By Greg Hanna
May 31 2023 (IPS)

More than 80 researchers and scientists gathered in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador last week for the Ocean Frontier Institute’s (OFI) Researchers’ Conference.

With a theme of Putting Research into Action, the event was an opportunity to explore activities funded under the Safe and Sustainable Development of the Ocean Frontier – a Canada First Research Excellence Fund (CFREF) program. Led by Dalhousie University and administered by OFI, the program was launched in 2016 in partnership with Memorial University and the University of Prince Edward Island.

“Your work is already helping to inform policy, engage communities and shape industry efforts towards a sustainable future, but we are still only at the beginning,” said Dr. Neil Bose, president and vice-chancellor of Memorial in his opening remarks to OFI researchers. Noting the diversity of scientific and research disciplines that were represented at the conference, Dr. Bose stressed the increasing urgency and importance of working together on ocean science.

Since 2016, the $94 million research initiative has established an important legacy, supporting 24 Large Research Projects, seven Opportunities Fund projects, and 127 Seed Fund projects.

Updates delivered from research projects

Over the two days of the conference, delegates delivered presentations on the outputs of their large research projects, covering critical areas such as:

• ocean mapping
• Indigenous engagement
• health and green infrastructure
• offshore freshwater sources
• the ocean’s biological carbon pump system
• sustainable ocean stewardship practices.

The presentations were complemented by moderated breakout discussions that went further in-depth on common challenges and opportunities of working with communities, industry, and government policy makers.

Sean Leet, managing director and chief executive officer of World Energy GH2 and board chair at Horizon Maritime delivered a guest presentation on sustainable energy.

“OFI has made remarkable progress and is carrying out valuable work in support of ocean health, Indigenous inclusion and the ocean economy,” said Leet. “I was pleased to share the origin story and progress of World Energy GH2’s Project Nujio’qonik, and to make a call-to-action for industry, and institutions such as OFI, to be bold and ambitious as we work toward hitting net-zero targets and slowing climate change.”

Students engaging in discussion during the OFI Researchers’ Conference

Need for engagement a key takeaway

Researchers highlighted enhanced engagement with local communities from the early stages of each project as key to creating local ownership and acceptance. Participants emphasized the need for better community level communication strategies.

Participants identified working with industry as a valuable way to access data and expertise not normally available, but the need for clarity in timelines, priorities, and the ownership of intellectual property outputs with this group is critical to ensure successful partnerships.

All groups highlighted the complexity of establishing a strong connection between science and policymakers, and identified the difficulty of navigating between federal, provincial, and local structures as a major challenge. Similar to working with communities, they identified an essential need to connect early with policymakers and identify clear lines of communication.

In all cases, balancing the timelines, expectations and priorities of these distinct groups requires further focus. OFI was challenged to provide greater support to help facilitate communications, training, and collaboration across all these areas.

Peter Wickwire Foster, OFI Director of Government and Public Relations presenting during the Researchers’ Workshop

Promoting ocean science

Ocean School’s Jacques Gautreau, director of business development, distribution, and production at the National Film Board of Canada and Ocean School’s Executive Director presented new Ocean School activities, a key highlight of the week.

Ocean School, an OFI program, has produced an impressive collection of educational material to help promote ocean science, inspire, and encourage students of all ages, and engage communities across Canada and internationally. Ocean School is collaborating with several of the OFI Large Research Projects to develop new material to mobilize the research project outcomes and co-create new educational material based on the work.

Gautreau highlighted the impact that public education efforts can have on future generations and our ocean, A Love Letter to the Ocean.

Looking to the future

The conference closed with summary remarks from Dr. Waite and Dr. Paul Snelgrove, associate scientific director at OFI and a professor at Memorial University, who praised the breadth and depth of the research projects highlighted throughout the conference.

In her keynote remarks, Dr. Anya Waite, OFI’s scientific director and chief executive officer, updated participants on OFI’s evolving structure. She explained how the institution has grown in the years following the CFREF funding, and how the new Transforming Climate Action CFREF program will add to the capabilities and impact of OFI-supported research. “Together we are creating the foundation for a global alliance on ocean research,” said Dr. Waite.

Dr. Anya Waite, OFI CEO and Scientific Director delivering her keynote address

“We will increasingly will look outward as these projects finish up, and harness the wisdom we have learned about over the last few days to ensure our engagement is even more impactful in 2024 and beyond,” said Dr. Paul Snelgrove. “I look forward to continuing that journey with all of you.”

Learn more about OFI-supported ocean research.

By Eric Siegel
May 30 2023 (IPS)

Ocean innovators, investors, scientists, and the Canadian government are aligning to position Canada as the global leader in ocean-climate solutions.

Earlier this year, the department of Innovation, Science, and Economic Development Canada (ISED) committed $125 million for Canada’s Ocean Supercluster (OSC) to grow Canada’s ocean economy.

More recently, ISED announced $154 million in funding to the Transforming Climate Action (TCA) research initiative through the Canada First Research Excellent Fund. Led by Dalhousie University in collaboration with Université du Québec à Rimouski, Université Laval and Memorial University of Newfoundland, the research will be the most intensive investigation into the ocean’s role in climate change and ocean-based climate mitigation ever undertaken.

Additional investments from national and international industry, research, and government partners bring the full project value to $400 million. This represents a globally significant investment to position Canada as a leader in ocean-climate science, innovation, climate solutions, and equitable adaption.

TCA is much more than a university science project. In addition to driving global research and innovation leadership from Canada, the initiative has a mandate to facilitate commercialization of the research to support economic growth and social innovation.

Driven by a robust innovation and commercialization strategy, and in collaboration with our many industry partners, TCA will advance the ocean science, technology, and innovations to start new ocean ventures and grow the existing cadre of excellent Canadian companies. TCA will deliver value to the OSC members and the other industry partners by co-funding world-class industrial postdoctoral fellows to work in partner companies, spur innovation through co-funded Seed Fund projects, and appraise the OSC and other industry associations with updates from frontline research.

And this is just the beginning of partnerships and innovation – TCA welcomes new relevant, strategic partnerships.

The time is right to make these strategic investments in Canada because the economic and climate mitigation opportunities are epic. The recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) Sixth Assessment Report (AR6) asserted that all pathways to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees C require carbon dioxide removal (CDR).

The amount of CDR required, depending on how quickly emissions are reduced, ranges from 5-16 gigaton CO2 per year by mid-century. With a forecast future value of $100/ton of CO2 removal, this would create an annual market value of between $500 billion to $1.6 trillion USD. Because the ocean stores 20 times more carbon than all forests and soils combined, and 50 times more carbon than the atmosphere, the ocean holds great promise of providing safe, responsible and durable carbon sequestration.

Canada has the potential to become the global leader for ocean-climate solution industries in the same way we have seen other regions transform into international hotspots. Think of how Austin, Texas became a tech hub, how Ontario become global leader in automotive manufacturing, or Aberdeen, Scotland’s transition into a global leader in offshore oil and gas technology.

Canada is already advancing towards this goal with world-class ocean industries working across most of the relevant sectors. Substantial Canadian non-dilutive funding and tax incentives are available from the likes of the Industrial Research Assistance Program, Sustainable Development Technology Canada, and Scientific Research and Experimental Development to support early and growing companies.

There is a well-aligned ocean innovation and entrepreneurial ecosystem in Canada, including Novarium, The Launch, COAST, COVE, Ocean Startup Project, and Creative Destruction Lab Oceans, and the OSC is continuing to support strategic innovations and collaborations to grow Canadian ocean companies. The TCA project will further advance science, technologies, and regulatory innovation to enable scalable ocean-climate ventures.

An identified gap in Canada is the dearth of risk capital focused on investing in massively scalable Canadian ocean-climate technologies and services. The U.S. has Propeller, a $100M venture capital fund focused on ocean-climate solutions, and Norway has Katapult Ocean, a $50 million USD venture capital fund focused on ocean-climate and ocean-energy solutions. There is not an equivalent private venture fund in Canada with the right people in the right places to identify, support and scale early-stage ocean-climate ventures.

Based on Canada’s strengths and momentum in ocean-climate innovation, a private fund would attract additional private money into the ocean sector and substantial foreign direct investments into the country, thereby growing investment resources across Canada.

The time for climate mitigation is short and the economic and impact rewards are enormous. Advances through OSC, TCA, and the many other people, programs, and companies working in Canada are aligned to be successful. This is the decade to advance science, innovate technologies, take risks, and make calculated and informed investments. Now is our time to put Canada on the map as the global-leader in innovative ocean-climate solutions.

Excerpt:

By Greg Hanna
May 17 2023 (IPS)

 
An impressive list of cutting-edge ocean researchers from across Canada are set to gather at the Ocean Frontier Institute’s (OFI) researchers’ conference.

Held biennially, this year’s conference will take place from May 23-27 in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador.

The conference serves as a platform to showcase advancements in ocean science, share new research data and discoveries, identify gaps and opportunities in our understanding of the ocean, engage with colleagues, and showcase their work to both the scientific community and the wider public.

Researcher collecting samples in the Atlantic

Featured projects include those funded through the 2016 Canada First Research Excellence Fund (CFREF),which is administered by OFI. Over the years, OFI has supported a portfolio of24 large research projects, 127 Seed Fund projects, and seven Opportunities Fund projects – all dedicated to ocean research and training.

This research has provided crucial scientific frameworks for the development of ocean policy and innovation.

Covering a wide range of ocean studies, the research projects undertaken so far have delved into various areas, including ocean observations, sustainable fisheries, environmental protection, governance, data management, and more. A comprehensive overview of these research achievements can be found in the recently released OFI Community Report.

While the Community Report sheds light on the remarkable accomplishments supported by OFI, the gathering in Newfoundland offers an opportunity to delve deeper into the work of these researchers.

Students doing research out in the field

This year, the research conference is being held in conjunction with OFI’s Seed Fund Day, which presents a valuable chance for ocean-related Seed Fund projects to showcase their innovative work and identify new opportunities for collaboration.

For a full conference agenda, visit this webpage.

For details on applying to the Seed Fund, visit this webpage.

