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NO 99 August — September 2003 CALENDAR
| UN UPDATE | NGO AND OTHER NEWS | FOCUS |
| Secretary-General Urges Security Council Reform | |||
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Speaking at a news conference during the launch of his report Implementation of the UN Millennium Declaration (A/58/323, see page 28) on 8 September, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan called for expanding the membership of the Security Council to make the 15-member body more democratic and more representative, thus giving it greater legitimacy, especially in view of recent divisions over Iraq.
The Secretary-General noted that UN membership had almost quadrupled since the world body was founded nearly 60 years ago and yet the structure of the Security
Council had not changed since its first day, with five permanent members with the right of veto—China, France, the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom and the
United States—and ten members elected for two-year terms from the various regions of the world. |
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Opening the annual UN General Assembly general debate on 23 September, Secretary-General Kofi Annan said that recent events had
called into question the shared vision of global solidarity and collective security agreed to by 189 Head of State only three years ago at the Millennium Summit. With the
backdrop of the war in Iraq and the recent bombing of UN headquarters in Baghdad, this year’s general debate was an opportunity to consider the fundamental principle of multilateralism and the role of the UN in upholding its application.
While some consider the threats of terrorism and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction as the main challenges to world
peace and security, Mr. Annan said, others had to deal more immediately with the effects of small arms employed in civil conflict, extreme poverty, the disparity of
income between and within societies, the spread of infectious diseases, climate change and environmental degradation. It was the responsibility of the Organization to deal with all of these threats and challenges in a collective fashion, he said and to understand that they were interlinked. Mr. Annan said, however, that some were challenging the fundamental principle of collective security and the strategies of containment and deterrence. The Organization had come to a “fork in the road” he said and that it must decide whether it is possible to continue on the basis agreed in 1945 at its founding or whether radical changes are needed. |
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The United Nations Security Council on 26 August approved a resolution protecting UN and other aid workers after reaching a compromise on wording prompted by US objections. The final version of resolution 1502 condemns violence such as kidnapping, rape and murder against UN and other humanitarian workers and demands that States prosecute those crimes. It also classifies attacks on aid workers as war crimes to be punished accordingly. The original resolution, first proposed in April and then revived after the 19 August attack on UN headquarters in Baghdad, included a reference to the International Criminal Court (ICC). The US, which opposes the Court, objected to the reference in April and raised its objections again after the resolution was re-tabled. |
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| GA Devotes High-Level Plenary Session to HIV/AIDS | |||
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“AIDS currently represents the international community’s greatest leadership challenge, one that must be characterized by candid recognition of the disease’s impact on societies and the steps that must be taken in response,” UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan asserted at a high-level plenary meeting of the General Assembly on 22 September.
Setting the tone for the debate, Mr. Annan opened with a sobering observation: at the current rate of progress, none of the agreed targets for AIDS would be achieved by 2005. “By 2005 we should have cut by a quarter the number of young people infected with HIV in the worst-affected nations; we should have halved the rate at which infants contract HIV; and we should have comprehensive care programmes in place,” he said, recounting some of his progress report’s (A/58/84) troubling findings, chiefly that much more needs to be done to provide access to prevention and care for women, and to care for the increasing number of AIDS orphans. “We are still only half way to the US$10 billion a year that is needed by 2005.” |
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| Security Council Separates Tribunals | |||
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On 4 September, the Security Council adopted resolution 1504 (2003) to reaffirm Carla Del Ponte as Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for the
Former Yugoslavia, as well as resolution 1505 (2003) to appoint Hassan Bubacar Jallow as Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda. Both will serve four-year terms beginning on 15 September, following a decision in late August to separate the prosecutorial duties for the two Tribunals, which to date had been the responsibility of Ms. Del Ponte.
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| UN Launches Commission on the Private Sector | |||
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UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan announced the formation of a high-level Commission on the Private Sector and Development on 25 July 2003. The initiative is hosted by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and co-chaired by Paul Martin, former Canadian Finance Minister and Ernesto Zedillo, former President of Mexico. |
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| World Investment Report 2003 | |||
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In an effort to attract foreign direct investment (FDI), countries are increasingly improving their investment climates, according to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), who has published the World Investment Report 2003 (WIR03). This year’s edition focuses on the FDI downturn—already down by over 40% in 2001, and which fell another 21% in 2002—which has led to “considerable concerns” as to whether or not the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) will be met, according to the report. Contact: Karl Sauvant, Director, Division on Investment, Technology and Enterprise Development, UNCTAD, Palais des Nations, CH-1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland, telephone +41-22/907 5707, e-mail <karl.sauvant@unctad.org>, website (www.unctad.org/wir). |
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| HR Sub-Commission: Corporate Responsibility | |||
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During its 55th session, the UN Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights presented its Draft Norms on the Responsibilities of
Transnational Corporations and Other Business Enterprises, which calls for transnational corporations (TNCs) and other businesses that violate international
human rights laws to be subject to investigation and censure by the United Nations. |
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| States Parties to the ICC Meet | |||
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The Assembly of States Parties to the International Criminal Court (ICC) met at UN headquarters in New York from 8-12 September 2003, electing a deputy
prosecutor, considering the establishment of an international criminal bar, recognizing the coordinating role of the NGO Coalition for the ICC, and approving the
Court’s 2004 programme budget. Discussions also continued in a separate Special Working Group on the Crime of Aggression. |
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| Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Ratification Urged | |||
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The 2003 Conference on Facilitating the Entry into Force of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT), held in Vienna from 3-5 September to examine ways to accelerate the treaty’s entry into force, concluded with the adoption of a final declaration that stresses the importance of a universal and effectively verifiable comprehensive treaty as a major instrument in all aspects of nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation.
