Human Rights – Global Justice

.
Rome Statute 20th anniversary high-level commemorations generate strong calls for justice
Press Release : 17 July 2018
On 16 and 17 July 2018, an event was held at the headquarters of International Criminal Court (“ICC” or “the Court”), in The Hague, The Netherlands, to mark the 20th anniversary of the adoption of the Rome Statute of the ICC. High-level representatives of more than 30 States in attendance included the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, representatives of national Senates and Parliaments, Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Justice, as well as officials of international and regional organisations, civil society and academia. Speakers reiterated their support to justice and accountability for the gravest crimes listed under the Rome Statute…

In his opening remarks, the President of the Court, Judge Chile Eboe-Osuji, recalled that the Rome Statute was adopted with a vision of a world in which atrocities that shock the conscience of humanity would no longer be committed with impunity. He said that reflections on the 20th anniversary of the treaty should concentrate on what this generation will do with the monumental legacy handed to it by the visionaries of 1998. “Let us ensure that allegations of the most serious crimes are met with a robust, fair and impartial judicial response – at the international level as a last resort, where national systems prove unable to give victims their day in court. Let us make sure that we do not let down those who worked so hard to make the Statute of an International Criminal Court a reality”, President Eboe-Osuji said.

“The ICC has given hope for justice to so many, by demanding strict adherence to the rules of international humanitarian law. A strong and effective ICC demonstrates the international community’s commitment to the rule of law,” said the President of Nigeria, H.E. Muhammadu Buhari. “I urge all States that have not yet done so to, as a matter of deliberate State policy, accede to the Rome Statute of the ICC so that it can become a universal treaty.”

“I am certain that the Rome Statute is as necessary today as it was 20 years ago. I believe it is important to go ‘back to the basics’ with a renewed dedication, commitment and also excitement – just as we did when we first adopted the Rome Statute,” said the President of the Assembly of States Parties, H.E. O-Gon Kwon. “Let today serve as a time to reflect, look back, appreciate what we have accomplished, and most importantly revive our commitment to the fight against impunity.”

ICC Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda stressed the importance of the anniversary and the opportunity it presents to recommit to the values and goals of the Statute, but also to take stock of the last two decades and reflect on how the Rome Statute system can be made more effective. “As we commemorate the 20th anniversary of the adoption of the Rome Statute, we owe it to ourselves, our children and future generations to fully support and nurture the ever evolving international criminal justice system, and the ICC as its central pillar,” she stated, adding, “a more rule-based global order where mass atrocities are checked through the force of the law and the progress of humanity, demand it.”

Background: Adopted on 17 July 1998, the Rome Statute is the ICC’s founding treaty, ratified by over 120 countries. The ICC is the first permanent international criminal court established to help end impunity for the perpetrators of the most serious crimes of concern to the international community, namely war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide and the crime of aggression. The Rome Statute has also established the Trust Fund for Victims with a two-fold mandate: (i) to implement Court-ordered reparations and (ii) to provide physical and psychological rehabilitation, and material support to victim survivors, their families, and affected communities. The TFV assists survivors to begin the process of healing and rebuilding their lives, for them to be able to promote peace and reconciliation.

Health – Refugees

.
UNHCR reports progress on health efforts for refugees despite record displacement
20 July 2018
UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, has this week released its Annual Public Health Overview of new refugee emergencies and ongoing operations. Despite record forced displacement globally, the report finds that health services to refugees and other displaced populations are in most cases on track. However, communicable diseases, anaemia and stunting remain areas of concern.

The report notes that strengthened weekly surveillance of key health indicators among refugee populations during emergencies and systematic monitoring are contributing to prompt, effective interventions. The report is a snapshot of what has been achieved and highlights the trends based on key indicators in UNHCR’s public health, reproductive health and HIV, nutrition, food security, and water, sanitation and hygiene programmes in 37 key operations. In 21 of these operations, UNHCR and its partners collect and analyse public health data using a standardized health information system to better protect and serve refugees.

The report includes, for example, the findings on the mortality rates among refugee children under the age of five – which is always an important health impact indicator in emergencies. Despite major refugee emergencies and disease outbreaks in 2017 – a year in which wars and persecution drove global forced displacement to a new high – this rate remained globally stable in post-emergency situations at an average of 0.4 deaths per 1,000 refugee children every month, sustaining the declining trend we’ve observed since 2011. The indicator is within the range reported in developing and middle income countries, according to the UN 2017 World Mortality report.

There have been also improvements in reproductive health services as 9 out of 10 deliveries (in total 96,776 deliveries) in more than 83 per cent of the reporting operations were conducted by a skilled health worker, a 25 per cent increase from 2016. About half a million pregnant refugee women attended antenatal services at 135 monitored sites in 21 operations, an 18 per cent increase from 2016.

In 2017 over 8 million clinical consultations were provided to refugees at health facilities. This is a 10 per cent increase from 2016. Nine out of 10 refugees who were treated at the health facilities were suffering from communicable diseases, underscoring the importance of continued investment in high impact preventive services.

The number of mental health consultations for refugees has been also steadily increasing over the years – doubling in 2017 compared to numbers seen only three years ago. This was possible due to improved availability of these services at primary health care clinics.

Sixty-five per cent of our refugee operations reported measles vaccination coverage rates among children under one year of age above 90 per cent – against an international standard of above 95 per cent. Overall, more than 160,000 children in this age group were vaccinated against measles in routine programmes, a 15 per cent increase from 2016. Access to HIV treatment was sustained with over 10,000 refugees enrolled in HIV treatment programs a threefold increase from 2015.

Against these results, UNHCR remains very worried about continued high levels of anaemia as well as persistently high levels of stunting. Acute malnutrition also remains extremely concerning amid reductions in refugee food rations and basic assistance in several operations. Overall, 62 per cent of the surveyed refugee sites met the global acute malnutrition standards, showing a slight improvement from 2016. The levels of stunting among children under the age of five reached acceptable standards in only 25 per cent of sites, remaining at similar levels compared to 2016. Over 50 per cent of surveyed sites exhibited critical levels of child anaemia prevalence (above 40 per cent). Only three per cent of surveyed sites met anaemia standards with prevalence below acceptable standard of 20 per cent.

UNHCR managed to maintain the average volume of water provided to refugees at 21 litres per person per day, exceeding the basic minimum standard of 20 litres per day. However, UNHCR did not always meet the standards in emergency nor protracted situations. The average number of refugees per toilet improved to 22 persons – still over the standard of up to 20 persons per toilet for sanitation.

Given the record levels of forced displacement globally, in 2018 UNHCR’s budget requirements are at a record high of US$8.275 billion. However, as of mid-2018, only 33 per cent of these needs are funded. While UNHCR is grateful for the generous and timely support already provided by donors, and particularly grateful to donors for unrestricted contributions which allowed us to continue our work on these and other activities without interruptions, it is vital that UNHCR and partners have more resources available to provide life-saving services and improve the living conditions for refugees.

Governance – Migration-Asylum: Hungary

.
Migration and Asylum: Commission takes further steps in infringement procedures against Hungary
European Commission – Press release Brussels, 19 July 2018
The European Commission has today decided to refer Hungary to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) for non-compliance of its asylum and return legislation with EU law.

The Commission has also today sent a letter of formal notice to Hungary concerning new Hungarian legislation which criminalises activities that support asylum and residence applications and further restricts the right to request asylum.

Court referral for non-compliance with EU asylum and return legislation
The Commission first launched an infringement procedure against Hungary concerning its asylum laws in December 2015. Following a series of exchanges on both administrative and political levels and a complementary letter of formal notice, the Commission sent a reasoned opinion in December 2017. After analysing the reply provided by the Hungarian authorities, the Commission considers that the majority of the concerns raised have still not been addressed and has therefore now decided to refer Hungary to the Court of Justice of the European Union – the last stage of the infringement procedure.

Specifically, the Commission finds that Hungarian legislation is incompatible with EU law in the following respects:
Asylum procedures: Whilst EU legislation provides the possibility for Member States to establish transit zones at the external borders, the Hungarian legislation falls short of the requirements of the Asylum Procedures Directive as it only allows asylum applications to be submitted within such transit zones where access is granted only to a limited number of persons and after excessively long waiting periods. The border procedure implemented by Hungary is not in compliance with EU law as it does not respect the maximum duration of 4 weeks in which someone can be held in a transit centre and fails to provide special guarantees for vulnerable applicants. Within its territory, Hungary fails to provide effective access to asylum procedures as irregular migrants are escorted back across the border, even if they wish to apply for asylum.