An event last Friday celebrating the Dal-led Transforming Climate Action research program featured expert panels. Credit: Nick Pearce

By Andrew Riley
May 16 2023 (IPS)

 
Dalhousie kicked off a new era of ocean and climate research last Friday (May 12) at the official launch of Transforming Climate Action, a Dal-led research program that aims to make Canada a global leader in climate science, innovation, and solutions by taking an ocean-first approach to the fight against climate change.

The event, hosted at Dalhousie’s Steele Ocean Science Building, gathered government partners, representatives from across the research program’s three partners institutions — Université du Québec à Rimouski, Université Laval, and Memorial University — private- and public-sector collaborators, and researchers who comprise some of the more 170 scholars contributing to the historic undertaking.

In his opening remarks, Dr. Frank Harvey, Dalhousie’s acting president and vice chancellor, expressed his admiration for the broad coalition of contributors who came together to make the research program a reality.

Frank Harvey

“One of the most remarkable aspects of Transforming Climate Action is its collective approach, reaching across academic disciplines, provinces, institutions, and languages, and guided by Indigenous values and Traditional Knowledges,” said Dr. Harvey.

“This project will solidify our nation as a leader in ocean carbon capture. It will benefit Canadians through knowledge mobilization, advancing public policy, collaboration, entrepreneurship, and the commercialization of research to support economic growth and social innovation.”

Watch a recording of the event above. Remarks begin at 11:25.

Transforming Climate Action was made possible by a historic $154-million investment from the Canadian Government through the Canada First Research Excellence Fund (CFREF) – the largest research grant ever received by Dalhousie. This funding is part of a $1.4 billion investment in support of 11 large-scale research initiatives announced by the Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, on April 28. CFREF grants empower Canadian universities to leverage their research strengths and attract capital and world-class talent.

“The Government of Canada is proud to help postsecondary institutions and their researchers making breakthrough discoveries. The team here at Dalhousie is undertaking important work in our understanding of oceans and their role as carbon pumps. The results of this initiative will help inform Canada’s climate action to build a cleaner and greener future,” said Andy Fillmore, Member of Parliament for Halifax and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry.

Andy Fillmore

The event was emceed by Dr. Alice Aiken, Dalhousie’s vice president research and innovation, who noted that Transforming Climate Action will link the partner institutions in an ambitious “effort to focus the world’s attention and energies on the primary importance of the ocean in determining climate policy and solutions.”

“Together,” she said, “we will shift the global discourse and become leaders in the transformation of climate action.”

Alice Aiken

In his remarks, the Honourable Sean Fraser, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship and MP for Central Nova emphasized the urgency for the research program by highlighting recent climate-related emergencies experienced by Canada. He also made a connection between the need to act and economic benefits that will result from the innovations and technologies that spinout of Transforming Climate Action in collaboration with blue economy enterprises in Nova Scotia.

“The reality is that we won’t just benefit from reducing the risks of climate change to our communities, it’s going to create economic opportunities. We have companies in this province that are leading the world when it comes to emissions technology or carbon capture technology,” he said. “This is a moment to be proud as people who are part of a trend in the province of Nova Scotia who are embracing the economic opportunity presented by climate change.”

Sean Fraser

To help illuminate the ambitions behind Transforming Climate Action, Dr. Anya Waite, scientific director of the research program, Dalhousie’s associate vice president (ocean), and leader of Dalhousie’s Ocean Frontier Institute (OFI) facilitated two expert panels.

The first focused on the potential for economic development. The second addressed the research to be pursued, touching on the program’s key themes of reducing uncertainty around the ocean’s central role in cooling the warming planet; mitigating climate change by enhancing the ocean’s natural ability to remove carbon from the atmosphere; and building just and equitable adaption strategies through community engagement and education.

Dalhousie data scientist Dr. Mike Smit, who co-led the CFREF grant proposal with Dr. Waite in his capacity as deputy scientific director of OFI, joined the panel to discuss the research program’s Transformation Accelerators. Dr. Smit, who is also acting dean of the Faculty of Management, described how the Accelerators are designed to ensure discoveries are translated into tangible benefits by offering researchers support and expertise in the fields of innovation and commercialization, policy, education and decolonization, and data management.Accelerators, Dr. Smit said, are the high-speed rail lines of the research program, adding “The work that’s happening on the climate crisis doesn’t have time to ripple gently outward, we need to put this on a high-speed train and send it right to where it needs to be, to have the right impact at the right time.”

Excerpt:

By OFI Communications
May 1 2023 (IPS)

The Ocean Frontier Institute has a new call for Seed Fund project applications.

This call will accept applications from Dalhousie University, Memorial University of Newfoundland, the University of Prince Edward Island, Université de Québec à Rimouski, Université Laval, the University of New Brunswick, and the University of Victoria. The deadline for applying is June 30, 2023, at 11:59pm (Atlantic Time).

The Ocean Frontier Institute Seed Fund supports ocean-related projects that offer high potential for innovation success but need small amounts of funding to help them move forward — and grow.

For this 8th round, OFI is partnering with Invest Nova Scotia, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, Genome Atlantic, and the New Brunswick Innovation Foundation.

Apply now!

‍For More Information
Prospective Seed Fund Applicants are invited to join a virtual SURGE Workshop on June 15, 2023, to learn more about this opportunity. Register to attend the workshop here.

By OFI Communications
Apr 28 2023 (IPS)

OFI is thrilled to share this exciting news from Dalhousie University: The Government of Canada has announced that Transforming Climate Action: Addressing the Missing Ocean, a Dalhousie-led research program, will receive $154 million from the Canada First Research Excellence Fund grant program. Researchers from Dalhousie, Université du Québec à Rimouski, Université Laval and Memorial University of Newfoundland will unit as part of this innovative research program to investigate the ocean’s role in climate change.

To read more details about this exciting announcement, visit: https://www.dal.ca/news/2023/04/28/cfref-2023-dalhousie-climate.html

By OFI Communications
Apr 24 2023 (IPS)

When we think of Earth, we usually think of the ground under our feet. However, we are living on a blue planet where water covers over 70% of the surface, and ocean waters represent over 90% of that surface. And yet, we still have limited knowledge of the ocean, and still struggle to fully understand how the changing climate is impacting ocean systems and, in turn, changing the world around us.

To discuss this challenge, Dalhousie University recently hosted an Open Dialogue Event at the Steele Ocean Sciences building in Halifax. The event brought together Dalhousie alumni and guests to hear a panel discussion on the current state of ocean research and the critical need to rapidly accelerate our knowledge and understanding in this area.

The panelists included leading ocean researchers, including Ocean Frontier Institute Deputy Scientific Director Mike Smit, Planetary Chief Ocean Scientist Will Burt, and Dalhousie School for Resource and Environmental Studies Professor Kate Sherren. Moderating the event was the Ocean Frontier Institute CEO, Dr. Anya Waite.

Dr. Waite opened the event and set the stage for the discussion by emphasizing how ocean research is quickly taking center stage in any climate change debate. Drawing on the variety of expertise on the panel, participants heard how Dalhousie is well-positioned as Halifax becomes a hub of ocean research and innovation.

Mike Smit highlighted the need for comprehensive evidence-based research and data on the ocean and stressed how the demand for students, labs, projects, and professionals from across all disciplines must grow exponentially to meet this demand. Dr. Smit gave particular emphasis to the need to expand knowledge exchanges and cooperation locally, regionally, and internationally. “We must move past the idea of siloed data and towards a vision of networked information freely shared across borders,” said Dr. Smit. He highlighted OFI’s North Atlantic Climate Observatory (NACO) as an example of the kind of interregional data collection systems that should be the model for future work. “We need a coordinated global effort to get our research from the pens of the scientists into the minds of policymakers.”

Kate Sherren focused on the social aspects of the climate challenge and emphasized the importance of considering how communities and individuals will respond to the changes that must come. In a concept she described as the ‘shared understanding and social imaginary of what is possible,’ Dr. Sherren highlighted the need to shift the public conversation away from what is being lost to the opportunities that are being created in order to build the commitment to social change that we need. She also noted that our idea of stability is a luxury, and one we can no longer afford.

Will Burt emphasized the scale of the challenge, noting in particular that previous ideas about reducing emissions as the solution to climate change were no longer enough. Carbon removal and storage must now play an essential role in our work, and the largest reservoir for this is the deep ocean. He noted how the scale of the problem is demanding a broad range of applications, and that partnerships between the private sector, government, and academic institutions like Dalhousie will be critical. However, Dr. Burt warned of the seemingly overwhelming task we face, “Can we quickly create a carbon removal industry that is twice the size of the oil industry? Because that is the reality of what is now required.”

When science is attached to opportunity and hope, anything is possible.
Dr. Will Burt

A short Q&A session followed the main presentations with questions posted from both the in-person audience and the online viewers. The queries were focused on better understanding the scale of the issue and where current and future Dalhousie students should be focusing to make a difference. The panelists encouraged students to follow their passion, as climate change issues require effort from across all disciplines, from oceanography to art, from social science to management. The important thing is that students are given the resources to follow their passion and that they feel that they can make a real difference. As highlighted by Dr. Burt, ‘when science is attached to opportunity and hope, anything is possible’.

Related Links

North Atlantic Climate Observatory: https://www.ofi.ca/impact/policy/ocean-carbon/carbon-observatory
Planetary Technologies: https://www.planetarytech.com
Ocean Frontier Institute: https://www.ofi.ca
Kate Sherren: http://katesherren.org
Open Dialogue at Dalhousie: https://alumni.dal.ca/events-programs/open-dialogue/

Credit: Université du Québec à Rimouski

By Sara Leslie
Mar 9 2023 (IPS)

In partnership with the Ocean Frontier Institute (OFI) and Fisheries and Oceans Canada, the Institut des sciences de la mer de Rimouski (ISMER) has launched an exciting new scholarship program as part of OFI’s Ocean Graduate Excellence Network (OGEN).

Three students will receive scholarships valued at $120,000 to support them in their Ph.D. studies. To be eligible, candidates must be starting a Ph.D. in oceanography at ISMER in the fall 2023 or winter 2024 semester.

Successful candidates will receive co-direction from researchers from ISMER and the Maurice Lamontagne Institute of Fisheries and Oceans Canada, along with access to training opportunities offered though the OGEN program, to help in the development of critical thinking skills, personalized research goals, and the dissemination of research knowledge.

The deadline to apply is April 2, 2023. For more details, please visit Ph.D. Excellence Scholarships of ISMER, DFO-MLI and OGEN-OFI.