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| Conference on Disarmament Stalemate in 2003 | |||
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The Conference on Disarmament concluded its 2003 session on 9 September after adopting its annual report (CD/WP.531), to be presented to the 58th session of the General Assembly, which noted that the Conference was not able to agree on a programme of work during its 2003 session and requested that consultations continue among Member States before the 2004 session begins. At the opening of the session, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan in his message noted that the protracted lack of agreement on a programme of work had blocked the substantive work of the Conference on all issues on its agenda, and said “It might be argued that the standstill was a reflection of broader problems in multilateral diplomacy.” The 2003 session marked the almost seventh consecutive year during which it has been unable to reach agreement and start work on substantive issues. The Conference, the only multilateral forum for disarmament negotiations, works by consensus and cannot undertake new work without the agreement of all Member States. During its 2003 session, the Conference examined the following issues: cession of the nuclear arms race and nuclear disarmament; prevention of nuclear war, including all related matters; prevention of an arms race in outer space; effective international arrangements to assure non-nuclear-weapon States against the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons; new types of weapons of mass destruction and new systems of such weapons (radiological weapons); a comprehensive programme of disarmament; and transparency in armaments. In January 2003, a group of five Ambassadors to the Conference (Algeria, Belgium, Chile, Sweden and Colombia, see Go Between 93) presented a cross-group initiative to end the stalemate on the work programme by addressing four issues on parallel tracks. Based on the proposal by Ambassador Amorim (Brazil) in August 2000 (CD/1624), the “Five Ambassadors” proposal seeks to bridge the gaps between Member States on the main stumbling blocks—prevention of an arms race in outer space and nuclear disarmament. The proposal calls for the establishment of four Ad Hoc Committees on the topics of negative security assurances; nuclear disarmament; a treaty banning the production of fissile material for nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices; and prevention of an arms race in outer space. The majority of delegates supported the Five Ambassadors proposal, with Biodun Owoseni (Nigeria) urging the few countries that had not endorsed it to do so in order to secure the necessary consensus to start meaningful work. Mr. Owoseni said that while the global security environment remained volatile, with new threats and unresolved challenges, the continued paralysis of the Conference could only be a disservice to the international community. China and the Russian Federation also voiced their support for the proposal. In their statements, representatives from France, Belarus, Belgium, Algeria and Iran expressed their regret that the Conference was once again unable to agree upon a programme of work and to start its substantive work. In her concluding statement, the President of the Conference, Ambassador Kuniko Inoguchi (Japan), said that many events taking place in today’s world had taken the Conference backwards, away from its aim. The current dynamics of the world were not necessarily favourable to global peace. Ms. Inoguchi pointed out that the problem facing the Conference remained the same as one year ago—how to find a balance between different priorities in its programme of work. With the support of a wide range of delegations, the Five Ambassadors proposal was a realistic option to strike such a delicate balance, she said. Dates for the 2004 session include: 19 January-26 March; 10 May-25 June; and 26 July-10 September. The next plenary of the Conference will be held on 20 January 2004. Contact: Conference on Disarmament, Palais des Nations, CH-1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland, telephone +41-22/917 3440, fax +41-22/917 0034, website (www.unog.ch/disarm/dconf.htm). |
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| OTTAWA Landmine Convention Holds 5th Meeting | |||
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States Parties to the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on Their Destruction (also known as the Ottawa Landmine Convention) held their 5th annual meeting in Bangkok (Thailand) from 15-19 September, bringing together more than 600 representatives from governments, international organizations, UN agencies and NGOs to assess progress and report on plans for the implementation of the treaty. In his message to the meeting, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan commended the combined efforts of many actors—including governments, the UN, the International Committee of the Red Cross, the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL), and civil society as a whole—in the campaign against indiscriminate weapons, noting that the partnership has achieved a great deal in a short time, and contributed to the rapid emergence of an international norm banning anti-personnel mines. The meeting—held in a mine-affected country and in a region where almost 20 countries have not yet banned the weapon—stressed the importance of funding for demining and victims’ assistance. Participants also urged nations such as China, Russia and the US to sign the mine ban treaty, which has already been accepted by 136 countries. Forty-seven countries that have not signed have a combined stockpile of 200 million mines. Statements were heard from States Parties on their continued commitment to implement and promote the treaty. Participants also stressed the importance of the First Review Conference, to be held in Nairobi from 29 November-3 December 2004, and the forum it would provide for mine-affected States to present their plans on mine action and victim assistance. A number of concerns were expressed, including the lack of financial re-commitment as there were no announcements on funding or grants proposed. The meeting’s final declaration, the Bangkok Declaration, called upon all governments and people to “meet the enormous challenges of mine action, including victim assistance, and to provide the technical and financial assistance required.” The International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL) launched its report on 9 September, just prior to the meeting. Landmine Monitor Report 2003: Towards a Mine-Free World reports that more than 52 million stockpiled anti-personnel mines have been destroyed by 69 countries, including four million in the past year, the number of countries producing the weapon has decreased from more than 50 to 15, and there have been no significant exports of anti-personnel mines since the mid-1990s. “The number of governments and rebel groups using anti-personnel mines has continued to decrease,” said Mary Wareham of Human Rights Watch, the Global Coordinator for the Landmine Monitor initiative. “There are currently only two governments—Myanmar and Russia—planting anti-personnel mines on a regular basis.” The report notes that since May 2002, at least six governments used anti-personnel mines, all non-signatories to the ban treaty: India, Iraq, Myanmar (Burma), Nepal, Pakistan, and Russia. Although Saddam Hussein’s forces laid mines in many locations before and during the conflict, United States and coalition forces apparently did not use anti-personnel mines in Iraq, the report says. In 2002 and through June 2003, new landmine casualties were reported in 65 countries; the majority (41) of these countries were at peace, not war. Only 15% of reported casualties in 2002 were identified as military personnel. |
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| Ministerial Conference on Transit Transport | |||
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The International Ministerial Conference on Transit Transport Cooperation was held in Almaty (Kazakhstan) from 28-29 August 2003,
focusing on assisting landlocked developing countries to more effectively participate in the international trading system. The conference was preceded by a 2nd and
