wfn.org | All Africa News Agency - BULLETIN No. 36/02 September 16, 2002 (a)

[Worldwide Faith News <wfn@igc.org>]

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Jo'burg Plan Of Implementation Doesn't Hold Water

JOHANNESBURG (AANA) September 16 - New global relationships: that was the 
promise of "Agenda 21", adopted at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 
1992. In Johannesburg, ten years later, this promise was unfulfilled. That 
is the assessment of an Ecumenical Team attending the World Summit on 
Sustainable Development (WSSD), which ended September 4.

The Team's perception was that the fine words pronounced by heads of state 
during the WSSD plenary sessions are not reflected in the Johannesburg 
"Plan of Implementation".

"Despite the world leaders' fine rhetoric and calls for action, the Plan is 
appalling," says Rev Dr Martin Robra of the World Council of Churches WCC 
Justice, Peace and Creation Team.

Meeting in Geneva at the same time, the WCC Central Committee urged member 
churches to advocate with their governments and the UN for ("restoration 
and repair of damages caused by the exploitation of Third-World resources 
and of the environment", (development of "a binding convention for 
corporate accountability", (signature of the Kyoto Protocol, and the 
opening of a new round of negotiations for even stronger regulations.

The Committee recommended that the member churches themselves "quantify 
their participation in fair trade movements and their contribution to the 
environment".

On the WSSD final document, WCC representative to the United Nations in New 
York, Gail Lerner, underlined that "there are hardly any time-frames or 
targets".

"It does state the need for responsibility of global corporations, but it 
does not include any mechanisms on how to hold the companies accountable. 
Clear targets for a shift to renewable energy sources in the energy section 
of the document were deleted. It is obvious: there is a superpower pushing 
the corporate agenda".

Paragraph 47 of the document concerning women's rights was a crucial point 
until the last day. Ecumenical Team members joined a Women's Caucus in a 
demonstration to express their concerns and urge the negotiators to change 
the wording of this article.

The Summit's political declaration was also a frustration, not only for 
NGOs but also for governmental delegates. The first draft of the 
"Johannesburg Commitment on Sustainable Development" was issued on 
September 2, just three days before the summit's end.

Its length - it is a nine-page document - left hardly any room for 
discussions and negotiations. The WSSD slogan was "People, planet and 
prosperity".

The Ecumenical Team sees prosperity - for a few - as the only winner of the 
negotiations, with people and planet losing out. Paragraph six of the 
political declaration states: "If we do nothing [against the great social 
and economic divides of this world], we risk the entrenchment of a form of 
global apartheid".

The Team fears that this indeed describes the Summit's most likely outcome. 
"Our faith calls us first to look at people and the planet," stresses 
Robra. "We want justice for the Earth community. Only then can we prevent 
global apartheid".

In its recommendation on the WSSD, the WCC Central Committee also urged 
churches to "set apart September 1 each year as a day of prayer for 
creation and its sustainability", and to follow up on the four issues that 
the churches had raised at the Summit "with reflections, theological 
engagement and actions with governments as appropriate".

Prepared by Sheila Mesa

Leaders Urged To Address Serious Human Rights Problems

NAIROBI (AANA) September 16 - The Independent Expert on the situation of 
human rights in Somalia, Dr Ghanim Alnajjar, has called on local leaders, 
civil society organizations, and the international community to work 
together to address serious human rights problems throughout Somalia.

The human rights expert also advocated for the establishment of national 
and regional Independent Human Rights Commissions.

"Independent Human Rights Commissions are important because they allow 
people to express concerns and to speak directly and constantly with local 
authorities to promote human rights," Alnajjar said last week at the 
conclusion of an 11-day mission to Somalia and the region

After visiting northwest Somalia (Somaliland) and northeast Somalia 
(Puntland), he noted that authorities in both places have agreed to the 
establishment of such commissions, which he lauded as a positive development.

Alnajjar met with Puntland "President" Abdillahi Yusuf, who agreed to the 
unconditional release of five political detainees and to look into the 
possibility of repealing the current state of emergency.

