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khalilhumam · 4 years

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Ministers from East and Horn of Africa Pledge to Harmonize Labour Migration Laws to Protect Migrant Workers’ Rights

New Post has been published on http://khalilhumam.com/ministers-from-east-and-horn-of-africa-pledge-to-harmonize-labour-migration-laws-to-protect-migrant-workers-rights/

Ministers from East and Horn of Africa Pledge to Harmonize Labour Migration Laws to Protect Migrant Workers’ Rights

Nairobi—The entirety of humankind’s history begins in East Africa, with early Africans’ outbound migration towards Europe and the Middle East. That movement continues, especially now, with some five million recent African migrants living and working outside the continent. And yet, migration within Africa remains the more dynamic trend. Over 21 million African migrants—more than five times the number of those in Europe, Asia or the Americas—are migrants to each other’s countries. Their movement, and growing presence in their neighbors’ cities and towns, are turning their countries’ economies into components of each other as well. Moreover, by sharing access to things like complementary trade in goods and services, tapping parallel labor pools and creating rising remittance flows, African migrants are engaged in an ever-accelerating cycle of cooperation and co-dependence. Those are just some of the themes stimulating policy discussion here this week during a second Regional Ministerial Forum on harmonization of labour migration policies in the region, which brought together officials from East and Horn of Africa (EHoA) countries to chart the next steps in what is being called the “Regional Ministerial Process on Harmonizing Labour Migration Policies in East and Horn of Africa: A United Approach on Safe, Regular and Humane Labour Migration (Regional Ministerial Forum on Migration, i.e., RMFM). "The RMFM calls on countries to cooperate towards establishing a common platform for engagement between countries of origin, transit and destination on labour migration, as well as to enhance inter-state, intra and inter-regional cooperation for strengthening the protection of the labour, social and human rights of African migrant workers in destination countries,” said Mohammed Abdiker, the International Organization for Migration (IOM)’s Regional Director for East and Horn of Africa. IOM and the Government of Kenya –Chair of the RMFM, called this week’s meeting as a follow up to a January ministerial regional meeting to start discussions. Ministers from Kenya, Uganda, South Sudan, Sudan, Ethiopia, Somalia, Rwanda and Burundi worked with other high-level government representatives to harmonize labour migration policies in the region. They also made commitments to make labour migration safe, orderly and humane by establishing a common platform for engagement with the Gulf states and other countries that are major employers of African migrant workers. As IOM’s Abdiker explained to participants, migrants from the Horn of Africa move through Yemen, the Middle East and beyond seeking employment. He emphasized that with demand traditionally for workers to fill the female sectors of domestic work, migration flows from the EHoA are women and youth dominated. Migration to Gulf Cooperation Council countries has provided jobs and generated significant remittance inflows, providing sustainable incomes for EHOA migrant workers and their families. Citing one example, according to World bank data, in 2019 the general remittance flows into Ethiopia were recorded at 531 million USD in 2019, accounting for 0.5 per cent of the country’s Gross domestic product (GDP). But he warned of a downside. “Since the outbreak of COVID-19,” Abdiker said, “emerging data and reports from those on the front lines, have shown that all types of violence against women and girls, particularly domestic violence, has intensified. This is the shadow pandemic growing amidst the COVID-19 crisis and we need a global collective effort to stop it.” Integrating economies in the East and Horn of Africa will make them more resilient to and able to withstand shocks like the COVID-19 pandemic currently severely impacting many economies across Africa. One form of integration is the harmonisation of labour migration laws across the region, which will allow for the free movement of people in the region and beyond, spur economic development, and boost the transfer of skills. According to the World Migration Report, the region is experiencing considerable levels of outward labour mobility, driven by poverty, low wages and high unemployment. The Gulf States’ proximity to Eastern Africa and their employment opportunities make them an attractive destination for many East Africans. Harmonizing labour migration regulations would safeguard the rights of migrant workers and prevent unfair practices such as excessive working hours, passport confiscation, confinement and denial of salary, impacting the lives of thousands of migrants, and their families, and ordinary citizens in a region with a population of nearly 420 million people. This is according to the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs. Harmonizing labour migration laws further would mean people can move freely and transfer skills where they are most needed. “As increasing cross-border human, labour and skills mobility play a significant role in the development of the continent, the social, labour and human rights of migrant workers, women and girls, men and boys has become an ever-more urgent challenge,” said IOM’s Abdiker. For more information contact: Yvonne Ndege, Regional Office for East and Horn of Africa, Tel: +2547 977 35977, Email: [email protected]

Language English

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Friday, November 27, 2020 - 13:59

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Kenya

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COVID-19

Labour Migration

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toldnews-blog · 6 years

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New Post has been published on https://toldnews.com/technology/facebook-facing-housing-discrimination-charges-from-hud/

Facebook facing housing discrimination charges from HUD

The federal government charged Facebook with high-tech housing discrimination Thursday for allegedly allowing landlords and real estate brokers to systematically exclude groups such as non-Christians, immigrants and minorities from seeing ads for houses and apartments.

The civil charges filed by the Department of Housing and Urban Development could cost the social network millions of dollars in penalties. But more than that, they strike at the heart of Facebook’s business model — its vaunted ability to deliver ads with surgical precision to certain groups of people and not others.

“Facebook is discriminating against people based upon who they are and where they live,” HUD Secretary Ben Carson said. “Using a computer to limit a person’s housing choices can be just as discriminatory as slamming a door in someone’s face.”

In a statement, Facebook expressed surprise over the charges, saying it has been working with HUD to address its concerns and has taken steps to prevent discrimination, including eliminating thousands of ad-targeting options last year that could be misused by advertisers.

Just last week, Facebook agreed to overhaul its targeting system and abandon some of the practices singled out by HUD to prevent discrimination, not just in housing listings but in credit and employment ads as well. The move was part of a settlement with the American Civil Liberties Union and other activists.

“We’re disappointed by today’s developments, but we’ll continue working with civil rights experts on these issues,” the company said.

The HUD charges were seen as a possible prelude to a wider regulatory crackdown on the digital advertising industry, which is dominated by Facebook and Google. And the case was yet another blow to Facebook, which has come under siege from lawmakers, regulators and activists and is under investigation in the U.S. and Europe over its data and privacy practices.

HUD spokesman Brian Sullivan said the agency has reached out to Google and Twitter to “better understand their advertising practices.” But he said neither is currently under investigation. Twitter says it doesn’t allow discriminatory advertising, while Google says its policies prohibit targeting ads based on sensitive categories such as race, ethnicity and religious beliefs.

Google, in particular, has ad-targeting options similar to Facebook’s.

The technology at the center of the clash with HUD has helped make Facebook rich, with annual revenue of close to $56 billion. Facebook gathers enormous amounts of data on what users read and like and who their friends are, and it uses that information to help advertisers and others direct their messages to exactly the crowd they want to reach.

HUD said Facebook is allowing advertisers to practice a sort of high-tech form of red-lining by excluding people in entire neighborhoods or ZIP codes from seeing their ads. The company was accused, too, of giving advertisers the option of showing ads only to men or only to women.

Facebook also allegedly allowed advertisers to exclude parents; those who are non-American-born; non-Christians; and those interested in Hispanic culture, “deaf culture,” accessibility for the disabled, countries like Honduras or Somalia, or a variety of other topics.

The case will be heard by an administration law judge unless HUD or Facebook decides to move it to federal court.

“The nature of their business model is advertising and targeted advertising, so that is a slippery slope. That is their business model,” said Dan Ives, an industry analyst with Wedbush Securities. “The government launched this missile and caught many in the industry by surprise.”

Ives said the move may mean U.S. regulators are taking broader aim at the digital advertising market. “This is a clear shot across the bow for Facebook and others,” he said.

Galen Sherwin of the ACLU likewise warned: “All the online platforms should be paying close attention to these lawsuits and taking a hard look at their own advertising platforms.”

Facebook is already under fire for allowing fake Russian accounts to buy ads targeting U.S. users and sow political discord during the 2016 presidential election. The company has also been criticized for allowing organizations to target groups of people identified as “Jew-haters” and Nazi sympathizers.

HUD brought an initial complaint against Facebook in August. Facebook said in its statement that it was “eager to find a solution” but that HUD “insisted on access to sensitive information — like user data — without adequate safeguards.”

In its settlement with the ACLU and others, Facebook said it will no longer allow housing, employment or credit ads that target people by age, gender or ZIP code. It said it will also limit other targeting options so that these ads don’t exclude people on the basis of race, ethnicity and other legally protected categories, including sexual orientation.

“Unless and until HUD can verify that there is an end of the discriminatory practices, we still have a responsibility to the American people,” said Raffi Williams, deputy assistant HUD secretary.

———

Ortutay reported from San Francisco. AP Business Writer Michelle Chapman in Newark, New Jersey, and AP Technology Writer Rachel Lerman in San Francisco contributed to this report.

#Business #Discrimination #economy #General News #Help-wanted advertising #Human rights and civil liberties #Labor economy #Media #Online media #Social affairs #Social issues #social media #Technology #U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development #Uni

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voicehumanity · 8 years

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The Humanity Party® spokesperson will explain how to solve the current problem during the show:

Famine 'largest humanitarian crisis in history of UN'

(Click link above image for news report.)

Feeding Famine-Ending Poverty

The Humanity Party®’s platform originates from the five basic needs of life (FBNL) that all humans experience. Without adequate food, clothing, shelter, healthcare and education, people cannot thrive; but rather suffer, often greatly, and perish, as is currently reoccurring in Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan and Yemen.

The Humanity Party® proposes simple answers to eradicate famine across the planet once and for all. While ending famine and other miserable global conditions might be the purpose of Governments and other assorted organizations, such as the United Nations, we believe they lack the proper solutions to accomplish the objective.

Our belief is that, regardless of thought or attitude, all humans want good to happen to them and others. Doing good is a universally inherent human trait. We propose that governments and organizations such as the United Nations, interested in the elimination of every type of human suffering, begin by legislating the provision of FBNL to every human being, from birth until death.

There are sufficient global resources, technologies, and infrastructure to provide the FBNL for all of Earth’s residents. Anyone questioning how to fund such a humanitarian endeavor can refer to the platform’s Fair Tax Plan - Consumption-based Taxation and accompanying Anti-Inflation Algorithm.

If the US controlled International Monetary Fund sent in humanitarian personnel to initially provide every person in a famine situation with an emergency care package, emergency services as needed and a Food-Electronic Benefit Transfer card for long term nutritional needs conflict refugees could escape suffering created by impotent Governments or politicized factions/insurgency and our world would begin to eliminate poverty created famine all over the world.

