Bachelet, here today.

And I call on Governments that have not signed or ratified the two human rights Covenants, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, to do so urgently.

Every social movement for human rights and solidarity in history has been led by young people. It was the fight for human rights and democracy in my country, under Salazar’s dictatorship, that triggered my own interest in political action.

There is a special place in my heart for young women and men who are speaking out for social justice. On Monday, I launched my new youth strategy, Youth 2030, to bring young people into the centre of our work.

I urge young people to make this space your home, to bring your energy and passion here, to challenge our ways of doing things and to take up the torch for our common humanity. You are the true custodians of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the guarantee that it will not succumb.

I entrust you with keeping it alight for another 70 years, to show us the path to a world of peace, dignity and opportunity for all.

Yemen

.Humanitarian Crisis in Free Fall – Joint NGO Statement on Yemen
Tuesday 25th September 2018
Below is a joint NGO statement on Yemen for the 73rd UN General Assembly

After almost four years of conflict, and despite all efforts to halt displacement, hunger and disease, Yemen remains the worst humanitarian crisis on Earth. The suffering inflicted on Yemeni people is entirely man made and will continue to deteriorate rapidly on all fronts without actions to end the violence.

Increased fighting risks pushing the country into utter devastation: The ongoing escalation around the port city of Hodeidah jeopardises the safety of civilians and threatens the channels for critical fuel, food and medical supplies to the rest of the country. It is crucial that this remains open. The lives of millions of Yemeni women, men and children hang on this lifeline.

Civilians continue to bear the brunt: Civilians and civilian infrastructure, such as markets, hospitals, school buses and mills continue to be hit by all parties with impunity, as reported by the UN Group of Eminent Experts on Yemen. Attacks on schools and hospitals continue with over 1,800 schools directly impacted by the conflict, including more than 1,500 that have been damaged or destroyed and 21 used by armed groups.

A lost generation of Yemeni children: Two million children and young people remain out of school, depriving them of an education and exposing them to higher levels of violence and exploitation. Millions of displaced children cannot access education, and ongoing attacks on schools or their use by armed groups mean children’s safety at school cannot be guaranteed.

Populations on the brink of starvation: 17.8 million people, over 60 percent of the population, are food insecure and over 8.4 million of them stand on the brink of starvation; 4.2 million of them children and another million children at risk as food and fuel prices soar across the country. Malnutrition directly threatens lives but also weakens the immune system, leading to people dying from preventable diseases, including cholera and pneumonia. Breast-feeding mothers, children and the elderly remain particularly vulnerable. Half of all Yemeni children are stunted where these children are unable to access the nutrients their bodies need to grow, reducing their ability to learn and thrive.

A struggling economy continues to falter: A crippled economy continues to weaken, with the recent sharp devaluation of the Yemeni Riyal (YER) further constraining peoples’ ability to purchase food and medicine, with many having to make agonising choices between the two and many others left with too little to access either.

Protracted conflict and eroding safety nets has left millions of Yemeni without access to livelihoods or the ability to deal with economic shocks. An estimated 1.2 million public servants, especially in northern governorates, have not been paid their usual salaries in more than two years and a war economy has left millions with very few earning opportunities.

Barriers to access continue: Restrictions to land, sea and air trade routes have led to severely reduced supplies of vital commodities. In addition to uncertainty about the accessibility of Yemen’s ports, particularly Hodeidah, Sana’a’s airport has been closed to commercial flights since August 2016; further restricting the mobility of the Yemeni population. While the new ‘medical airbridge’ agreement is welcome, this is a small concession that continues to leave the majority of Yemeni people without freedom to seek medical treatment overseas.

In addition, 1.4 million people remain in hard-to-reach areas, unable to access vital assistance and support, an increase of 200,000 since February 2018. Escalation in fighting has exacerbated these challenges, with hundreds of thousands displaced in recent months, including close to half a million from Hodeidah since June 2018.

The international community must step up to pressure all parties to the conflict to:
:: Comply with their obligations under international law, and take immediate measures to prevent and end grave violations against children;
:: Ensure humanitarian and commercial access of essential goods and services; and
:: Engage all parties to the conflict to find a peaceful, sustainable and implementable political solution that involves women, youth, minority groups and civil society.

Only a political solution can bring the war to an end and reinstate peace in Yemen. All parties must immediately cease hostilities, agree to a comprehensive ceasefire, and cooperate in ‘good faith’ with UN Special Envoy Martin Griffith’s peace process.