Reception conditions: The Commission considers that the indefinite detention of asylum seekers in transit zones without respecting the applicable procedural guarantees is in breach of EU rules as set out in the Reception Conditions Directive.

Return: The Hungarian law does not comply with the EU’s Return Directive as it fails to ensure that return decisions are issued individually and include information on legal remedies. As a result, migrants risk being returned without the appropriate safeguards and in breach of the non-refoulement principle…

Human Rights – Data Protection

.
The European Union and Japan agreed to create the world’s largest area of safe data flows
European Commission – Press release Tokyo, 17 July 2018
The EU and Japan successfully concluded today their talks on reciprocal adequacy. They agreed to recognise each other’s data protection systems as ‘equivalent’, which will allow data to flow safely between the EU and Japan.

Each side will now launch its relevant internal procedures for the adoption of its adequacy finding. For the EU, this involves obtaining an opinion from the European Data Protection Board (EDPB) and the green light from a committee composed of representatives of the EU Member States. Once this procedure will have been completed, the Commission will adopt the adequacy decision on Japan.

Věra Jourová, Commissioner for Justice, Consumers and Gender Equality: “Japan and EU are already strategic partners. Data is the fuel of global economy and this agreement will allow for data to travel safely between us to the benefit of both our citizens and our economies. At the same time we reaffirm our commitment to shared values concerning the protection of personal data. This is why I am fully confident that by working together, we can shape the global standards for data protection and show common leadership in this important area.”

This mutual adequacy arrangement will create the world’s largest area of safe transfers of data based on a high level of protection for personal data. Europeans will benefit from strong protection of their personal data in line with EU privacy standards when their data is transferred to Japan. This arrangement will also complement the EU-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement, European companies will benefit from uninhibited flow of data with this key commercial partner, as well as from privileged access to the 127 million Japanese consumers. With this agreement, the EU and Japan affirm that, in the digital era, promoting high privacy standards and facilitating international trade go hand in hand. Under the GDPR, an adequacy decision is the most straightforward way to ensure secure and stable data flows.

The key elements of the adequacy decisions
The agreement found today foresees a mutual recognition of an equivalent level of data protection by the EU and Japan. Once adopted, this will cover personal data exchanged for commercial purposes, ensuring that in all exchanges a high level of data protection is applied.*

To live up to European standards, Japan has committed to implementing the following additional safeguards to protect EU citizens’ personal data, before the Commission formally adopts its adequacy decision:
:: A set of rules providing individuals in the EU whose personal data are transferred to Japan, with additional safeguards that will bridge several differences between the two data protection systems. These additional safeguards will strengthen, for example, the protection of sensitive data, the conditions under which EU data can be further transferred from Japan to another third country, the exercise of individual rights to access and rectification. These rules will be binding on Japanese companies importing data from the EU and enforceable by the Japanese independent data protection authority (PPC) and courts.
:: A complaint-handling mechanism to investigate and resolve complaints from Europeans regarding access to their data by Japanese public authorities. This new mechanism will be administered and supervised by the Japanese independent data protection authority…

Governance

.
World Bank and Partners Launch US$ 12 million Fund to Help Countries Increase Government Transparency, Accountability and Responsiveness
Press Release TBILISI, July 19, 2018 — With the goal of supporting governments and civil society in countries and sub-nationals that participate in the Open Government Partnership (OGP) to increase government transparency, improve accountability and strengthen citizen engagement and government responsiveness, the World Bank and development partners have launched the OGP Multi-Donor Trust Fund (MDTF).

The US$12 million Fund will support implementation of open government reforms, an inclusive and participatory dialogue and decision-making process, and build the evidence base on the impact of open government reforms. The design, strategy and governance of the MDTF is rooted in OGP’s founding principles that government and civil society should have an equal seat at the table. With the support of Agence Française de Développement, the Department for International Development UK, and Global Affairs Canada, the MDTF aims to deliver customized support to both governments and civil society in line with the OGP standards and timeframes, and it incentivizes robust performance by all partners while leveraging the World Bank’s technical expertise and country programs.

“The World Bank is supporting both governments and civil society in OGP to deliver country or locally led reforms to build knowledge, and create avenues and opportunities for open government and citizen engagement, and help build and maintain trust between citizens and the state,” said Debbie Wetzel, Senior Director of the World Bank’s Governance Global Practice. “The MDTF is an instrument to leverage the Bank’s technical specialists and in-country presence to support experimentation and innovative approaches to reform, participation, inclusion, and learning to move the needle on open government and citizen engagement.”…

The first set of awards have been given to nine civil society organizations to facilitate the participatory process of developing OGP Action Plans in five countries and four sub-nationals. Given the significant demand, this exceeded initial expectations. Eyakuze added, “The superb quality of the CSO proposals, and the decision to fund more than we had anticipated underscore the unique value of this MDTF.”
[More information on the MDTF, please visit: https://www.opengovpartnership.org/ogp-trust-fund ]

Development – Inclusion

.
Adolescents with disabilities: enhancing resilience and delivering inclusive development
ODI – Research reports and studies | July 2018 | Nicola Jones, Elizabeth Presler-Marshall and Maria Stavropoulou

Over the past decade there has been growing recognition that adolescence is an ‘age of opportunity’ in terms of helping children launch into successful adulthood. At the same time, the world has recognised that in order to ‘leave no one behind’, we must focus on people who have disabilities – four-fifths of whom live in developing countries and below the poverty line. As of yet, however, there has been little attention paid to the adolescents with disabilities who live in low- and middle-income countries and how we can make sure that they too are supported to achieve independent futures.

This ground-breaking report takes stock of what we know about adolescents with disabilities living in the global South. Drawing on interviews with approximately 600 adolescent girls and boys with physical, visual, hearing or intellectual impairments, as well as interviews with their parents, teachers and other service providers, it also presents emerging findings from the Gender and Adolescence: Global Evidence (GAGE) research programme in Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Jordan and the State of Palestine.

This report focuses, for the first time, on the intersection of age and disability – specifically the unique needs of adolescents with disabilities – and the gender dynamics that shape girls’ and boys’ lives. Alongside this, it also looks at the particular experiences of adolescents with disabilities who grow up in rural areas and conflict-affected contexts.

It finds that, primarily due to disability-related stigma and discrimination, adolescents with disabilities:
:: are excluded from education, especially at the secondary level;
:: often face insurmountable barriers to obtaining health care;
:: are likely to be socially isolated and have few sources of emotional support;
:: are much more likely to experience bullying and violence;
:: have few opportunities to make decisions even about their own lives; and
:: are largely shut out of the types of training and employment programmes that would help them achieve independence.

The report concludes by identifying key areas for action – including a need for a more integrated approach that takes account of adolescents’ intersecting needs, supporting caregivers so they can better support adolescents, and tackling gaps in data, policy and funding.

:: Report | Adolescents with disabilities: enhancing resilience and delivering inclusive development
:: Policy note | Adolescents with disabilities: enhancing resilience and delivering inclusive development
:: Infographics | Adolescents with disabilities: enhancing resilience and delivering inclusive development

Sustainable Development – Implementation of 2030 Agenda

.
High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development Overwhelmingly Adopts Ministerial Declaration by 164 Votes in Favour, 2 Against
18 July 2018
ECOSOC/6943
[Editor’s text bolding]
Adopting its Ministerial Declaration by a vote of 164 in favour to 2 against (Israel, United States), with no abstentions, the High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development reaffirmed today its commitment to effectively implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development for all people, everywhere.

Held under the auspices of the Economic and Social Council under the theme “Transformation towards sustainable and resilient societies”, the Forum, in adopting the Declaration (document E/HLPF/2018/L.2), stressed that the 2030 Agenda is people-centred, universal and transformative.

Ministers and high representatives also reaffirmed their commitment to eradicating poverty, expressing concern that poverty remains a principle cause of hunger, and stressed the importance of taking collective measures to make an impact, among other goals. They further reaffirmed their commitment to the Addis Ababa Action Agenda of the Third International Conference on Financing for Development, stressing that much work remains to achieve the ambitious 2030 Agenda three years into its implementation. They also commended the 46 countries that delivered voluntary national reviews.