final Preparatory Committee, held from 25-27 August, also in Almaty. Thirty landlocked developing countries, 33 transit access developing countries, nine donor countries, seven additional developing countries and 20 international agencies and financial institutions participated in the discussions. At its conclusion, the Ministerial Conference adopted the Almaty Programme of Action and a Ministerial Declaration. The world’s 30 landlocked developing countries currently expend an average of 15% of export earnings on transport services alone—for some African landlocked nations, as much as 50%. In comparison, other developing countries expend an average of 7% on transport services, and the developed countries between 3-4%. Nine of the 12 lowest-ranking countries on the United Nations Human Development Index are landlocked, and economists estimate that landlocked status costs these countries about 0.7% of their rate of economic growth each year due to heightened costs and prolonged duration of time affecting both exports and imports. The Programme of Action—the first global action plan negotiated at the ministerial level that provides a framework for cooperation between the landlocked and the transit access developing countries—covers policy improvements, especially as they relate to cutting costs and travel days in sending exports from landlocked countries to seaports via their transit access neighbours; improved rail, road, air and pipeline infrastructure; international trade measures; technical and financial international assistance; and monitoring and follow-up on agreements. The Programme reinforces the right of all countries to enjoy secure access to the sea and establishes a set of policy guidelines for reducing red tape for landlocked country exports, while also respecting the prerogatives of the access nations. Anwarul K. Chowdhury, Under-Secretary-General and High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States (OHRLLS), served as Secretary-General for the Ministerial Conference. The Almaty Programme of Action “takes note of the request of the landlocked developing countries for special access for their products in world markets,” Mr. Chowdhury said. “Establishment of this principle is one of the primary benefits that the Programme will provide for these nations.” The action plan also refers to the need for special attention to the accession of these countries to membership in the WTO. More than one-third of the world’s 30 landlocked developing countries are not yet members of the WTO. Mr. Chowdhury’s office will oversee follow-up of the Almaty agreement, not only in donor, transit access and landlocked countries but also within the United Nations system and among other international agencies, Mr. Chowdhury said. The Almaty agreement will next be reviewed at an upcoming meeting of ministers of the landlocked countries, in New York in October 2003. Contact: Sandagdorj Erdenebileg, OHRLLS, Room UH-900, New York NY 10017, USA, telephone +1-212/963 7778, fax +1-917/367 3415, e-mail <erdenebileg@un.org>, website (www.un.org/special-rep/ohrlls/imc/default.htm). |
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Adhoc Advisory Group on Burundi | |
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On 22 August, the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) established the composition of its Ad Hoc Advisory Group on Burundi,
which was created in July 2003 to help the country through its transition from conflict to peace and aid its economic and social reconstruction. The Advisory Group
will consist of the Permanent Representatives to the UN of Belgium, Burundi, Ethiopia, France, Japan and South Africa, with the representative of South Africa acting as
its Chairperson. The Permanent Representatives of Guatemala and Angola in their capacity as President of the ECOSOC, and as Chairperson of the Security Council’s Ad Hoc Working Group on Conflict Prevention and Resolution in Africa, respectively, will also participate. Last year the Council indicated it would consider setting up such an advisory group at the request of any African country emerging from conflict (E/2002/1). The original proposal for the mechanism emerged from discussion in the General Assembly on the causes of conflict in Africa, and the idea was put forth in a report to the Council by the Secretary-General. The first such Group was created in October 2002 for Guinea-Bissau. The Group will examine the humanitarian and economic needs of Burundi and by mid-January 2004, the Group will prepare recommendations for a long-term programme of support for the country on the basis of Burundi’s development priorities. Such a programme will integrate relief, rehabilitation, reconstruction and development into a comprehensive approach to peace and stability. It will also provide advice on how to ensure that the assistance of the international community is adequate, coherent, well-coordinated and effective. |
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The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on 4 August that outlines their respective strengths and roles in reducing the impact of AIDS, TB and malaria on communities in developing countries. The MoU recognizes the Global Fund as a critical financing mechanism to scale-up national programmes and UNAIDS as a key source of strategic analysis, policy advice and technical expertise to help countries access and use the resources of the Global Fund. “For the first time in the short history of the AIDS epidemic—and decisively in the case of malaria and TB—we have the potential to reverse these epidemics through increased political and financial commitments,” said UNAIDS Executive Director Peter Piot. “The Global Fund is an indispensable resource in seizing this historic opportunity and accelerating the response to these three diseases. The UN system stands committed to making the Global Fund a success.” “Fighting these diseases is a job for all of us,” said Richard Feachem, Executive Director of the Global Fund. “The finance of the Global Fund must be complemented by technical support to countries, so that both public and private recipients can maximize their efforts to fight AIDS, TB and malaria. The world depends on the in-country assistance provided by UNAIDS as well as its tireless role in global advocacy and coordination,” he observed. Over a period of 18 months and through two rounds of grants, the Global Fund has committed US$1.5 billion to over 150 programmes in 92 countries. Through 2004, US$2.6 billion has been pledged to the Fund, with an additional US$2.1 billion pledged for 2005-2008. New contributions of US$3 billion are required before the end of 2004 in order to fund the next three rounds of grant approvals. According to UNAIDS and World Health Organization (WHO) estimates, over US$10.5 billion a year will be needed in 2005 for AIDS prevention, treatment, care and support programmes in low- and middle-income countries. About US$4.7 billion will be spent this year to fight the epidemic in developing countries, leaving a funding shortfall of close to US$6 billion. Contact: Frances McCaul, UNAIDS, 20 avenue Appia, CH-1211 Geneva 27, Switzerland, telephone +41-22/791 4662, e-mail <mccaulf@unaids.org>, website (www.unaids.org). Robert Bourgoing, Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria, 53, Avenue Louis-Casaï, 1216 Geneva-Cointrin, Switzerland, telephone +41-22/791 1714, fax +41-22/791 1701, e-mail <robert. bourgoing@the globalfund.org>, website (www.globalfundatm.org/ index.html). |
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HIV/AIDS causes more long-term damage to national economies than previously thought, according to a recent report by the World Bank, which says countries such as South Africa face a progressive economic collapse within several generations. In the early phases of the epidemic, economic damage may appear to be slight. But as the transmission of capacities and potential from one generation to the next is progressively weakened and the failure to accumulate human capital becomes more pronounced, the economy will begin to slow down, with the growing threat of collapse. According to The Long-run Economic Costs of AIDS: Theory and an Application to South Africa, the HIV/AIDS epidemic destroys economies by killing off skilled and able workers, wrecking mechanisms that create human capital, like stable homes, and undermining education prospects. The World Banks says most studies of the macro-economic costs of AIDS, as measured by reduced gross domestic product (GDP) growth rates, do not pay enough attention to the way in which human knowledge and potential are created and can be lost, one of the key channels influencing long-term growth. In Africa, for example, where the epidemic has hit the hardest to date, existing estimates range between a modest decline of 0.3-1.5% in GDP growth annually. The report, however, argues that the costs are likely to be much higher. “Previous estimates overlooked the impact of HIV/AIDS on children if one or both parents die, how they can suddenly become orphans, how they become vulnerable to dropping out of school and how, in this way, the disease weakens the ability of today’s generation to pass on its skills and knowledge to the next,” says Shanta Devarajan, of the World Bank’s Human Development Programme and co-author of the report. The Bank says this raises important social and fiscal implications for economic policy. The first is the threat of worsening inequality. If the children left orphaned are not given the care and education enjoyed by those whose parents remain uninfected, there will be increasing inequality among the next generation of adults and the families they form. Social customs of adoption and fostering, however well established, may not be able to cope with the scale of the problem generated by a sharp increase in adult mortality, thereby shifting the burden onto the government. The government itself, however, is likely to experience increasing fiscal problems and so be unable to fully finance this additional task. By killing mainly young adults, AIDS seriously weakens a country’s tax base, and reduces its ability to finance public expenditures, including those aimed at accumulating human capital, such as education and health services not related to AIDS. The damaging impact of HIV/AIDS on economic growth over the longer run is intensified, and, as a result, national finances will come under increasing pressure. Slower economic growth means slower growth of the tax base, at the same time as governments face growing demands to treat the sick and care for orphans. “While there is much economic analysis that shows how costly it is to provide prevention, care and treatment to the millions that are infected and affected, there are far fewer studies that show how costly it is not to act,” says Debrework Zewdie, Director of the World Bank’s Global HIV/AIDS Programme. “This new study will help fill this gap, and its approach should persuade governments of the need to draw up a plan of action and act on it.” Contact: Phil Hay, Media Relations Officer, External Relations Department, World Bank, 1818 H Street NW, Washington DC 20433, USA, telephone +1-202/473 1796, fax +1-202/522 2632, e-mail <phay@worldbank.org>, website (www.worldbank.org/aids). |