Famine is the “triple failure” of (1) food production, (2) people’s ability to access food, and, finally and most crucially, (3) in the political response by governments and international donors. Crop failure and poverty leave people vulnerable to starvation – but famine only occurs with political failure.

In conditions as currently occurring in South Sudan and Somalia: 1. Emergency care food packets, water, and supplies would be airlifted into the region for immediate distribution. 2. Temporary aid stations would be set up with supplies, aid services, & security personnel to fulfill emergency and protective perimeter requirements. 3. Every person would receive a Food Electronic Transfer Card (EBT) for their long term nutritional needs. People will also receive Housing cards, Healthcare cards, Education cards, and Clothing cards. 4. Corporate entities will be incentivized to enter these areas and begin building a presence as part of a longer-term economic infrastructure, helping form a robust economic future. 5. In doing so, local Governments collect business taxes, people find employment, corporations profit, and everyone win$. 6. As dire conditions are eliminated and money begins to flow, businesses are drawn in and people begin to thrive. 7. Ultimately, this model can be used in every impoverished scenario across the planet for all services and business interests associated with FBNL to grow prosperous economies in which people can finally realize their human right to individualized life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

The Humanity Party®’s solutions prioritize all human life through the provisions of FBNL, helping to form lasting improved human infrastructures and services--particularly in impoverished nations. This helps avert drought-induced famines or the need for temporary catastrophic aid, assuring an end to all cyclical man-made suffering.

The Humanity Party® cannot make rain fall, but it does have the solutions to quench both climactic-induced and man-made poverty-induced problems. Mankind’s monetary valuation over human life is the global problem and The Humanity Party® is the global solution. YOU are The Humanity Party® .

During THumP®‘s BlogTalkRadio show today, the spokesperson will explain COMPLETELY, CLEARLY, and UNEQUIVOCALLY how to solve the famine problem FOREVER in the affected parts of the world.

Join in by clicking this link or calling (319) 527-6231 when the show is LIVE and pressing the number 1 if you have a question or comment after the initial discussion. Please listen to the show FROM THE BEGINNING if you would like to make a comment or ask a question.

#thump #thehumanityparty #famine #fair tax plan #fbnl #taxation #anti-inflation #poverty #U.N.

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koor-jobs · 2 months

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Koor: Connecting Employers, Job Seekers & Vendors Somalia

Koor bridges the gap between Somalia employers, job seekers, and vendors on one platform. Hire talent, find jobs, and collaborate with businesses in real time. To know more details visit our website.

#Job Seeker Platform Somalia #Employers Platform Somalia #Vendors Platform Somalia #Business Resources Somalia #Career Resources Somalia

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mateenaltaf · 4 years

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Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) - (A Credit Management Topic)

Foreign direct investment (FDI) refers to long term participation by a country A into country B (in this case Pakistan). It usually involves participation in management, joint-venture, transfer of technology and expertise. There are two types of FDI: inward foreign direct investment and outward foreign direct investment, resulting in a net FDI inflow (positive or negative). Foreign direct investment (FDI) is a measure of foreign ownership of productive assets, such as factories, mines and land. Increasing foreign investment can be used as one measure of growing economic globalization.

Broadly, foreign direct investment includes "mergers and acquisitions, building new facilities, reinvesting profits earned from overseas operations and intro company loans". In a narrow sense, foreign direct investment refers just too building new facilities. The numerical FDI figures based on varied definitions are not easily comparable. As a part of the national accounts of a country, and in regard to the GDP equation Y=C+I+G+(X-M) [Consumption + gross Investment + Government spending +(exports - imports)], where I is domestic investment plus foreign investment, FDI is defined as the net inflows of investment (inflow minus outflow) to acquire a lasting management interest (10 percent or more of voting stock) in an enterprise operating in an economy other than that of the investor.

A foreign direct investment (FDI) is a controlling ownership in a business enterprise in one country by an entity based in another country.

Foreign direct investment is distinguished from portfolio foreign investment, a passive investment in the securities of another country such as public stocks and bonds, by the element of "control". According to the financial Times, "Standard definitions of control use the internationally agreed 10 percent threshold of voting shares, but this is a grey area as often a smaller block of shares will give control in widely held companies. The origin of the investment does not impact the definition as an FDI, i.e., the investment may be made either "inorganically" by buying a company in the target country or "organically" by expanding operations of an existing business in that country.

Definitions Explained

Broadly, foreign direct investment includes "mergers and acquisitions, building new facilities, reinvesting profits earned from overseas operations and intra company loans". In a narrow sense, foreign direct investment refers just too building new facilities. The numerical FDI figures based on varied definitions are not easily comparable. As a part of the national accounts of a country, and in regard to the GDP equation Y=C+I+G+(X-M)[Consumption + gross Investment + Government spending +(exports - imports)], where I is domestic investment plus foreign investment, FDI is defined as the net inflows of investment (inflow minus outflow) to acquire a lasting management interest (10 percent or more of voting stock) in an enterprise operating in an economy other than that of the investor. FDI is the sum of equity capital, other long-term capital, and short-term capital as shown the balance of payments. FDI usually involves participation in management, joint-venture, transfer of technology and expertise. Stock of FDI is the net (i.e., inward FDI minus outward FDI) cumulative FDI for any given period. Direct investment excludes investment through purchase of shares. FDI is one example of international factor movements.

Types

Horizontal FDI arises when a firm duplicates its home country-based activities at the same value chain stage in a host country through FDI.

Platform FDI Foreign direct investment from a source country into a destination country for the purpose of exporting to a third country.

Vertical FDI takes place when a firm through FDI moves upstream or downstream in different value chains i.e., when firms perform value-adding activities stage by stage in a vertical fashion in a host country.

Methods

The foreign direct investor may acquire voting power of an enterprise in an economy through any of the following methods:

by incorporating a wholly owned subsidiary or company anywhere

by acquiring shares in an associated enterprise

through a merger or an acquisition of an unrelated enterprise

participating in an equity joint venture with another investor or enterprise

Forms of FDI incentives

Foreign direct investment incentives may take the following forms:

low corporate tax and individual income tax rates

tax holidays

other types of tax concessions

preferential tariffs

special economic zones

EPZ – Export Processing Zones

Bonded warehouses

Maquiladoras

investment financial subsidies

free land or land subsidies

relocation & expatriation

infrastructure subsidies

R&D support

derogation from regulations (usually for very large projects)

Governmental Investment Promotion Agencies (IPAs) use various marketing strategies inspired by the private sector to try and attract inward FDI, including Diaspora marketing.

By excluding the internal investment to get a profited downstream.

Importance and barriers to FDI

The rapid growth of world population since 1950 has occurred mostly in developing countries. This growth has been matched by more rapid increases in gross domestic product, and thus income per capita has increased in most countries around the world since 1950. While the quality of the data from 1950 may be of question, taking the average across a range of estimates confirms this. Only war-torn and countries with other serious external problems, such as Haiti, Somalia, and Niger have not registered substantial increases in GDP per capita. The data available to confirm this are freely available. An increase in FDI may be associated with improved economic growth due to the influx of capital and increased tax revenues for the host country. Host countries often try to channel FDI investment into new infrastructure and other projects to boost development. Greater competition from new companies can lead to productivity gains and greater efficiency in the host country and it has been suggested that the application of a foreign entity’s policies to a domestic subsidiary may improve corporate governance standards. Furthermore, foreign investment can result in the transfer of soft skills through training and job creation, the availability of more advanced technology for the domestic market and access to research and development resources. The local population may be able to benefit from the employment opportunities created by new businesses. In many instances, the investing company is simply transferring its older production capacity and machines, which might still be appealing to the host country because of technological lags or under-development, in order to avoid competition against its own products by the host country/company.

Different Countries of the world

A 2010 meta-analysis of the effects of foreign direct investment on local firms in developing and transition countries suggests that foreign investment robustly increases local productivity growth. The Commitment to Development Index ranks the "development-friendliness" of rich country investment policies.

China

FDI in China, also known as RFDI (renminbi foreign direct investment), has increased considerably in the last decade, reaching $59.1 billion in the first six months of 2012, making China the largest recipient of foreign direct investment and topping the United States which had $57.4 billion of FDI. In 2013 the FDI flow into China was $64.1 billion, resulting in a 34.7% market share of FDI into the Asia-Pacific region. By contrast, FDI out of China in 2013 was $18.97 billion, 10.7% of the Asia-Pacific share. During the global financial crisis FDI fell by over one-third in 2009 but rebounded in 2010.

India

Foreign investment was introduced in 1991 under Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), driven by then finance minister Manmohan Singh. As Singh subsequently became the prime minister, this has been one of his top political problems, even in the current times. India disallowed overseas corporate bodies (OCB) to invest in India. India imposes cap on equity holding by foreign investors in various sectors, current FDI in aviation and insurance sectors is limited to a maximum of 49%. Starting from a baseline of less than $1 billion in 1990, a 2012 UNCTAD survey projected India as the second most important FDI destination (after China) for transnational corporations during 2010–2012. As per the data, the sectors that attracted higher inflows were services, telecommunication, construction activities and computer software and hardware. Mauritius, Singapore, U.S and UK were among the leading sources of FDI. Based on UNCTAD data FDI flows were $10.4 billion, a drop of 43% from the first half of the last year. Nine from 10 largest foreign companies investing in India (from April 2000- January 2011) are based in Mauritius. List of the ten largest foreign companies investing in India (from April 2000- January 2011) are as follows:

TMI Mauritius Ltd. ->Rs 7294 crore/$1600 million

Cairn UK Holding -> Rs6663 crores/$1492 million

Oracle Global (Mauritius) Ltd. -> Rs 4805 crore/$1083 million

Mauritius Debt Management Ltd.-> Rs 3800 crore/$956 million

Vodafone Mauritius Ltd. – Rs 3268 crore/$801 million

Etisalat Mauritius Ltd. – Rs 3228 crore

CMP Asia Ltd. – Rs 2638.25 crore/$653.74 million

Oracle Global Mauritius Ltd. – Rs 2578.88 crore / $563.94 million

Merrill Lynch(Mauritius) Ltd. – Rs 2230.02 crore / $483.55 million

Name of the company not given (but the Indian company which got the FDI is Dhabol Power Company Ltd.)