By External Source
Jun 27 2022 (IPS)

Published at the halfway point of 2022, the State of Civil Society Report shines a light on a time of immense upheaval and contestation. Russia’s illegal war on Ukraine has directly blighted the lives of millions but is also sending echoes of disruption around the world, as soaring food and fuel prices pile further misery on communities already hit hard by the impacts of the pandemic and extreme weather caused by climate change.

The report finds hope, however, in the many mobilisations for change around the world: the mass protests, campaigns and people’s movements for justice, and the many grassroots initiatives defending rights and helping those most in need. Civil society is striving by all means available to make a difference.

VIEW THE REPORT

Five key trends

The report identifies five key current trends of global significance:

1. Rising costs of fuel and food are spurring public anger and protests at economic mismanagement
2. Democracy is under assault but positive changes are still being won
3. Advances are being made in fighting social inequality despite attacks
4. Civil society is keeping up the pressure for climate action
5. Current crises are exposing the inadequacies of the international governance system

1. Governments around the world are failing to protect people from the impacts of massive price rises worsened by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Public anger at a dysfunctional economic system, poverty and economic inequality and corruption is rising. Mass protests are the result. In Sri Lanka, widespread protests against economic mismanagement led to resignation of the prime minister. In Iran people are demanding fundamental change as food prices soar. In Kazakhstan over 200 people were killed with impunity following protests over fuel price rises. But people will continue to protest out of necessity even in the many countries where fundamental freedoms are repressed and state violence is inevitable.

2. Institutions and traditions of democracy are under increasing attack. Coups are imperilling hard-fought gains. The military has gained power in multiple countries, including Burkina Faso and Sudan. In several others, including El Salvador and Tunisia, elected presidents are removing democratic checks on power. Entirely fraudulent elections have been held in countries as different as Nicaragua and Turkmenistan. Autocratic nationalists have triumphed in elections in countries including Hungary and the Philippines. But at the same time there have been successful mobilisations to defend democracy, not least in the Czech Republic and Slovenia, where people voted out political leaders who fostered divisiveness in favour of fresh and broad-based alternatives. Progressive leaders promising to advance social justice have won power in countries such as Chile and Honduras. In many contexts, including Costa Rica and Peru, a prevailing sentiment of dissatisfaction is leading to a rejection of incumbency and willingness to embrace candidates who run as outsiders and promise disruption.

3. In politically turbulent times, and despite severe pushback by anti-rights groups, progress has been achieved in advancing women’s and LGBTQI+ rights. The USA, where neoconservative forces are emboldened, is ever more isolated on sexual and reproductive rights as several other countries in the Americas, including Colombia and Mexico, have eased abortion restrictions following civil society advocacy. Opportunistic politicians continue to seek political advantage in vilifying LGBTQI+ people, but globally the normalisation of LGBTQI+ rights is spreading. Most recently, the people of Switzerland overwhelmingly voted in favour of an equal marriage law. Even in hostile contexts such as Jamaica important advances have come through civil society’s engagement in regional human rights systems. But when it comes to fighting for migrants’ rights, only Ukrainian refugees in Europe are being received with anything like the kind of compassion all such people deserve, and otherwise the dominant global sentiment is hostility. Nonetheless, a new generation is forging movements to advance racial justice and demand equity for excluded people.

4. A young and diverse generation is the same social force that continues to make waves on climate change. As extreme weather gets more common, the brunt of the climate crisis continues to fall disproportionately on the most excluded populations who have done the least to cause the problem. Governments and companies are failing to act, and urgent action on emissions cuts to meet the size of the challenge is being demanded by civil society movements, including through mass marches, climate strikes and non-violent civil disobedience. Alongside these, climate litigation is growing, leading to significant legal breakthroughs, such as the judgment in the Netherlands that forced Shell to commit to emissions cuts. Shareholder activism towards fossil fuel firms and funders is intensifying, with pension funds coming under growing pressure to divest from fossil fuels.

5. Russia’s war on Ukraine is the latest crisis, alongside recent conflicts in the Sahel, Syria and Yemen, among others, to expose the failure of global institutions to protect people and prevent conflict. The UN Security Council is hamstrung by the veto-wielding role of Russia as one of its five permanent members, although a special session of the UN General Assembly yielded a resolution condemning the invasion. Russia has rightly been suspended from the UN Human Rights Council, but this peak human rights body remains dominated by rights-abusing states. If the UN is to move from helping to prevent crises rather than trying to react to them, effective civil society engagement is needed. The world as it stands today, characterised by crisis and volatility, needs a UN prepared to work with civil society, since civil society continues to seek and secure vital progress for humanity.

About the report
This is the 11th annual State of Civil Society Report, published by global civil society alliance CIVICUS. This year’s report takes a shorter and more accessible format. It draws from stories published by our rolling commentary and analysis initiative, CIVICUS Lens, and from over 120 interviews with civil society activists, leaders and experts who are close to the important issues of the day.

By Thalif Deen
NEW YORK, Jan 20 2022 (IPS)

When hundreds of banks, commercial enterprises, financial institutions and Wall Street investment banks shuttered their offices because of spreading coronavirus infections, Mayor Eric Adams said “You cannot run New York City” – one of the world’s most vibrant cities – “from home”.

The restrictions included vaccine cards at restaurants and mandatory masks in public.

Adams, who took over as the 110th Mayor of New York city on January 1, has been critical of executive heads of thousands of banks, commercial enterprises, financial institutions and Wall Street investment firms, for shuttering their offices and barring their staff from offices because of the spreading new coronavirus infections.

On January 13, Adams told reporters at a news conference outside the Manhattan Civil Courthouse in New York, “Let’s be clear on this, we are winning — and we are going to win because we are resilient.”

According to Cable News Network (CNN), the spread of the Omicron variant is also “putting a strain on health care networks across the US as hospitalizations reach a level not seen since winter.”

More than 141,000 Americans were hospitalized with Covid-19 as of last week, according to data from the Department of Health and Human Services. Separately, the agency announced that health insurers must cover the cost of home Covid-19 tests.

This means most people with private health insurance can buy at-home tests online or in stores and have them paid for at the time of purchase, or get reimbursed by submitting a claim to their insurer.

In a message to staffers, CNN said its offices in New York city would remain closed except “to those who absolutely need to be there.”

A survey mid-January by the Partnership for New York City, a business advocacy group, found about 22 percent of 187 companies said they could not estimate when their offices would reach even half capacity. The survey included about 215,000 workers in white-collar fields.

Some of the major financial institutions that enforced remote working included Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan Chase Dow Jones (which includes the Wall Street Journal, Dow Jones news wires, Barron’s, Financial News and MarketWatch)

COVID-19 vaccines now available to most New Yorkers-- and they are free. Credit: New York City Mayor’s Office

By Thalif Deen
NEW YORK, Sep 2 2021 (IPS)

The rigid new restrictions imposed by New York city– currently facing a surge in the deadly Delta corona virus variant– have prompted scores of US companies to impose mandatory vaccinations on all employees, mostly returning to work after temporary lockdowns.

The mandate follows the approval last week of the Pfizer vaccination by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) after a prolonged study of its effectiveness.

The leading businesses that have imposed mandatory vaccinations on hundreds and thousands of their employees include Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan Chase, Facebook, Google, Walt Disney, Amtrak, United Airlines, Capital One and McDonalds, along with nearly one million students in schools and Universities in New York city, which currently has a population of over 8.8 million people.

The new mandate comes into force on September 27, according to Mayor Bill de Blasio.

According to a New York Times database, more than 56.5 percent of people in the US have received at least one dose of the vaccination while 48.9 percent are fully vaccinated with two shots.

As of July 2021, the US population stands at 333.2 million, the world’s third most populous nation, ranking behind China and India, with over 1.3 billion each.

In New York city alone there have been over 1.0 million cases of Covid-related illnesses and more than 33,700 deaths since the pandemic last year.

Following the FDA approval, US President Joe Biden was more emphatic: “if you’re a business leader, a non-profit leader, a state or local leader, who has been waiting for FDA approval to require vaccinations, I call on you now to do that. Require it”.

The vaccine refusal by millions of Americans is either for political, personal or medical reasons, with some describing mandatory vaccinations as “a violation of civil rights”.

Meanwhile, in a letter released August 13, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres says the Delta variant “is posing some challenges to our planning, and we will be taking additional precautionary measures to ensure a safe work environment for our personnel and delegates. “

The letter comes ahead of the high-level meeting of the General Assembly—scheduled for September 21– which is usually attended by more than 150 world leaders. But this year, it may be a hybrid version: a mix of mostly video conferencing and few in-person appearances.

The UN will continue to follow all restrictions imposed by New York, the host city for the world body. Conforming to city guidelines, the UN is expected to insist on proof of vaccination to use several of the dining facilities in the Secretariat building and also mandatory in-house mask-wearing.

“In order to align UNHQ’s approach to indoor dining with that of NYC’s guidance, we will soon require proof of vaccination for seated meals at cafeterias and other dining facilities on premises.,” says Guterres.

Further guidance on full return to work is being developed and will be issued in September.

To ensure adequate protection for all colleagues, all UN personnel must wear masks when indoors on premises, a rule which was effective August 13. “We will reassess this requirement as conditions warrant.”

The letter says the most significant driver of COVID19-related risk is vaccination status. Accurate information on the vaccination status of staff is therefore essential to determine risk and appropriate mitigation strategies.

The mandate for vaccinations may be waived where a recognized medical condition prevents vaccination.

Those staff members who will be required to be vaccinated must receive the final dose of a vaccine no later than 19 September 2021.

Any COVID-19 vaccine that is recognized by the WHO, or under routine approved-use by a Member State’s national health authority, is accepted.

By External Source
Mar 8 2021 (IPS)

“Women in leadership: Achieving an equal future in a COVID-19 world.”

On this occasion, IPS Inter Press Service is pleased to bring to it’s readers, opinions, views and perspectives of women leaders on the Covid19 crisis, the centrality of women’s contributions and the disproportionate burdens that women carry.

By Thalif Deen
NEW YORK, Mar 16 2020 (IPS)

As the deadly coronavirus spread across the five boroughs, New York city (NYC) was a on a locked down mode with the closure of public schools, the shutting down of sporting events, restrictions on Broadway shows and limiting the capacity at bars and restaurants.