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The Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) has released its annual report, entitled Economic Report on Africa: Accelerating the Pace of
Development (ERA 2003), which examines how Africa can achieve the growth rates necessary to attain the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) for improving
the welfare of millions of people worldwide. Using an expanded policy stance index, the report ranks African countries based on the performance of macro-economic,
poverty reduction, and institution-building policies. Botswana, South Africa, Mauritius, Namibia, and Tunisia rank highest on the list of economic performance, while the Republic of Congo is at the bottom followed by Zimbabwe, Chad, Guinea and Nigeria. The report finds that the top performers have lower foreign debt, lower budget deficits, and lower interest rates. Market liberalization is more advanced in these countries, with few policy reversals; legal systems are more effective; infrastructure is of higher and more reliable quality and access is better; and pro-poor policies are more effective. The bottom five fare poorly on all these indicators. The report reveals that Africa’s real gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate fell to 3.2% in 2002 from 4.3% in 2001, implying that only five of Africa’s 53 countries achieved the 7% growth rate required to meet the MDGs, 43 registered positive but below 7% growth rates, and five registered negative growth rates. Mauritius, Rwanda, Ghana, Gabon, Egypt, Mozambique and Uganda were subjected to indepth study, and the findings show that African governments are faced with four key challenges in accelerating the pace of development: escaping poverty, achieving fiscal sustainability to exit aid dependence, energizing African bureaucracies, and moving towards mutual accountability and coherence. According to the report, the outlook for Africa in 2003, with growth expected to rebound to 4.2%, is “mixed” and will be influenced by the strength of the recovery in global economic activity, developments in commodity markets, progress in reducing regional insecurity, adoption of sound macro-economic policies and the principles of good governance, as well as the ability and willingness of African leaders to intensify economic and social reforms. Other areas on which the report focuses include foreign direct investment (FDI), which it says continues to be hampered by weak governance, poor infrastructure, weak institutions, and conflicts in many countries. It also highlights the roles played by official development aid (ODA) and trade. The failure of the Doha Development Round of multilateral trade negotiations to provide immediate duty-free and quota-free market access to the poorest countries hampers Africa’s exports. The report suggests that the US decision to introduce a six-year US$51.7 billion farm bill boosting crop and dairy subsidies will reduce agricultural prices, making it difficult for small African countries to compete. Contact: Benedicte Walter, UN Economic Commission for Africa, PO Box 3001, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, telephone +251-1/44 3228, fax +251-1/51 2233, e-mail <bwalter@uneca.org>, website (www.uneca.org/era2003). |
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According to a report by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), the United Nations Development
Programme (UNDP), and Brazil’s Institute for Applied Economic Research (IPEA), just seven of the 18 countries in Latin America could reach the Millennium
Development Goal (MDG) of cutting extreme poverty in half by 2015. The MDGs were agreed to by 189 Heads of State or Government during the United Nations
Millennium Assembly in 2000. The report, Meeting the Millennium Poverty Reduction Targets in Latin America and the Caribbean, has concluded that Chile, Colombia, Honduras, Panama, the Dominican Republic and Uruguay (and Argentina, if it weren’t for the recent crisis) may achieve this goal, but only if economic growth and reductions of inequalities continue at the same pace as the 1990s. The findings appear to indicate that even very small reductions in inequality can have very large positive impacts in terms of poverty reduction. For most of the countries that were considered, a one- or two-point reduction in the Gini coefficient—which measures income concentration among individuals or households within an economy—would achieve the same reduction in the incidence of poverty as many years of positive economic growth would. The report says a large part of the reason why recent poverty reduction efforts in Latin America and the Caribbean have yielded disappointing results is that the region’s high levels of inequality have proved remarkably intractable. In the rare instances when countries have succeeded in reducing inequality, the pay-off in terms of poverty reduction has been large. The study indicates that if the international poverty measure is used (living on less than a dollar per day), all the countries studied, except Bolivia and El Salvador, could reach the Millennium target by combining average annual per capita gross domestic product (GDP) growth rates of 3% or less with accumulative declines in inequality of less than 4%. The report argues that economic growth that does not affect income distribution does not significantly improve living standards of those in extreme poverty. However, it concludes, it is hard to prescribe a specific economic remedy to reducing inequality. Contact: Hubert Escaith, ECLAC, Casilla de Correo 179-D, Santiago de Chile, telephone +56-2/210 2539/2408, e-mail <hescaith@eclac.cl>, website (www.eclac.cl). |
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The economy of Latin America and the Caribbean will grow 1.5% in 2003, recovering modestly from a 0.6% drop in 2002, while per capita gross domestic product (GDP) will remain flat this year, at 2% less than in 1997, completing the region’s sixth lost year, according to the preliminary version of its annual Economic Survey of Latin America and the Caribbean, 2002-2003, published by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC). The report reveals that the year 2003 will be better than last year in terms of growth, employment, financial conditions and external accounts, although 2002 is a poor basis for comparison. For 2003, ECLAC forecasts a flattening of growth due to the lack of both a powerful drive from the world economy (the United States is not growing as forecast, the European countries have turned in a surprisingly poor performance, and Japan remains stagnant) and a strong domestic reactivation. Argentina will head the growth ranking (5.5%) although its per capita GDP will be 17% lower than in 1997 and Venezuela will post the lowest growth (-13%), despite a significant recovery that began in the second quarter. Chile’s growth will rise to 3.5%, led by its export sectors. According to ECLAC, both Chile and Brazil are building up medium-term growth capacity, and Brazil will grow for the third year running by 1.5%. The Latin American economies posting the strongest export performance are those with the most competitive exchange rates or those concentrating investments in non-renewable natural resources, the report notes. Import values will rise 0.8% in 2003, recovering slightly from their 6.7% plunge in 2002. This will improve the region’s balance of trade, with a surplus (US$37 billion) for the second year running and should practically balance the current account, whose deficit should decline by US$3.7 billion, just 0.2% of GDP, for the first time since 1990. The report finds three significant trends in economic policy. First, fiscal reforms became increasingly structural. Second, monetary policy has gained greater freedom to manoeuvre as more countries are implementing more expansionary policies. Third, foreign exchange policy has faced a calmer year, and several countries are enjoying more competitive exchange rates than in 2001. ECLAC forecasts inflation in Latin America will average 8.6% for the period from December 2002 to December 2003, representing a drop from last year’s 12.1%. In 2003, the labour outlook is expected to improve modestly. During the first half of the year, some countries managed to boost the employment rate and reduce unemployment. In contrast, in Brazil and Mexico, employment has performed poorly. Overall, the number of unemployed will reach 13.6 million people. Contact: Alfredo Calcagno, Economic Affairs Officer, Economic Development Division, ECLAC, Casilla 179-D, Santiago, Chile, telephone +56-2/210 2661, e-mail <acalcagno@eclac.cl>, website (www.eclac.cl). |