Signed by:
Action Against Hunger (ACF)
Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA)
CARE
Global Communities
Islamic Relief Worldwide
Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC)
Relief International
Save the Children
War Child
ZOA

Governance – Siting of Diplomatic Missions

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The State of Palestine institutes proceedings against the United States of America
THE HAGUE, 28 September 2018. The State of Palestine today instituted proceedings against the United States of America before the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the principal judicial organ of the United Nations, with respect to a dispute concerning alleged violations of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations of 18 April 1961 (hereinafter the “Vienna Convention”).

It is recalled in the Application that, on 6 December 2017, the President of the United States recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and announced the relocation of the American Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. The American Embassy in Jerusalem was then inaugurated on 14 May 2018.

Palestine contends that it flows from the Vienna Convention that the diplomatic mission of a sending State must be established on the territory of the receiving State. According to Palestine, in view of the special status of Jerusalem, “[t]he relocation of the United States Embassy in Israel to . . . Jerusalem constitutes a breach of the Vienna Convention”.

As basis for the Court’s jurisdiction, the Applicant invokes Article 1 of the Optional Protocol to the Vienna Convention concerning the Compulsory Settlement of Disputes. It notes that Palestine acceded to the Vienna Convention on 2 April 2014 and to the Optional Protocol on 22 March 2018, whereas the United States of America is a party to both these instruments since 13 November 1972….

Health – Famine Prevention/Mitigation

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United Nations, World Bank, and Humanitarian Organizations Launch Innovative Partnership to End Famine
Global Technology Firms to Provide Expertise on Frontier Technology to Better Predict Famines

WASHINGTON, September 23, 2018—The United Nations, World Bank, International Committee of the Red Cross, Microsoft Corp., Google and Amazon Web Services today announced an unprecedented global partnership to prevent future famines.

The international organizations, with support from leading global technology firms, are launching the Famine Action Mechanism (FAM)—the first global mechanism dedicated to preventing future famines. In the past, responses to these devastating events has often come too late, once many lives have already been lost, incurring high assistance costs. The FAM seeks to change this by moving towards famine prevention, preparedness and early action—interventions that can save more lives and reduce humanitarian costs by as much as 30%. The initiative will use the predictive power of data to trigger funding through appropriate financing instruments, working closely with existing systems.

In 2017, more than 20 million people across north-eastern Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan and Yemen faced famine or famine-like conditions, the result of a complex intersection of conflict, poverty, climate change and food prices. These conditions continue in many parts of the world today, derailing hard-won development gains in chronically poor countries. Today, 124 million people live in crisis levels of food insecurity, requiring urgent humanitarian assistance for their survival. Over half of them live in areas affected by conflict.

“The Famine Action Mechanism, FAM, is an important new tool that will help to predict and therefore prevent food insecurity and famine before they have a chance to take hold. Crisis prevention saves lives. With the Famine Action Mechanism, we are renewing our pledge to Zero Tolerance for famine and acute food insecurity,” said United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres.

“The fact that millions of people—many of them children—still suffer from severe malnutrition and famine in the 21st century is a global tragedy,” World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim said. “We are forming an unprecedented global coalition to say, ‘no more.’ The Famine Action Mechanism is a preventative approach that knits together innovative technology, early financing, and strong partnerships on the ground in an effort to prevent famine. It will help us deploy our combined resources to protect the poorest and most vulnerable, and it will allow us to refocus our collective attention on the millions of chronically food-insecure people who suffer each year.”

“The ICRC, working on frontlines around the world, sees the deep suffering inflicted by conflict and violence. Famine is often a devastating symptom of protracted war. We are hopeful that new models of collaboration such as this will bring new solutions and reduce food insecurity at scale,” said ICRC President Peter Maurer.

The FAM will promote investments that tackle the root causes of famine at the first warning signs. It will help build vulnerable people’s livelihoods, safety nets and coping mechanisms. In the last decade, the Bank has invested up to $3 billion annually in food security initiatives and will be looking for additional ways to increase these investments in future projects and programs.

The FAM will use state-of-the-art technology to provide more powerful early warning to identify when food crises threaten to turn into famines. These alerts will trigger pre-arranged funding and action plans by donors, humanitarian agencies and governments to generate earlier and more efficient interventions.

“If we can better predict when and where future famines will occur, we can save lives by responding earlier and more effectively,” said Brad Smith, President of Microsoft. “Artificial intelligence and machine learning hold huge promise for forecasting and detecting early signs of food shortages, like crop failures, droughts, natural disasters, and conflicts. Microsoft is proud to join Amazon and Google in developing solutions to address this humanitarian need.”

Google, Microsoft and Amazon Web Services and other technology firms are providing the world’s top expertise to develop a suite of analytical models called “Artemis” that uses advanced Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning to estimate and forecast worsening food security crises in real-time. These forecasts will help guide and promote decision makers to respond earlier.