United States

Broadly speaking, the United States has a fundamentally "open economy" and low barriers to FDI. U.S. FDI totaled $194 billion in 2010. 84% of FDI in the United States in 2010 came from or through eight countries: Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Japan, France, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and Canada. A major source of investment is the real estate, the foreign investment in this area totaled $92.2 billion in 2013, under various forms of purchase structures (considering the U.S. taxation and residency laws). A 2008 study by the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco indicated that foreigners hold greater shares of their investment portfolios in the United States if their own countries have less developed financial markets, an effect whose magnitude decreases with income per capita. Countries with fewer capital controls and greater trade with the United States also invest more in U.S. equity and bond markets. In 2011, Rick Kimball, Gordon M. Goldstein, Daniel Zwirn, et al. created a study in behalf of Brooking Institution on the role and importance of foreign capital funds in the United States. The study reviews practices of Global Public Investors and recommends promoting of investment in U.S. infrastructure development. White House data reported in 2011 found that a total of 5.7 million workers were employed at facilities highly dependent on foreign direct investors. Thus, about 13% of the American manufacturing workforce depended on such investments. The average pay of said jobs was found as around $70,000 per worker, over 30% higher than the average pay across the entire U.S. workforce. President Barack Obama said in 2012, "In a global economy, the United States faces increasing competition for the jobs and industries of the future. Taking steps to ensure that we remain the destination of choice for investors around the world will help us win that competition and bring prosperity to our people. In September 2013, the United States House of Representatives voted to pass the Global Investment in American Jobs Act of 2013 (H.R. 2052; 113th Congress), a bill which would direct the United States Department of Commerce to "conduct a review of the global competitiveness of the United States in attracting foreign direct investment". Supporters of the bill argued that increased foreign direct investment would help job creation in the United States.

Canada

Foreign direct investments by country and by industry are tracked by Statistics Canada. Foreign direct investment accounted for CAD$634 billion in 2012, eclipsing the United States in this economic measure. Global FDI inflows and outflows are tabulated by Statistics Canada.

United Kingdom

The UK has a very free market economy and is open to foreign investment. Prime Minister David Cameron has sought investment from emerging markets and from the Far East in particular and some of Britain's largest infrastructure including energy and skyscrapers such as, The Shard have been built with foreign investment.

Russian Federation

History of Foreign Investment Law

In 1991, for the first time, Russia regulated the form, range and favorable policy of FDI in Russia. In 1994, a consulting council of FDI was established in Russia, which was responsible for setting tax rate and policies for exchange rate, improving investment environment, mediating relationship between central and local government, researching and improving images of FDI work, and increasing the right and responsibility of Ministry of Economic in appealing FDI and enforcing all kinds of policies. In 1997, Russia starts to enact policies for appealing FDI on particular industries, for example, fossil fuel, gas, woods, transportation, food reprocessing, etc. In 1999, Russia announced a law named FDI of Russian Federation, which aimed at providing a basic guarantee for foreign investors on investing, running business, earnings. In 2008, Russia banned on FDI on strategic industries, such as military defense and country safety. In 2014, president Putin announced that once abroad Russian investment inflows legally, it would not be checked by tax or law sector. This is a favorable policy of Putin to appeal Russian investment to come back.

Structure of foreign investment in Russia

Direct investment: Investing directly with cash. Basically, investment more than 10% of the item is called direct investment. Portfolio investment: Investing indirectly with company loans, financial loans, stocks, etc. Basically, investment less than 10% of the item is called Portfolio investment. Other investment: Except for direct and portfolio investment, including international assistance and loans for original country.

FDI in Pakistan

An investment abroad, usually where the company is invested in is controlled by the foreign corporation. Foreign direct investment or foreign investment refers to long-term participation by country A into country B. It is well documented in the literature that foreign direct investment (FDI) plays a positive role in the process of economic growth. Thamos, et al. (2008) argued that foreign affiliates of transnational corporation (TNCs) succeed in developing new products and technologies faster than local firms, thereby exerting competitive pressure and forcing local firms to imitate and innovate. FDI is more than an external resource inflow FDI can modernize industry and better integrate the economy into international production. Market-seeking FDI is viable in current global recession. Export-oriented FDI is a desirable medium-term objective

Types of FDI

Inward Foreign Direct Investment:

Inward FDI for an economy can be defined as the capital provided from a foreign direct investor (i.e. the coca cola company) residing in a country, to that economy, which is residing in another country. “Foreign direct investment by a foreign firm establishing a facility with in the domestic country, Contrasts with outward FDI.” EXAMPLE: General Motors decide to open a factory in Malaysia. They are going to need some capital. That capital is inward FDI for Malaysia

Outward Foreign Direct Investment

Foreign direct investment by a domestic firm establishing a facility abroad, Contrasts with inward FDI. EXAMPLE: General Motors decide to open a factory in Malaysia. They are going to need some capital. That capital is outward FDI for USA.

5 Key Reasons to Invest In Pakistan

Geo-strategic Location

Trained Workforce

Economic Outlook

Investment Policies

Financial Markets

Foreign Investment Inflows in Pakistan ($ Million)

Year Green Field Investment Privatization Proceeds Total FDI

2005-06 1981.00 1540.00 3521.00

2006-07 4873.20 266.40 5139.60

2007-08 5276.60 133.20 5409.80

2008-09 3719.90 0.00 3719.90

2009-10 2150.80 0.00 2150.80

2010-11 (Jul-Jan) 974.00 0.00 1181.80

Green Field Investment

A form of foreign direct investment where a parent company starts a new venture in a foreign country by constructing new operational facilities from the ground up. In addition to building new facilities, most parent companies also create new long-term jobs in the foreign country by hiring new employees.

Privatization Proceeds

Selling off public assets to private operators can create a win-win situation for developing countries looking to unload expensive and unsustainable assets.

Main Greenfield Projects, Inward Investing In Pakistan

Investing company Home economy Industry Investment Value (US $)

China Mobile China Communication 500

Total France Petroleum 406

Yamaha Japan Transport equipment 150

Metro Germany Trade 55

Coca-Cola U.S Beverages 100

Procter & Gamble U.S Chemicals 100

Toyota Motor Japan Transport equipment 180

Credit Suisse Group Switzer Land Finance 33

Country Wise FDI Inflows ($ Million) 2010-2011 Jul-Jan

USA 142.9

UK 127.6

U.A.E 158.3

Japan 1.1

Hong Kong 91.8

Switzerland 23.3

Saudi Arabia 5.9

Germany 9.1

Korea (South) 1.5

Norway 0.4

China 4.9

Others 380.2

Sector Wise FDI Inflows ($ Million)

Sector 2010-2011(Jul-Jan)

Oil & Gas 296.4

Financial Business 114.1

Textiles 14.0

Trade 27.6

Construction 37.5

Power 86.4

Chemical 19.5

Transport 54.7

IT & Telecom 77.3

Others 219.5

Foreign Direct Investment, Net Outflows

6000 Pakistani companies operating in the UAE e.g. Netsol’s (a Pakistani software company).

Pakistanis have invested 6.7B Dirham's in Dubai real estate.

Fosh Tech dealing in electronic field in Singapore

Most banks invest in many countries such as HBL.

How Can A Foreign Investor Invest His Funds?

The foreign direct investor may invest in by any of the following methods in Pakistan:

By incorporating a wholly owned subsidiary or company, by acquiring shares in an associated enterprise.

Through a merger or an acquisition of an unrelated enterprise.

Participating in an equity joint venture with another investor or enterprise.

FDI Increase by 12% during fiscal year 2014 (July 16, 2014)

With an increase of 12 percent, Pakistan fetched some $1.6 billion Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) during the last fiscal year (FY14). "For the last few years FDI was on decline because of several domestic and external issues, including energy crisis, adverse law and order situation and lack of infrastructure," economists said. However, with the arrival of new political set-up in May last year FDI is presenting an improved picture as foreign investors have some hopes for betterment in the Pakistan's economy.

Economists said major inflows of direct investment have arrived in two sectors, including telecommunication and oil and gas exploration sector. "Rising FDI inflows is a good sign for the developing economy of Pakistan and now government is required to adopt investment friendly policies aimed to attract the new investment. In addition, some serious measures are also required for an improved law and order situation and other issues", they added. The State Bank of Pakistan on Tuesday revealed that foreign investors have invested some $1.631 billion as FDI in Pakistan during FY14 as compared to $1.456 billion in FY13, depicting an increase of $175 million. FDI inflows, during the last fiscal year, stood at $2.641 billion as against outflow of $1 billion. Month-on-Month basis, FDI has posted a surge of 47 percent during last month of FY14. FDI stood at $189 million in June 2014 as against $128.3 million in June 13, showing an increase of 60 million. Followed by improvement in the country's equity market, the second component of foreign investment, i.e. Foreign Portfolio Investment (FPI) also registered upward trend. With an increase of 428 percent or $511 million, FPI reached $631 million in FY14 compared to $119.5 million in FY13.

Net foreign private investment comprising foreign direct investment and portfolio investment have risen by 42.5 percent or $686 million to $2.262 billion end of last fiscal year. In addition, net inflows of foreign investment in Pakistan comprising foreign private investment and foreign public investment reached $4.377 billion in FY14 as compared to $1.58 billion, depicting an increase of 177 percent or $2.79 billion.

Economists said although foreign investment has posted some surge, however it feels that adverse law and order situation and energy crisis are still major hurdles in foreign investment. "We are expecting more foreign investment in oil, gas and energy sector as the country is facing energy crisis from last few years", they added. They said that Pakistan has successfully launched some $2 billion worth Euro bond in April this year in the international bond market, while the government is also planning to launch some one billion dollar worth Islamic bond-Sukuk. $1.1 billion rose from 3G, 4G auction

#credit management #credit #management #fdi #foreign #foreign policy #direct #investment #pakistan #world #search #capital #revenue #banks #banking

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mastcomm · 5 years

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New U.S. Travel Ban Shuts Door on Africa’s Biggest Economy, Nigeria

The newlyweds had already been apart for half their yearlong marriage. Miriam Nwegbe was in Nigeria. Her husband was in Baltimore, and until she could join him, everything was on hold: finding a home together, trying for their first baby, becoming an American family.

Then, on Friday, their lives were thrown into disarray by the expansion of President Trump’s ban on immigration to include six new countries, including four in Africa. Nigeria, the continent’s most populous nation, was one of them.

“America has killed me,” Ms. Nwegbe’s husband, Ikenna, an optometrist, texted her when he heard. “We are finished.”

A year after the Trump administration announced that a major pillar of its new strategy for Africa was to counter the growing influence of China and Russia by expanding economic ties to the continent, it slammed the door shut on Nigeria, the continent’s biggest economy.