In a city teeming with over 8.3 million people, there was a ban on gatherings of over 500 people – at any public even—something described as unprecedented.

At a press conference Sunday, NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio declared a state of emergency for New York, pointing out that the city would enforce its decree against many public gatherings.

Bill de Blasio

He said the overall numbers of new virus cases “striking and troubling.”

Andrew Cuomo, the Governor of the State of New York, followed suit with a similar emergency for the entire state temporarily banning gatherings of more than 500 people. All these restrictions were aimed at containing the spreading coronavirus.

As of March 16, the numbers kept skyrocketing with no end in sight.

“As soon as we can go back to normal, we’ll go back to normal,” Cuomo said. “But we are still ascending, we are still on the upward trajectory of this disease.”

The ban on cultural institutions included the shutting down of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Metropolitan Opera and Carnegie Hall.

“The Met’s priority is to protect and support our staff, volunteers, and visitors,” Daniel Weiss, the museum’s president and chief executive, said in a statement.

Cuomo announced late Wednesday that New York City’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade would be postponed for the first time in its 258-year history. De Blasio later tweeted the parade will take place at some future date “whether it’s in the heat of summer or on a clear fall day.”

The virus causes only mild or moderate symptoms such as fever and cough for most people, but for some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia, and death.

The empty corridors of the UN. Credit: UN

Meanwhile, the UN headquarters in Manhattan was also shut down and over 3,000 staffers were asked to work from home until further notice.

The Mayor also urged New Yorkers to work from home as the deadly coronavirus continued to spread and the number of confirmed cases rises in the United States.

“For a business that can allow more employees to telecommute, we want you to do that,” he said in a press briefing. “We simply want to reduce the number of people on mass transit just to open up some more space.”

“We’re testing aggressively & we are seeing the number of confirmed cases go up as expected,” Cuomo tweeted.

By Thalif Deen
NEW YORK, Feb 2 2020 (IPS)

Faced with a potential pandemic of the deadly coronavirus, New York city officials took a series of preventive measures to stall the spread of the disease as it was spinning out of control in China.

Mayor Bill de Blasio told news reporters at the Bellevue Hospital Center in Manhattan: “With the best emergency response teams in the nation, New York City stands ready to respond to any potential cases of the coronavirus.”

“We will remain vigilant and ensure New Yorkers have the facts they need to stay safe”, he said at a briefing on February 1.

With the New York City Health Commissioner Oxiris Barbot by his side, de Blasio said: “We take the threat of this illness very seriously.”

And “robust measures” will be continued to ensure the virus has not — and does not — spread, said Barbot.

Barbot said the virus is only spread through “droplets,” such as from a cough or sneeze.

The mayor said he was also trying to obtain permission for the city to conduct its own coronavirus testing.

At present, only the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta has that lab capability, and test samples must be sent there for testing.

“There is still a lot that we do not know,” de Blasio said. “What we do know causes us a tremendous amount of concern. We will use all measures at our disposal to protect New Yorkers.”

The briefing followed the first case of corona virus in a city with the population of over 8.3 million people, and one of the most populous in the US.

A woman hospitalized in Bellevue Hospital Center might have been infected by the virus, according hospital authorities.

A second patient was tracked down on February 2 at the Flushing Hospital Medical Center in Queens.

As of Monday, there were eight suspected cases of the coronavirus in the US and over 17,000 worldwide, mostly in China, where the disease originated in Wuhan with a population of 11 million people.

The City remained on a 24-hour alert, particularly the Kennedy International, La Guardia and the Newark Liberty international airports—all of which come under the supervision of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

Meanwhile the CDC recommended that New Yorkers avoid non-essential travel to Wuhan. For travel deemed essential, the Health Department has shared the following CDC recommendations with healthcare providers regarding travelers to Wuhan:

• Avoid contact with sick people
• Avoid animals (alive or dead), animal markets, and products that come from animals (such as uncooked meat);
• Wash hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds.
• Use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer if soap and water are not available.
• Older travelers and those with underlying health issues may be at risk for more severe disease and should discuss travel to Wuhan with their healthcare provider.

By Thalif Deen
NEW YORK, Jan 20 2020 (IPS)

The streets of New York city were the center of the fourth annual Global Women’s March when tens of thousands of women, along with men, joined hands to defend and advance the cause of women’s rights worldwide.

With Foley Square in downtown Manhattan as the epicenter, the march not only highlighted the #MeToo Movement against sexual harassment but also focused on climate change, reproductive rights, racial discrimination, anti-Semitism, disability rights, immigration and gay and lesbian rights.

The signs displayed by some of the demonstrators were a reflection of the day’s rebellious mood: “Get your Hands Out of My Body”, “Women Strike Back”, “Real Men are Feminists” and “Women’s Rights are Human Rights”.

The political twists were equally visible, with one sign which read: “Jail to the Chief”.

At Times Square, where demonstrators were more boisterous, Senator Chuck Schumer (D-New York) addressed the crowd extending his support to the women’s march.

There was also a large gathering at Columbus Circle featuring performances and speakers.

Worldwide, there were millions of women and men who marched in 24 countries, including in Asia, Europe, Africa, Canada and Latin America.

“We each March for our own reasons. But we know there is not just one issue to March for. This is because all oppression is connected.” said Women’s March Global Executive Director Uma Mishra-Newbery.

“When we show up together, we acknowledge that each issue feeds a system that oppresses and binds us all. When we show up together for each other, we put cracks in the foundations of those systems. This is what an intersectional movement looks like.”

With the raging bushfires burning, Australia skipped this year’s March. But Women’s March Sydney released a statement directing people to donate to “First Nations” indigenous communities affected by the bushfires. Women’s March Saskatoon was fundraising for the same charity in solidarity.

Women’s March Global was partnered with SheDecides, Amnesty International, International Planned Parenthood Federation, Equality Now, Planned Parenthood Global, The WOW Foundation, Marie Stopes UK, Men Engage Alliance and Minority Veterans of America.

For more information on Women’s March Global Chapters or additional campaign material, visit www.womensmarchglobal.org.

By Thalif Deen
NEW YORK, Dec 31 2019 (IPS)

A rash of anti-Semitic attacks in New York and New Jersey has prompted the formation of a new unit, within the Police Department’s (NYPD) intelligence bureau, to investigate terror threats from far-right and neo-Nazi organizations.

John Miller, the commissioner of NYPD’s intelligence division, said these groups are no different from Islamic terrorist groups such as Al-Qaeda and ISIS.

The unit, known as “Racially and Ethnically Motivated Extremism” (REME), will monitor several local extremist groups, including The Proud Boys and Atomwaffen Division.

Just after a gun battle in New Jersey early December, including a shooting in a kosher supermarket which killed three bystanders, New York city Mayor Bill de Blasio told reporters “What we saw was a pre-meditated, violent, anti-Semitic hate-crime. In other words, you can call it an act of terror.”

The Mayor said: “It’s not enough to condemn anti-Semitism — we have to confront it. The despicable crimes committed against our Jewish community over the last 24 hours are an attack on ALL New Yorkers. The NYPD is actively investigating all of them and will bring the perpetrators to justice.”

There were about 50 people who were killed by extremists in the US in 2018, according to the latest available figures, while the numbers rose to about 229, mostly anti-Semitic hate crimes, by the end of December in 2019.

The Anti-Defamation League said the third largest total of anti-Semitic incidents took place in 2018, since the group started monitoring such crimes after it was created about 40 years ago.

Addressing reporters, Police Commissioner Dermot Shea said there had been a 22 percent increase in anti-Semitic hate crimes in 2019 compared with 2018. Hate crimes overall have all seen an increase, he added.

The REME unit was described as one of the first of its kind in a local police department and will include officers from the New Jersey and Pennsylvania state police and agents from the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).

The Anti-Defamation League said the third largest total of anti-Semitic incidents took place in 2018. The group started monitoring such crimes since it was created about 40 years ago.

Meanwhile the United Nations has warned of a global crisis on anti-Semitic hatred. The world body has two initiatives aimed at countering such hatred, including the UN Strategy and Plan of Action on Hate Speech and the UN Plan of Action of Safeguarding Religious Sites.

By Thalif Deen
NEW YORK, Nov 15 2019 (IPS)

The protest was described as a revolt of the commuters, as demonstrators crowded in the cavernous Grand Central Station in a show of strength. The demands included free transportation and safer subway.

A Twitter video appealed to commuters to skip fares, damage turnstiles and engage in a mass sabotage of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA).

NYPD Chief of Department Terrence Monahan said on twitter: “This morning, a group of individuals vandalized subway stations. We believe the same individuals will attempt to disrupt the evening commute by causing disorder, endangering commuters – and even attempting to physically assault our officers. IT WILL NOT BE TOLERATED.”

“While the NYPD will always protect people’s right to protest, we will not accept illegal behavior that threatens the safety of others. Those who break the law will be arrested,” he warned said in a subsequent video message.

The demands of the protesters were summed up as follows: No cops, no fares, full access, full service.

The NYPD arrested 13 people and gave out 11 summonses, while the MTA police made three arrests and eight summonses.

Meanwhile, three masked members of the protest group were seen in a Twitter video encouraging people to skip fares, damage turnstiles and engage in a mass sabotage of the MTA, as followers were directed to a demonstration at Grand Central station.

The NYPD said it was adding extra patrols at MTA stations while heavily armed officers guarded every entrance to the Grand Central station

After marching out of Grand Central, the protesters, numbering over a hundred, dispersed, and were later seen in the streets of Brooklyn.

MTA Chief Security Officer Patrick Warren said the demonstration follows the dangerous pattern of previous activities that have resulted in vandalization and defacement of MTA property – clearly violating laws.

Those actions divert valuable time, money and resources away from investments in transit services that get New Yorkers to their jobs, schools, doctors and other places they need to go.

He warned that “the MTA has zero-tolerance for any actions that threaten the safety of the public and our employees, and impede service for millions of customers. We are monitoring conditions as we cooperate with the NYPD and MTA PD to maintain service while ensuring everyone’s safety,”

By Thalif Deen
UNITED NATIONS, Sep 30 2019 (IPS)

When the UN General Assembly begins in mid- September every year, chances are more than 150 world leaders gather under one roof triggering security nightmares and turning the neighborhood into a veritable war zone, including road closures, deployment of metal detectors, concrete barriers to prevent unauthorized traffic and baggage and pat-down screenings.