“Artificial intelligence and other advanced technologies can be a powerful force for good, and we’ve already seen that they have the potential to help farmers identify disease in cassava plants, keep cows healthier and more productive, and integrate overall relief efforts. Google is proud to partner with the World Bank on the Famine Action Mechanism to help prevent future famine in communities around the world,” said Kent Walker, Google’s Senior Vice President of Global Affairs and Chief Legal Officer.

“We are proud to play a role in the FAM initiative, and to work collaboratively to solve one of the world’s most pressing issues,” said Teresa Carlson, Vice President of Worldwide Public Sector, Amazon Web Services, Inc. “Public-private collaborations like this one allow us to collectively bring cutting-edge technology to leading humanitarian organizations, giving them innovative tools to predict and prevent famine, and to ultimately save lives.”

The FAM builds on the World Bank’s experience and commitment to better forecast risks and prevent crises of all types before they occur. In July, the World Bank Group Board endorsed the Global Crisis Risk Platform, a new platform for identifying risks before they become full blown crises. The Platform incorporates prevention and preparedness into client country development strategies and is being used to get ahead of global crises such as famine, Ebola and other natural and man-made disasters.

The FAM also builds on the United Nations efforts to prioritize prevention, and its efforts to address risks more systematically. It also aligns with the recently adopted Security Council Resolution 2417 on the links between conflict-induced food insecurity and the threat of famine.

The FAM will initially be rolled out in a small group of vulnerable countries building up to ultimately provide global coverage. On October 13, leaders dedicated to this initiative will gather as part of the IMF-World Bank Annual Meetings to discuss further implementation of the FAM.

Education – “Digital Intelligence”

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OECD, IEEE and DQI Announce Platform for Coordinating Digital Intelligence Across Technology and Education Sectors
:: Three leading global organizations – OECD, IEEE Standards Association and DQ Institute – announce new platform for digital coordination, Coalition for Digital Intelligence (CDI)

:: CDI will serve as coordinating platform for organizations implementing a common set of standards and definitions for digital intelligence across the technology and education sectors, allowing digital intelligence to be better tracked and understood

:: Digital Intelligence refers to the set of competencies necessary for digital life and includes basic digital skills and digital literacy

Geneva and New York, 26 September 2018 – During the World Economic Forum Sustainable Development Impact Summit in New York, three leading global organizations – the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the IEEE Standards Association and the DQ Institute announced their engagement in the Coalition for Digital Intelligence (CDI). The coalition is a platform for coordinating efforts on raising digital intelligence across the technology and education sectors and is supported by the World Economic Forum.

Every year, the world economy invests billions of dollars in developing digital literacy and digital skills. These efforts are not well coordinated, however, with many companies, governments and organizations running their respective programmes under their own frameworks. There are countless global, national and organizational efforts to create frameworks that classify digital skills and digital literacy.

Consequently, there is no globally shared understanding of what terms like digital skills and digital literacy mean. As used today, they can refer to competencies that range from typing and web-browsing, to using social media platforms, to administering vendor-specific database products to writing software.

Lack of a shared understanding leads to uncoordinated monitoring and reporting. There is no shared baseline understanding of the level of digital skills in the world today and it is difficult to address how to improve and sustain them. CDI is grounded in an agreement that the world could build basic digital skills and digital literacy more efficiently and effectively if there was increased coordination on a common set of definitions and standards.

The DQ Institute, an international think-tank, has used an academically rigorous process to aggregate more than 20 leading frameworks from around the world. The resulting framework, Digital Intelligence (DQ), includes eight comprehensive areas deemed necessary for digital life today. They include not only the technical skills one might expect but also abilities related to digital safety, digital rights and digital emotional intelligence. These capacities allow people to not just use a computer or smartphone, but to deal with modern social and economic challenges such as identity theft, screen addiction, online privacy and the spread of digital misinformation. DQ brings together education agendas of digital literacies, with industry efforts to develop digital skills: encompassing digital citizenship, digital resilience, media and information literacy, job readiness, entrepreneurship, and more. The DQ framework is also built on the OECD’s Education 2030 Learning Framework to create a guide for nations to develop their national education and policies on digital intelligence.

“Technology is only meaningful when it enhances humanness. In the age of AI and hyper-connectivity, Digital Intelligence (DQ) is a comprehensive set of technical, cognitive, social and emotional digital competencies that are grounded in ethics and human values,” said Yuhyun Park, Founder of DQ Institute.