They committed to embracing diversity in cities and other human settlements, and to strengthening social cohesion, intercultural dialogue and tolerance. They noted with concern that 844 million people lack basic water services, 2.1 billion people lack access to safe drinking water, 4.5 billion people have no access to safely managed sanitation, and 892 million still practise open defecation. They also acknowledged that owing to rapid urbanization, many cities and local authorities face challenges in providing access to adequate housing and that migration and forced displacement further exacerbates these challenges. They called on all stakeholders to adopt a sustainable-food systems approach and develop effective strategies to reduce food waste. They underlined the challenges related to plastic waste, especially in the oceans, stressed the critical role of science, technology and innovation in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and endeavoured to take immediate steps to strengthen multi-stakeholder partnerships.

The Forum recognized that sustainable development cannot be realized without peace and security and that peace and security will be at risk without sustainable development. “We call for further effective measures and actions to be taken, in conformity with international law, to remove the obstacles to the full realization of the right to self-determination of peoples living under colonial and foreign occupation,” the Declaration reads.

It also reaffirms the Forum’s commitment to gender equality, the empowerment of all women and girls and full realization of the human rights of all women and girls. “To achieve inclusive, sustainable and resilient societies, we call for the leadership and full, effective and equal participation of women in decision-making in the design, budgeting, implementation and monitoring of policies and programmes that affect their livelihoods, well-being and resilience,” the document reads. We reiterate the urgency to ensure women’s equal access to, and control over, land and nature resources, it adds.

Voting on an amendment submitted by the United States (document E/HLPF/2018/L.3), proposing to replace the words “mutually beneficial” in paragraph 28 with “international cooperation”, the Forum rejected that proposal by a vote of 107 against to 50 in favour, with 3 abstentions (Norway, Republic of Moldova, Seychelles). It rejected another amendment proposed by the United States — by 155 votes against to 2 in favour (Israel, United States), with 3 abstentions (Japan, Nigeria, Republic of Korea) — to replace the sentence “will continue to promote a universal, rules-based, open, transparent, predictable, inclusive, non-discriminatory and equitable multilateral trading system under the World Trade Organization, as well as meaningful trade liberalization”, in paragraph 28, with the following sentence: “We reaffirm that trade can contribute to the promotion of sustainable development and the alleviation of poverty, as recognized in the 2030 Agenda.”

The Forum also voted to retain paragraph 12 of the Declaration, rejecting Israel’s proposal to delete it, by 109 votes in favour to 5 against (Australia, Canada, Honduras, Israel, United States), with 45 abstentions. It further voted to retain paragraph 16 of the Declaration — by 133 in favour to 11 against, with 10 abstentions (Algeria, Bahrain, China, Egypt, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Myanmar, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Zimbabwe) after the Russian Federation requested a recorded vote seeking the paragraph’s deletion…

12. Recognize that sustainable development cannot be realized without peace and security and that peace and security will be at risk without sustainable development. The 2030 Agenda recognizes the need to build peaceful, just and inclusive societies that provide equal access to justice and that are based on respect for human rights, including the right to development, on effective rule of law and good governance at all levels and on transparent, effective and accountable institutions. Factors that give rise to violence, insecurity and injustice, such as inequality, corruption, poor governance and illicit financial and arms flows, are addressed in the 2030 Agenda. We must redouble our efforts to resolve or prevent conflict and to support post-conflict countries, including by ensuring that women have a role in peacebuilding and State-building. We call for further effective measures and actions to be taken, in conformity with international law, to remove the obstacles to the full realization of the right to self-determination of peoples living under colonial and foreign occupation, which continue to adversely affect their economic and social development as well as their environment;

16. Reaffirm our commitment to achieving gender equality, the empowerment of all women and girls and the full realization of the human rights of all women and girls. To achieve inclusive, sustainable and resilient societies, we call for the leadership and full, effective and equal participation of women in decision-making in the design, budgeting, implementation and monitoring of policies and programmes that affect their livelihoods, well-being and resilience, and we recognize that unequal gender roles as reflected in women’s disproportionate share of unpaid care and domestic work holds women back in the economy and other areas. We reiterate the urgency to ensure women’s equal access to, and control over, land and natural resources. We reaffirm our commitment to preventing and responding to gender-based violence, sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment and harmful practices. Our efforts will reinforce the linkages between Sustainable Development Goal 5 and the other Sustainable Development Goals. The systematic mainstreaming of a gender perspective into the implementation of the 2030 Agenda is crucial;

Sustainable Development – SDG Visualization

.
UN Environment and Google announce ground-breaking partnership to protect our planet
New York, 16 July 2018 – UN Environment and Google announced today a global partnership that promises to change the way we see our planet. Combining environmental science, big data and unprecedented accessibility, this joint effort aims to expand what the world knows about the impacts of human activity on global ecosystems.

When completed, the platform will leverage Google’s cloud computing and earth observation public catalogs and for the first time enable governments, NGO’s and the public to track specific environment-related development targets with a user-friendly Google front-end.

“We will only be able to solve the biggest environmental challenges of our time if we get the data right,” Head of UN Environment Erik Solheim said. “UN Environment is excited to be partnering with Google, to make sure we have the most sophisticated online tools to track progress, identify priority areas for our action, and bring us one step closer to a sustainable world.”…

“This partnership announcement builds on a common shared vision between our organizations,” said Rebecca Moore, Director, Google Earth, Earth Engine & Earth Outreach. “We are excited to enable all countries with equal access to the latest technology and information in support of global climate action and sustainable development.”

Long term, the partnership hopes to establish a platform for open-source data and analysis of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. As an entry point to development, the partnership launches today with an initial focus on fresh-water ecosystems including mountains, forests, wetlands, rivers, aquifers and lakes.

These areas account for 0.01% of the world’s water but provide habitat for almost 10% of the world’s known species and evidence suggests a rapid loss freshwater biodiversity.

Google will periodically produce geospatial maps and data on water-related ecosystems by employing massive parallel cloud computing technology. Satellite imagery and statistics will be generated to assess the extent of change occurring to waterbodies, and made freely accessible to ensure nations have the opportunity to track changes, prevent and reverse ecosystem loss.

Other areas of collaboration include advocacy and capacity building activities as well as the development of partnerships with organizations like the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC), the European Space Agency (ESA), and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)…

Heritage Stewardship – Biological Diversity

.
Governments embark on transformative agenda to achieve global biodiversity targets and prepare the way forward beyond 2020
18 July 2018 CBD – Convention on Biological Diversity
– Inspired by discussions on the possibilities of transformational change, a keynote address by Canadian astronaut Roberta Bondar, and a celebration of indigenous culture, more than 1,000 delegates from around the world concluded two critical meetings of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in Montreal, Canada…

Meetings Outcomes:
Delegates recognized the need to leverage emerging new scientific research including the work of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), such as the recently released regional assessments. Parties also invited greater collaboration between the IPBES and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

A major topic addressed at the meeting was mainstreaming of biodiversity into sectors that depend on biodiversity, and whose actions cause potential adverse impacts to ecosystems and species. Governments recommended a package of actions for governments, businesses and other stakeholders, to facilitate the incorporation of biodiversity considerations into the energy, mining, infrastructure, manufacturing and processing, and health sectors.

Advances in the Implementation of the Nagoya Protocol
Countries noted considerable progress in setting access and benefit-sharing frameworks. However, the delegates underlined, that further efforts are needed to make the Protocol fully operational. The meeting also addressed the way forward for advancing on a global multilateral benefit-sharing mechanism, and on the question of specialised international instruments related to access and benefit-sharing in the context of Article 4.4 of the Protocol.

Digital Sequence Information
Governments generally recognised the positive contribution of digital sequence information on genetic resources for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity, but important divergences in views remain with respect to the implications of this issue for the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from the utilization of genetic resources. The understanding of the different perspectives achieved during the meeting will underpin the important decisions to be taken on this topic in Egypt, decisions that could influence the future work of the Convention and its Nagoya Protocol.