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The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) in its study Social Panorama of Latin America 2002-2003 finds the number of Latin Americans living in poverty in 2002 reached 220 million people (43.4%), of which 95 million (18.8%) were indigents. The study also found that progress toward overcoming poverty ground to a halt in the past five years, with poverty and indigence rates remaining practically constant since 1997. The only exception was 2000, when better economic performance brought with it a reduction in the volume of poverty by more than four million people. The report also found that almost 55 million people of Latin America and the Caribbean were suffering from some degree of malnutrition toward the end of the past decade. ECLAC estimates that 11% of the population is undernourished, and almost 9% of children under five years suffer from acute malnutrition (low weight-for-age) and 19.4% from chronic malnutrition (low height-for-age). In terms of gender and poverty, the study found that in Latin America more women than men live in poverty. Female household heads have less monetary income than men for poor and high-income households. Single parent households, mostly headed by women, also suffer from additional disadvantages associated with the lack of unremunerated domestic labour. Latin American women have higher educational levels than men, and women in the workforce average more years of education. They nonetheless suffer from more severe unemployment, wage discrimination and restricted working hours than men. ECLAC rated progress in women’s political participation and management positions as still “too slow,” except in countries where affirmative action policies have been implemented. Contact: Arturo León, Social Development Division, ECLAC, Casilla de Correo 179-D, Santiago de Chile, telephone +56-2/210 2594, e-mail <aleon@eclac.cl>, website (www.eclac.cl). |
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US labour productivity increased in 2002, passing Europe and Japan in annual output per worker for the first substantial period since World War II, according to an International Labour Organization (ILO) study entitled Key Indicators of the Labour Market (KILM). According to the study, the United States remains more productive than other nations partly because US workers worked longer hours, putting in more hours than workers in major European economies, while Japanese hours worked dropped to about the same level as the US. The study also found that productivity per person employed in the world as a whole accelerated, largely in the industrialized countries and some countries in Asia. European and other industrialized countries have improved their employment-to-population ratios, and although the US employment-to-population ratio dropped in recent years, it was consistently higher than the EU rate. The 3rd edition of the biennial KILM examines 20 key indicators of the labour market, including employment, unemployment, underemployment, hours worked, labour productivity, types of economic activity and how youth and women are faring in the labour markets, and examines for the first time agricultural productivity, noting that this sector remains the primary employer in many developing economies. The new analysis suggests that a rise in productivity and employment may be the only way to reduce poverty. “The overall global trends show that growth is not enough,” said ILO Director-General Juan Somavía. “We must make productivity growth and job creation key objectives and pursue policies that combine these objectives with decent work.” Worldwide, a number of countries reported much higher hours worked than in the US, with the report noting that in South Korea people worked an average of 2,447 hours in 2001, the longest hours worked of all economies for which data were available—26% more than people in the US and 46% more than in the Netherlands, which had the lowest hours worked of all economies for which data were available. “In all developing Asian economies where data were available, people historically worked more than in industrialized economies. This is a typical sign for developing economies as they often compensate for the lack of technology and capital with people working longer hours,” the report said. The report also says that the wide disparities in employment in agriculture illustrates the importance of world trade negotiations to poverty reduction in developing countries. Among the 20 richest economies in the world, agricultural employment is quite low, ranging between 1.4% in the UK and 7% in Ireland. In transition economies, however, the range was between 4.8% (Czech Republic) and 52.7% (Georgia), while in many Asian and African countries it is higher than 70%, and as high as 43.6% in Latin America (Nicaragua) and 50.6% (Haiti). In the Middle East and Northern Africa, the report finds it is rather low in the oil producing economies, but as high as 75% in the non-oil producing economies. Contact: Department of Communication, ILO, 4 route des Morillons, CH-1211 Geneva 22, Switzerland, telephone +41-22/799 7940, fax +41-22/799 8577, e-mail <press@ilo.org>, website (www.ilo.org). |
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In August a four-member team from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) undertook a two-week fact finding mission in Iraq to assess the extent of organized crime and drug trafficking, and to identify possible areas of intervention. The mission, dispatched by UNODC Executive Director Antonio Maria Costa, took place in response to a request by the late Special Representative of the Secretary General for Iraq, Sergio Vieira de Mello. After initial interviews in Baghdad, the mission team travelled extensively in the country, and reached the following conclusions: — The Iraqi police infrastructure suffered greatly from damage and looting in the aftermath of the war. Although significant progress has been made by the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) in rebuilding and reopening police stations, as well as in providing basic training and a limited amount of equipment, much more remains to be done, particularly in developing specialized capabilities to tackle organized crime and drug trafficking. n Theft of oil and copper and trafficking in these products is currently a major problem. The evolving nature of organized crime in Iraq is based on sophisticated smuggling networks, many established under the previous regime to circumvent UN sanctions. In recent months, an upsurge in violent crime, including kidnapping and murder, has taken place. — Although drug trafficking is not yet viewed as a serious problem, given Iraq’s porous borders, geographical location—situated near one of the major drug routes for the smuggling of opiates from Afghanistan—and an established tradition of smuggling, a strong possibility of an increase in drug trafficking exists. — The criminal justice system requires substantial reforms in order to respond effectively to the challenges of organized crime and drug trafficking. The UNODC mission report highlights a number of recommendations to complement the efforts of the CPA, Governing Council and of international aid agencies working in Iraq. The recommendations relate to legal assistance, institution and capacity building, prevention of drug abuse and the promotion of Iraq’s reintegration into regional and international cooperation agreements. Contact: United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Vienna International Centre, PO Box 500, A-1400 Vienna, Austria, telephone +43-1/26060 0, fax +43 -1 /26060 5866, e-mail <unodc@unodc.org>, website (www.unodc.org/unodc/en/crime_cicp_convention.html). |