If DQ is to become a global framework that allows for better coordination and the scalability of digital skills training, there must be a way of working across the worlds of education and technology. Both schools and the technology community have a significant role to play in building digital intelligence.
“The development of Digital Intelligence is not ad hoc,” said Melissa Sassi, co-chair of the IEEE Digital Literacy Industry Connections Program. “It should be a paradigm with a focus on technical excellence and deployment though collaboration of many forms around the world. We see the opportunity to enable the build of Digital Intelligence into product and software design from the onset through the use of global standards that include agreed upon common definitions and take into account various contexts. It will also enable improved practices and processes towards the development of indicators and measurement.”

The CDI will serve as a platform for coordinating efforts on raising Digital Intelligence across the technology and education sectors. Initial efforts of the Coalition include institutionalizing the DQ framework, which will be done through a formal adoption process with the OECD and by the development of an IEEE technical standard. The CDI will then help to organize implementation groups around each of these: a multistakeholder coalition of firms to promote and implement the IEEE standard, and a similar group built around a coalition of education ministers to implement the guidelines created by the OECD.

Development – Power

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World Bank Group Commits $1 Billion for Battery Storage to Ramp Up Renewable Energy Globally
New program will mobilize another $4 billion; “game changer” for developing countries
NEW YORK, September 26, 2018 – In a major announcement at the One Planet Summit here today, the World Bank Group committed $1 billion for a new global program to accelerate investments in battery storage for energy systems in developing and middle-income countries. The program is expected to help these countries ramp up their use of renewables – particularly wind and solar power – improve energy security, increase grid stability and expand access to electricity.

The $1 billion in World Bank Group financing is expected to mobilize another $4 billion in concessional climate financing and public and private investments. The program aims to finance 17.5 gigawatt hours (GWh) of battery storage by 2025 – more than triple the 4-5 GWh currently installed in all developing countries.

“For developing countries, this can be a game changer,” said World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim. “Battery storage can help countries leapfrog to the next generation of power generation technology, expand energy access, and set the stage for much cleaner, more stable, energy systems.”
Currently, batteries used in energy generation systems are expensive, and most projects are concentrated in developed countries. The “Accelerating Battery Storage for Development” program, in response to demand from countries, will finance and de-risk investments such as utility-scale solar parks with battery storage, off-grid systems – including mini-grids – and stand-alone batteries that can help stabilize and strengthen grids.

The program will also support large-scale demonstration projects for new storage technologies suitable for developing countries’ needs – such as batteries that are long-lasting, resilient to harsh conditions and high temperatures, and that present minimal environmental risks.

“Batteries are critical to decarbonizing the world’s power systems. They allow us to store wind and solar energy and deploy it when it’s needed most to provide people with clean, affordable, round-the-clock power.” Dr. Kim said. “We call on our partners to join us and match the investments we’re making today. We can create new markets for battery storage in countries with high wind and solar potential, growing energy demand, and populations that still live without reliable electricity.”

The World Bank Group is putting $1 billion of its own funds towards this new program and will fundraise another $1 billion in concessional climate funds through channels such as the Climate Investment Funds’ Clean Technology Fund (CTF). The program is expected to raise an additional $3 billion from public and private funds and investors.

The new program will also convene a global think tank on battery storage, bringing together national laboratories, research institutions, development agencies and philanthropies to foster international technological cooperation and training that can develop and adapt new storage solutions tailored for the needs and conditions of developing countries…

Ebola/DRC – Protection of Humanitarian Workers

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WHO calls for protection of humanitarian workers and civilians in Democratic Republic of the Congo
26 September 2018 News Release
The response to the outbreak of Ebola in North Kivu and Ituri provinces in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is at a critical juncture, threatened by worsening insecurity, mistrust from affected communities, and extension into previously unaffected areas…

But there is a risk now that hard-won gains may be lost.

First, there has been an increase in frequency and severity of attacks by armed opposition groups. Attacks by armed opposition groups on the town Beni, in North Kivu, where the Ministry of Health and partners have based their response, have occurred with alarming frequency. Most recently a deadly attack on 22 September left 21 dead, including 17 civilians.

As a result, WHO and its UN partners were asked to halt operations in Beni, while the city mourns its dead. As of today, some operations have begun to resume, but even a gap of two days has resulted in health workers not being able to reach contacts of Ebola patients to monitor their health; or investigate alerts of potential cases.

Meanwhile, some families have chosen to care for sick relatives at home, often because they have been misinformed, and because a natural fear of the disease is now being exploited by local politicians.

Others sick with Ebola travel widely to seek alternative care, putting themselves, their families and health workers at risk. This has brought infection to new locations, where teams cannot provide them with access to treatment, or provide protective vaccines to their contacts. These include security red zones which are difficult to access, and to areas bordering Uganda.