Synthetic Biology
On the question of synthetic biology, due to uncertainty around the impacts of organisms with engineered gene drives, countries were called to apply a precautionary approach for the release of such organisms, including when it comes to experimental releases. Underlining that more research and analysis are needed, governments called for broad international cooperation to assess the possible impacts on biodiversity of this technology.

On risk assessment of living modified organisms, including organisms containing engineered gene drives, countries agreed on a process for identifying topics that may warrant the development of international guidelines. Delegates requested the CBD Executive Secretary to commission a study on organisms containing engineered gene drives and modified fish.

Heritage Stewardship – Long-term Evidence/Sustainability

,
MacArthur Foundation [to 21 Jul 2018]
http://www.macfound.org/
July 16, 2018 – Grantee Research
Research Finds Model for Sustainable Fishing in Coral Reefs
A 20-year study of Kenyan reefs generated a mathematical model for sustainable fishing to maintain reef ecology, which helps mitigate the threat reefs face from climate change. The study by the Wildlife Conservation Society, supported by MacArthur, found an ideal target of 50 tons of living fish per square kilometer to maintain productive harvests and sustainable recovery rates of coral reef fish without comprising the ecosystem. The results constitute a standard that researchers hope to test and apply in other reefs around the globe.

.
Fish and Fisheries
Early View – Online Version of Record before inclusion in an issue
ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Multicriteria estimate of coral reef fishery sustainability
Timothy R McClanahan
First published: 10 May 2018
https://doi.org/10.1111/faf.12293
Abstract
A holistic basis for achieving ecosystem‐based management is needed to counter the continuing degradation of coral reefs. The high variation in recovery rates of fish, corresponding to fisheries yields, and the ecological complexity of coral reefs have challenged efforts to estimate fisheries sustainability. Yet, estimating stable yields can be determined when biomass, recovery, changes in per area yields and ecological change are evaluated together. Long‐term rates of change in yields and fishable biomass‐yield ratios have been the key missing variables for most coral reef assessments. Calibrating a fishery yield model using independently collected fishable biomass and recovery data produced large confidence intervals driven by high variability in biomass recovery rates that precluded accurate or universal yields for coral reefs. To test the model’s predictions, I present changes in Kenyan reef fisheries for >20 years. Here, exceeding yields above 6 tonnes km−2 year−1 when fishable biomass was ~20 tonnes/km2 (~20% of unfished biomass) resulted in a >2.4% annual decline. Therefore, rates of decline fit the mean settings well and model predictions may therefore be used as a benchmark in reefs with mean recovery rates (i.e. r = 0.20–0.25). The mean model settings indicate a maximum sustained yield (MSY) of ~6 tonnes km−2 year−1 when fishable biomass was ~50 tonnes/km2. Variable reported recovery rates indicate that high sustainable yields will depend greatly on maintaining these rates, which can be reduced if productivity declines and management of stocks and functional diversity are ineffective. A number of ecological state‐yield trade‐off occurs as abrupt ecological changes prior to biomass levels that produce MSY.

Emergencies
 
POLIO
Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC)
Polio this week as of 17 July 2018 [GPEI]
:: The Minister of Health of Papua New Guinea officially launched the outbreak response campaign on 16 July in Morobe, Madang and Eastern Highlands provinces.

Summary of new cases this week:
Afghanistan:
:: There is advance notification of one wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) case in Chawkay district, Kunar province. The case has onset of paralysis on 22 June. Once confirmed (officially to be reflected in next week’s data), this will bring the total number of WPV1 cases in 2018 (in Afghanistan) to ten.
Nigeria:
:: One new case of circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 (cVDPV2) from Geidam LGA in Yobe State has been confirmed. The case has onset of paralysis on 16 June 2018. This is the second cVDPV2 case in Nigeria this year after the one reported from Jigawa state, Kaugama LGA on 15 April 2018. As part of the outbreak response, two campaigns using monovalent vaccine type 2 are planned, subject to review from the Advisory group. Additionally, three confirmed [Sokoto (2) and Yobe 1] and two advanced notice (Sokoto) cVDPV2 positive environmental samples are being reported from May.

::::::
::::::

WHO Grade 3 Emergencies  [to 21 Jul 2018]
The Syrian Arab Republic
:: Southern Syrian Arab Republic Health Cluster report pdf, 82kb  13 – 16 July 2018

Nigeria 
:: Borno targets more than 1 million children with anti-malaria therapy  Maiduguri, 13 July 2018

Iraq  – No new announcements identified
South Sudan  – No new announcements identified
Yemen  – No new announcements identified

::::::
 
WHO Grade 2 Emergencies  [to 21 Jul 2018]
[Several emergency pages were not available at inquiry]
Cameroon  – No new announcements identified
Central African Republic  – No new announcements identified.
Democratic Republic of the Congo  – No new announcements identified
Ethiopia  – No new announcements identified.
Libya – No new announcements identified.
Myanmar  – No new announcements identified
Niger  – No new announcements identified.
Ukraine – No new announcements identified.

::::::
::::::
 
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: Dar’a, Quneitra, As-Sweida Situation Report No. 3 as of 19 July 2018
 
Yemen
:: Yemen: Al Hudaydah Update Situation Report No. 8 – Reporting Period: 4 – 13 July 2018

::::::

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 57 | 2-15 July 2018

Somalia   – No new announcements identified.

The Sentinel

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

Human Rights – Children in Armed Conflict/Security Council Resolution

.
Security Council Seeks to Strengthen Protections for Children in Armed Conflict, Unanimously Adopting Resolution 2427 (2018)
9 July 2018 SC/13412
Special Representative Paints Harrowing Picture of Violence, as Former Rebel Tells about Life with Guerrillas at Just 13

The Security Council, acting unanimously at the outset of a far-ranging open debate today, adopted a resolution aimed at further crystalizing the protection of children in armed conflicts, including by combating their recruitment by non-State armed groups and treating formerly recruited children primarily as victims.

By the terms of resolution 2427 (2018), the 15 member Council committed to taking concrete action in response to serious abuses and violations of human rights — including those of children — which could constitute early indications of descent into conflict. Expressing particular concern over the regional and cross border nature of such violations and the high number of children killed or maimed by indiscriminate attacks against civilians, aerial bombardments, excessive use of force, explosive devices and the use of children as human shields, it urged all conflict parties to uphold their obligations under international law.

The Council strongly condemned attacks against schools and hospitals, which impede children’s access to education and health care, as well as violations involving the recruitment and use of children, rape, sexual violence and abductions, among other crimes. Stressing the importance of the mandate of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children in Armed Conflict — which includes securing concrete child protection commitments from warring parties — it further called upon her to compile a comprehensive set of best practices for the protection of children in conflict situations.

By other terms of the text, the Council stressed the need to pay particular attention to the treatment of children associated or allegedly associated with non-State armed groups, emphasizing that such children, or those accused of committing crimes during conflicts, should be treated primarily as victims. Urging Member States to consider non-judicial measures as an alternative to the prosecution and detention of children, it welcomed the launch of a process to compile practical guidance on the integration of child protection issues in peace processes, and reaffirmed its intention to continue monitoring and reporting on parties that commit grave violations affecting children in situations of armed conflict, in a list annexed to the Secretary-General’s annual report on the issue…

Human Rights – Migration/Global Compact

.
Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration
FINAL DRAFT
11 July 2018 :: 36 pages
[Excerpts; Editor’s text bolding]
PREAMBLE
1. This Global Compact rests on the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations.

2. It also rests on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights; the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights; the other core international human rights treaties1; the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, including the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons Especially Women and Children and the Protocol against the Smuggling
of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air; the Slavery Convention and the Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery, the Slave Trade, and Institutions and Practices Similar to Slavery;  the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change; the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification; the Paris Agreement2; the International Labour Organization conventions on promoting decent work and labour migration3; as well as on the 2030 Agenda
for Sustainable Development; the Addis Ababa Action Agenda; the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, and the New Urban Agenda.