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The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has added a project worth US$38 million in the fight against illicit drugs in Afghanistan, bringing the total number of its projects in Afghanistan to 20. Antonio Maria Costa, UNODC Executive Director, and Ali Ahmad Jalali, the Afghan Minister of Interior, signed an agreement in Kabul in August to help establish a new drug interdiction department within the Ministry. “This is only the latest step in continuous efforts to assist Afghanistan in creating conditions for effective drug control. Major progress has been made recently with the creation of a new Counter-Narcotics Directorate and the adoption of a National Drug Control Strategy. Now we need to increase international assistance to help the country strengthen its capacity to enforce the law and help Afghan farmers to develop a sustainable alternative livelihood,” Mr. Costa said at the signing of the agreement. During his week-long visit to Kabul and to some of the opium-producing provinces, Mr. Costa met top Afghan officials in order to assess ways the UNODC can best contribute to their effort to counter narcotics. In Kabul, Hamid Karzai, President of the Afghanistan Transitional Authority, reiterated his government’s commitment to enforcing the drug control measures, including the eradication of opium poppy fields and the destruction of illicit drugs-processing laboratories. President Karzai and Mr. Costa agreed on the need for the international community—including major development institutions—to help Afghan farmers, not only to grow commercial crops, but also develop the infrastructure in the largely poor rural areas of the country. The UNODC projects in Afghanistan cover four major areas of drug control, including monitoring, prevention, demand reduction and alternative development. Most recently, UNODC has assisted Afghanistan’s Ministry of Justice to develop new drug control legislation. The Office is also working with the Counter-Narcotics Directorate in opening field offices in major opium-producing areas of the country. Mr. Costa also met with the Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General, Lakhdar Brahimi, as well as the heads of the UN agencies involved in the country’s reconstruction efforts. Contact: United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Vienna International Centre, PO Box 500, A-1400 Vienna, Austria, telephone +43-1/26060 0, fax +43 -1/26060 5866, e-mail <unodc@unodc.org>, website (www.unodc.org). |
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The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has released a new survey, entitled Ecstasy and Amphetamines Global Survey 2003, which warns that amphetamine-type stimulants (ATS) abuse is spreading in geographical, age and income terms. In the past 12 months, 34 million people worldwide have abused amphetamine and methamphetamine, and 8 million have abused Ecstasy, which exceeds the number of cocaine and heroin abusers combined. Abuse is highest in East and South-East Asia, followed by Europe, Australia and the United States. The survey describes the increase in the number and size of manufacturing sites worldwide. Law enforcement agencies have dismantled a record number of “kitchen labs,” but there is evidence of sophisticated clandestine operations with 100-kilogram capacities per week, an equivalent to one million Ecstasy pills, or 4% of the estimated global weekly demand. The number of ecstasy laboratory seizures rose more than 6-fold over the 1991-2001 period. “Increasingly, clandestine operators are taking advantage of the easy transfer of technology, including the use of the Internet, in setting up labs where favourable conditions exist: access to precursor chemicals, growing demand, corrupt officials, poor law enforcement, lack of extradition and/or light sentencing. This has led to a greater involvement of criminal groups with ruthless forms of marketing,” the survey says. “ATS are emerging as a ‘public enemy number one’ among illicit drugs. Neglected by societies as an almost acceptable feature of the ‘let’s-have-fun’ culture in clubs and dance settings, synthetic drugs abuse begins with experimental use among mostly young people. Gradually, it may lead to dangerous polydrug use and addiction, with severe health consequences,” warned Antonio Maria Costa, UNODC Executive Director. Contact: United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Vienna International Centre, PO Box 500, A-1400 Vienna, Austria, telephone +43-1/26060 0, fax +43-1/26060 5866, e-mail <unodc@unodc.org>, website (www.unodc.org). |
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World Habitat Day, observed on 6 October, had “Water and Sanitation in Cities” as its theme as a means to increase awareness about the urgent need to meet the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) commitment to halving the number of poor people without clean water and adequate sanitation by 2015. The global observance of World Habitat Day was hosted by the city of Rio de Janeiro (Brazil). “If the Millennium Development Goals, and in particular, if the specific target concerned with water and sanitation are to be met, there needs to be increased commitment in terms of time, money and political will from all sectors of society,” said Anna Tibaijuka, Executive Director of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT). “This is the time for governments, local authorities, non-governmental organizations, the private sector and journalists to renew their commitment to helping grass roots communities to improve their living conditions. I call on all HABITAT Agenda Partners to make this day a success.” Cities all over the world, governments, local authorities and local communities organized public events, ranging from a panel of eminent persons held in UN headquarters in New York to discuss how to improve the delivery of water and sanitation to the urban poor to one-day workshops on how globalization is affecting the delivery of water and sanitation to slum dwellers. On 6 October, UN-HABITAT launched Global Report on Human Settlements: The Slum Challenge. The report, using a newly formulated operational definition of slums, makes the first global assessment of slums and emphasizes their problems and prospects, and presents estimates of the numbers of urban slum dwellers, suggesting that the slum population could double to two billion by 2030. It also examines the factors leading to slum formation at all levels, from local to global, as well as their social, spatial and economic characteristics and dynamics, and evaluates the principal policy responses to the slum challenge of the last few decades. Observing the day, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said increased investment was critical in order to provide the urban poor with adequate sanitation and clean water. Below are excerpts from his message. “In a rapidly urbanizing world, where already half of the world's population lives in cities and towns, at least one billion people suffer from the dangers and indignities associated with the lack of clean water and adequate sanitation. In Africa, as many as 150 million residents, or 50% of the urban population, do not have adequate supplies of water, while 180 million lack adequate sanitation. In urban Asia, 700 million people, again half the urban population, lack clean water, and 800 million are without adequate sanitation. In Latin America, the figures are 120 million and 150 million, respectively. Everywhere, poor people tend to pay much more than the rich for water. Moreover, many governments, international financial institutions and aid agencies have concentrated their efforts on rural areas, assuming that the poor in cities are comparatively privileged when it comes to the provision of water and sanitation, whereas it is becoming increasingly clear that the number of inadequately served urban dwellers is much higher than officially acknowledged. “Increased investment is critical, whether small-scale projects at the local level or national efforts to build up essential infrastructure. Community participation, good governance and public-private partnerships are equally important. And since as much as 50% of a developing country’s urban water supply can be wasted through leakage or poor administration, greater emphasis must be placed on management strategies, which can increase efficiency, improve maintenance and, through better billing systems, raise the income of local authorities. To be truly equitable, water-management strategies and practices must extend to the national and regional level, and encompass all water users, including agriculture, which accounts for more than three quarters of all freshwater consumption. “Cities and towns have always been centres of opportunity, but without adequate shelter and basic services, urban environments can be among the most life-threatening on earth. In agreeing on the Millennium Development Goals, governments pledged to halve the number of people without clean water and decent sanitation by 2015, and to improve the living conditions of at least 100 million slum dwellers by 2020. On World Habitat Day, let us all pledge to do our part to ensure adequate sanitation and clean water for all the inhabitants of the world’s cities.” Contact: Sharad Shankardass, Press & Media Relations Unit, UN-HABITAT, PO Box 30030, Nairobi, Kenya, +254-2/623153, fax +254-2/624060, e-mail <habitat.press@unhabitat.org>, website (www.unhabitat.org). |
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According to a report released by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and Conservation International (CI), tourism has