WHO calls on all relevant parties, and the governments or groups that have influence over these parties, to help protect responders and civilians.

WHO also calls on governments in surrounding countries to accelerate the preparedness activities which they have begun, with WHO support, to ensure a level of readiness should they face cases of Ebola themselves.

Emergencies
 
POLIO
Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC)
Polio this week as of 25 September 2018 [GPEI]
:: Featured on www.polioeradication.org: Coffee with Polio Experts – Head of WHO Chad Dr Jean-Bosco Ndihokubwayo speaks about the ongoing efforts to reach every child with polio vaccine across Chad.

Summary of new viruses this week:
Afghanistan – – two new wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) positive environmental samples; Pakistan – five new WPV1-positive environmental samples;
Nigeria – three cases of circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 (cVDPV2) and two cVDPV2-positive environmental samples;
Niger – two cVDPV2 cases;
Horn of Africa (Somalia) – three cVDPV3 cases and one cVDPV3 positive environmental sample; and,
Papua New Guinea – two new cVDPV1 cases.
 
::::::
::::::
 
Editor’s Note:
WHO has posted a refreshed emergencies page which presents an updated listing of Grade 3,2,1 emergencies as below.

WHO Grade 3 Emergencies  [to 29 Sep 2018]
Bangladesh – Rohingya crisis
:: Weekly Situation Report 44 -19 September 2018 pdf, 281kb

Democratic Republic of the Congo
:: 08: Situation report on the Ebola outbreak in North Kivu  25 September 2018
:: Disease Outbreak News (DONs)  Ebola virus disease – Democratic Republic of the Congo
27 September 2018
[See Milestones above for detail]

Syrian Arab Republic
:: The only tuberculosis control centre in Aleppo is up and running again  26 September 2018

Yemen
:: High-Level Event on the Humanitarian Response in Yemen
Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization
United Nations General Assembly, 24 September 2018

Nigeria – No new announcements identified
Somalia – No new announcements identified
South Sudan – No new announcements identified

::::::
 
WHO Grade 2 Emergencies  [to 29 Sep 2018]
Myanmar
:: Weekly Situation Report 44 -19 September 2018
 
Zimbabwe
:: WHO is scaling up response to a fast-moving cholera outbreak in Zimbabwe’s capital
Harare/Brazzaville 13 September 2018 – The World Health Organization (WHO) is scaling up its response to an outbreak of cholera in Zimbabwe, which is expanding quickly in Harare, the country’s capital with a population of more than two million people…

Cameroon  – No new announcements identified
Central African Republic  – No new announcements identified
Ethiopia – No new announcements identified
Hurricane Irma and Maria in the Caribbean – No new announcements identified
Iraq – No new announcements identified
occupied Palestinian territory – No new announcements identified
Libya – No new announcements identified
MERS-CoV – No new announcements identified
Niger – No new announcements identified
Sao Tome and Principe Necrotizing Cellulitis (2017) – No new announcements identified
South Africa Listeriosis (2017) – No new announcements identified
Sudan – No new announcements identified
Ukraine – No new announcements identified

Outbreaks and Emergencies Bulletin, Week 37: 15 -21 September 2018
The WHO Health Emergencies Programme is currently monitoring 54 events in the AFRO region. This week’s edition covers key ongoing events, including:
:: Ebola virus disease outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
:: Cholera outbreak in Niger
:: Cholera outbreak in Zimbabwe
:: Cholera outbreak in Chad
:: Cholera outbreak in Nigeria

::::::
 
WHO Grade 1 Emergencies  [to 29 Sep 2018]
Afghanistan
Angola (in Portuguese)
Chad
Ethiopia
Kenya
Lao People’s Democratic Republic
Mali
Papua New Guinea
Peru
Tanzania
Tropical Cyclone Gira
Zambia
 

The Sentinel

Human Rights Action :: Humanitarian Response :: Health :: Education :: Heritage Stewardship ::
Sustainable Development
__________________________________________________
Week ending 22 September 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: The Sentinel_ period ending 22 Sep 2018

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  [see PDF]
:: Journal Watch – Key articles and abstracts from 100+ peer-reviewed journals  [see PDF]

Migration – Africa, Italy

Italy’s Salvini likens African immigrants to ‘slaves’
September 14, 2018
VIENNA/ROME (Reuters) – Italian far-right leader and Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini likened African immigrants to slaves at a European conference on Thursday, drawing an angry response from Luxembourg’s foreign minister, who cursed at him in frustration…

“I heard someone say we need immigration because the population is aging. I see things completely differently,” Salvini told the session in remarks filmed and posted on his Facebook profile.