The travel restrictions also apply to three other African countries — Sudan, Tanzania, and Eritrea — as well as to Myanmar, which is accused of genocide against its Muslim population, and Kyrgyzstan, a former Soviet state.

The ban will prevent thousands of people from being able to move to the United States.

The initial ban, which was put into effect in 2017, restricted travel from some Muslim-majority countries as part of Mr. Trump’s plan to keep out “radical Islamic terrorists.” It has already affected more than 135 million people — many of them Christians — from seven countries.

With the new expansion, the ban will affect nearly a quarter of the 1.2 billion people on the African continent, according to W. Gyude Moore, a visiting fellow at the Center for Global Development, a research group, potentially taking a heavy toll on African economies — and on America’s image in the region.

“Chinese, Turkish, Russian, and British firms, backed by their governments, are staking positions on a continent that will define the global economy’s future,” he said, adding, “One hopes that the United States would follow suit and fully engage with the continent — but that hope fades.”

The rationale for the new restrictions varies depending on country, but the White House announcement said that most of the six countries added to the list did not comply with identity-verification and information-sharing rules.

And Nigeria, it said, posed a risk of harboring terrorists who may seek to enter the United States. The country has been hit brutally by the Islamist group Boko Haram, though the extremists have shown little sign that they have the capability to export their fight overseas.

Critics, many of whom also denounced the initial ban, saw something far more venal at play.

“Trump’s travel bans have never been rooted in national security — they’re about discriminating against people of color,” Kamala Harris, the former Democratic presidential candidate, declared on Sunday. “They are, without a doubt, rooted in anti-immigrant, white supremacist ideologies.”

Two Democrats still in the race also weighed in. Elizabeth Warren described the measure as a “racist, xenophobic Muslim ban.” Former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. called it “a disgrace.”

And Nancy Pelosi, the house speaker, said Democratic lawmakers would push ahead with a measure to forbid religious discrimination in immigration policy.

Beyond those people who may now never make it across American borders, the new ban could also affect millions who have no plans to travel to United States themselves but may have benefited from the billions of dollars in remittances visa holders send home each year.

The United States may also emerge a loser, studies suggest. Nigerians are among the most successful and highly educated immigrants to America. (Mr. Trump, demanding to know why immigration policies did not favor people from countries like Norway, once disparaged those from Africa and Haiti, and said Nigerians would never go back to their “huts” if they were allowed in.)

Hadiza Aliyu lives in Borno, the Nigerian state at the epicenter of the Boko Haram crisis that has left tens of thousands dead. But she thought she had found a way out.

Ms. Aliyu was preparing to apply to move to the United States, where she once studied and where her two brothers live.

She was furious when she heard about the extended ban.

“Trump has been looking for a way to get at us Africans for a very long time, and finally got us,” Ms. Aliyu said. “To hell with Republicans and their supremacist ideas.”

Mika Moses moved to Minnesota from Nigeria nine years ago to join his mother and siblings, who were allowed entry after the family was attacked in religious riots in their northern city of Kaduna in 1991. His wife, Juliet, and their daughter were planning to join him, but are stuck in Kaduna, where Ms. Moses sells soda in a small store.

She said they were heartbroken by the news that the move would now be impossible.

“I have been struggling to raise our daughter alone,” she said. “Why would Trump do this to us, after we have waited for nine years?”

Nigerians already living in the United States have been calling lawyers to try to figure out whether they will have to leave. Marilyn Eshikena, a biomedical research ethicist, has lived in the United States for the past seven years, but her visa expires this year. Her employer sponsored her application for a green card.

“If it turns out that everything needs to stop, they will feel cheated, because they spent a lot of money on this process,” Ms. Eshikena said. “I will also feel cheated, because all the time that I spent working here will ultimately be for nothing. I can’t even imagine what packing up and leaving will mean for me.”

Her departure may also have serious consequences for her brother, who is studying in Canada. Ms. Eshikena has been sending part of her earnings to help pay his rent.

Some Nigerians praised Mr. Trump for his decision, arguing it might make it more difficult for those responsible for stealing government money back home to find cover in the United States, and force the country’s leaders to be more honest and work harder to develop Nigeria.

In 2018, 7,922 immigrant visas were issued to Nigerians. Of these, 4,525 went to the immediate relatives of American citizens, and another 2,820 to other family members. An estimated 345,000 people born in Nigeria were living in the United States in 2017, according to the census bureau.

If the visas are coveted in Nigeria, they are just as prized in African countries like Eritrea, where government repression is rampant and those who try to leave face obstacles and danger. With more than 500,000 refugees living outside the country, Eritrea was the ninth-largest source of refugees in the world in 2018, according to the United Nations, but fewer than 900 Eritreans received immigrant visas to the United States that year.

Abraham Zere, a journalist who moved to the United States from Eritrea in 2012, had dreamed of living in the same country as his mother since leaving home. On Saturday, he said his plans to bring her to the United States had been thrown into disarray. His family has been in constant communication on the messaging platform WhatsApp trying to understand what the ban will mean for them.

“This decision complicates everything and creates fear,” said Mr. Zere, 37, a doctoral candidate at the School of Media Arts and Studies at Ohio University.

Mr. Zere and other Eritreans say they can’t go back. They fear they will be punished for criticizing the government or leaving without approval.

“If I can’t be reunited with my mother,” Mr. Zere said, “it nullifies the whole notion of protection and punishes innocent citizens for reasons they had no slightest part in.”

With nine siblings scattered across Europe, Africa, and the United States, Mr. Zere said their family has never had a full family portrait taken.

The economic consequences of the ban could be far-reaching, experts said.

“Being cut off from the largest economy in the world systematically is problematic,” said Nonso Obikili, a Nigerian economist.

The biggest impact, he said, could be on remittances.

Nigerians abroad send home billions of dollars each year, $24 billion in 2018 alone, according to the accounting firm PwC. With Nigeria’s economy highly dependent on oil and its unemployment rate at 23 percent, this money provides a lifeline for millions of its citizens.

The new restrictions come at a time when the United States says it wants to jockey for power in Africa, particularly through its “Prosper Africa” initiative announced last summer, which aims to double two-way trade and investment.

“If on the one hand you’re trying to make a push into Africa, and on the other hand you’re barring the largest African country by population from moving to your country, then it does send mixed signals,” Mr. Obikili said.

In January 2017, Mr. Trump’s travel ban targeted several other African nations, including Chad, Libya, and Somalia. Chad was later removed from that list, but the executive order halted the plans of thousands of Somali refugee living in camps in Kenya who were about to travel to the United States and start new lives.

According to the United States Department of Homeland Security, nearly 30,000 Nigerians overstayed their nonimmigrant visas in 2018. The number of Nigerians visiting the United States dropped sharply after the Trump administration made it harder for visitors to obtain visas last summer.

The new restrictions affect those who want to move to the United States, not visit it.

The six countries newly added to the immigration ban are not easily categorized together by religion. Nigeria, for exampleis thought to be home to more than 200 million people, roughly half of them Muslim and half Christian. Of the four African countries newly singled out, only Sudan has a significant majority of Muslims.

The United States has left Sudan on a list of state sponsors of terrorism, even as the country works to reverse decades of authoritarian rule under President Omar Hassan al-Bashir, who was deposed in April.

“This ban contributes to the overall impression that Sudan remains a very fragile state,” said Cameron Hudson, a senior fellow with the Atlantic Council, a research group.

Many people from the countries newly targeted by the ban said the uncertainty was the hardest thing to bear. Ms. Nwegbe, the newlywed, who works as the chief operating officer of a tourism company that tries to encourage people to visit Africa, said the ban came as she and her husband were building their future.

“We’re in limbo and our relationship is suffering,” she said. “This is unnecessary hardship.”

Ruth Maclean reported from London, and Abdi Latif Dahir from Nairobi, Kenya. Reporting was contributed by Zolan Kanno-Youngs in Washington; Eromo Egbejule from Lagos, Nigeria; Isaac Abrak from Abuja, Nigeria; Ismail Alfa from Maiduguri, Nigeria; and Emmett Lindner from New York.

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mikemortgage · 6 years

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US charges Facebook with high-tech housing discrimination

NEW YORK — The federal government charged Facebookwith high-tech housing discrimination Thursday for allegedly allowing landlords and real estate brokers to systematically exclude groups such as non-Christians, immigrants and minorities from seeing ads for houses and apartments.

“We’re disappointed by today’s developments, but we’ll continue working with civil rights experts on these issues,” the company said.

Google, in particular, has ad-targeting options similar to Facebook’s.

The technology at the centre of the clash with HUD has helped make Facebook rich, with annual revenue of close to $56 billion. Facebook gathers enormous amounts of data on what users read and like and who their friends are, and it uses that information to help advertisers and others direct their messages to exactly the crowd they want to reach.

HUD said Facebook is allowing advertisers to practice a sort of high-tech form of red-lining by excluding people in entire neighbourhoods or ZIP codes from seeing their ads. The company was accused, too, of giving advertisers the option of showing ads only to men or only to women.

The case will be heard by an administration law judge unless HUD or Facebook decides to move it to federal court.

Ives said the move may mean U.S. regulators are taking broader aim at the digital advertising market. “This is a clear shot across the bow for Facebook and others,” he said.

Galen Sherwin of the ACLU likewise warned: “All the online platforms should be paying close attention to these lawsuits and taking a hard look at their own advertising platforms.”

“Unless and until HUD can verify that there is an end of the discriminatory practices, we still have a responsibility to the American people,” said Raffi Williams, deputy assistant HUD secretary.

——

Ortutay reported from San Francisco. AP Business Writer Michelle Chapman in Newark, New Jersey, and AP Technology Writer Rachel Lerman in San Francisco contributed to this report.

from Financial Post https://ift.tt/2OywIYb via IFTTT Blogger Mortgage Tumblr Mortgage Evernote Mortgage Wordpress Mortgage href="https://www.diigo.com/user/gelsi11">Diigo Mortgage

#IFTTT #Financial Post

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premimtimes · 6 years

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By Steven Buigut, American University in Dubai

The impact of Kenya’s recent terrorist attack will be felt greatly by its tourism industry. Terrorism, and insecurity generally, is largely responsible for the sector’s poor performance over the last decade.

Between 2011 and 2017, there were on average 60 attacks each year carried out by different groups, each varying in magnitude. Over half of them are suspected to have been perpetrated by al-Shabaab. These include high-profile attacks in 2002 on Paradise hotel in Mombasa, the Westgate shopping mall in 2013 and Garissa University in 2015.

