Feed aggregator

Die Online-Buchungsplattform Booking.com steht im Verdacht, in Italien Steuern in Höhe von über 153 Millionen Euro hinterzogen zu haben. Das bestätigte die zuständige Finanzpolizeibehörde in Genua am Donnerstag.

Children work at a mine in South Kivu in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The UN says child labour figure has risen to 160 million, as COVID puts many more at risk. Credit: UNICEF/Patrick Brown

By Simone Galimberti
KATHMANDU, Nepal, Jun 11 2021 (IPS)

Among the many daunting issues leaders of the G7 will have to discuss in their upcoming summit in idyllic Cornwall on June 11-13, child labour won’t be on the official agenda.

Yet the latest figures jointly released by ILO and UNICEF in occasion of the upcoming World Day Against Child Labour on 12th June are depicting a very worrying scenario with unprecedented rise of children engaged in work.

“Child Labour: Global estimates 2020, trends and the road forward”, the latest major publication on the issue, shows that there are now 160 million children in child labour, a rise of 8.4 million in the last four years, a very worrying, though unsurprising finding that is a major blow to the gains of the last two decades.

That’s why it is an imperative that the leaders of the G7 take a stand against this global plague, ensuring that any global strategy focused on “building forward better” must also enlist the fight against child exploitation as a top priority within a broader strategy to reset global development.

At legislative levels there are some encouraging developments that could pave the way for an holistic approach built on the Agenda 2030 that will create a global momentum around global target 8.7 of the Sustainable Development Goals.

The target, after which a global coalition against child labour is named, focuses on “taking immediate and effective measures to eradicate forced labour, end modern slavery and human trafficking and secure the prohibition and elimination of child labour, including recruitment and use of child soldiers, and by 2025 end child labour in all its forms”.

For example, several countries around the world including France and Netherlands have in place a strong human rights due diligence legislation that compels major corporations to have more robust compliance mechanisms along the lines of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and the OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Business Conduct.

The good news is that the European Commission, the executive branch of the European Union, is expected to come up with a wide-ranging reform package on a mandatory human rights due diligence by the end of year though there is fear this might be further delayed.

Though future negotiations within the complex decision-making system of the EU might water down the final legislation, there is no doubt that the expectations are so high and the level of ambition expected to be found in the final document so large that half cooked measures won’t be accepted by the Parliament whose consent is mandatory for the legislation to be approved.

Amid also news that the G7 is close to a deal on a global taxation agreement that will affect the major world corporations, we might assume that the best and most effective way to tackle child labour “head on” is to force corporates to step up their commitment towards human rights.

Probably this is the most pragmatic manner from a western’s point of view to have child labour again at the center of the global agenda.

Given the almost universal discontent against big business all over the world, this is also perhaps the safest bet to ensure that G7 and G20 nations will not overlook the fight against child labour from their proceedings.

While it is vital that the global leaders meeting over the weekend in a beautiful setting in Cornwall to take a stand on the issue, yet we should not neglect that, most of the times, child labour is a phenomenon thriving out of an enabling environment in the developing world, and in the worst cases, it is almost an intrinsic element of the local fabric.

Oftentimes working children are recruited by small, often informal micro businesses in the developing world, economic entities that are not even under the purview of local tax offices nor those of the mostly ineffective Labour authorities in charge of checking on child labour.

The ILO-UNICEF joint report is clear on this point when it explains that it is “much more common in rural areas with 122.7 million rural children in child labour compared to 37.3 million urban children where children are involved in agriculture related work.

To confirm the trend, according to the report, the “largest share of child labour takes place within families with “72 per cent of all child labour and 83 per cent of child labour among children aged 5 to 11 occurs within families, primarily on family farms or in family microenterprises.”

These insights prove how challenging the fight against child labour has always been in the last two decades despite very encouraging improvements worldwide.

Exercising pressures on big corporations alone won’t suffice also because many of the developing countries with high number of working children are not attractive enough to host manufacturing sites that elsewhere are technically run by local contractors often in breach of the most basic human rights provisions.

To really build forward better, G7 and the G20 need to go well beyond a much-needed equitable distribution and production of vaccines, a mammoth task itself.

They need to come up with ambitious plans that will mobilize massive amounts of resources in unprecedented figures that will help developing nations not only to transit towards a net zero future but doing so by also ensuring a far greater equity in the national development outcomes pursued by developing nations that must be inclusive of the most vulnerable segments of their populations.

It means dealing with child labour not as a standing alone problem but as a part of a bigger strategy able to close the faulting lines so common in many emerging nations, like weak public health and poor education, lack of dignified job opportunities, all scars of remarkable but unfair economic pre-pandemic growths that proved to be unable to truly trickle down.

World leaders should go tough on billionaires and uncanny global corporations but at the same time they should remember the fight against child labour is a priority and an essential pillar to build a more equitable world.

A way for them to start would be to come up with an urgent plan of action to back those nations in the Pathfinders Initiative, countries who showed in the past commitment against child labour but whose efforts are now at risk of a brutal reversal.