“I’m paid by citizens to help our young people start having children again the way they did a few years ago, and not to uproot the best of the African youth to replace Europeans who are not having children anymore… Maybe in Luxembourg there’s this need, in Italy there’s the need to help our kids have kids, not to have new slaves to replace the children we’re not having.”…

.

African Union: Press Statement on the Italian Deputy Prime Minister comments on African Migrants
Addis Ababa, 18 September 2018: The African Union Commission expresses dismay at the comments made by the Italian Deputy Prime Minister, Mr. Matteo Salvini, at a recent conference in Vienna at which he likened African immigrants to slaves. It is the view of the African Union that name-calling will not resolve the migration challenges facing Africa and Europe.

It is common knowledge that emigration from Italy in the last two centuries has been the most important case of mass migration in modern European history. During the period from 1861 to 1976, more than 26 million people left the country, principally for other European countries and the Americas. Approximately, one Italian out of four emigrated, and it is on record that Italy has benefited greatly from its huge diaspora through remittances and trade.

The history, geo-politics and future of Africa and Europe are so inter-twined that the two continents cannot wish each other away. The current ‘migration crisis’ in Europe provides an opportunity for Africa and Europe to engage in a dialogue that not only focuses on migration issues, but also on the broader development cooperation between the two continents. Thus, the migration-and-development debate should increasingly take place within the context of the debate on the socio-economic development of the continent, and not as a separate issue that responds to the ‘migration crisis’ in Europe.

In the interests of constructive engagement on the migration debate between the two continents, the African Union requests the Italian Deputy Prime Minister to retract his derogatory statement about African migrants and further urge Italy to emulate and support other European Union member states, like Spain, which have extended support and protection to migrants in distress, irrespective of their origin and legal status, before their admission status is determined.

Further, the Commission wishes to express concern at the increasing number of migrants still finding their way to Europe through dangerous routes, despite the many efforts that the African Union, together with the United Nations and the European Union, has deployed to sensitize African citizens on the danger posed by these movements.

International Criminal Court – Rohingya/Myanmar

Statement : 18 September 2018
Statement of ICC Prosecutor, Mrs Fatou Bensouda, on opening a Preliminary Examination concerning the alleged deportation of the Rohingya people from Myanmar to Bangladesh
[Editor’ text bolding]
Since the end of 2017, my Office has received a number of communications and reports concerning crimes allegedly committed against the Rohingya population in Myanmar and their deportation to Bangladesh.

The review of these communications, which constitutes the first phase of my Office’s preliminary examination activities, shed light on a preliminary legal issue concerning the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court (“ICC” or “the Court”), which I deemed appropriate to bring to the attention of the Court’s judges. Having received confirmation from the Judges of Pre-Trial Chamber I that the Court may indeed exercise jurisdiction over the alleged deportation of the Rohingya people from Myanmar to Bangladesh, as well as potentially other crimes under article 7 of the Rome Statute, I have decided to proceed to the next phase of the preliminary examination process and to carry out a full-fledged preliminary examination of the situation at hand.

While Myanmar is not a State Party to the ICC, Bangladesh is. The Court may therefore exercise jurisdiction over conduct to the extent it partly occurred on the territory of Bangladesh. In this context, the preliminary examination may take into account a number of alleged coercive acts having resulted in the forced displacement of the Rohingya people, including deprivation of fundamental rights, killing, sexual violence, enforced disappearance, destruction and looting. My Office will further consider whether other crimes under article 7 of the Rome Statute may be applicable to the situation at hand, such as the crimes of persecution and other inhumane acts.

A preliminary examination is not an investigation but a process of examining the information available in order to reach a fully informed determination on whether there is a reasonable basis to proceed with an investigation pursuant to the criteria established by the Rome Statute. Specifically, under article 53(1) of the Rome Statute, I, as Prosecutor, must consider issues of jurisdiction, admissibility and the interests of justice in making this determination. Every preliminary examination requires rigorous evaluation of the information available, thorough factual and legal analysis, and irreproachable assessment of the Rome Statute criteria. This is the least we owe to the victims.

In the independent and impartial exercise of its mandate, my Office also gives consideration to all submissions and views conveyed to it during the course of each preliminary examination, strictly guided by the requirements of the Rome Statute. Further, under the Rome Statute, national jurisdictions have the primary responsibility to investigate and prosecute those responsible for international crimes. In conformity with the complementarity principle, my Office will be engaging with the national authorities concerned with a view to discussing and assessing any relevant investigation and prosecution at the national level.