This had a huge impact on tourism numbers. Kenya’s vision 2030 – a development plan which aims to transform Kenya into a middle-income country – sought to increase tourism arrivals from 1.7 million in 2012 to three million visitors by 2017. But in 2017 the actual arrivals were only 1.45 million. 2014 was a particularly challenging year for the sector, as this was when terrorist attacks peaked at close to 100 incidences. The recent attack raises concerns that those dependent on tourism face the prospect of prolonged stagnation in the sector and job losses yet again.

Tourism is very important to the Kenyan economy. It provides huge employment and foreign exchange earnings. In 2017 the total contribution of travel and tourism to the Kenyan economy was about 9.7% of the country’s GDP. Travel and tourism accounted for about 9% of total employment in the same year.

Through my research I examine the impact of terrorism and travel advisories on tourism.

Each terror attack has a different impact on tourism and this is influenced by variables such as the scale of the attack in terms of lives affected (casualty and fatality levels), the damage to and type of property or facilities targeted, and the length of the siege. These all dictate the level of international media exposure, and the level of perceived risk among business and leisure travellers.

Measuring impact

My research analyses the combined data of attacks over several years and tourism arrivals to find an average effect. The number of fatalities and casualties are used as a measure of the scale of the attack.

On average, I found that there was a reduction of about 2508 visitors per year for every one fatality. This translates roughly to a loss of about Ksh157.1 million (about USD$1.5million) in tourism revenue per year for each fatality. These losses don’t capture the longer-term effects such as lost growth opportunities, or the social costs of lost lives and job losses.

The losses are felt by a range of people: hotel operators, taxi drivers, food vendors, tour guides and more. In some areas communities depend on tourists as clients for their curios or because they lease their land to hotel operators. On the coast, the fortunes of tourism-based towns like Malindi have declined.

In the longer term, the country’s competitiveness as a destination is compromised. Fewer tourists are willing to come and players in the tourism sector suffer as operational costs increase.

Tourism

The government realises the significance of the sector and it is one of the six priority sectors in its development blueprint.

Kenya’s tourism industry is heavily focused on its beaches and wildlife – as is Tanzania’s. That means tourists have alternatives within the region and can easily switch to competing destinations if Kenya’s security continues to deteriorate.

Kenya’s advantage over the competition elsewhere in Eastern Africa has been in its high level of international air connectivity, better local infrastructure and tourist facilities. The main sources of tourists are Europe (particularly the UK, Germany and Italy) and the US, though there’s also been an uptick in the numbers from Asia (especially China) and other African countries.

The government has already tried to make improvements to the industry. For example it implemented a program that gave incentives to charter flights and launched an aggressive marketing campaign, under Magical Kenya – the tourism board’s platform.

The aim, in addition to keeping visitors coming, was to attract tourists from non-traditional countries – like those in Asia, the Middle East and other African countries.

Fixing the problem

The government has also invested in security. In 2016 it adopted a national strategy to counter violent extremism, implemented through the national counter-terrorism centre.

The effort shows. The prevailing sentiment is that the response to the recent attack was more efficient than during the Westgate attack. But more can be done.

There needs to be better security and monitoring along the Somali border. This should be done using a mix of technology – like surveillance and bomb detection systems. This is crucial because of the limitations of ground based security forces and physical barriers. International and regional cooperation in intelligence and information sharing will help to improve effectiveness and lower costs.

Terrorists do not live in isolation; they live within communities. Support for initiatives like Nyumba Kumi, which promotes community unity and policing, can complement other security measures.

Ultimately, though, a comprehensive strategy must be developed to deal with the political and ideological sources of conflict that have fractured Somalia. Countries in the region must support Somalia so that it is stable enough to eliminate the threat of terrorism by the al-Shabaab group.

It’s imperative that Kenya continues to keep making these strides. If it doesn’t, tourists will steer clear and opt for alternative destinations.

Steven Buigut, Professor of Economics, American University in Dubai

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

The conversation

How Kenya’s tourism industry has felt the impact of terrorist attacks By Steven Buigut, American University in Dubai The impact of Kenya’s recent terrorist attack will be felt greatly by its tourism industry.

#al-Shabaab #kenya #Kenya Wildlife services #Nigeria #PREMIUM TIMES #Steven Buigutm #The Conversation #tourism

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falconridgegrp-blog · 6 years

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Mentorship program aims to boost number of black youth in GTA construction

A new mentorship program is being launched in Toronto on Wednesday with the aim of increasing the number of young black people working in the construction industry.

NextGen Builders, a pilot project, will connect youth with mentors who are professional tradespeople.

Organizers of the program say the idea is to diversify the construction industry in the Greater Toronto Area and to provide young people with the skills needed to secure employment and build careers in the trades.

The program is an initiative of Toronto Community Benefits Network, a community-labour coalition, in partnership with LiUNA's African American Canadian Caucus.

According to the 2018 Ontario's Apprenticeship Strategy, less than two per cent of people in apprenticeships in the province are visible minorities. The program hopes to change those numbers and get them to work - including on multi-billion dollar transit expansion projects already underway in Toronto.

In an interview with CBC Radio's Metro Morning, Toronto residents Chris Campbell, a carpenter and mentor, and Ahmed Abdi, a apprentice carpenter on the Eglinton Crosstown LRT project and a mentee, said NextGen Builders is a good idea.

The two, both members of Carpenters Union Local 27, were the inspiration for NextGen Builders. Campbell is a mentor to Abdi, who was born in Somalia but came to Canada when he was 13 and grew up in Rexdale. https://constructionlinks.ca/news/mentorship-program-aims-boost-number-black-youth-gta-construction/ Established in 2003, Construction Links Network is a peer-to-peer network sharing platform for the construction, building and design community. This one-of-a-kind platform provides the tools necessary to source and distribute the latest news, videos, events and innovative products / services the industry has to offer which helps our members plan, design and build great projects around the world. #construction #building #architecture #engineer #safety

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happyhomedecoration · 6 years

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Equation group

With operations predating at least 2001, Equation group is one of the most persistent and arguably, the most sophisticated threat groups in operation. Equation Group was discovered during Russian cyber-security firm, Kaspersky’s investigation into the Regin threat group. Kaspersky attributes Equation Group to the United States National Security Agency; however, definitive evidence of attribution remains absent. Equation group’s name derives from their employment of encryption and obfuscation strategies throughout their operations. The RC5 encryption algorithm is deployed throughout the malware and additional encryption algorithms RC6, RC4, and AES are added in other modules. Some of the attribution of the group to the United States comes from similarities between the malware platform and exploits to Stuxnet and the Gauss malware. Equation Group has globally targeted more than 500 victims in over 30 countries including Iran, Russia, Syria, Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Belgium, Somalia, Hong Kong, Libya, United Arab Emirates, Iraq, Nigeria, Ecuador, Mexico, Malaysia, United States, Sudan, Lebanon, Palestine, France, Germany, Singapore, Qatar, Pakistan, Yemen, Mali, Switzerland, Bangladesh, South Africa, Philippines, United Kingdom, India and Brazil. Targets are affiliated with government institutions, diplomatic organizations, the telecommunication sector, aerospace firms, energy companies, nuclear research facilities, oil and gas companies, military systems, nanotechnology research facilities, Islamic activists and scholars, mass media outlets, the transportation sector, financial institutions, and companies developing cryptographic technologies. It is possible that even more infections remain undiscovered. Kaspersky estimates that Equation Group attacked 2000 targets per month in 2008; although, the estimate seems generous. Equation Group’s known C&C infrastructure spans more than 300 domains on over 100 servers.

EQUATIONGROUP

#EQUATIONGROUP #GRAYFISH #EQUATIONDRUG #TRIPLEFANTASY #EQUATIONLASER #EQUATIONLASERplatform #DOUBLEFANTASY

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juliandmouton30 · 7 years

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"Don't design yet another shelter" for refugees, say experts

Designers should stop proposing gimmicky solutions to the refugee crisis such as shelters, apps and emergency clothing, according to speakers at our Good Design for a Bad World talk at Dutch Design Week.

Instead, efforts should be made to the shift the negative narrative around population movements and to help make cities better able to absorb incomers, the panellists said.

"Don't design yet another shelter for refugees," said humanitarian expert Kilian Kleinschmidt. "They're not a species. So, there is no need for tech for refugees. Or design for refugees, or architecture for refugees."

Architecture critic Rene Boer described some designers' efforts to help refugees as "more of a gimmick than a structural solution".

Boer, who has worked with refugee communities in Amsterdam and elsewhere, said that "micro solutions" such as backpacks fabricated from life jackets were unhelpful. Instead, designers should focus on removing the physical and non-physical barriers that prevent refugees from travelling and integrating.

"How can we un-design some structures or systems that are actually making things worse for refugees?" asked Boer, who is a founder of urban research platform Failed Architecture.

The "refugee crisis" is not a new phenomenon

The conversation was one of five hosted by Dezeen during Dutch Design Week in Eindhoven in October, as part of our Good Design for a Bad World series. The panel was convened to discuss how architecture and design could help tackle issues arising from population movement.

Architecture historian Michelle Provoost of Crimson pointed out that population movements have taken place throughout human history and are impossible to prevent.

"To stop migration I think would be a very non-historical position to take, since it has never happened," she said, arguing instead that integrating refugees should be seen as a planning issue.

"It is a permanent phenomenon, it happens all the time," she continued, to the agreement of Klienschmidt, who started his presentation with images of Venice, a city that was founded by refugees fleeing invaders from northern Europe.

Humanitarian expert Kilian Kleinschmidt, architecture critic Rene Boer and architecture historian Michelle Provoost joined Dezeen editor-in-chief Marcus Fairs for a talk about the role design can play in the refugee crisis

"So how is this possible that we are sort of surprised by it all the time and that we have to make these makeshift solutions every time again?" continued Provoost, who co-authored City of Comings and Goings, a research project looking at how cities deal with fluid populations.

"Why are we not prepared to deal with these flows of people coming in and out?"

This is an issue directly related to spatial design and urbanism, she added. "Look at the places where asylum-seekers or newcomers are actually housed in our country: on the borders of the Netherlands and Germany and completely outside of the areas where the work and economic possibilities are."

The way to integrate refugees is to give them housing and jobs so they help create economic prosperity, she said. "But spatially they are prevented to do so. So there is absolutely a spatial question connected to this refugee problem."

Climate change will dramatically increase population movements

Europe's ongoing refugee crisis, which has seen millions of people try to enter the continent by land and sea, has triggered a wide response from the creative community.