And this year was no exception—both in terms of security and the number of world political leaders in town.

The only thing missing, one exasperated UN official joked, was a drawbridge at the entrance to the UN building secured by a moat full of crocodiles: something similar to what US President Donald Trump proposed building at the Southern border to prevent illegal immigrants finding their way into the United States.

For nearly 10 days, UN security was reinforced by US law enforcement agencies, including the New York Police Department (NYPD), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the US Secret Service (assigned to all visiting heads of state and heads of government.)

The security every year has been so tight—and so professional, as it was this year– that there were no incidents causing alarm.

Thousands of NYPD vehicles were part of the approximately 200 escort convoys during the weeklong General Assembly sessions which concluded last week.

Police Commissioner James P. O’Neill said “just as the men and women of the NYPD work tirelessly to keep New Yorkers safe each and every day, UN Member states represented in the 74th session of the UN General Assembly are welcomed to New York City knowing that the NYPD is committed to ensuring their safety”.

Patrick Freaney, Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the US Secret Service New York Field Office said: “When the Secret Service executes the security for an event as all-encompassing as the United Nations General Assembly, it requires the partnership of all law enforcement and public safety officials involved.”

And this year, there was a record number of world leaders addressing the 74th session of the General Assembly.

But the complaints by inconvenienced neighbors never ceased. The Wall Street Journal quoted a resident who had an answer to the annual pandemonium in the UN neighborhood: “Why can’t they take this to Governors Island. Put them on a little boat and send them back and forth”

In its 2016 United Nations Impact Report, the Mayor’s Office for International Affairs, in collaboration with the New York City Economic Development Corporation, outlined the economic costs and benefits to New York City, based on data from 2014, due to the presence of the permanent headquarters of the United Nations and UN Community.

The study presented the significant economic benefits from hosting the UN and UN Community in New York City and showcases how New York City supports this global community in its diverse metropolis.

About 16,000 people representing the UN community went to work every day in the city. Their household spending, as well as operating expenditures, helped to create increased economic opportunities for all New Yorkers by sustaining local jobs and supporting local business.

Among its findings, the UN Economic Impact Report 2016 shows that:

• The UN generates $3.69 billion in total economic output to City of New York’s economy.
• The 15, 890 individuals directly employed by the UN Community took home household earnings of approximately $1.64 billion. These household earnings and the operating expenses of the UN Community help to create and sustain 7,940 jobs for New Yorkers.
o The UN issued over 30,000 accreditations for visitors attending meetings and conferences. These visitors, on average, stayed in New York City for 14 days and received an average daily expense allowance of $258. This spend supported an additional estimated 1,210 jobs in NYC.
• New York City incurs costs supporting the UN Community, estimated to be approximately $54 million, including costs for security and education costs for staff members enrolling their children in public schools. However, even after taking account of these costs, the UN Community contributed approximately $56 million in net fiscal benefits to the City.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said “With one out of three New Yorkers foreign-born, and over 200 languages spoken in our homes and on our streets, we are honored to host the United Nations Headquarters and the largest diplomatic corps in the world, who play an important role in serving New York’s vibrant and diverse communities.”

UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said a total of 195 speakers participated at last week’s high-level UN meetings, including 82 Heads of State and 43 [Heads of Government].

Returnees embark on a timber supply collective reintegration project in Benin City. Photo: IOM 2018

By International Organization for Migration
LAGOS, Aug 31 2018 (IOM)

“Before I travelled to Libya, I was into phone sales and repairs and palm oil production, but I left my business to migrate due to challenges like power outages,” said Onyekachi as she stood in a room full of fellow returnees. “With this training, my dream will come true because I have been grouped into an agriculture-based business.”

Onyekachi is one of 273 Nigerians returning from Libya who are attending a business skills training this week in Lagos (27-31 August), as part of their reintegration assistance organized by IOM, the UN Migration Agency. The training on Business Skills and Cooperatives for Returned Migrants is the 21st event held in Nigeria targeting returnees who wish to start businesses in their communities of origin.

Since April 2017, 2,051 Nigerian returnees (1,130 male and 921 female) have participated in business trainings in Lagos, Edo, Nassarawa, Kano and Kaduna States, where they learn about the types of businesses they intend to launch, whether individually or in groups.

In addition to collective reintegration schemes, other returnees will be supported under community-based projects, such as fruit juice, palm oil, palm kernel and plantain processing factories in Edo and Delta States — where most assisted returnees originate from. These projects are intended to benefit not only the individual returnees but also their communities of origin.

“The training is now focused on having more sustainable businesses and not just regular trading, buying and selling. We are concentrated more on agriculture-related businesses because they are more sustainable and will add more value to the returnees’ communities,” said lead trainer Osita Osemene after the first day of activities. “We also have stories of returnees like Anita from Benin City, who has started her palm oil produce business under the individual reintegration scheme, and another group of returnees who started a fish farming business,” she added.

Technical sessions focused on entrepreneurship, bookkeeping, supply chain management, as well as recommendations to develop a business idea. Returnees also attended sessions on ‘mindset reset’, where they had the opportunity to share experiences about their journeys abroad. “I travelled on 26 May 2017 and paid a total sum of 500,000 Naira (approximately USD 1,400) from proceeds of my fish business in Benin City. I wanted to travel to Italy but was arrested at sea, spent a month and one week in prison and was assisted to return back to Nigeria in June 2018,” said a participant named Blessing during one such session. “Now because of the training I know that I have hope again.”

This training was organized under a joint initiative funded by the EU and implemented by IOM in collaboration with the Government of Nigeria, which offers in-kind reintegration assistance to help some returning migrants start their businesses. Some of the businesses already in motion include poultry farms, beauty salons and grocery shops. Reintegration assistance may also comprise medical treatment, education support and job placement.

Following this training IOM, in partnership with the Ministry of Labour and the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), will organize a job fair at the end of September where returnees will have the opportunity to meet private sector leaders in Nigeria and search for job opportunities to match their skills.

The EU-IOM Joint Initiative for Migrant Protection and Reintegration is a three-year programme that has helped close to 10,000 Nigerian women, men and children return home voluntarily from countries such as Libya. The EU-IOM Joint Initiative, funded by the EU Emergency Trust Fund for Africa, covers and has been set up in close cooperation with a total of 26 African countries, including 13 across West and Central Africa.

For more information please contact IOM Nigeria:
Jorge Galindo, Tel: +234 906 273 9168, Email: jgalindo@iom.int
Abrahm Tamrat, Tel: +234 906 228 4580, Email: tabrahm@iom.int

IOM provides emergency assistance to displaced Libyan families. Photo: IOM Libya, 2018

By International Organization for Migration
TRIPOLI, Aug 30 2018 (IOM)

IOM, the UN Migration Agency, has responded to the urgent humanitarian needs of hundreds of displaced Libyans and migrants affected by violence, following armed clashes in the Libyan capital.

Early Monday morning (27/08) heavy clashes erupted between armed groups in Tripoli, causing THE displacement of civilians AND migrants in the affected area. Despite the security constraints, on 28 August IOM, Libyan and Malian authorities were able to ensure the safe transport of 118 men, 22 women, 16 children, two infants and eight medical cases to Mitiga airport for their further safe return home to Mali.

Prior to departure the migrants received non-food items and health and protection assistance as part of IOM’s Voluntary Humanitarian Return Assistance. Unfortunately, an additional 30 migrants scheduled to depart were unable to reach the airport due to security constraints. IOM is following up to ensure their return as soon as possible.

“We are coordinating closely with the Libyan authorities and our humanitarian counterparts to ensure assistance reaches all those in need,” said Othman Belbeisi, IOM Libya Chief of Mission. “Our priority is the safety and well-being of civilians affected by the violence.”

The current security situation forced families to flee for safety. As part of its humanitarian response IOM provided mattresses, blankets and hygiene kits to displaced Libyan families who were able to seek shelter in a school in Tripoli. The humanitarian situation and needs of these families are being assessed by IOM.

At the same time, migrants at the Ain Zara and Salaheddin detention centres in the affected area were evacuated by the Directorate for Combatting Illegal Migration (DCIM) to safer centres with the support of humanitarian actors.

As part of a joint humanitarian response coordinated between the UN agencies and international organizations, UNHCR distributed core-relief items including 500 blankets in Abu Slim detention centre, while IOM provided mattresses, food and beverages to more than 400 migrants, including 322 evacuated from other unsafe locations. MSF teams are conducting medical consultations, as well as providing food, water and nutritional supplements to people still in detention centres.

On 30 August, in close coordination with the Danish Refugee Council (DRC) and the Somali Embassy, IOM provided direct humanitarian assistance in the form of medical consultations, food, water and non-food items to around 90 Somali migrants affected by the violence. Migrants who expressed a desire to go back home will be provided with Voluntary Humanitarian Return Assistance to guarantee their safe return. IOM is closely coordinating with UNHCR to find solutions for the Somalis who do not wish to return home.

IOM continues to monitor the situation closely and respond to the humanitarian situation of the affected populations in Tripoli, while coordinating with the Libyan authorities, UN agencies and international organizations to ensure existing needs are addressed.

IOM staff remains on the ground, continuing regular operations.

For more information please contact Christine Petre at IOM Libya, Tel: +21629240448, Email: chpetre@iom.int

You can view this statement online here.

The GCM clearly identifies slow onset environmental degradation, natural disasters and climate change impacts as drivers of contemporary migration. Photo: IOM/Muse Mohammed

By International Organization for Migration
GENEVA, Aug 30 2018 (IOM)

Following the New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants in 2016, United Nations Member States, for the first time in their history, committed to develop, negotiate and adopt a Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM).

The GCM is a non-binding cooperation framework that articulates a common set of commitments, on the basis of 23 objectives, for states to respond to the challenges and opportunities of contemporary international migration, and formulates provisions for implementation, follow up and review.

On 13 July 2018, the final text of the GCM was finalized and presented at the United Nations Headquarters at the end of the 6th round of intergovernmental negotiations. This finalized text offers a set of guiding principles, but also articulates concrete measures for action related to border management, documentation, migrant services, capacity building for states, consular protection, skills recognition, mechanisms of portability and building environments for migrants and diasporas to be actors of development.