He expressed concern about reports of killings and imprisonments during the 
recent fighting there.

The Independent Expert noted with satisfaction the work done by the 
Puntland Peace Mission to promote conflict resolution through its efforts 
to mediate between rivals Abdilaahi Yusuf and Jama Ali Jama.

In Somaliland, Alnajjar met with "President" Dahir Riyale Kahin. He noted 
the peaceful transfer of power after the death of former "President" 
Mohamed Egal, the emergence of democratic processes and party-based 
politics, and was pleased that authorities agreed to grant amnesty to a 
journalist who had been jailed for three days.

Alnajjar noted that domestic violence remains a problem, and talked with 
local women's groups about setting up a shelter for victims.

The team looked into a variety of pressing human rights concerns, including 
the state of the judicial system, law enforcement and prison conditions, 
the challenges of demobilization and child soldiers.

The other concerns included economic and social rights, the status of 
women, human rights education, and difficulties faced by tens of thousands 
of internally displaced persons (IDPs).

"I call upon the international community and local authorities to pay more 
attention to the internally displaced, and for more coordinated action to 
alleviate their appalling conditions," Alnajjar said.

There are some 320,000 internally displaced in Somalia, with most living in 
abject poverty and in areas under the control of armed faction leaders. 
Insecurity prevented the Independent Expert's three-person team from 
traveling to the capital Mogadishu or the southwestern town of Baidoa.

"I am concerned that, since my last visit one year ago, there has been an 
escalation of violence in parts of Somalia and a deterioration in security, 
which is having an impact on the human rights of thousands of ordinary 
people," Alnajjar said.

This is Alnajjar's second annual visit to the country since being appointed 
Independent Expert for Somalia by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan in June 
last year.  Alnajjar, a professor of Political Science at the University of 
Kuwait, carries out his duties on an independent and voluntary basis.

SOURCE: UNDP, Nairobi

  UN Hosts Training To Prevent Sexual Abuse By Aid Workers

HARARE (AANA) September 16 - For the first time in a complex emergency aid, 
workers have been given training on how to prevent sexual exploitation by 
their own colleagues. A two day seminar organized by UNICEF was last week 
completed in the Zimbabwe town of Kadoma.

It was attended by staff from five UN agencies including UNICEF and WFP, 
and 16 other aid organisations among them Save the Children Fund UK. UNICEF 
will organize similar training sessions to be held in Swaziland, Lesotho, 
Zambia, Mozambique and Malawi.

All countries are the subject of an international appeal for emergency 
relief for around 13 million people left suffering from drought and food 
shortages.

The decision by the UN Children's Agency to go ahead with the programme of 
training follows investigations last year in West Africa in which it was 
revealed that some aid workers and members of security forces demanded sex 
from refugee children and young people. Participants at the training 
sessions were told there should be a policy of zero tolerance toward abusers.

"In Zimbabwe we have young girls forced into relationships for a bag of 
maize flour," said Dr Festo Kavishe, UNICEF's Representative in Harare, 
adding that "where there is such dramatic and obvious need some staff may 
be tempted to commit serious offences".

"Managers of aid organisations need to know how to look for the signs and 
understand at what points on the supply chain there is the most risk. This 
is a groundbreaking effort to provide extremely disadvantaged children with 
additional protection".

A recent survey by the Zimbabwe Ministry of Health and UNICEF showed that 
an average of six percent of children are suffering from acute malnutrition.

Underweight malnutrition is being endured by 20 percent of children under 
five, while as many as 33 percent are short for their age. The food crisis, 
coupled with HIV/AIDS prevalence of more than 30 percent has dramatically 
increased vulnerability of women and children.	The training workshop in 
Zimbabwe was paid for by funds donated by the Italian Government as part of 
a contribution to mitigate the social effects of the deepening crisis.

UNICEF is appealing for a total of US $26.8 million in emergency funding 
for health, nutrition, water and sanitation, prevention of HIV/AIDS, 
protection and education for the worst affected children in the six 
countries out of which US$ 7.8 million is for Zimbabwe.

SOURCE: UNICEF