4. Refugees and migrants are entitled to the same universal human rights and fundamental freedoms, which must be respected, protected and fulfilled at all times. However, migrants and refugees are distinct groups governed by separate legal frameworks. Only refugees are entitled to the specific international protection as defined by international refugee law. This Global Compact refers to migrants and presents a cooperative framework addressing migration in all
its dimensions…

12. This Global Compact aims to mitigate the adverse drivers and structural factors that hinder people from building and maintaining sustainable livelihoods in their countries of origin, and so compel them to seek a future elsewhere. It intends to reduce the risks and vulnerabilities migrants face at different stages of migration by respecting, protecting and fulfilling their human rights and providing them with care and assistance. It seeks to address legitimate concerns of communities, while recognizing that societies are undergoing demographic, economic, social and environmental changes at different scales that may have implications for and result from migration. It strives to create conducive conditions that enable all migrants to enrich our societies through their human, economic and social capacities, and thus facilitate their contributions to sustainable development at the local, national, regional and global levels.

13. This Global Compact recognizes that safe, orderly and regular migration works for all when it takes place in a well-informed, planned and consensual manner. Migration should never be an act of desperation. When it is, we must cooperate to respond to the needs of migrants in situations of vulnerability, and address the respective challenges. We must work together to create conditions that allow communities and individuals to live in safety and dignity in their own countries. We must save lives and keep migrants out of harm’s way. We must empower migrants to become full members of our societies, highlight their positive contributions, and promote inclusion and social cohesion. We must generate greater predictability and certainty for States, communities and migrants alike. To achieve this, we commit to facilitate and ensure safe, orderly and regular migration for the benefit of all…

15. We agree that this Global Compact is based on a set of cross-cutting and interdependent guiding principles:
People-centred:
The Global Compact carries a strong human dimension to it, inherent to the migration experience itself. It promotes the well-being of migrants and the members of communities in countries of origin, transit and destination. As a result, the Global Compact places individuals at its core.
International cooperation:
The Global Compact is a non-legally binding cooperative framework that recognizes that no State can address migration on its own due to the inherently transnational nature of the phenomenon. It requires international, regional and bilateral cooperation and dialogue. Its authority rests on its consensual nature, credibility, collective ownership, joint implementation, follow-up and review.
National sovereignty:
The Global Compact reaffirms the sovereign right of States to determine their national migration policy and their prerogative to govern migration within their jurisdiction, in conformity with international law. Within their sovereign jurisdiction, States may distinguish between regular and irregular migration status, including as they determine their legislative and policy measures for the implementation of the Global Compact, taking into account different national realities, policies, priorities and requirements for entry, residence and work, in accordance with international law.
Rule of law and due process:
The Global Compact recognizes that respect for the rule of law, due process and access to justice are fundamental to all aspects of migration governance. This means that the State, public and private institutions and entities, as well as persons themselves are accountable to laws that are publicly promulgated, equally enforced and independently adjudicated, and which are consistent with international law.
Sustainable development:
The Global Compact is rooted in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and builds upon its recognition that migration is a multidimensional reality of major relevance for the sustainable development of countries of origin, transit and destination, which requires coherent and comprehensive responses. Migration contributes to positive development outcomes and to realizing the goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, especially when it is properly managed. The Global Compact aims to leverage the potential of migration for the achievement of all Sustainable Development Goals, as well as the impact this achievement will have on migration in the future.
Human rights:
The Global Compact is based on international human rights law and upholds the principles of non-regression and non-discrimination. By implementing the Global Compact, we ensure effective respect, protection and fulfilment of the human rights of all migrants, regardless
of their migration status, across all stages of the migration cycle. We also reaffirm the
commitment to eliminate all forms of discrimination, including racism, xenophobia and intolerance against migrants and their families.
Gender-responsive:
The Global Compact ensures that the human rights of women, men, girls and boys are respected at all stages of migration, their specific needs are properly understood and addressed and they are empowered as agents of change. It mainstreams a gender perspective, promotes gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls, recognizing their independence, agency and leadership in order to move away from addressing migrant women primarily through a lens of victimhood. 5
Child-sensitive:
The Global Compact promotes existing international legal obligations in relation to the rights of the child, and upholds the principle of the best interests of the child at all times, as a primary consideration in all situations concerning children in the context of international migration, including unaccompanied and separated children.
Whole-of-government approach:
The Global Compact considers that migration is a multidimensional reality that cannot be addressed by one government policy sector alone. To develop and implement effective migration policies and practices, a whole-of-government approach is needed to ensure horizontal and vertical policy coherence across all sectors and levels of government.
Whole-of-society approach:
The Global Compact promotes broad multi-stakeholder partnerships to address migration in all its dimensions by including migrants, diasporas, local communities, civil society, academia, the private sector, parliamentarians, trade unions, National Human Rights Institutions, the media and other relevant stakeholders in migration governance…

.

Objectives for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration
(1) Collect and utilize accurate and disaggregated data as a basis for evidence-based policies
(2) Minimize the adverse drivers and structural factors that compel people to leave their country of origin
(3) Provide accurate and timely information at all stages of migration
(4) Ensure that all migrants have proof of legal identity and adequate documentation
(5) Enhance availability and flexibility of pathways for regular migration
(6) Facilitate fair and ethical recruitment and safeguard conditions that ensure decent work
(7) Address and reduce vulnerabilities in migration
(8) Save lives and establish coordinated international efforts on missing migrants
(9) Strengthen the transnational response to smuggling of migrants
(10) Prevent, combat and eradicate trafficking in persons in the context of international migration
(11) Manage borders in an integrated, secure and coordinated manner
(12) Strengthen certainty and predictability in migration procedures for appropriate screening, assessment and referral
(13) Use migration detention only as a measure of last resort and work towards alternatives
(14) Enhance consular protection, assistance and cooperation throughout the migration
cycle
(15) Provide access to basic services for migrants
(16) Empower migrants and societies to realize full inclusion and social cohesion
(17) Eliminate all forms of discrimination and promote evidence-based public discourse to
shape perceptions of migration
(18) Invest in skills development and facilitate mutual recognition of skills, qualifications and
competences
(19) Create conditions for migrants and diasporas to fully contribute to sustainable development in all countries
(20) Promote faster, safer and cheaper transfer of remittances and foster financial inclusion of migrants
(21) Cooperate in facilitating safe and dignified return and readmission, as well as sustainable reintegration
(22) Establish mechanisms for the portability of social security entitlements and earned benefits
(23) Strengthen international cooperation and global partnerships for safe, orderly and regular migration

.

Press Release
‘Historic moment’ for people on the move, as UN agrees first-ever Global Compact on Migration
13 July 2018, New York
The text of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration, was finalized today. This is the first time that Member States of the United Nations have come together to negotiate an agreement covering all dimensions of international migration in a holistic and comprehensive manner.

The Global Compact is the culmination of thematic discussions and consultations among Member States and such actors as local officials, civil society representatives and migrants themselves; stocktaking and reflection on the views that were shared; and intergovernmental negotiations. In total, this open, transparent and inclusive process lasting over 18 months led to unprecedented dialogue and learning by all participants on the realities of international migration.

The agreement now forms a basis to improve governance and international understanding of migration, to address the challenges associated with migration today, and to strengthen the contribution of migrants and migration to sustainable development.

Calling today a “historic moment,” the President of the 72nd session of the United Nations General Assembly, H.E. Mr. Miroslav Lajčák, said the Global Compact’s potential was huge. He added, “It can guide us from a reactive to a proactive mode. It can help us to draw out the benefits of migration, and mitigate the risks. It can provide a new platform for cooperation. And it can be a resource, in finding the right balance between the rights of people and the sovereignty of States. And, in December, it will formally become the first comprehensive framework on migration the world has ever seen.”…

Venezuela “Crisis” – Social Inclusion of Venezuelan Migrants/Refugees

.
OAS and PADF to Support Social Inclusion Policies in Destination Countries of Venezuelan Migrants
July 12, 2018
The Organization of American States (OAS) and the Pan American Development Foundation (PADF) today agreed to support the governments of countries receiving Venezuelan migrants. The main objective of the agreement is to implement actions in areas related to the protection and local integration of Venezuelan migrants and refugees, the development of social inclusion policies, and the generation of economic opportunities that facilitate their autonomy and allow them to contribute to the communities that receive them.

At the signing ceremony, the OAS Secretary General, Luis Almagro, referred to the magnitude of the exodus of Venezuelan citizens and the social and political implications of the situation. “The issue is pressing, the crisis in Venezuela has alarming consequences in the region; already more than two million people have had to leave Venezuela, which is an extremely serious exodus and a drain of resources,” said Almagro. He also stressed that the agreement “will lead to integrated solutions that respond to these problems and promote more robust efforts with various actors at the Inter-American level.”