increased by more than 100% between 1990 and 2000 in the world’s biodiversity hotspots, regions that are the richest in species and facing extreme threats. Tourism and Biodiversity: Mapping Tourism’s Global Footprint, a comprehensive study focusing on the impacts of tourism on biological diversity, notes that in some places the growth has been staggering. Over the past decade, tourism has increased by more than 2,000% in both Laos and Cambodia, nearly 500% in South Africa, over 300% in the countries of Brazil, Nicaragua and El Salvador, and 128% in the Dominican Republic. According to the report, tourism generates 11% of global gross domestic product (GDP), employs 200 million people and transports nearly 700 million international travellers per year—a figure that is expected to double by 2020, and is considered one of the largest, if not the largest, industries on the planet. With nature and adventure travel one of the fastest-growing segments within the tourism industry, the Earth’s most fragile, high biodiversity areas are where most of that expansion will likely take place. While tourism has the potential to provide opportunities for conserving nature, tourism development, when done improperly, can be a major threat to biodiversity conservation efforts, warn UNEP and CI. Tourism development is increasingly linked to the economies of the world’s developing countries, which are often home to high biodiversity areas. Tourism is a principal export of the 49 least developed countries and number one for 37 of them. While economically significant, tourism can also prove to be volatile to local communities. Tourism development can uproot indigenous peoples, cause local goods and services to increase, force currency fluctuations and cause social and cultural disruption. “Tourism relies on stable and healthy communities and environments,” said Klaus Toepfer, UNEP Executive Director. “It cannot ruin the very wildlife and landscapes the visitors pay to see and then move on. Fortunately, there are many examples where tourism has balanced the needs of the industry with the needs of wildlife and people. We need to encourage and extend these across the globe so that they do not become islands of good practice in a sea of environmental decline.” The report, based on two years of research, includes maps that chart tourism’s growth across the planet’s most biodiversity rich environments and provides guidelines for governments, private businesses, donor organizations and local communities for supporting more sustainable tourism development. Contact: Eric Falt, Director of UNEP’s Division of Communications and Public Information, PO Box 30552, Nairobi, Kenya, telephone +254-2/623292, fax +254-2/624489, e-mail <eric.falt@unep.org>, website (www.unep.org). |
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France has become the 16th country to ratify the Protocol on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs), and the Protocol is set to enter into
force on 23 October 2003. The Protocol, originally adopted on 24 June 1998 in Aarhus (Denmark) and signed by 35 countries and the European Community, is the
sixth to take effect under the Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE). It focuses on 16 substances: 11 pesticides, 2 industrial chemicals and 3 by-products/contaminants. Its ultimate objective is to eliminate any discharges, emissions and losses of these POPs, which are thought to cause birth defects and may also have a detrimental effect on physical and intellectual development, and can damage the immune system. Foetuses and infants are particularly at risk. The Protocol bans the production and use of some products outright (aldrin, chlordane, chlordecone, dieldrin, endrin, hexabromobiphenyl, mirex and toxaphene). Others are scheduled for elimination at a later stage (DDT, heptachlor, hexaclorobenzene, PCBs). Finally, the Protocol severely restricts the use of DDT, HCH (including lindane) and PCBs. The Protocol includes provisions for dealing with the waste of products that will be banned. It also obliges Parties to reduce their emissions of dioxins, furans, PAHs and HCB below their levels in 1990 (or an alternative year between 1985 and 1995). For the incineration of municipal, hazardous and medical waste, it lays down specific limit values. The 16 Parties to the Protocol—Austria, Bulgaria, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, the Republic of Moldova, Slovakia, Sweden and Switzerland—will hold their first meeting in December 2003 in Geneva to discuss and initiate work on a review of some of the provisions of the Protocol and to consider the addition of other substances to the list currently covered by the Protocol. Contact: Keith Bull, Environment and Human Settlements Division, UNECE, Palais des Nations, office 346, CH-1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland, telephone +41-22/917 2354, fax +41-22/907 0621, e-mail <keith.bull@unece.org>, website (www.unece.org/env/lrtap). |
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The 6th Conference of the Parties (COP-6) to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (CCD), met in Havana (Cuba)
from 25 August-6 September,
bringing together over 2,000 participants including 12 Heads of State and Government, approximately 170 governments, 33 UN agencies and intergovernmental
organizations, and over 145 NGOs to examine ways to halt desertification, which affects over one billion people in 110 countries and threatens their food security.
COP-6 included two open dialogue sessions between governments and NGOs, and a high-level special segment that adopted the Havana Declaration of Heads of
State. In his opening statement, Cuban President Fidel Castro blamed the problems associated with desertification on illiteracy, deforestation, drought, overgrazing and climate change. Desertification is most destructive in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia and claims 100 million hectares of fertile soil annually. During COP-6, calls were made from all sides for enhanced North-South as well as South-South cooperation. Whereas US$42 billion in income is lost every year due to desertification, the annual cost to prevent land degradation is estimated at US$2.4 billion, according to UN estimates. On 29 August, governments agreed to designate the Global Environment Facility (GEF, a multi-billion dollar global fund for the environment) as a financial mechanism of the Convention. The Facility plans to spend US$500 million over the next three years to promote sustainable and innovative land management. During COP-6, delegates from all sides emphasized the Convention as an important tool for poverty eradication and called on all development partners, including UN agencies and the Bretton Woods institutions, to make use of the Convention in their strategies to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs, see NGLS Roundups 98, 105). Governments also encouraged the expansion of economic and commercial opportunities in the drylands by linking private-sector initiatives to the identification of equal and fair economic opportunities for dryland goods and services. COP-6 also adopted a number of recommendations made by the Committee on Science and Technology, a subsidiary body to the Conference, which encouraged institutions and NGOs to develop and test benchmarks and indicators, invited States Parties to carry out pilot studies on early warning systems, and proposed the collection of case studies from local and indigenous communities on traditional knowledge, among other action. During the plenary, NGOs called for better access to water for all, claiming it to be a basic human right. “Access to water is an inalienable right to persons of the world,” said Juan Luis Mérega, who spoke on behalf of the NGOs present. He also stressed that mismanagement of water is damaging the environment and called for an interactive, intersectoral and holistic approach. As possible solutions to the problem of water scarcity, NGOs presented case studies of water harvesting, water extraction, community mobilization, training and awareness raising that succeeded in providing better access to water. “Water availability and management is a critical environmental issue that cannot be separated from combating desertification and poverty eradication,” said Hama Arba Diallo, Executive Secretary of the Convention. “Whereas desertification is a result of poverty and the subsequent total dependency on natural resources for subsistence by the poor, water is a finite natural resource necessary for the sustenance of life and ecological systems and a key resource for social and economic development necessary for poverty eradication.” COP-7 is scheduled to be held from 17-28 October 2005 in Bonn. Contact: Cheemin Gloria Kwon, United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, Haus Carstanjen, Martin-Luther-King Str. 8, 53175 Bonn, Germany, telephone +49-228/815 2847, fax +49-228/815 2899, e-mail <ckwon@unccd.int>, website (www.unccd.int). |
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The second meeting of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Sub-Committee on Aquaculture, held in Trondheim (Norway)
from 7-11 August, brought together experts, resource managers and delegates from 50 countries to evaluate the state of the global aquaculture sector and make