Yet refugees are a global phenomena: 2016 saw a record 65.6 million people forced to leave their homes. Population movements are predicted to increase still further in future, with climate change expected to become a major driver as rising seas, failing crops and extreme weather force tens of millions of people to move.

Eight designs that aim to alleviate the ongoing refugee crisis

Boer revealed that Amsterdam is actively preparing for this scenario. "The municipality of Amsterdam is already now preparing for the influx of climate refugees in 10, 20 years from now," he said.

"The main question I would say that interests us is how can architecture and design make our cities more adaptive to migration?" Provoost said.

The panel were united in calling for more intelligent, joined-up solutions and fewer token gestures.

Kleinschmidt said that over 6,000 apps had been created to help refugees navigate, find help, learn languages and so on – but none of them were being widely used or had been of significant help. "This is again because the community sort of thought, well, we need to design something special for those poor little things," he said.

Refugee camps are the wrong response to the problem

Kleinschidt, who spent 25 years working for the United Nations and managed refugee camps in Africa and Asia, said the humanitarian sector was still building "storage facilities" for displaced people in the false expectation that they would one day return to where they came from.

"The logic that displacement is something temporary has created these camps," he said. "The logic that only a refugee returning home as fast as possible is a good refugee."

Boer described how instead of waiting for others to help them, asylum seekers in Amsterdam are finding creative ways to turn their temporary status into something more permanent.

Refugees whose asylum applications have been rejected find themselves in limbo, he said. "They can't go back, but they also can't access housing or any work opportunities," said Boer. "They roam the streets with basically no way to operate in society here."

He described how they formed an action group that occupied empty properties, which they refurbished and turned into living and working spaces. They would usually get evicted from these properties eventually but in one case they managed to strike a deal with the landlord.

Refugees can solve problems themselves, given the chance

"They made an agreement with the owner to rent it for four or five years," Boer said. "They redesigned the building on the inside; they transformed it. But in this case, they made an agreement with the owner to actually rent it for four or five years. And what is particularly interesting is that they redesigned the building on the inside; they transformed it."

The refugees' activism and self-generated employment helped to convince the authorities to review their asylum status, with 40 per cent of them earning the right to stay.

Klienschmidt argued that efforts need to be redirected to encourage refugees to form viable communities in other parts of the world, where population movements are even more pronounced that in Europe.

The climate-change debate was the first of five Good Design for a Bad World talks that Dezeen hosted during Dutch Design Week

"There are new population centres growing, and they're totally left alone," he said. "And that's where planners, that's where designers, that's where all the knowledge we have has to come in.

Vibrant refugee cities could be established in Africa

"What if we would create major population centres together as a community in Somalia, at the Horn of Africa? There is plenty of space to actually develop new living and working and economic opportunities. All that is being left aside. All we're concentrating on is trying to prevent migration instead of managing it."

European cities are less adaptable to the influx of refugees today than in the past due to changing patterns of home ownership, Provoost claimed.

"In the Netherlands, we used to have a tradition in which social housing, affordable housing, was abundant and was a state policy," she said. "And, of course, this had diminished greatly the last 20 years."

In 1999, when refugees flooded out of Kosovo, the Netherlands was able to absorb large numbers, she said. "During the Kosovo crisis we didn't have any housing problems. But now we have. Because the social housing stock has been sold off. This is one of the results of the neoliberalisation of our country."

The education system has failed to respond to the refugee challenge

All three speakers called for schools and universities to recognise the shortage of expertise and the lack of adequate thinking about refugees and offer new courses to train a new generation of architects, designers and planned equipped to deal with the growing phenomenon of population movements.

"The design community and the planning community, especially in Western Europe, are largely overlooking this whole topic of the need of thinking about how to plan cities, how to organise, how to manage cities and urban areas in the quickly-growing parts of our world," Provoost argued.

"And this is, I think, partly because we had an era of planning in the 60s and 70s, and we've grown weary of it. And now we are talking about self-organisation and small scale things. So the need to think and conceptualise and design for this issue is not realised enough at our universities.

"Because I think the university systems have become so rigid that they have become incapable of dealing with the immediate and actual questions that are out there. They don't deal with reality."

Dezeen hosted five talks during this year's edition of Dutch Design Week, covering a range of global issues including politics and refugees.

Movies of all of the talks, including this one, are available to watch in full via our Good Design for a Bad World page. An edited version of the climate-change talk is also available, and the remaining three will be published soon.

Dezeen and Dutch Design Week launch Good Design for a Bad World initiative

The post "Don't design yet another shelter" for refugees, say experts appeared first on Dezeen.

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thandisizwemgudlwa · 7 years

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Water, energy still a pipedream for many Africans

FEATURE - THE SOUTHERN TIMES

Jul 01, 2016

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By Thandisizwe Mgudlwa

An opportunity for African governments to provide water, energy and other services to those in need and control speedy urbanisation to the continent’s cities could be on the horizon.

It is a well-known fact that an emerging region like Southern Africa is hamstrung by the overwhelming influx of thousands of its rural citizens yearly – to its poorly resourced cities – by people in search of a ‘better life’.

This is compounded by the thousands of illegal immigrants from other African countries and elsewhere.

What the flocking of many of these, mostly poor and unskilled, people to African commercial cities leads to is overcrowding and straining of infrastructure and amenities that are not equipped like those of Europe and America, for example.

With little prospect of employment or creating their start-ups, many will join the masses that are already unemployed and living in poverty and underdevelopment.

Societal ills like crime, disease, homelessness and poverty, to name a few, would ‘skyrocket’, leaving governments with inadequate resources to turn around the situation, and provide the better services they always promise the electorate during election time.

But now, all that could be issues of the past. At least if what Pumpmakers claim is true. The Austrian organisation has launched the Pumpmakers Platform.

This programme is said to be a virtual marketplace that helps people help themselves by providing individuals, local companies, NGOs and volunteers with free access to the easy-to-use do-it-yourself (DIY) solar pump.

The system comes with a global network to implement projects for everyone where there is a need of water.

According to Pumpmakers, “This helps reduce the global water shortage, strengthens the local economy, creates jobs and prevents migration from rural areas.”

Also noted is that the group has successfully installed DIY Solar Pumps in Africa and Europe since 2012.

“A single pump system provides up to 1 000 people a day with clean drinking water.”

And that building on the success of these first projects, new Pumpmakers projects will follow in Somalia, Morocco, Zambia, Cameroon and Tanzania.

The expansions would allow entrepreneurs, local companies, NGOs and individuals requiring water every day to register themselves free of charge on the Pumpmakers Platform, and present their company, organisation or project to a global community.

Furthermore, “Pumpmakers are on the lookout for new project entries and water wells as well as existing sources of water with and without water pumps (for example, hand pumps or diesel-powered water pumps), which may be replaced by or equipped with a DIY Solar Pump.

Dietmar Stuck, an experienced Austrian well-builder, founder and CEO of Pumpmakers explains, “There is a huge need for safe, clean drinking water in Africa. To date, however, more than 300 000 hand pumps are inoperative or broken.

“That’s why our DIY Solar Pump and the Pumpmakers Platform present an ideal solution. Project entries on our world map will provide us with the information we need to realise these projects together with our partners.”

Back in 2010, Stuck developed the world’s first DIY Solar Pump together with his team of experts, using the latest technology as well as a sustainable and patented concept.

“All materials as well as the individual parts of the pump are maintenance-free and corrosion-free. What’s more, the pump is affordable and has been designed for easy assembly, even in the remotest corners of the world. Due to the fact that we only use renewable solar energy to pump water from a depth of 100 metres, our system incurs no running costs. The optional hand pump can be used for operations at night.

More importantly, our DIY Solar Pump works independently from wind and fuel. It is the ideal substitute for conventional systems that are often too expensive or require a lot of maintenance.”

According to Pumpmakers, just basic DIY skills and a few parts that are readily available locally are required to assemble and instal the solar pump.

The pump kit, piston and gear unit as well as suitable tools or advertising material can be purchased via the webshop of the multilingual Pumpmakers Platform

“The parts needed for the pump tower can either be obtained locally or via the webshop. Videos and images provide step-by-step assembly instructions,” the group says.

The new platform offers local companies and start-up entrepreneurs, the Pumpmakers, a straightforward business model and the support they need.

“Pumpmakers can present their services to the global community, network with NGOs, customers or fellow Pumpmakers, report on their DIY Solar Pump project and upload images and videos.”

A world map highlights water supply needs and shows the status of current projects.

Meanwhile, the 2012 book ‘Capital Cities in Africa: Power and Powerlessness’ looks at the contemporary issues facing these cities.

According to the editors of this book, capital cities have always played a role in nation and state building.

“Typically, the state projects its power through the urban landscape and layout of its capital city. Power is asserted via the capital’s architecture, its public monuments and the names of its streets and public places. But these urban symbols of authority are fluid and subject to change as ideologies and political landscapes shift.”

In the book, a range of authors present a set of multifocal studies of sub-Saharan African capital cities. From Dakar to Conakry, Nairobi to Luanda, the chapters deal with the historical development of these capitals, their political dramas, their levels of service delivery and their location within the ethnic, economic and demographic fabric of their nations.

What emerges from the studies is a sense of the power of African capitals, in terms of their political importance and their proximity to the centre of patronage and redistribution.

But what is also revealed is their powerlessness, in the face of both massive immigration and the resultant service demands of exploding populations and ethnopolitical violence.

The primary historical focus of the book is the period since political independence from European colonialism, some 50 years or less (2010 marked the 50th year of independence for many countries in Africa).

Hence, much of the urban and built landscape discussed is of recent construction, while colonial traces are still significant.

Each study provides a short historical context of the city and nation state, while concentrating on the urban geology of the capital, on its use of monuments and names of streets and identifying pertinent spaces where public rallies, marches and other forms of mobilisation have taken place.

While each city has its own individual national trajectory after independence, they also share a common demographic feature.

In contrast to Europe, where rapid urbanisation is past, sub-Saharan Africa is experiencing a process of urbanisation that is moving at extraordinarily great speed.

The studies and concluding overview cover west, central, East and southern Africa, and British, French, Portuguese and Boer colonialisms, with some mention of German, Italian and Spanish legacies.

The contributors succeed in bringing a range of diverse disciplines to the discussion – from historical to geographical to political – which need to be taken to account by all stakeholders committed to the development of Africa.

According to Stuck, there is a great demand, not only in Africa but also increasingly in South America, Asia and Australia. Therefore, the next series production of the DIY Solar Pump commenced in March 2016.