The text also contains multiple references to environmental migration, articulating a wide and comprehensive understanding of the challenges linked to the environment-migration nexus. Most of the references related to environmental migration are made under Objective 2: Minimizing the adverse drivers and structural factors that compel people to leave their country of origin, which contains a section specifically dedicated to the subject and entitled “Natural disasters, the adverse effects of climate change, and environmental degradation” (Objective 2, paragraphs 19.h-19.l). Furthermore, a few important references can be found under Objective 5: Enhance availability and flexibility of pathways for regular migration.

10 Key Takeaways from the GCM on Environmental Migration 

1. The GCM clearly identifies slow onset environmental degradation, natural disasters and climate change impacts as drivers of contemporary migration.

2. The text acknowledges the multi-causality of migration as environmental drivers interact with political, economic and demographic drivers.

3. The text articulates comprehensive potential responses to address these drivers: design of appropriate measures in the countries of origin to make migration a choice rather than a desperate necessity; disaster preparedness, disaster risk reduction and disaster response; and facilitation of population movements.

4. The GCM recognizes that climate change mitigation and adaptation measures in countries of origin need to be prioritized to minimize drivers of migration.

5. The text also acknowledges that adaptation in situ or return of migrants might not be possible in some cases and that the strengthening of regular migration pathways (planned relocation and visa options) need to be part of migration management tools.

6. The GCM outlines the need for states to cooperate to identify, develop and strengthen solutions for people migrating in the context of slow-onset environmental degradation (in particular desertification, land degradation and sea level rise) and slow-onset disasters (drought).

7. The GCM outlines the importance of working at the regional level to address environmental drivers of migration.

8. The text encourages policy coherence by highlighting that the GCM rests on a number of global instruments related to climate change, disaster and environmental governance: the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Paris Climate Agreement, the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction.

9. The text also highlights the need to take into account recommendations stemming from state-led initiatives with a focus on mobility linked to natural disasters outside of the UN context: the Agenda for the Protection of Cross-Border Displaced Persons in the Context of Disasters and Climate Change, and its follow up, the Platform on Disaster Displacement, as well as the Migrants in Countries in Crisis Initiative (MICIC).

10. The GCM recognizes the need for more investments in strengthened evidence, data and research to address environmental migration challenges.

The finalization of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration represents an exciting and important achievement for the governance and management of international environmental migration, both now and in the future. Yet the challenges of translating global policy into national and regional practices should not be underestimated.

Environmental migration remains a relatively new topic, with little stocktaking and evaluation of the effectiveness of existing practices, especially those experiences related to the most innovative commitments outlined in the GCM. What is certain is that achieving the ambitious commitments set out in the Global Compact will be contingent on robust political will, adequate funding resources, and the successful development of new coalitions of actors.

For more information on Migration, Environment and Climate Change (MECC) and the links to the Global Compact for Migration (GCM), visit the IOM Environmental Migration Platform. 

Analysis by Dina Ionesco and Mariam Traore Chazalnoël, Migration, Environment and Climate Change Division, IOM 

By International Organization for Migration
GENEVA, Aug 29 2018 (IOM)

“When an acquaintance told me there might be work for me in Austria, I jumped at the opportunity. She told me how good Austria was so I figured I would just get there, find work and settle in. They told me the journey was easy so I decided to give it a go.”

These are the recollections of Sara, one of thousands of Nigerian women who have been fooled by traffickers and sent to Europe, West and Central Africa and the Middle East for domestic labour or sexual exploitation.

For the past three years, the majority of people arriving in Italy by sea were Nigerian. Fifty nine per cent of all victims of trafficking (VoT) assisted by IOM, the UN Migration Agency, in 2016 were Nigerians; the Organization estimates that a staggering 80 per cent of Nigerian women and girls arriving by sea that year were trafficked for sexual exploitation.

In addition to paying large sums of money to their traffickers, Nigerian VoTs often submitted to a voodoo rite which bound them by ‘contract’ to their traffickers. The so-called contract, among other things, prohibits victims from revealing the names of their traffickers and other details that may lead to the identification of exploiters — victims are too scared to break it because they are made to fear that “bad things” will happen to them and their families if they do.

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By International Organization for Migration
GENEVA, Aug 28 2018 (IOM)

IOM, the UN Migration Agency, reports that 67,122 migrants and refugees entered Europe by sea in 2018 through 26 August, with 27,994 to Spain, the leading destination this year. This compares with 123,205 (172,362 for the entire year) arrivals across the region through the same period last year, and 272,612 at this point in 2016.

Spain, with 42 per cent of all arrivals through the year, continues to receive seaborne migrants in August at a volume more than twice that of Greece and more than four times that of Italy. Italy’s arrivals through late August are the lowest recorded at this point of a normally busy summer sailing season in almost five years (see chart below).

IOM Rome on Monday reported that late Saturday, after a prolonged delay, all the migrants on the Italian Coast Guard ship Diciotti were allowed to disembark into Italy.

The 190 migrants (mostly Eritreans and Somalis) were rescued by the Diciotti on 15 August. However, the ship was permitted only the evacuation of 13 migrants (for medical reasons) before being ordered to wait at anchor off the coast of Lampedusa. That lasted five days, before the Diciotti’s crew received authorization to move their vessel to the port of Catania.

The remaining migrants then remained on board five additional days in the port of Catania, as Italian authorities were unable to authorize their landing – because the Italian authorities insisted they would not authorize disembarkation until there was an agreement to relocate them to other EU Member States.

Following several humanitarian appeals (both IOM and UNHCR asked the Italian Government to allow these migrants to disembark) only the minors were permitted to leave the ship by Thursday evening.

While an agreement was not reached at EU level, all the migrants ultimately were allowed to disembark on Saturday night, when the Italian Minister of Interior announced that 20 migrants will be relocated to Albania and 20 to Ireland, while 100 would be welcomed by the Vatican – within Italian territory, however, on property administered by the Holy See.

According to testimonies gathered by IOM staff from the minors who disembarked Thursday evening, the migrants – all malnourished and exhausted – reported having been arbitrarily detained for up to two years in Libya, where many of them had been beaten and tortured by smugglers and traffickers seeking ransom money from their families in their countries of origin. Moreover, Italian doctors who attended the women on the Diciotti reported that many of them had been raped while in Libya.

“Migrants arriving from Libya are often victims of violence, abuses and torture; their vulnerabilities should be timely and properly identified and addressed,” added Federico Soda, Director of IOM’s Coordinating Office for the Mediterranean and Chief of Mission for Italy and Malta.

IOM’s Missing Migrants Project (MMP) has documented the deaths of 1,549 people on the Mediterranean in 2018. Most recently, in the Western Mediterranean, the Spanish Guardia Civil recovered the body of a young Sub-Saharan man near Alboran Island on 24 August. A merchant vessel had spotted his body, along with the body of another migrant, and had alerted Spanish authorities. A search operation is still underway to find the remains of the other migrant, which have not been located as of 27 August.

On 24 and 25 August, the remains of two individuals were recovered off the coast of Djerba in Tunisia. They are believed to have died in a shipwreck that took place on 20 August off the coast of Djerba. The current death toll from that shipwreck stands at eight dead and one missing. One survivor was rescued by the Tunisian National Guard.

IOM Spain’s Ana Dodevska reported that total arrivals at sea in 2018 have reached 27,994 men, women and children who have been rescued in Western Mediterranean waters through 26 August (see chart below).

She further reported that starting Sunday (26 August) a new, temporary, Motril-based reception centre for foreigners has become operational. This centre can accommodate a total of 250 migrants. A similar reception centre – the first of its type – also became operational at the Port of Crinavis in San Roque on 2 August. Currently, the centre in San Roque remains the largest centre of this type in Spain with a total capacity of 450 persons.

Given the increase in arrivals, the Spanish authorities decided to activate these types of centres in order to speed up the identification process of the newly arrived migrants. The maximum duration of stay in these centres is limited to 72 hours, after which the migrants are transferred to various Humanitarian Assistance Reception Centres. Explained Dodevska: “The newly opened centers are only for the first identification process upon arrival. The Humanitarian ones are financed by the Ministry of Labour, Migrations and Social Security and all of them are managed by NGOs.”

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By International Organization for Migration
BERLIN, Aug 27 2018 (IOM)

Resettlement has long been an important mechanism for refugee protection, and one that promotes international solidarity and durable solutions. In recent years and against a background of large-scale global displacement, the potential of resettlement to provide solutions for the worsening global refugee situation has been debated.

The relationship between resettlement and territorial asylum as well as the potential of alternative forms of refugee intake, such as humanitarian admission or private sponsorship, have also been on the agenda – as illustrated in this infographic and discussed in a recent policy brief by the Research Unit of the Expert Council of German Foundations on Integration and Migration.

How many refugees benefit from resettlement each year? Which countries accept the largest numbers of resettled refugees?

These would seem to be straightforward questions with straightforward answers to them. But resettlement statistics harbour a number of uncertainties and pitfalls that are not immediately evident to most readers.

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Aid agencies have only received a third of the USD 951 million needed to support nearly a million Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh through year end. Photo: Muse Mohammed / IOM 2018

By International Organization for Migration
COX’S BAZAR, Bangladesh, Aug 24 2018 (IOM)

One year into a crisis that has seen over 700,000 refugees escape violence in Myanmar by fleeing into Bangladesh, the Rohingya once more stand on the verge of another disaster if more funding for the humanitarian response cannot be secured.

The immense efforts of the UN Migration Agency (IOM) and its partners to support the Government of Bangladesh in the humanitarian response since the influx began a year ago are evident across what has become the largest refugee settlement in the world.

Almost a million Rohingya now live in Cox’s Bazar. From the early days of the crisis when thousands were crossing the border daily, sleeping under open skies, many injured and on the brink of starvation, conditions on the ground have improved immeasurably. All the refugees now have access to basic shelter, food and healthcare.

Intensive cooperative efforts to avert landslides – including work to prevent soil erosion, preparing ground to make it flatter and safer, emergency response planning, awareness raising and the relocation of more than 24,000 people most at risk – mean major tragedies have so far been avoided in the camps, despite the dangerous topography and extreme weather conditions.

But that does not mean danger has passed. Another cyclone season looms at the end of September and severe funding shortages threaten the delivery of vital services.