Perspectives
Hard Questions With No Easy Answers
Julia M. Stasch, President, MacArthur Foundation
September 19, 2018
From time to time, I share my thoughts about how MacArthur is navigating an evolving local, national, and global context. I try to say something new, perhaps insightful, but always with optimism that the world can be a better place.

This time, my focus is on our mission, on our commitment to building a more just, verdant, and peaceful world, and I am concerned.

In breathtaking convergence, bedrock values, longstanding alliances, workable regimes, standards of decency and care, scientific consensus, and much more are under attack. As philanthropy rushes to respond to new imperatives, or doubles down on longstanding priorities that matter even more today, I find myself eager for discussion and exchange. As we consider this extraordinary time around the world, in our country, here in Chicago, and even within MacArthur, I want to reach out, connect and learn, and work together on hard questions with no easy answers.

The world is more just when actions are moral, rational, equitable, and fair. MacArthur’s mission of a more just, verdant, and peaceful world leads with justice; without it, universal human dignity, equitable opportunity, and shared prosperity are not possible. Of course, we are not alone in our concern for justice. In one of many examples, a fellow foundation leader has urged us all to reject the seduction of a great America and actively pursue an America that is just.

And yet, how does one forge a path toward justice in a political and policy environment that has unleashed inner demons and accelerated a decline in trust in institutions of all kinds and in those who lead them? Ubiquitous platforms that hold the promise of community, collaboration, and constructive engagement also foster a free market of unbridled rhetoric. Protected by anonymity, and increasingly in the open, people are encouraged to express their hatreds and insecurities, to assert their individual or tribal interests. Antipathy toward others is celebrated as candor, and, in a world of digital intimacy, and even in the public square, we have become strangers without connection.

Some believe that the way to defeat us is to manipulate and divide us. If we do not see humanity in each other, we do not need enemies. We will attack strangers and our neighbors ourselves.

I am wondering if justice is possible without three foundational imperatives: a commitment to the common good; empathy and recognition of our shared humanity; and investment and trust in the institutions of accountability….

[discussion of the three foundational imperatives – see title link above]

Conclusion
Even as I question whether justice is even possible, here at the Foundation we are working to advance what I call the just imperative. It is a formal effort to ensure that our decisions and actions enhance the conditions in which justice can thrive, rejecting or challenging those that reinforce an unjust status quo or produce unjust outcomes. It is the framework through which we, like many others, are trying to live the values of diversity, equity, and inclusion in our internal operations, in our organizational culture, and in every program where we are investing our resources and trying to help bring about change. It is hard work; we will not always get it right. To live our mission of a world that is more just requires that we do it.

Is justice possible? The answer has to be yes, but it is certainly not inevitable, maybe not even probable. So, together we need to increase the odds.

Development – Poverty Reduction

Decline of Global Extreme Poverty Continues but Has Slowed: World Bank
WASHINGTON, Sept. 19, 2018 Fewer people are living in extreme poverty around the world, but the decline in poverty rates has slowed, raising concerns about achieving the goal of ending poverty by 2030 and pointing to the need for increased pro-poor investments, the World Bank finds.

The percentage of people living in extreme poverty globally fell to a new low of 10 percent in 2015 — the latest number available — down from 11 percent in 2013, reflecting steady but slowing progress, World Bank data show. The number of people living on less than $1.90 a day fell during this period by 68 million to 736 million.

“Over the last 25 years, more than a billion people have lifted themselves out of extreme poverty, and the global poverty rate is now lower than it has ever been in recorded history. This is one of the greatest human achievements of our time,” World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim said. “But if we are going to end poverty by 2030, we need much more investment, particularly in building human capital, to help promote the inclusive growth it will take to reach the remaining poor. For their sake, we cannot fail.”

Despite the tremendous progress in reducing extreme poverty, rates remain stubbornly high in low-income countries and those affected by conflict and political upheaval.

The estimates will be published in “Poverty and Shared Prosperity 2018: Piecing Together the Poverty Puzzle,” a report to be released on Oct. 17, End Poverty Day.

Development

Commitment to Development Index 2018
Center for Global Development – Ian Mitchell , Anita Käppeli , Lee Robinson , Caitlin McKee and Arthur Baker
September 18, 2018 : 6 pages
PDF: https://www.cgdev.org/sites/default/files/commitment-development-index-2018-english.pdf

The Commitment to Development Index ranks 27 of the world’s richest countries on policies that affect more than five billion people living in poorer nations. Because development is about more than foreign aid, the Index covers seven distinct policy areas:
Aid
Finance
Technology
Environment
Trade
Security
Migration

We use thousands of data points across more than a hundred indicators to come up with overall rankings and for each policy component. Countries score well for things like generous and high-quality aid, financial transparency, low barriers to trade for developing countries, and migration policies which are open and promote integration. They also do well for policies that enhance global public goods, for example, robust support for technological research and development, protecting the environment, and contributions to global security like peacekeeping contributions and avoiding arms sales to poor and undemocratic nations.