The Executive Director of PADF, Katie Taylor, recalled the joint work carried out by the organization she leads with the OAS during the last five decades and said “this agreement offers us a specific opportunity to join forces and provide better service to Venezuelans through timely protection services and provision of adequate information; mobilize resources and support so that migrants can rebuild their lives with dignity in the new places that host them, and take advantage of the convening capacity of the OAS for better coordination among governments, civil society and the private sector.”

PADF is an independent non-profit organization based in Washington DC, created in 1962 through a unique cooperation agreement between the OAS and the private sector. It has a presence in Latin America and the Caribbean, where it implements social development projects to strengthen communities.

Education/Development

.
Missed Opportunities : The High Cost of Not Educating Girls
World Bank Report
QUENTIN WODON, CLAUDIO MONTENEGRO, HOA NGUYEN, AND ADENIKE ONAGORUWA
JULY 2018 :: 64 pages
PDF: https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/bitstream/handle/10986/29956/HighCostOfNotEducatingGirls.pdf?sequence=5&isAllowed=y
Abstract
Too many girls drop out of school prematurely, especially in low income countries. Low educational attainment for girls has negative consequences not only for them, but also for their children and household, as well as for their community and society.

This study documents the potential impacts of educational attainment for girls and women in six domains: (1) earnings and standards of living; (2) child marriage and early childbearing; (3) fertility and population growth; (4) health, nutrition, and well-being; (5) agency and decision-making; and (6) social capital and institutions. The results are sobering: the potential economic and social costs of not educating girls are large.

Low educational attainment reduces expected earnings in adulthood, and it depresses labor force participation, leading to lower standards of living. When girls drop out of school prematurely, they are much more likely to marry as children, and have their first child before the age of 18 when they may not yet be ready to be wife and mothers. This in turn is associated with higher rates of fertility and population growth, which in low income countries are major impediments for reaping the benefits of the demographic dividend. Low educational attainment is also associated with worse health and nutrition outcomes for women and their children, leading among others to higher under-five mortality and stunting.

Girls who drop out of school also suffer in adulthood from a lack of agency and decision-making ability within the household, and in society more generally. They are also less likely to report engaging in altruistic behaviors such as donating to charity, volunteering, or helping others. Finally, when girls and women are better educated, they may be better able to assess the quality of the basic services they rely on and the quality of their country’s institutions and leaders.

These negative impacts have large economic costs, leading among others to losses in human capital wealth (future lifetime earnings of the labor force) estimated at $15 trillion to $30 trillion. Educating girls is not only the right thing to do: it is also a smart economic investment.

Press Release
Not Educating Girls Costs Countries Trillions of Dollars, Says New World Bank Report
WASHINGTON, July 11, 2018 – Limited educational opportunities for girls and barriers to completing 12 years of education cost countries between $15 trillion and $30 trillion in lost lifetime productivity…

Today, some 132 million girls around the world between the ages of 6 and 17 are still not in school —75 percent of whom are adolescents. To reap the full benefits of education, countries need to improve both access and quality so that all girls have the opportunity to learn. These investments are especially crucial in some regions, such as Sub-Saharan Africa where, on average, only 40 percent of girls complete lower secondary school. Countries also need policies to support healthy economic growth than will generate jobs for an expanding educated workforce.

Women with secondary education also have a better ability to make decisions in their household, including for their own health care. They are less likely to experience intimate partner violence, and they report higher levels of psychological well-being. They also have healthier children who are less likely to be malnourished and who are more likely to go to school and learn. Finally, better education for girls makes them more likely to participate fully in society and be active members of their community.

Educating girls and promoting gender equality is part of a broader and holistic effort at the World Bank, which includes financing and analytical work to remove financial barriers that keep girls out of school, prevent child marriage, improve access to reproductive health services, and strengthen skills and job opportunities for adolescent girls and young women. Since 2016, the World Bank has invested more than $3.2 billion in education projects benefiting adolescent girls.

The report was published with support from the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation, the Global Partnership for Education, and Malala Fund.

Human Rights – Equal Access to Justice/SDG 16

.
Achieving equal access to justice for all by 2030: lessons from global funds
Working and discussion papers | July 2018 | Marcus Manuel and Clare Manuel
ODI – Overseas Development Institute 2018.: 32 pages
[Excerpts]
Introduction
This paper reviews the experience of global funds and explores whether lessons could usefully be applied to supporting Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 16.3’s commitment to equal access to justice for all by 2030. In other areas, including agriculture, health, climate change and education, global funds focused on specific problems have become a key part of international aid architecture. Global fund performance has varied, but the best ones, particularly those relating to health, have been successful in improving both the quality and
quantity of aid: building multi-stakeholder partnerships, marshalling resources, enhancing the long-term visibility of resource flows, generating innovative approaches and delivering results.

The paper begins with a brief overview in section 2 of why access to justice matters and the challenges of providing it, including funding gaps. Section 3 briefly summarises donor engagement with justice to date, and section 4 looks at current promising international
initiatives to engage with SDG 16.3. Section 5 provides an introduction to global funds and then section 6 examines their common characteristics and explores how applicable these might be to the challenges of providing access to justice. Section 7 sets out three options for donor re-engagement. Section 8 sets out three key conclusions and possible next steps, namely:
1) it is premature to try and assess whether a large-scale global justice fund would be appropriate, as much more work needs to be done including on establishing funding gaps;
2) SDG 16.3’s two indicators for the first time provide an internationally agreed framework around two specific results for donor and partner countries to improve access to justice globally and there is a case for a small scale pilot fund focused on one or both of these indicators; and
3) there is a case for exploratory consultations on how to achieve significant donor re-engagement in low-income countries

Key Messages
:: Access to justice is associated with economic growth and social development and its provision is a core state function. But billions of people have limited access to justice. Donor support for justice systems is low in most countries and has fallen by 40% globally in the last four years. Thinking on long-term scaled-up funding for accessible justice is in its infancy.

:: The principles and approaches underlying global funds in other areas provide useful lessons for how to achieve Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 16.3’s commitment to equal access to justice for all, including strengthening international commitment; stronger focus on learning and innovation; more effective collective donor effort and management of risk; deeper engagement with national government systems and strategies to scale up sustainable approaches; and creating new funding and partnerships.

:: It is too early to assess whether a large-scale global fund would be appropriate or feasible to support access to justice for all, given the challenges and political nature of the justice system. More work needs to be done first, including to establish precise funding needs.

:: In the meantime, there is a case for developing a small-scale pilot pooled donor fund focused on a specific SDG 16.3 indicator, available on a demand-driven basis to a limited number of countries. This would enable cross-country learning. It would also provide insights into the functioning of the system as a whole; global fund experience is that an initial focus on a specific ‘vertical’ issue over time turns into broader engagement.

:: There is also a case for undertaking exploratory consultations on how to achieve significant donor reengagement in low-income countries.

::::::

[p.15] Global vertical funds: a brief overview
…Vertical funds are global programmes for allocating aid that focus on a particular thematic issue across countries. They have been referred to as ‘goal-based investment partnerships’, working to deliver clearly articulated targets (Gartner and Kharas, 2013; Schmidt-Traub and Sachs, 2015). The aim is to scale up resources and impact, with donor funds crowding in other funding. By 2013 the top ten vertical funds represented approximately one seventh of all programmable aid, and in some important sectors accounted for over half of all donor commitments (ibid; ibid.). Most of these new generation vertical funds emerged in response to specific global challenges in the wake of the Millennium Development Goals.

Prominent examples include two health funds, namely the Global Fund for AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (‘the Global Fund’) and the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisations (GAVI), the International Fund for Agricultural Development,30 and the Global Agriculture and Food Security Program. There are also a range of climate funds (Nakhooda et al., 2015). Since 2013 the number of funds has continued to grow. Another health fund, the Global Financing Facility in support of Every Woman, Every Child, was launched in 2015 and the Education Cannot Wait Fund in 2016. Calls continue for further new approaches in the education sector to mobilise additional resources, reduce fragmentation and promote innovation (Schäferhoff and Burnett, 2016).