Bold action is a must especially if we do not want to make a contempt of Year for the Elimination of Child Labour that happens to be undergoing unnoticed by most.

Eliminating child labour by 2025 might be out of reality but taking meaningful actions in that direction now is not.

The Author, Co-Founder of ENGAGE, a not-for-profit NGO in Nepal, writes on volunteerism, social inclusion, youth development and regional integration as an engine to improve people’s lives. He can be reached at simone_engage@yahoo.com

 

Follow @IPSNewsUNBureau
!function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],p=/^http:/.test(d.location)?'http':'https';if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src=p+'://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js';fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document, 'script', 'twitter-wjs');  

Excerpt:

The international community commemorates World Day Against Child Labour on June 12

Demonstrative Einigkeit trotz Meinungsverschiedenheiten: Bei einem Treffen im Vorfeld des G7-Gipfels in England am Donnerstag (10. Juni) haben Großbritanniens Premierminister Boris Johnson und US-Präsident Joe Biden ihre gemeinsamen weltpolitischen Positionen hervorgehoben.

The European Parliament has lent political weight to an EU citizens' petition to end farming of caged animals and force-feeding of ducks and geese to make fois gras pate, putting pressure on the European Commission to table legislation. Forced-feeding was "cruel and unnecessary" and cages so small animals cannot stand or turn around were of "grave concerns" MEPs said Thursday. Over 90 percent of EU-farmed rabbits are kept in cages.

The committee of ministers of pan-European rights body the Council of Europe has strongly urged Russia to "immediately" release jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny, in line with a previous ruling by the European Court of Human Rights, The Moscow Times reports. The committee, which oversees the implementation of ECHR rulings, expressed "its grave concern" that Navalny "remains in detention and his conviction stands", the Council of Europe said.

Az SZK Közegészségügyi Hivatala csütörtökön este közzétette a június 14-től (hétfő) érvényes, határrezsimről szóló rendeletet.

China passed a law Thursday saying foreign nationals involved in drawing up sanctions against it can be denied entry expelled from the country and have their assets seized. "Such action is not conducive to attracting foreign investment or reassuring companies that increasingly feel that they will be used as sacrificial pawns in a game of political chess," Jörg Wuttke, from the EU Chamber of Commerce in Beijing, said.

Vous vous êtes exprimé sur les objets du scrutin fédéral du 13 juin? Expliquez vos motivations en participant à notre sondage post-votations.

Madrid’s conservative mayor, José Luis Martínez-Almeida, has announced an ambitious plan to make the Spanish capital “the best city to live and work in 2030”, thanks to an initial investment of €3.9 billion of EU money, EURACTIV’s partner EFE reports.

Agroecology can fight malnutrition, curb conflict AND build community self reliance and resilience–in hunger hotspots and beyond

By Daniel Moss and Amrita Gupta
BOSTON / NEW YORK, Jun 11 2021 (IPS)

Acute hunger is expected to soar in over 20 countries in the next few months, warns a recent report on global “hunger hotspots” from the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Food Programme (WFP). An estimated 34 million people are “one step away from starvation”, pushed to the brink by climate shocks, conflict, and the Covid-19 pandemic.

Daniel Moss

The food aid industry is likely to be very busy in the coming years, even as Michael Fakhri, the UN special rapporteur on the right to food, points out that the “right to food is different from a system of charity. Often the donors are part of the problem.”

At the Agroecology Fund–a force of more than 30 donors, 10 advisors and hundreds of grantee partners embedded in the global agroecology movement–we believe that to be part of the solution, an agroecological and food sovereignty lens must guide food security interventions, especially in times of acute crisis.

Evidence that agroecology is one of the most effective solutions to hunger and malnutrition mounting. Agroecology and traditional indigenous food systems help communities strengthen their food systems independent of external inputs or imported foods. By improving food sovereignty and access to healthy foods, agroecology increases farmer incomes, curbs out-migration from rural regions and addresses the root causes of hunger.

Importantly, agroecology addresses the root causes of conflict too. A new report by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) finds that countries where land and water become scarce or degraded tend to be more conflict-prone, and that “conservation, [and] sustainable and equitable management of nature plays an important role in preventing conflict and in rebuilding peace.” That is why agroecological practices, which steward natural resources, protect biodiversity, and support the wellbeing of indigenous and local communities, help curb conflict. Research by Coventry University in the UK also reiterates that agroecology creates a foundation for peace-building efforts in fragile environments.

In the past year, as Covid-19 exposed the vulnerability of our globalized, industrialized food system, our grantee partners sprung into action. Even in conflict zones or “hunger hotspots”, there exists local capacity to provide solutions.