“Compared to many traditional water pump systems that are often maintenance prone and expensive, the investment of about US$7 500 for the maintenance-free DIY Solar Pump is amortised over about one to two years.”

However, “Even individuals or volunteers who want to make a difference can help fight the global water crisis.

“They can invest time and effort by joining the Pumpmakers Platform and highlighting their project on the world map.

That way, they can effectively draw sponsors’ and organisations’ attention of the need for water in their region.”

Stuck adds, “Our goal is to provide thousands of people worldwide with access to safe, clean drinking water and give those wanting to start their own business the support they need.

“That is why we came up with a unique DIY concept. It makes people more self-sufficient and effectively helps fight the global water shortage and poverty.”

Today, almost 800 million people still have no access to safe, clean drinking water. As a result, some 10 000 people die every day – most of them are children under the age of five.

Another study of note is ‘Alternatives to Privatisation: Public Options for Essential Services in the Global South’ published that confirms that the number of people in the global south without access to basic services is staggering.

Globally, more than 1.1 billion people are not able to obtain safe water supplies, 2.4 billion people do not have access to improved sanitation facilities, and 1.4 billion do not have electricity, with the vast majority of these people living in Asia, Africa and Latin America.

“The interconnectivity of these service deficits makes matters worse, a lack of clean water, inadequate sanitation, no electricity for the refrigeration of food and health supplies and a shortage of medical personnel all combine to wreak havoc on people’s lives.

“These are service gaps that cost a lot of money for example, an estimated US$41 billion a year will be needed for energy infrastructure in Africa alone if universal access is attained by 2030. A major question is thus who will take responsibility for service delivery?

Privately-owned profit-driven corporations, or state-operated/public entities? All indications are that struggles over privatisation and its alternatives are going to feature prominently for many years to come.

“In this light, Alternatives to privatisation: Public options for essential services in the global South offers the first global survey of its kind to provide a rigorous platform for evaluating alternatives to private enterprise.”

The book looks at what constitutes alternatives, what makes them successful or not, what improvements have been achieved and what lessons have been learnt. This is backed up by examples in over 50 countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America, covering three sectors – health care, water/sanitation and electricity.

In this study, there are also contributions from a range of researchers, activists and NGO members, the publication is academically rigorous but also accessible to policy makers, analysts, unionists and others familiar with the debates on privatisation and its alternatives.

The question is, are African governments and stakeholders listening? Or will they act to change the conditions under which the people live at least by 2030?

Time will tell.

*Thandisizwe Mgudlwa is an internationally acclaimed journalist based in Cape Town, South Africa. He is the author of the best-selling children’s book – ‘Kiddies World’.

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hudsonespie · 7 years

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EU Leads The Way With Ambitious Action For Cleaner And Safer Seas

At the ongoing EU-hosted Our Ocean conference in Malta (5-6 October), the European Union has committed to 36 tangible actions to foster healthier, cleaner, safer and more secure seas. Amounting to over €550 million and involving activities worldwide, the announcements underline the EU’s determination to improve the situation of the seas and send a positive signal of encouragement to the rest of the world – governments and private sector alike – to step up and tackle the growing ocean challenges, from plastic pollution and protecting marine life to the impact of climate change and criminal activities at sea.

The EU’s 36 commitments are described in detail below.

Representation Image – Credits: IMO Collection/flikr.com

Maritime security is the basis for global trade and prosperity, but it is under threat – from natural disasters to piracy, trafficking and armed conflict. To make our oceans safer and more secure the European Union announced:

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€37.5 million to ensure maritime security and counter piracy along the south-eastern African coastline and in the Indian Ocean. The funds are to be implemented by four regional organisations (IGAD, COMESA, EAC and IOC) in cooperation with UNODC, INTERPOL and FAO. The programme supports alternative livelihood initiatives in the coastal pirate areas of Somalia, investigation capacities at national and regional level, prison reforms, prosecution and judicial capacity, disruption of illegal financial flows, combating money laundering, and various other maritime tasks, in addition to a regional mechanism for the coordination and exchange of maritime information.

€4 million of investment in its satellite monitoring programme (Copernicus) in 2017 to support EU agencies and EU Member States in monitoring oil pollution and large-scale commercial fisheries (including the fight against illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing) in the Northeast Atlantic, the Mediterranean, the Baltic, the North Sea, the Black Sea, the Pacific Ocean and around the Canary Islands. Copernicus will also introduce new services to support law enforcement and navigation safety in ice-infested areas.

continued support for maritime security in the Gulf of Guinea, including through the Gulf of Guinea Inter-Regional Network and the launch of two new programmes: the SWAIMS programme (Support to West Africa Integrated Maritime Security), worth €29 million, and the programme to improving port security in West and Central Africa, worth €8.5 million.

€1 million in 2017 to support the upgrading of the ICT systems of EU maritime authorities and facilitate cooperation between them. Furthermore, the European Union announced that it will contribute €80,000 to facilitate cooperation between coastguard authorities in Europe.

the launch of a prototype surveillance tool in September 2017 which detects ships to reveal the extent of human activities at sea. The ‘Search for Unidentified Maritime Objects’ tool, or ‘SUMO’ for short, is a piece of software that automatically analyses data from radar imaging satellites to find vessels as small as 1 metre long, even in cloudy conditions or at night. The SUMO tool is open source, to promote uptake by users and developers and facilitate international cooperation on mapping of ship routes, monitoring shipping intensity, identifying polluting ships, monitoring fishing activities, countering piracy and smuggling, and controlling maritime borders.

Marine pollution is a massive problem, with over 10 million tonnes of litter ending up in the sea each year. By 2050, our oceans could contain more plastic than fish. To tackle these challenges, the EU announced:

The launch of WISE-Marine, a gateway to information on European water issues for the general public and stakeholders to promote better ocean governance and ecosystem-based management. The platform will be expanded and integrated further in the years to come.

€2 million in 2017 to support the implementation of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive by the Member States and a further €2.3 million to support regional and inter-regional cooperation for this objective. The EU law aims to achieve Good Environmental Status (GES) of the waters of EU Member States by 2020 and to protect the resource base upon which marine-related economic and social activities depend.

€2.85 million for marine pollution prevention and preparedness projects and €2.5 million for marine pollution exercises, to support and complement the cross-border cooperation efforts between EU countries and with selected countries in the EU’s vicinity.

draft measures to reduce the leakage of plastics into the environment by the end of 2017, as part of its upcoming plastics strategy.

draft measures in 2017 to reduce the discharges of ship-generated waste and cargo residues into the sea.

The sustainable blue economy is forecast to double by 2030, from an estimated €1.3 trillion today. The theme was added by the EU to this year’s edition of the Our Ocean conference to foster stronger synergies between sustainable ocean solutions and economic growth and employment in coastal communities around the world. To this end, the EU announced:

More than €250 million to fund marine and maritime research in 2017. This includes €40 million to support low-emission and advanced waterborne transport and over €30 million for marine energy. Furthermore, the EU announced that it will provide €12 million to support two new innovation projects on cleaning actions to combat marine litter and other pollutants. Finally, the European Union announced to support the BlueMED Initiative for cooperation on a healthy, productive and resilient Mediterranean Sea through science and research with over €50 million.

A further strengthening of its work on the All-Atlantic Ocean Research Alliance by fostering enhanced cooperation frameworks with Atlantic partners such as Brazil and South Africa on marine science, research and innovation under the Belém Statement, and will allocate over €60 million in the period 2018-2019 to fulfilling this objective. The EU will also continue to implement the ground-breaking Galway Statement on Ocean Research Cooperation with the USA and Canada. The European Union reported that the number of research teams working in international consortia on the challenges facing the Atlantic Ocean will exceed 500 by 2019.

A €14.5 million investment initiative in 2017 to promote a sustainable blue economy in the European Union. Around €8 million of the fund is to provide start-up grants for high-potential projects in emerging blue economy sectors across the EU. In order to better monitor and combat marine litter, a further €2 million will go towards providing support for innovative technologies to monitor and/or combat marine litter in waters around the European Union. Furthermore, €3 million will go towards facilitating twinning projects in the Mediterranean Sea Basin, such as between maritime training and education institutes, businesses operating in the blue economy and local fishing communities. Finally, €1.5 million is to be allocated to restoring marine and coastal ecosystems in the Mediterranean.

The launch of the Pacific – European Union Marine Partnership (PEUMP) programme, worth €45 million. Sweden announced that it will contribute €10 million to the programme. The purpose of the programme is to support sustainable management and development of fisheries for food security and economic growth, while addressing climate change resilience and conservation of marine biodiversity.

Work on accelerating Maritime/Marine Spatial Planning processes worldwide, in cooperation with the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO (IOC-UNESCO), as both committed to on 24 March 2017. Maritime spatial planning (MSP) works across borders and sectors to ensure human activities at sea take place in an efficient, safe and sustainable way. Building on the Joint Roadmap, the EU will provide a grant of €1.4 million to IOC-UNESCO to develop international guidelines for MSP. As part of this venture, two MSP pilot projects will be launched in early 2018: one in the Mediterranean and another in the South Pacific. Furthermore, an International Forum for MSP will be created to facilitate discussions on how MSP, including cross-sectoral actions, should be applied globally. The first workshop is to take place in spring 2018.

€23 million of investment in the marine environment monitoring service of its satellite monitoring programme (Copernicus) in 2017 and 2018. The service focuses on climate change, fisheries and marine protection. It was also announced that Copernicus will, for the first time, create Ocean Monitoring Indicators, including on biochemistry. These indicators, important for measuring ocean health, will be published in the Ocean State Report that will be available online by the end of 2018.

Its commitment to further progressing Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Agreements with coastal states. These agreements already assist countries in the development of sustainable fisheries, the effective management of monitoring and control systems and the fight against IUU fishing. The new generation of agreements are to have a more integrated approach, including promoting a sustainable blue economy as well as advancing investment in the fisheries sector. This new approach should allow partner countries to gain more value from the ocean economy in a sustainable manner.

€8.5 million for the preservation of marine and coastal biodiversity in the Caribbean Sea Basin for the benefit of communities that depend on these ecosystems. This action targets in particular natural areas that are threatened by misuse, overexploitation, pollution and climate change effects.

Nearly €6 million to support projects in EU countries to set up cross-border cooperation on maritime spatial planning. Maritime spatial planning works across borders and sectors to ensure human activities at sea take place in an efficient, safe and sustainable way.

Financing to test the first wave and tidal array deployments in Europe in 2017 by contributing €1.5 million to support administrations and project developers involved in environmental monitoring.