The funds have differing management, governance and implementation practices. Some have been more successful than others. In some cases, there has been criticism of vertical funds’ limited support to countries’ development of sustainable national systems and limited coordination with other donors in-country.31 A series of reviews (Isenman et al., 2010; Gartner and Kharas, 2013; Schmidt-Traub and Sachs, 2015; Sachs and Schmidt-Traub,2017; Schmidt-Traub, 2018a) suggest that performance is strongly connected to fund design. Funds with more
participatory governance structures, more independence and greater beneficiary involvement, clear performance-based metrics, and a close link between performance and
funding (including competitive allocation of funds) have demonstrated more success in resource mobilisation, impact, innovation, learning and scaling up. The Global Fund and GAVI stand out in this respect and have been credited with bringing in new private-sector actors and enabling rapid scale-up from a global goal to successful implementation on a global scale (Gartner and Kharas, 2013; Schmidt-Traub and Sachs, 2015).
30 Which dates from an earlier era (1971).
31 See for example DFID’s latest business case and annual review of the Global Fund (DFID, 2018a; 2018b).

Development – Long Term Scenarios for World Economy

.
The Long View: Scenarios for the World Economy to 2060
OECD Economic Policy Paper No.22
Authors: Yvan Guillemette and David Turner
12 Jul 2018 : 51 pages
PDF: https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/deliver/b4f4e03e-en.pdf?itemId=%2Fcontent%2Fpaper%2Fb4f4e03e-en&mimeType=pdf
[Editor’s text bolding]

Overview
This paper presents long-run economic projections for 46 countries, extending the short-run projections of the Spring 2018 OECD Economic Outlook. It first sets out a baseline scenario under the assumption that countries do not carry out institutional and policy reforms. This scenario is then used as a reference point to illustrate the potential impact of structural reforms in alternative scenarios, including better governance and educational attainment in the large emerging-market economies and competition-friendly product market and labour market reforms in OECD economies.
Flexibility-enhancing labour market reforms not only boost living standards but, by raising the employment rate, also help alleviate fiscal pressures associated with population ageing. Another scenario illustrates the potential positive impact of linking the pensionable age to life expectancy on the participation rate of older workers, and in particular that of women.
Additional scenarios illustrate the potential economic gains from raising public investment and spending more on research and development. A final ‘negative’ scenario shows how slipping back on trade liberalisation – returning to 1990 average tariff rates – might depress standards of living everywhere.

Main Findings
Baseline scenario with no institutional or policy changes
:: World trend real GDP growth declines from about 3½ per cent now to 2% in 2060, mainly due to a deceleration of large emerging economies as these continue to account for the bulk of world growth. India and China take up a rising share of world output as the world’s economic centre of gravity shifts toward Asia.
:: Living standards (real GDP per capita) continue to advance in all countries through 2060 and gradually converge toward those of the most advanced countries, but to varying degrees. Living standards in high-growth emerging market and Eastern European economies converge most, driven by catch-up in trend labour efficiency, but GDP per capita in the BRIICS and some low-income OECD countries remains below half that of the United States in 2060. Demographic change weighs on growth in OECD living standards through 2060.
:: Stabilising public debt ratios at current levels while meeting fiscal pressures from higher health spending and demographic change requires the median OECD government to raise primary revenue by 6½ percentage points of GDP by 2060.
:: A global saving glut has been putting downward pressure on real interest rates in recent years, a trend that may persist.

Alternative scenarios with institutional or policy reforms
:: Relative to OECD countries, the BRIICS have substantial room to improve the quality of governance and raise educational attainment. In a scenario where both factors catch up with average OECD levels by 2060, living standards in the BRIICS are 30% to 50% higher in 2060 than in the baseline scenario.
:: Reforms through 2030 to make product market regulation in OECD countries as friendly to competition as in the five leading countries raise living standards by over 8% in aggregate (as much as 15-20% in the countries furthest away from best practices).
:: A reform package to improve labour market policy settings in OECD countries up to those of leading countries raises the aggregate employment rate by 6½ percentage points by 2040, mostly via higher youth and female employment. The package raises living standards by 10% by 2060 and helps alleviate future fiscal pressures related to ageing.
:: Tying future increases in pensionable ages to life expectancy, as some countries have done, raises the aggregate employment rate of older people in the OECD by more than 5 percentage points by 2060 and living standards by about 2½ per cent by 2060 (as much as 5-7% in countries with currently no explicit plans to change pensionable ages).
:: Boosting R&D intensity in all OECD countries to the level of the five leading countries raises aggregate living standards by 6% by 2060 (as much as 10-18% in countries currently spending little on R&D).
:: Permanently raising public investment in all OECD countries to 6% of GDP raises aggregate living standards by over 4% by 2060 (as much as 6-9% in some countries). Fiscal burdens rise by much less than the cost of the additional investment and the policy is even self-financing in some countries.
:: Slipping back on trade liberalisation – returning to 1990 average tariff rates – depresses long-run living standards by 14% for the world as a whole and as much as 15-25% in the most affected countries.

Sustainable Development – Smallholder Agriculture/Satellite Technology

.
Digital and Satellite Technology Program Launches to Support Ghana’s Smallholder Cocoa Farmers
ACCRA, GHANA, July 10, 2018 – ACCRA, GHANA, July 10, 2018 – SAT4Farming, an initiative to reach thousands of small-scale cocoa producers with information and services to improve their productivity and sustainability, was announced today. It is designed to use digital technology and satellite imagery to create individual Farm Development Plans (FDPs) that guide farmers over a seven-year period.

The digital FDPs provide a planning and monitoring tool, available over mobile devices. Advice on farm practices and investments, climate-adaptation, certification training, and ongoing monitoring provide farmers and field agents with unprecedented data-based guidance to a more sustainable future.

Smallholder farmers produce the vast majority of the world’s cocoa, the basic ingredient for chocolate. Cocoa farmers face declining yields, mounting threats from pests and disease, and persistent poverty. In addition, farmers rarely get the timely training and advice they need to change their circumstances. In Ghana, 800,000 smallholder farmers make the country the world’s second largest cocoa producer.

SAT4Farming partners include the global nonprofits the Rainforest Alliance and Grameen Foundation; global cocoa trader Touton; the University of Ghana’s Department of Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness; the Netherlands-based Satelligence and WaterWatch Projects.
With the launch, Touton has begun deploying the SAT4Farming digital FDP among its network of farmers and suppliers for Mars, Inc., one of the world’s largest chocolate makers. Meanwhile, Mars suppliers across a number of countries are adopting similar approaches to support a more sustainable cocoa sector by improving smallholders’ livelihoods and protecting the environment. COCOBOD fully supports the program implementation in Ghana.

SAT4Farming builds on a pilot in Indonesia where Mars, the Rainforest Alliance and Grameen Foundation partnered to create the digital FDP. It is based on a specialized agronomic model for cocoa that includes digital certification performance information. In Ghana, the integration of satellite imagery is expected to streamline the process of creating an FDP, facilitate monitoring, and provide greater insights into dynamic environmental conditions.

Initial funding comes from the Geodata for Agriculture and Water (G4AW) program of the Netherlands Space Office (NSO). The program plans to launch a social enterprise that will make SAT4Farming services widely available and ensure the economic sustainability of the work.

Featured Journal Content

Nature
Volume 559 Issue 7713, 12 July 2018
http://www.nature.com/nature/current_issue.html
Comment | 11 July 2018
Grand challenges in humanitarian aid
Fund and study these priorities for natural and social sciences to meet a gaping need, urge Abdallah S. Daar, Trillium Chang, Angela Salomon and Peter A. Singer.

What are Global Alliance for Humanitarian Innovation and Grand Challenges Canada?
The need for innovation in the humanitarian space was recognized at the World Humanitarian Summit in Istanbul10 in May 2016. The largest ever United Nations gathering, this had 9,000 participants from at least 173 countries, including 55 heads of state and governments, hundreds of private-sector representatives, and thousands of people from civil society and non-governmental organizations, including multilateral development banks such as the World Bank.