“The achievements of the past year have been remarkable,” said Giorgi Gigauri, IOM’s Chief of Mission in Bangladesh. “This was the fastest growing refugee crisis in the world and the challenges have been immense. Countless lives have been saved thanks to the generosity of the Government of Bangladesh, the local community and donors, and the hard work of all those involved in the humanitarian response. But we now face the very real threat that if more funding is not urgently secured, lives will once again be at risk.”

Over 212,000 families – almost the entire refugee population – have now received shelter upgrade materials, with IOM providing shelter assistance to over 120,000 households.  Work is also ongoing to increase access to clean water and improve sanitation. IOM Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) teams have completed over 330 deep tube wells in the camps, with dozens more currently being installed.

Protection services are integral part of IOM’s response and over 23,000 extremely vulnerable people with protection needs have been identified since the crisis began. As lead agency in the fight against human trafficking in the camps, IOM is working with authorities and communities to tackle this growing threat to the refugee population.

Meeting the needs of the host community, which has also been impacted by the crisis, has also been central to the response. IOM is working with partner agencies on a range of longer-term initiatives to address environmental damage through alternative fuel provision, as well as reforestation projects that can provide work opportunities. Local farmers are being supported with machinery and seeds to help boost food production.

But as of now, the overall humanitarian response has just one third of the funding that it needs to see it through the end of the year.

“IOM medical staff this month logged half a million consultations since this crisis began. That shows you the level of need we are facing. But the stark reality is that without more support, such services are under threat,” said Gigauri.

“That will not just impact on those who need immediate medical treatment, but also on public health measures such as vaccination and outreach, without which the risk of large scale disease outbreaks will increase dramatically. Meanwhile, maintaining drainage and emptying latrines costs money. Without this we will see overflows leading to water contamination and the spread of disease.”

Gigauri stressed that in a humanitarian response of this scale, restrictions or cut backs to any one service would have a knock-on impact on the wider response.

“We must not underestimate the dangers the Rohingya refugees still face. One year on from the start of the crisis, they must not be forgotten,” he said. “These people have survived almost unimaginable suffering. The international community must not now turn its back and allow the Rohingya to be plunged into yet another tragedy.”

For more information please contact Fiona MacGregor at IOM Cox’s Bazar, Tel. 88 0 1733 335221, Email: fmacgregor@iom.int

IOM is supporting the relocation of Venezuelans from Boa Vista to Sao Paulo and Manaus, Brazil. Photo: IOM

By International Organization for Migration
GENEVA, Aug 23 2018 (IOM)

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi and the Director General of the United Nations Migration Agency, IOM, William Lacy Swing appealed for greater support from the international community to the countries and communities in the region receiving a growing number of refugees and migrants from Venezuela. With an estimated 2.3 million Venezuelans living abroad, more than 1.6 million have left the country since 2015, 90 per cent of them to countries within South America.

Grandi and Swing commended States in the region for generously hosting Venezuelan nationals arriving at their borders. They nonetheless expressed concern over several recent developments affecting refugees and migrants from Venezuela. These include new passport and border entry requirements in Ecuador and Peru, as well as changes to the temporary stay permits for Venezuelans in Peru.

“We recognise the growing challenges associated with the large scale arrival of Venezuelans. It remains critical that any new measures continue to allow those in need of international protection to access safety and seek asylum,” stressed Grandi.

“We commend the efforts already made by receiving countries to provide Venezuelans with security, support and assistance. We trust that these demonstrations of solidarity will continue in the future,” said IOM´s Director General, Ambassador Swing, in Geneva Thursday.

Of particular concern are the most vulnerable—such as adolescent boys and girls, women, people trying to reunite with their families and unaccompanied and separated children who are unlikely to be able to meet documentation requirements and will therefore be placed at further risk of exploitation, trafficking and violence.

UNHCR, IOM, UN agencies and other partners are working in support of national responses by governments in the region to this complex human mobility and protection situation. This current situation underlines the urgent need to increase international engagement and solidarity in support of the governments’ response plans and addressing the most pressing humanitarian needs, in order to assure that those are met, safe transit is guaranteed and social and economic integration can be provided in line with larger development strategies.

Following the commitments of the New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants, timely and predictable support by the international community is needed for fairer sharing of responsibilities and to complement the efforts of host countries.

Media contact details:

For IOM:
Joel Millman at IOM HQ, Tel: +41 79 103 8720, Email: jmillman@iom.int
Juliana Quintero, IOM South America, Tel.  +54 11 48133330
Mobile. +54 11 32488134 QUINTERO Juliana juquintero@iom.int

For UNHCR:
In Geneva: Cécile Pouilly, pouilly@unhcr.org, +41 79 108 26 25
In Bogota Olga Sarrado Mur, sarrado@unhcr.org, +57 310 202 6029

A view of Block D5 at the Kutupalong extension camp in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh. Photo by: Tanvir Murad Topu / World Bank / CC BY-NC-ND

By Kelli Rogers
COX’S BAZAR, Bangladesh, Aug 22 2018 (IOM)

Concrete replaces hand-dug mud steps zigzagging down steep hillsides. Sturdy bridges stretch over marshes, and a main road carves a bumpy path through once inaccessible zones. The mega-camp that sprawls across 6,000 acres of Bangladesh’s Ukhia region has changed greatly in the year since it became home to 700,000 additional Rohingya refugees fleeing violence and persecution in Myanmar’s Rakhine state.

For Rohingya and the aid groups that assist them, improved infrastructure and access represents hard-won progress. For the poor Bangladeshi communities on the camp’s fringes, it instills an alarming sense of permanence — one that could appear as support for Rohingya rather than their own families.

There are more than 100 projects underway targeting host communities, some of which were present before the mass arrival of Rohingya. Currently, 20,250 families receive livelihoods support, more than 25,000 participate in cash-for-work plans, and 2,150 families have received agriculture inputs training, according to the Inter Sector Coordination Group that oversees the Rohingya crisis response.

These numbers may mean little to hungry Bangladeshis, who watch trucks loaded with food and water turn from a road jammed with aid vehicles into Kutupalong camp: Away from them and toward their 1 million new neighbors.

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By Amnesty International
Aug 20 2018 (Amnesty International)

Responding to the news that human rights defender Tep Vanny has been released from prison following a royal pardon after more than 700 days in detention, Minar Pimple, Amnesty International’s Senior Director of Global Operations, said:

“After more than two years of being unjustly detained for her peaceful activism, the news that Tep Vanny is once again reunited with her family is a cause for great celebration.

“However, her release is long overdue. Tep Vanny has endured a catalogue of injustice – from baseless, politically-motivated charges to unfair trials – and should never have been imprisoned in the first place.

“As well as allowing Tep Vanny to resume her activism without fear of further reprisals, Cambodia’s authorities must quash all convictions against her and halt any investigations into any other pending charges. Additionally, the many other human rights defenders and prisoners of conscience still languishing behind bars in the country must also be immediately and unconditionally released.”

Background

On 23 February 2017, Phnom Penh’s First Instance Court convicted Tep Vanny of “intentional violence with aggravating circumstances“, and sentenced her to two years and six months’ imprisonment.

The conviction was based on her peaceful participation in a March 2013 protest in front of Prime Minister Hun Sen’s house, calling for the release of one of the arbitrarily detained Boeung Kak Lake Community members.

Tep Vanny was also ordered to pay a fine of five million Cambodian Riel (around USD 1,250), as well as a combined nine million riel in compensation payments to the two plaintiffs, both of whom are members of Phnom Penh’s Daun Penh district para-police.

On 27 July 2017 and again on 7 February 2018, Phnom Penh’s Appeal court upheld both her conviction and prison sentence.

Amnesty International considered Tep Vanny a prisoner of conscience held solely for her peaceful human rights work. She was also part of the human rights organization’s global BRAVE campaign, with more than 200,000 people around the world joining a call for her release.

Public Document
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For more information or to arrange an interview please contact Michael Parsons on:

+44 207 413 5696
email: Michael.Parsons@amnesty.org

Out of hours contact details
+44 20 7413 5566
email: press@amnesty.org
twitter: @amnestypress

UN agencies and Bangladesh government launch alternative fuel project in Cox’s Bazar to help reduce deforestation linked to Rohingya crisis. Photos: Patrick Shepherd FAO/IOM

By International Organization for Migration
Cox’s Bazar, Aug 17 2018 (IOM)

A major environmental project to provide around 250,000 families with liquid petroleum gas (LPG) stoves and gas cylinders has been launched by UN agencies and the government in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, to help prevent further deforestation linked to the Rohingya refugee crisis.

At the official launch of phase one of the project yesterday (16/08), over 300 local villagers identified by local officials as extremely vulnerable and in need of support were the first to receive stove and gas sets. Thousands more will be distributed to Rohingya refugees and other host community families over the coming months.

The alternative fuel initiative is being organized by the UN Migration Agency (IOM), UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), World Food Programme (WFP) and UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), working closely with Bangladesh’s Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief (MODMR) and Commissioner for Refugee Repatriation and Relief (RRRC).

The launch was attended by senior Bangladeshi officials including Commissioner for Refugee Repatriation and Relief Mohammad Abul Kalam, Divisional Commissioner for Chittagong Mohammad Abdul Mannan, and Deputy Commissioner for Cox’s Bazar Mohammad Kamal Hossain.

Cox’s Bazar was home to significant areas of protected forest and an important wildlife habitat. But the arrival of over 700,000 Rohingya refugees fleeing violence in Myanmar over the past year led to massive deforestation as desperate families cut down trees and cleared land to make space for makeshift shelters.

With refugees and many local villagers almost entirely reliant on firewood for cooking, that damage has continued, and forest is being cleared at a rate of 700 metric tonnes – the equivalent of around four football fields of trees – each day. If cutting continues at the current rate, the area’s forest will be completely destroyed by the end of 2019, according to UN estimates.

“This is a vitally important project which will not only help mitigate and redress deforestation and environmental damage but will also play an important role in improving health and safety in the local and refugee communities,” said Sanjukta Sahany, head of IOM’s transition and recovery team in Cox’s Bazar.

Smoke from firewood being burned in homes and shelters without proper ventilation is a significant cause of health problems, particularly among women and young children, who spend much of their time indoors.