Like the Sustainable Development Goals, the CDI recognizes development progress is holistic. But while the SDGs focus on outcomes and all nations, the CDI emphasizes how the policies of the richest countries can make a huge difference.

CDI 2018 Results: How Well Are Countries Doing?
Sweden tops this year’s Commitment to Development Index, followed by Denmark. Germany climbs to the podium and shares third place with Finland. Sweden scores well across six out of seven components of the CDI, ranking first on migration, second on environment, and third on aid. It has room for improvement on security, given its substantial arms exports and low contributions to international peacekeeping and sea lanes protection.

Denmark comes second this year, topping the list on security and with the second-best aid score. Finland and Germany share third place. Finland scores consistently well across nearly all components.
Germany scores particularly well on migration and trade, with the most efficient trade logistics and the least restrictions on trade in services. However, Germany could improve its aid quality and its contributions to international security.

European countries lead the way.
European countries take up the first 12 positions on the Index, highlighting European leadership on development issues. France comes seventh this year, with good performance across all components. It is one of the few countries which has increased its aid spending, by 0.05 percent to 0.43 percent of gross national income (GNI). The United Kingdom, in eighth place, is the third G7 country in the top 10, scoring especially well on trade and security. The UK is one of the few countries meeting the international commitment of 0.7 percent of GNI spent on overseas development assistance but ranks in the lower end of the table on technology and migration.

The Netherlands and Luxembourg share position five and Belgium ranks 10th. All three countries have smart policy designs in place: Luxembourg tops the aid component; the Netherlands the trade component; and Belgium the finance component. Portugal, in ninth position, demonstrates that commitment to development isn’t for the richest only.

Despite its contribution to global security, the United States ranks 23rd of 27.
Like last year, the United States scores close to the bottom of the table, performing poorly on finance, aid, and environment, with high greenhouse gas emissions, significant fossil fuel production, and the lowest gasoline taxes. Its best performance is on security as the biggest contributor to global sea lanes protection and a major supporter of international peacekeeping. However, its security score is held back for failing to ratify most International agreements, including the Arms Trade and Nuclear Test Ban treaties. Our trade data predate the recent protectionist trade policies implemented by the US government, resulting in the US scoring above average on trade, with low agricultural subsidies and average tariffs. The US’s stated withdrawal from the Paris agreement only comes into effect in 2020 but will lower the US score further…

Education – Impacts of War, Disasters

Press release
1 in 3 children and young people is out of school in countries affected by war or natural disasters – UNICEF
Adolescents in emergency countries face grim future with 2 in 5 15-17 year olds never completing primary school
NEW YORK, 19 September 2018 – 1 in 3 children and young people between 5 and 17 years old living in countries affected by conflict or disaster – 104 million – are not in school, a figure that accounts for more than a third of the global out-of-school population, according to a new UNICEF report. In total, 303 million 5-17 year-olds are out of school worldwide.

The report notes 1 in 5 young people aged 15 to 17 years old living in countries affected by conflict or disaster have never entered any school, and 2 in 5 have never completed primary school.
A future stolen: young and out-of-school looks at the education situation of children and young people from pre-primary to upper secondary age across all countries, including those affected by humanitarian emergencies.

“When a country is hit by conflict or disaster, its children and young people are victimized twice,” said Henrietta Fore, UNICEF Executive Director. “In the near term, their schools are damaged, destroyed, occupied by military forces or even deliberately attacked, and they join the millions of young people out of school, and as the years progress they seldom return. In the long term they – and the countries they live in – will continue to face perpetuating cycles of poverty.”

With less than 4 per cent of global humanitarian appeals dedicated to education, the report calls for more investment in quality education where children and young people can learn in a safe environment, from pre-primary to upper-secondary, in countries affected by complex humanitarian emergencies and protracted crises.

The report – launched ahead of the 73rd session of the United Nations General Assembly – looks at the global situation of out-of-school children and young people, highlighting that across the world:
:: Nearly 303 million children and young people aged between 5 and 17 years old – around 1 in 5 – are out of school globally.
:: More than half of out-of-school children of primary-school age live in countries affected by emergencies.
:: Poverty remains the most significant barrier to education globally with the poorest primary school age children 4 times more likely to be out of school compared to their peers from the richest households…