The summit created the Global Alliance for Humanitarian Innovation with the mission of achieving higher impact and efficiency in humanitarian action11. It complements several initiatives, including Global Humanitarian Lab, Global Partnerships for Humanitarian Impact and Innovation, and the Canadian Humanitarian Assistance Fund. Unfortunately, many of these have insufficient funding to address the magnitude of the problem by creating a healthy pipeline of seed innovations; most do not have the capacity to scale them up.

Grand Challenges Canada (GCC), supported by the Government of Canada, funds technological, social and business innovations in global health. Since its founding in 2010, GCC has supported 1,000 projects in more than 80 countries (see go.nature.com/2jyaozb). The leaders of GCC have a track record of partnering to identify priorities that catalyse the creation of impactful research funding programmes at the global level. These include: the Bill & Melinda Gates Grand Challenges in Global Health programme, based on a 2003 study5; the Global Alliance for Chronic Diseases, based on a 2007 study6; and the Global Mental Health Initiative of the US National Institute for Mental Health and GCC, based on a 2011 study7.
.

Top 10 Humanitarian Grand Challenges
PDF Version
1 STRENGTHEN ECONOMIES (147 cumulative score)
Priority:
Restore functioning markets and the economic stability of affected communities by:
• Scaling up cash-based assistance (rather than in-kind commodities)
• Improving access to financial services
• Increasing autonomous choice over spending
• Expanding social safety-net programmes, such as provision of health care, shelter and transport
• Engaging cross-border refugees, particularly women, who are displaced to countries where they are forbidden to work outside camps*
Research questions:
• How can assistance be maximally scaled in humanitarian crises settings? What are the obstacles to achieving this and how can they be overcome?
• What potential financial services, formal and informal, are available to refugees and affected communities? How can safe and affordable access be improved?
• What are the economic advantages and disadvantages of allowing aid beneficiaries to receive cash and/or control their own spending, rather than receiving aid through material goods or medical supplies?
• What are the most effective ways to distribute cash digitally without compromising user data privacy (for example, via blockchain)?
• What are more affordable/effective ways for diaspora and others to send money to crisis-affected persons?

2 REDUCE INEQUALITY (141)
Priority:
Strengthen resilience in communities at risk of humanitarian crises by:
• Reducing inequality and poverty
• Promoting gender equality
• Improving education*
Research questions:
• How can communities vulnerable to humanitarian crises be identified proactively?
• What are effective ways to raise public awareness about potential disasters in communities not previously affected?
• How can a population be engaged in procuring and storing vital goods such as food, clothing, medical supplies, power generation and rescue equipment? How can these vital goods be most efficiently deployed?
• How do social determinants (such as poverty, gender inequality, low education; and ethnic, tribal and religious or other differences) perpetuate or aggravate humanitarian emergencies?
• How can maternal and child education and health services be more effective, and how can uptake be increased?

3 IMPROVE METRICS (138.5)
Priority:
Measure effectiveness of humanitarian aid by moving away from metrics that measure ‘cost-per-beneficiary’ to those that measure how the needs are met of:
• the most vulnerable
• the most systematically excluded
• the hardest-to-reach communities
Research questions:
• What are the most logical indicators for measuring lives saved and improved in humanitarian crises? This may include existing indicators, such as those in the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness, if appropriate to the context.
• How can technological innovations, such as cloud computing and mobile devices, automate and improve the efficiency of measuring aid effectiveness over time?
• Can ‘big data’ resources such as messaging apps, user-generated maps, GPS, mobile-phone tracking, commercial transactions or electronic medical records be used to identify impacted populations, their needs and gaps in support?
• Do current monitoring and evaluation systems compromise the safety of affected people or place heavy burdens on responders? What are ways to overcome this while still meeting donor needs?

4 ADDRESS FUNDING (128)
Priority:
• Shift from short-term emergency funding toward longer-term humanitarian financing
• Ensure accountable, impactful investments that include incentives or subsidies for host governments to contribute alongside foreign assistance*
Research questions:
• How can states, humanitarian aid agencies, donors and others be effectively engaged in an effort to shift to sustainable funding?
• How effective are impact bonds in financing initiatives in humanitarian settings (recent onset or protracted)? What are other potentially transformative strategies to achieve multi-year funding for protracted crises?
• How can ‘risk insurance’, based on agreed-upon triggers, mitigate humanitarian disasters?

5 PROTECT IDENTITY (121)
Priority:
Provide affected persons with an official private, secure digital identity that reduces the risk of creating stateless persons.
This might:
• Incorporate a universal health card
• Safely and privately store, transport, validate authenticity of, and disseminate personal documents (such as bank cards, land deeds, birth certificates, school diplomas and medical records)*
Research questions:
• How effective have previous efforts been to establish Universal Health Cards, Universal Health Insurance and financial-risk protection for migrants (such as those used in Thailand8)?
• How effective have previous efforts been to issue digital identity cards to hard-to-reach populations (such as India’s Aadhaar9 system)?
• What are the advantages, disadvantages and long-term impacts of providing digital identities by countries of origin or by hosting governments?
• What are the ethical, legal and social issues that may arise in developing and disseminating such digital identities?
• What is the feasibility and impact of using highly secure, efficient technologies to store records in humanitarian settings? What are the potential drawbacks or consequences?

6 EXPEDITE AID (119)
Priority:
Remove all barriers to immediate aid following emergencies or after predetermined ‘triggers’ in slow-onset emergencies, such as restrictions on humanitarian organizations. This prevents the need to wait until public consciousness is raised and pressure applied to donor governments.
Research questions:
• What are the most effective international mechanisms and auspices under which to engage governments to develop partnerships for immediate disaster/emergency relief?
• How feasible and effective are crowdfunding platforms to speed the availability of money in crisis situations?
• How can mechanisms for regional neutral bodies to intervene rapidly in the case of disasters be better coordinated?
• How can the voices of those affected by crises be amplified most effectively?

7 SAVE MORE LIVES (117)
Priority:
Improve access to life-saving assistance for people living in areas that are highly insecure and largely inaccessible to international and national aid organizations.
Research questions:
• What methods promote and ensure compliance (of non-governmental organizations, governments) with international humanitarian law? How can such laws be strengthened?
• How can the private sector improve the delivery of aid and increase the speed, effectiveness and cost-efficiency of delivering or manufacturing commodities (such as by 3D printing) in hard-to-reach places?
• How can crisis-affected people be supported or empowered to create their own local solutions — such as by locally manufacturing and reusing items?
• In what ways can military know-how and capabilities, including transport and logistics, be used ethically in disaster responses? What are potential political obstacles, and how can they be overcome?

8 SUPPORT MENTAL HEALTH (116)
Priority:
Offer emergency psychosocial support at scale.
Research questions:
• How effective are culturally sensitive and locally applicable emergency intervention programmes based on the World Health Organization’s Mental Health Gap Action Programme for mental health and psychosocial support? Where are there gaps and how can they be filled?
• What are the most effective ways for health-care providers to advocate for the incorporation of established ethical principles and more counselling into emergency mental-health intervention programmes?
• What are the population metrics and outcome indicators for mental-health policy and programme surveillance?
• Can artificial intelligence (such as chatbots or apps) deliver mental-health and psychosocial support, in a culturally sensitive and effective manner?

9 DEMOCRATIZE DATA ACCESS (113)
Priority:
Increase (digital) connectivity of affected persons to democratize access to information and opportunities, including market prices, wage information, weather, jobs, banking, insurance and microfinance*.
Research questions:
• What culturally specific and community-based strategies will efficiently and effectively integrate crisis-affected people with worldwide data sources?
• How can mobile-network operators become valuable contributors to preparedness before, and responses after, humanitarian disasters?
• How effective are existing innovative ways to share data in humanitarian settings, such as mesh networks, bluetooth technology, microwave technology and peer-to-peer networks? What other novel strategies exist?

10 BOOST DIRECT COMMUNICATION (110.5)
Priority:
Facilitate direct two-way communications between affected persons and humanitarian agencies, for the sharing of needs, developments, plans and actions.
Research questions:
• What are examples of low-cost satellite or other technologies that can facilitate logistics and cut response time in crisis settings, and how effective are they?
• How can non-governmental organizations, governments and other actors gain feedback from affected persons to improve humanitarian responses? How effective are online surveys, feedback apps and chatbots? What other novel solutions exist?
*Challenge reformatted and/or slightly reworded from the original submission to increase clarity and coherence.