The reliance on firewood has also raised protection concerns, with most wood collection being carried out by children, who have had to venture further from homes to find wood, as the forest has been cut back. Competition for this increasingly rare resource is also a growing source of conflict between the refugees and local communities.

“By curbing the extraction of firewood from the remaining forests, it allows us to protect, re-enter and replant,” explained Peter Agnew, FAO’s emergency response coordinator in Cox’s Bazar. He noted that the alternative fuel project is part of the wider SAFE Plus project, which is designed to improve economic livelihoods for host communities, and in turn overall food security, as well as the resilience of the refugees, by empowering them through skills development.

“Over the next three years, several thousand people from the local and refugee communities will have livelihood opportunities working on forest rehabilitation with the SAFE Plus project, in coordination with the forestry department,” he said.

For more information please contact Fiona MacGregor at IOM Cox’s Bazar, Tel. +8801733335221, Email: fmacgregor@iom.int

A health officer on the outskirts of Itipo prepares to open a barrier for a motorbike driver who has undergone screening . Photo: IOM

By IOM Democratic Republic of the Congo
Aug 15 2018 (IOM)

The mighty Congo River both connects Kinshasa with Equateur Province where an Ebola epidemic began in May 2018 and separates the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) from Congo-Brazzaville, hidden in the haze on the other bank.

“Epidemiological surveillance in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is a massive challenge,” said Pierre Dimany while looking out to the river. Pierre is the Kinshasa coordinator of the National Programme for Border Hygiene (PNHF), a partner of IOM, the UN Migration Agency, in the Ebola response.

On Tuesday 24 July, the country’s ninth epidemic was officially declared over, some two-and-a-half months after it began. In previous epidemics, cases were usually confined to remote areas in DRC’s vast rainforest, but this time around a total of four were reported in the Equateur provincial capital Mbandaka. This sparked fears that the fever, which often kills in a matter of days, would take hold of the city and work its way downstream to Kinshasa, where an estimated 12 million people live.

“We were all scared,” admitted Djo Ipaso Yoka, a young teacher recruited to carry out screenings at a post in Mbandaka at one of the points of entry to Wendji Secli motorbike taxi park.

The epidemic started in two health zones deep in the equatorial forest, Bikoro and Iboko. The first victim, a health worker, had treated an old woman, who had come into a village from the forest because she was sick. From there the virus spread to Mbandaka in Bikoro health zone.

Although the epidemic in Equateur was declared over, the country is constantly threatened by outbreaks. A new epidemic, the tenth in the DRC, was declared just days after the end of the Equateur outbreak. This latest medical emergency has sparked grave concern, as it is occurring in the east of the country close to a town with road links into neighbouring Uganda.

A rare closed-door meeting between the United States and North Korea was described as a major breakthrough—the first time in nearly two decades.

The venue for the meeting was, not surprisingly, New York City which hosts the Permanent Mission of North Korea to the United Nations, the only official presence of the heavily-sanctioned Pyongyang regime in the United States.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met with General Kim Yong Chol, the highest ranking North Korean official to visit the US in 18 years, who is also described as the “right-hand man” of the North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

The meeting was in advance of the upcoming summit meeting between Kim and President Donald Trump scheduled to take place in Singapore June 11-12.

Prior to the talks in New York, the Trump administration issued a waiver for General Kim to travel to the US since the Obama administration had blacklisted him back in 2010 for his role as the head of North Korean intelligence agency.

The agency had been castigated for its secretive role in supplying conventional weapons to countries such as Syria in defiance of UN sanctions.

General Kim refused to respond to questions from the press as he left the residence of the deputy permanent representative of the United States to the UN, where he and his delegation were hosted for dinner.

After the bilateral talks, Pompeo told reporters: “I believe they are contemplating a path forward where they can make a strategic shift, one that the country had not been prepared to make before. And they will have to choose”

With Singapore summit still up in the air, a senior State Department official was quoted as saying: “The president can make a fly or no-fly decision any time he wants to.”

When Hollywood movie mogul Harvey Weinstein arrived for his arraignment on charges of sexual abuse, there were hordes of photographers and reporters waiting for him outside the New York Supreme Court.  

But this time the scenario was different for a celebrity movie producer who was surrendering to authorities after scores of women, including several A-list actresses and fashion models, accused him of sexual misconduct, including first and second degree rape.

Benjamin Brafman, one of the best known lawyers in town, who was defending Weinstein, said in a statement to the media on Friday: “Mr. Weinstein has always maintained that he has never engaged in non-consensual sexual behavior with anyone. Nothing about today’s proceedings changes Mr. Weinstein’s position. He has entered a plea of not guilty and fully expects to be exonerated.”

The arraignment came about seven months after both the New Yorker and the New York Times published damning investigative reports detailing some of Weinstein’s sexual encounters in hotel rooms and Hollywood offices. Weinstein has vehemently denied the charges and said all his sexual encounters were “consensual”.

The charges followed a joint investigation by the police and the Manhattan District Attorney’s office. The allegations became a driving force in the #MeToo movement  against sexual harassment, which also triggered a “zero tolerance” policy for sexual misconduct at the United Nations.

At the hearing, Weinstein had to surrender his passport and was released on a $1 million bail. He was barred from travelling beyond New York and Connecticut and his movements will be monitored electronically.

Speaking to reporters outside the court, Brafman said: “Under the circumstances, he’s holding up reasonably well. No one can be happy to be in the position that he is in.”

“As terrible a crime as rape is, it is equally reprehensible to be falsely accused of rape, and since Mr. Weinstein has denied these allegations, that’s where we are,” he added.

The one-year anniversary of the 2017 Women’s March in Washington was commemorated in mid-town Manhattan yesterday where thousands of demonstrators marched through the streets of New York protesting the policies of the Trump administration—focusing specifically on gender empowerment, women’s rights, diversity, migrants, people of color, and gay and lesbian rights, in what is described as an increasingly polarized American society.

The slogans, which captured the political mood of the demonstrators, were strikingly feminist: “God is Coming & She is Pissed off”, “Equal Rights are Human Rights,” “Nasty Women Unite”, and “I will not Go Quietly”.

The marchers, spread over 20-25 blocks, were noisy but not unruly as hundreds of New York City police officers provided security, with demonstrators gathering at Central Park West. The march was organized by the Women’s March Alliance.

Katherine Siemionko, the founder of the Alliance and lead organizer of the New York City march, said: “Our goal is to unite people all over the world in the fight for human rights. Women’s March Alliance is honored to be one of the leaders in this effort and we’re excited – but not surprised – that New Yorkers have already come out and committed themselves to leading the effort”.

She said there will be marches happening all over the world on January 20th and 21st – and there will surely be another record-setting #weekendofwomen.”

Rosie Perez, actress and feminist activist, told the crowd: “We are going to keep the pressure on. Thank you to the women who came forward…who called out Mr. Weinstein and brought him down. We need to do the same for Trump.”

Last year’s protests were triggered by the election of Donald Trump as the 45th US President and took place on Jan. 21, the day after his inauguration. This year’s “weekend of women” is expected to include about 250 similar marches worldwide.

This is the second Women’s March in NYC. The first march last year drew an estimated 400,000 people.

The Alliance, which is independent from the Women’s March group in Washington D.C. march, is a nonprofit created in January 2017 and “whose mission is to raise women’s voices through education and activism.”  Besides the march, the group hosts educational workshops, training sessions, nonpartisan events, and festivals.

A major fire, fueled by strong winds on a frigid night, killed at least 12 people in a Bronx building, inhabited mostly with migrants from West Africa, the Caribbean and Latin America.

New York City Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro described the fire as “historic,” since it was one of the deadliest fires in the city in more than a quarter century.

Addressing reporters, Mayor Bill de Blasio said that besides the 12 deaths, four were critically injured and two people suffered non-life-threatening injuries. Amongst the dead was a one year old child.

“Tonight in the Bronx we’ve seen the worst fire tragedy in at least a quarter of a century,’’ the mayor said. “It is unspeakable, and families have been torn apart.”

The building, constructed of plaster and brick and built in 1916, was not fireproof, according to property records. The blaze was raised to a five-alarm status, involving more than 160 fire fighters.

Commissioner Nigro said that City records indicated the building had six open violations, including one for a defective smoke detector on the first floor, where the fire began.

While the American Red Cross responded with blankets, the nearby Grace H. Dodge vocational high school was turned into a reception center for people who needed housing and other services.

The last deadly fire took place at the Happy Land social club in New York city which killed 87 people back in 1990. An arsonist, Julio Gonzalez, used $1 worth of gasoline to set fire to the club, after a bouncer booted him following a spat with an ex-girlfriend. He died in prison on Sept. 13, 2016.

A Bangladesh immigrant, 27 year-old Akayed Ullah, set off a pipe bomb strapped to his body in a crowded passageway at a Times Square subway station yesterday. The explosive failed to detonate but burnt him and injured three others causing panic during the morning rush hour in the heart of the city.

At a news conference, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio told reporters: “This was an attempted terrorist attack’, pointing out that “terrorists yearn to attack New York City.”

But that target may be increasingly difficult due to stepped up Police surveillance and unprecedented security measures to thwart future attacks.

New York City Police Commissioner James O’Neill told reporters the suspect had “an improvised low-tech explosive device attached to his body”

But in the fight against domestic terrorism, experts believe that the biggest single challenge facing New York City is “lone wolf” attacks by terrorists acting individually –and with no known ties to groups overseas.

The pipe bomb followed an attack in October when, Sayfullo Saipov, an immigrant from Uzbekistan rammed a rented truck along a lower Manhattan bike bath killing eight and injuring 12. He was known to have been “radicalized” while living in the US and had not ties to terror groups.

In September 2016, a New Jersey man was convicted of planting bombs in the Chelsea neighborhood in Manhattan. The attack with home-made bombs injured dozens of people.

All three have been described as “lone wolf” attacks on an unsuspecting public.

In a television interview, John Miller, Deputy Commissioner for Intelligence and Counter-Terrorism, said preventing lone wolf attacks “is very difficult and getting harder.”

The NYPD’s monitoring of potential attackers has generated civil rights law suits, including charges of “illegal surveillance of Muslims” living in the city.

After the October attack, Miller said Saipov “appears to have followed almost exactly to a T the instructions that ISIS has put out on its social media channels”.