Amrita Gupta

In Haiti, which imports the majority of its food, Mouvement Paysan Acul-du-Nord initiated cooperative farming in 25 communities to ensure food sovereignty. Those who owned land invited landless farmworkers to use it to produce food, and families shared harvests of rice, sweet potato, and beans with each other. In Nigeria, where artisanal fishers are among the most marginalized communities ––threatened by climate change, displacement and water pollution–– Fishnet Alliance provided fishing gear for fishers to feed their families and earn an income. The Alliance helped amplify fishers’ voices to policymakers: urging that traditional governance systems over the commons be respected. In Burkina Faso, Groundswell International trained women and youth to make masks and liquid soap, and encouraged the government to buy local agroecological produce for their school food and food aid programs.

These stories of resilience and grassroots can be found across the globe. In Palestine, as decades of conflict with Israel have deprived populations of land and water, the Union of Agriculture Work Committees (UAWC) saves traditional, locally adapted seeds for farmers; at refugee camps in Gaza and the West Bank, they helped families grow food on rooftops during the pandemic.

In Rwanda, communities involved in the Global Initiative for Environment and Reconciliation (GER) agroecology programs have begun peace-building talks to heal the deep rifts caused by the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi. One survivor noted that agroecology diminishes mistrust and suspicion between groups as: communities work together to share harvests.

Now compare these strategies to the conventional development paradigm, in which boatloads of foods (too often, the surplus of US-grown genetically modified commodity crops) are “donated” to conflict areas, entrenching the unsustainable industrial agriculture model within the United States while undermining local agricultural practices and biodiversity in poorer countries.

As John Wilson, an advisor to the Agroecology Fund, says: “We have to be bolder in our nutrition approaches than we have been—more creative and innovative.” Our partners from Rwanda, Burkina Faso, Haiti and elsewhere, working at the frontlines of multiple crises, embody these bold and innovative approaches to deal with the root causes of malnutrition and conflict in the short- and longer term. Even as they fight hunger through self-help and mutual aid, they are improving livelihoods, stewarding landscapes, and mitigating climate change. And they are urging their governments to invest in small farmers and local agricultural production, so that communities can strengthen their resilience and achieve the deep and lasting food systems transformation we so urgently need. By supporting their efforts to make agroecology the cornerstone of global food systems, we can move millions away from starvation—in “hunger hotspots” and beyond.

Daniel Moss is the Executive Director of the Agroecology Fund. Amrita Gupta is the Fund’s Communications Lead. For more information on the Fund and its partners, visit the website.

 

Follow @IPSNewsUNBureau
!function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],p=/^http:/.test(d.location)?'http':'https';if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src=p+'://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js';fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document, 'script', 'twitter-wjs');  

Excerpt:

Agroecology can fight malnutrition, curb conflict AND build community self reliance and resilience–in hunger hotspots and beyond

The European Commission has asked Poland not to question the primacy of EU over national law, eliciting furious rebukes from the Polish government.

EU flight passengers should have fewer rights to compensation for delayed or cancelled flights, the pandemic has showed, according to European airlines. "When events like mass cancellations get put in place this law is not flexible enough to handle such events," Air France-KLM chief Ben Smith told an industry video-conference Thursday, Reuters reports, calling the EU passenger rights' regimes "one of the most punitive" in the world.

EU leaders on Thursday called for an investigation on the origins of the Covid-19 pandemic, after the World Health Organization probe ended without conclusions earlier this year, Reuters reported. "Investigators need complete access to whatever is necessary to really find the source of this pandemic," European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said. "The world has the right to know exactly what happened," said European Council president Charles Michel.

MEPs from the liberal Renew Europe group came under fire on Thursday for abstaining on the resolution pointing to the conflicts of interest of the Czech prime minister Andrej Babiš. The resolution calls for reinforced measures to protect the EU budget and transparency on who benefits from these subsidies. Liberal MEPs said this week the European Commission must apply the new rule-of-law conditionality mechanism or face legal action.

Spain's health ministry has scrapped a nationwide plan to gradually reopen nightlife, just a week after introducing it, following widespread complaints from regional authorities, who dismissed it as either too strict or too loose, Reuters reports. The plan, scrapped on Wednesday, would have allowed areas with low infection rates to open nightclubs until 3AM.

Amnesty International has collected new evidence of human rights abuses in the Xinjiang region of China, which it says has become a "dystopian hellscape" for hundreds of thousands of Muslims subjected to mass internment and torture, The Guardian writes. The human rights organisation has collected more than 50 new accounts from Uyghurs, Kazakhs and other predominantly-Muslim ethnic minorities

Die Welt muss die aktuell geltenden Rechte an geistigem Eigentum überdenken, um sich auf die nächste Pandemie vorzubereiten, erklärt die sozialdemokratische Europaabgeordnete Kathleen Van Brempt im Gespräch mit EURACTIV.

MEPs have backed a motion demanding the temporality lifting of intellectual properties rights of Covid-19 vaccines - a symbolic move that puts pressure on the European Commission to change its position on the issue of global access to vaccines.

The EU's anti-fraud agency has so far identified more than 1000 of these suspicious companies, many of which are based outside the EU.

It would require between 40 to 75 additional staff to oversee how MEPs spend their monthly €4,500 lump sum on office supplies, according to the European Parliament. An EUobserver Freedom of Information request reveals those calculations are flawed.