recommendations for its development. Aquaculture—the farming of plants and fish in coastal and inland waters—is growing more quickly than any other animal-based food sector. According to the Secretary of the Sub-Committee, Rohana Subasinghe, 90% of aquaculture occurs in developing countries. The sector currently produces over 36% of the world’s food fish supply—up from 7% in 1970. Jiansan Jia, chief of FAO’s Inland Waters and Aquaculture Service, noted that aquaculture’s contribution to feeding the hungry will become increasingly important in years to come. Some projections suggest that captures by traditional wild fisheries will stagnate within the next 30 years. The conference focused on aquaculture’s potential to relieve pressure on the world’s fish population and how it could help alleviate hunger around the globe, while being developed in a sustainable, responsible, and equitable manner. Participants discussed potentially negative impacts of certain types of aquaculture and the implementation of “best practices” within the sector. Specific concerns include the loss of natural habitats, the invasion of local ecosystems by new species, the use of antibiotics and genetically modified products in fish feed, the need for better monitoring of product safety, and the equitable distribution of profits from aquaculture among different nations. Responding to developing countries’ comments that they are often unable to keep up with changing safety standards governing fish imports, FAO said it will work to improve information sharing between importing and exporting nations and, via the international Codex Alimentarius Commission (see Go Between 98), to develop international standards for the safety of fish products. FAO says that in order to help promote national policies conducive to responsible fish farming, it will develop detailed guidelines for fish farm management aimed at both improving the quality of the fish farmed there and at reducing their negative environmental impacts. “It is FAO’s job to help feed the world’s hungry,” Mr. Subasinghe said. “This body and the recommendations it produces sharpen our efforts, and help us move forward towards that goal.” FAO established the Sub-Committee in 2001 and comprises delegates from FAO member countries. In related news, during a meeting held from 12-13 August that brought together more than 20,000 aquaculture industry representatives for the biannual AquaNor Exhibition, also in Trondheim, World Wildlife Fund International (WWF) called on both industry and governments to take immediate actions to address the growing coastal environmental threats by fish farming. WWF warns that the release of waste nutrients, pathogens and chemicals into the environment from the industry has already been detrimental in parts of Scotland and Norway. The escape of farmed fish from pens is further threatening already endangered wild salmon stocks where the interbreeding of wild salmon with escaped farmed salmon could alter the genetic makeup of salmon, which allows them to migrate from freshwater to the ocean and back to freshwater to spawn. “The spread of the aquaculture industry must be controlled to avoid physical damage to coastal ecosystems and wild species and to mitigate negative environmental impacts on coastal communities,” said Simon Cripps, Director of WWF’s Endangered Seas Programme. WWF says an international code of conduct for responsible aquaculture, as well as the establishment of farm-free zones and marine-protected areas to protect vulnerable species and habitats from fish farming are needed. WWF is calling for better farm security, catch netting, net monitoring and suitable farm location away from important salmon migration routes. Contact: George Kourous, Information Officer, FAO, Viale delle Termi di Caracalla, I-00100, Rome, Italy, telephone +39-06/5705 3168 e-mail, <george.kourous@fao.org>, website (www.fao.org/fi/default_all.asp). |
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Fires are increasingly damaging the world’s forests, destroying millions of hectares of valuable timber and other forest products every
year, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), who has urged countries to involve local communities in the management and
protection of their forests. The destruction of forests and infrastructure and the costs of fire fighting are estimated at several billion dollars every year. FAO says the
uncontrolled expansion of agricultural activities and tourism, as well as the increased use of forests for recreational purposes, pose a serious risk to people’s lives
and to natural resources. Mike Jurvelius, FAO Forest Fire Officer, said, “Many forest ecosystems are adapted to fires, they need some fires to regenerate the natural forest. But unfortunately, most fires are damaging, where they burn out of control.” Mr. Jurvelius also pointed out that this year’s fire season has been one of the worst in recent history: n Portugal has lost about 417,000 hectares, which is a more than 300% increase over the average losses during the last two decades. n In France, fires have destroyed around 45,000 hectares of forests so far this year, which equals a 30% increase compared to the 1980-2000 average. n In the Russian Federation, 23.7 million hectares of forests were lost in 2003, an area almost the size of the UK. In 2002, the Federation lost 11.7 million hectares. n In the United States, around 2.8 million hectares of forests were destroyed by forest fires, compared to around 1.7 million hectares in 2002. n In Canada, however, the losses decreased from 2.6 million hectares in 2002 to around 1.5 million hectares this year despite the severity of forest fires in western Canada. n Australia has lost more than 60 million hectares in this fire season, half of it started by humans. n The worst fire hazard area in the world is in sub-Saharan Africa, where more than 170 million hectares burn annually. FAO says around 10% of these fires are necessary for the ecosystem. Globally, according to the latest data available, more than 350 million hectares of forests were burned in 2000, equalling the size of India. FAO says 95% of all fires are caused by various human activities. The main causes of fire outbreaks in rural areas are: land clearing by farmers in developed and developing countries, including shifting cultivation; the burning of residues and waste; and using fires for hunting and in honey collection. Most fires are out of control because farmers lack the skills on how to contain them, FAO said. Arson, military activities and private disputes over land tenure also lead to forest fire outbreaks. Contact: Erwin Northoff, Information Officer, FAO, Viale delle Terme di Caracalla, 00100 Rome, Italy, telephone +39-06/5705 3105, fax +39-06/5705 4975, e-mail <Erwin.Northoff@fao.org>, website (www.fao.org). |
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In an effort to establish a baseline of credible statistics about the international trade in human beings, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization (UNESCO) has announced its Trafficking Statistics Project, a compilation of data about human trafficking in Asia’s Mekong region and other areas. The project aims to provide a clearinghouse of verifiable statistics on an issue prone to “distortion,” according to a statement from UNESCO’s Bangkok office. “When it comes to statistics, trafficking of girls and women is one of several highly emotive issues which seem to overwhelm critical faculties,” the statement says, adding that trafficking policies are often based on “highly suspect” statistics. The database has collected more than 400 reports, articles and other documents and catalogued them by five categories: country of origin, country of destination, category of people, type of abuse and publication. The project has attempted to trace the origin of statistics whenever possible and assess their validity. The project’s focus is Asia, in particular the Mekong sub-region, which encompasses several Southeast Asian countries and portions of China. Contact: David Feingold, UNESCO/PROAP, 920 Sukhumvit Road, Bangkok 10110, Thailand, telephone +662-391/0577 (ext.503), fax +662-391/0866, e-mail <d.feingold@unescobkk.org>, website (www.unescobkk. org/culture/trafficking/trafficing.htm). |
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The UN Human Rights Committee held its 78th session in Geneva from 14 July-8 August during which it focused on country reports submitted by Slovakia, Portugal, El Salvador and Israel. The four countries sent government delegations to answer questions raised by Committee Experts in keeping with their obligations as States Parties to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The key issues the Committee addressed regarding Slovakia were the prevention of suicide in the State’s penitentiary system, protection of the victims of human trafficking, equal rights of all religious communities and protection of the rights of the Gypsy minority. The Committee addressed police brutality in Portugal, saying the Government of Portugal should educate law enforcement personnel on torture | |||