Its intention to develop the Pilot Blue Science Cloud, which is to modernise the process of accessing, managing and using marine data, with the goal of improving the handling of large quantities of different marine and maritime data using cloud technologies. Furthermore, the Blue Cloud is intended to further foster work between EU scientists and their international partners. Cloud technologies can improve global and regional ocean observations and forecasting, as promoted in the framework of the G7 Future of the Sea and Oceans initiative and as part of the worldwide effort to build an improved Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS).

At least €1 million to support the World Bank’s Global Fisheries Programme (PROFISH). The aim of the programme is to improve environmental sustainability, human wellbeing and economic performance in the world’s fisheries and aquaculture, with a focus on the welfare of the poor in fisheries and fish farming communities in the developing world.

Climate change has very direct consequences for the oceans, with rising sea levels and increasing acidification among the most alarming. The European Union therefore announced:

A €10 million project with the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) concerning climate change mitigation in the maritime shipping sector. The project aims to establish five Maritime Technology Cooperation Centres (MTCCs), one in each of the target regions – Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Latin America and the Pacific – thereby forming a global network. The network’s task is to enable developing countries in these regions to develop energy-efficiency measures in maritime transport.

€1.5 million for reducing black carbon emissions in the Arctic. The project is intended to reinforce international cooperation to protect the Arctic environment.

€600,000 over the next two years for an integrated Arctic project focusing on the three priority areas of EU Arctic policy: Climate Change and Safeguarding the Arctic Environment; Sustainable Development in and around the Arctic; and International Cooperation on Arctic Issues.

Marine protection: Less than 5% of the world’s marine and coastal areas are currently protected by law, and even less is enforced – despite the UN’s 2020 target of 10% protection. The European Union therefore announced:

The European Commission announced the phase-out by end 2017 all single-use plastic cups in water fountains and vending machines in its buildings in Brussels*. It also committed to report on all its efforts towards a further reduction of the use of other single-use plastic items in all its buildings and events at the occasion of the 2018 Our Ocean Conference. Measures to achieve this will include improving its green public procurement, reducing single-use plastics in canteens and cafeterias, promoting use of tap water, launching a wider awareness-raising campaign for staff on waste reduction, sorting and recycling and greening Commission events.

€20 million to support the management of marine protected areas in African, Caribbean and Pacific countries through the programme BIOPAMA II (Biodiversity and Protected Areas Management Programme).

Together with Germany, support for the establishment of a cross-sectoral and cross-boundary multi-stakeholder platform for regional ocean governance by 2020. This platform will be developed under the Partnership for Regional Ocean Governance (PROG), initiated in 2015 by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies (IASS), the Institute for Sustainable Development and International Relations (Institut du Développement Durable et des Relations Internationales – IDDRI) and the Think Tank for Sustainability (TMG). The development of the platform has been announced by Germany as a voluntary commitment on the occasion of the UN Ocean Conference for their implementation of SDG14 (5-9 June 2017). The PROG forum will provide new knowledge on integrated ocean governance at three different levels: (1) within regions; (2) between regions; and (3) between the regional level and the global level. Building on a collaborative process with international partners in 2018, the European Union and Germany will organise the first meeting in 2019.

€1.5 million to analyse ecosystems and economic activity on the mid-Atlantic Ridge and the Rio Grande Rise, in order to support the definition of a coherent set of Areas of Particular Environmental Interest.

Its intention to support the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean in establishing a Fishing Restricted Area (FRA) of at least 2,700 km² to protect demersal stocks in the habitat recognised as essential nursery and spawning ground for a number of marine species outside territorial waters of Italy and Croatia of the Jabuka/Pomo Pit area of the Adriatic Sea. The creation of the Jabuka/Pomo Pit FRA will be for decision at the annual session of the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM) on 16-19 October 2017.

Sustainable fisheries are a prerequisite for continued access to sufficient, nutritious seafood for coming generations. To ensure sustainable fisheries around the world, the EU announced:

€15 million under the PESCAO programme for the improvement of regional fisheries governance in Western Africa with the aim of developing a regional fishing policy, putting in place a regional coordination against illegal unregulated and unreported (IUU) fishing and improving fish stock management at regional level.

€5.7 million in 2017 to support the work of the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM) in improving the sustainability of fishing resources in the Mediterranean. This isa follow-up to the Medfish4Ever Declaration, a 10-year pledge to save the Mediterranean’s fish stocks and protect the region’s ecological and economic wealth that was signed on 30 March 2017.

A minimum of €1 million in 2017 for the FAO global programme to support the implementation of the landmark Agreement on Port State Measures to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing. The programme provides policy, legal and technical assistance and capacity-building to strengthen enforcement of the Agreement. Furthermore, the EU announced that it will host the international conference to assess and review the Port State Measures Agreement in 2020. Finally, the EU announced that it will contribute €225,000 in 2017 to FAO for the development of a global record that is to register fishing vessels, refrigerated transport vessels and supply vessels worldwide.

New rules that are expected to enter into force by the end of 2017 to better and more sustainably manage the external fishing fleet. The new rules will allow the European Union to better monitor and control its fleet and efficiently address the problems of reflagging and chartering, thus enhancing efforts to combat IUU fishing.

Its commitment to reaching a multilateral agreement on fisheries subsidies at the 11th WTO Ministerial Conference that is to take place in Buenos Aires in December 2017. With this objective, the EU put forward a revised proposal in July 2017 at the World Trade Organisation to prohibit certain forms of fisheries subsidies which contribute to overcapacity and overfishing, to eliminate subsidies that contribute to illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing and to refrain from introducing new subsidies of this kind. The proposal, aimed at implementing SDG 14.6, also contains provisions on enhanced transparency and guidelines on special and differential treatment for developing and least developed countries. Furthermore, the EU will do its utmost to further this agreement and to support it through the stages of negotiation and implementation.

Reference: europa.eu

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koor-jobs · 2 months

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Discover Job Vacancies & Opportunities in Somalia | Koor

Find diverse job vacancies & opportunities in Somalia, including NGO, govt, & UN roles. Connect with top employers on Koor for full-time to consulting positions.

#Career Resources Somalia #Job Platform Somalia #Employers Platform Somalia #Government Jobs Tenders Bids Somalia #Somalia Job Vacancies #Somalia Tenders

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nancydhooper · 7 years

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Kris Kobach Pushes Voter Fraud Lies While Meeting With Fellow Suppression Activists

There are more people on Kobach’s voter fraud commission than people he has convicted of voter fraud.

Kris Kobach is getting desperate. In a column last week for Breitbart, the Kansas Secretary of State declared that voter fraud tipped the scales in the election last year in New Hampshire.

The evidence?

Anyone who registered to vote on Election Day with another state’s drivers’ license and didn’t get a New Hampshire license within 60 days was an illegitimate voter and, according to Kobach’s apparently psychic powers, most likely a Democrat!

Registering to vote and casting a ballot in New Hampshire while having a driver’s license from another state is legal. In fact, the New Hampshire Supreme Court settled this debate in 2015, finding that registered voters do not have to get a New Hampshire license within 60 days.

It appears that the vice-chair of the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity does not understand the election laws of New Hampshire, where his commission will be meeting on Tuesday.

Many people, for various reasons, choose not to go to the DMV to get a new license upon moving to a new state, most commonly, college students from out-of-state who live on campus and don’t drive. Unsurprisingly, New Hampshire voters who have out-of-state licenses live most frequently in college towns. But according to Kobach, such voters committed fraud. Besides Kobach’s own egregious and badly flawed argument, there are no signs of voter fraud taking place in New Hampshire.

We have seen similarly specious arguments from other purveyors of the voter fraud myth. For example, Donald Trump has conflated being registered to vote in more than one state with voter fraud. Kobach was once in trouble for claiming a dead voter had cast a ballot, despite the fact he was very much alive.

Kobach’s decision to write as a paid columnist for Breitbart, which Bannon called “the platform for the Alt-Right,” is raising questions of its own: George W. Bush’s ethics lawyer Richard Palmer told The Huffington Post that Kobach could be in violation of federal conflict of interest statutes by “getting paid by somebody to write about your official duties.”

Naturally, Kobach has stacked the panel of witnesses for his commission’s second official meeting with fellow voter fraud conspiracy theorists, including Robert Popper, John Lott, Ken Block, Donald Palmer, and Hans von Spakovsky, to testify to the commission.

Popper, the director of Judicial Watch’s Election Integrity Project, has threatened to sue states and counties unless they purged their voter rolls of supposedly ineligible voters. Advocates feared that the move targeted communities of color. Lott has a record of pushing discredited “analyses” about the 2008 Minnesota Senate race, erroneously blaming voter fraud for the Republican incumbent’s defeat.

Block, for his part, recently authored a report on people voting in more than one state for the Government Accountability Institute, an organization founded by Bannon, which relied on a consumer database to suggest that there were over 8,000 cases of duplicate voting in the last election. Palmer, the former Virginia State Board of Elections secretary, similarly tried to hunt for supposed duplicate voting. Instead he ended up mistakenly sending 125,000 Virginia voters a notification that wrongly claimed that they were registered to vote elsewhere. He blamed it on an “administrative error.”

Von Spakovsky, who is also a member of the commission, made it his life’s work to suppress voting rights, particularly the rights of people of color. He regularly cites a 2010 Missouri State House election as proof that voting by noncitizens is rampant in elections, claiming that it was decided by votes “cast illegally by citizens of Somalia.” However, a court couldn’t find any evidence of such misconduct. His employer, the Heritage Foundation, once tried and failed to find a significant amount of cases of voter impersonation.

Incidentally, there are more people on Kobach’s commission than people the Kansas secretary of state has convicted of voter fraud.

As the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law has also pointed out, all of the people testifying at the meeting are white men, despite the fact that election irregularities and abuses (and the voter suppression measures backed by Kobach) disproportionately affect people of color.

But Kobach’s problems don’t end there. It was recently revealed that members of the commission have been using their personal email addresses for official duties, a potential violation of the Presidential Records Act that raises further questions about the commission’s transparency.

A federal judge recently reprimanded Kobach for failing to comply with federal disclosure laws, which the commission’s lawyer downplayed as an “honest misunderstanding.” Back in June, Kobach offered a similar explanation in a lawsuit with the ACLU where he was sanctioned and fined $1,000 for misleading the court about a document he brought to a meeting with Trump, dismissing his wrongdoing as another “misunderstanding.”

Of course, Kobach has prosecuted people for making honest mistakes, all as part of his quest to justify voter suppression. It’s dirty work, but someone like Kobach is more than eager to do it.

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