Day: May 28, 2021

On 22 May 400 people rescued by SEA-EYE 4 disembarked in Italy. However, more than 600 people are confirmed dead or missing on the central Mediterranean route and almost 10,000 have been returned to Libya, where the bodies of babies and toddlers washed up over the weekend. Meanwhile the focus of EU and member states remains the prevention of arrivals with renewed efforts of migration control cooperation with Tunisia and Libya and Cyprus requesting intervention from the Commission to stop departures from Syria. In Malta, where arrivals have dropped significantly, the trial of the so-called El Hiblu three continues with witnesses supporting the accused and the defence seeking correct translations.

After some delay and initial reluctance by authorities in Italy, 400 people including 150 children rescued by SEA-EYE 4 in its first mission on the central Mediterranean could disembark in the port of Pozzallo. The Aita Mari rescue vessel, operated by the NGO Salvamento Marítimo Humanitario (SMH), rescued 50 people including four children drifting in the Mediterranean after departing from Libya. Another 100 people including eight babies who departed from Libya were rescued by the Tunisian navy after an engine failure had left them in distress. According to the NGO hotline Alarm Phone, Tunisia cannot be considered safe for return and accordingly the monitoring by Maltese merchant vessels qualifies as assistance in illegal pushbacks. Following a deadly period on the central Mediterranean the bodies of babies and toddlers washed up on a beach in Zuwara, Libya on 22 May, reportedly the children had been travelling with their parents on one of the many dinghies that set off from Libya over the latest period. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) reports the interception and return to Libya of 1,489 people between May 16-22. According to the UN agency the total of interceptions and returns to Libya stands at 9,659 as of 22 May 2021, compared to 11,891 throughout all of 2020. 632 people are confirmed dead or missing so far in 2021, compared to 978 throughout last year.

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) concludes in a recently released report that: “Libya is not a safe place for the return or disembarkation of migrants rescued at sea; current SAR policies and practices in the central Mediterranean enable a range of violations and abuses against migrants rather than ending them; and all States in the region, as well as the EU Border and Coast Guard Agency, the EU Naval Force for the Mediterranean, the European Commission and other stakeholders, must urgently reform their SAR policies, practices, funding and cooperation in order to promote more principled and effective migration governance that prioritizes the protection of migrants at sea and is consistent with obligations under international law…” The human rights lawyer Omer Shatz, who is known for submitting extensive evidence of EU Member States’ officials’ and agents’ complicity in crimes against humanity on the Mediterranean and in Libya to the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, stated on 22 May: ‘What’s happening in the Mediterranean is murder by drowning. It happens intentionally and systematically, as part of a specific policy…” and adding on interception and returns to Libya: “Systematic torture of people takes place in the camps — filmed, as a commitment to get ransom from family and/or friends. Women are systematically raped. Forced labour takes place, raw human trafficking, starvation, people die from diseases such as tuberculosis that are easy to treat. And we know that there are executions of people who are not paid ransoms, and who have no value for the camp managers”. A research by the Geneva-based NGO Global Initiative Against Transnational Organised Crime on changing human smuggling and trafficking dynamics in Sahel, Tunisia and Libya poses two equally problematic scenarios in the latter country: “the hybrid governing structures that gain power and resources through the management of human smuggling — as well as other crimes — have proven remarkably resilient. A key question is whether these mafia-like groups will become the imperfect building blocks of a new Libyan state or instead act as barriers to progress”.

Meanwhile, EU and member states remain undeterred and active in seeking to broadening cooperation with North African countries on migration prevention. During her recent visit to Tunisia, EU Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson stated: “We have a new opportunity in Libya and I am ready to engage with the new Libyan government in talks on how we can have a better and closer cooperation, including when it comes to managing migration”. Italian Interior Minister, Luciana Lamorgese who took part in the visit announced that a hotline will be established between Rome and Tunis to counter irregular migration and a joint statement stressed the countries “determination to fight against criminal human trafficking networks”. According to Lamorgese more than 13,000 people arrived irregularly in Italy this year, of whom nearly 9,000 had departed from Libya and over 3,000 from Tunisia.

Malta has seen a significant drop in arrivals from more than 1,200 between January and May 2020 to just 147 in the same period of 2021. Britta Rabe from the NGO hotline Alarm Phone linked the decrease to the conduct of the Armed Forces of Malta (AFM): “We are observing that the AFM doesn’t go out for rescues at all to boats in distress in Maltese search and rescue zone, south of Lampedusa. Instead, they count on merchant vessels and the Libyan coastguard to push boat people back to Libya.”

In Malta, the controversial trial of the so-called El Hiblu three continues, involving two children and a youth charged with terrorism-related offences for seizing control of the merchant vessel El Hiblu 1 in March 2019 and facing up to 30 years of imprisonment. On 21 May, two of seven witnesses who were among the more than 100 people aboard the El Hiblu 1 at the time of the alleged offence presented their testimonies before magistrate Nadine Lia. According to the witnesses, the role of the three accused was to act as translators and — in coordination with the captain of the vessel — to calm down the hungry and cold people aboard, with some panicking over their possible return to Libya and considering jumping overboard. The defence team has requested a removal of the current translator, Dr Anthony Licari, as he is not translating the version of events given by the witness in a faithful manner and the witnesses struggle to understand him.

Source: European Council on Refugees and Exiles

WASHINGTON D.C. May 27, 2021 –To help improve rural road access and employment opportunities, strengthen the learning environment and alignment of priority education programs with the labor market at selected higher education institutions, and increase access to high quality broadband internet services, the World Bank today approved three projects with a combined financing of $875 million from the International Development Association (IDA*).

“Approval of the three projects reflects the World Bank’s strong support to Tanzania,” said Hafez Ghanem, Regional Vice President for the World Bank. “We want to continue and even strengthen our partnership with Tanzania in its efforts to fight poverty and ensure a better living standard for its people. Investments supported by the three projects will help accelerate growth as they expand access to economic opportunities, especially for women and youth.”

“The experiences of successfully transitioning economies have shown that strong human capital is fundamental for long-term growth and the development of an economically secure middle class,” said Mara Warwick, World Bank Country Director.“These projects prioritize such investments, which will enable households at all income levels in Tanzania to benefit from growth.”

The financing supports the following projects:

• The Roads to Inclusion and Socioeconomic Opportunities project(RISE, $300M) will give more Tanzanians in rural areas access to roads in good condition to enable them to access services and economic opportunities. RISE will upgrade roads with climate resilient approaches in six rural districts across four regions – Geita, Tanga, Lindi and Iringa – promoting a sustainable model for routine maintenance, removing bottlenecks that inhibit the improvement of rural roads, and incorporating people-centered community engagement approaches. RISE will also generate around 35,000 civil works jobs, including 19,000 community-based routine maintenance contracts involving rural communities, with at least 20 percent of these jobs held by women. The project will also assist in laying the foundation for a greater level of ambition for inclusive sustainable rural road asset management in Tanzania.
• Higher Education for Economic Transformation project(HEET, $425M)aims to strengthen the learning environment, ensure greater alignment of priority degree programs to labor market needs, and improve the management of the higher education system. HEET will achieve its objective by (i) strengthening and building the capacity of 14 public higher education institutions in both Mainland and Zanzibar to become high quality centers of learning, focusing on areas with the greatest potential for growth over the coming decade; and (ii) enhancing the management of the higher education system through the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, and subsidiary agencies. Among the key results, participating universities will add or modernize over 260 academic programs within priority areas, with over 100,000 students benefiting from direct interventions to enhance learning.
• The Digital Tanzania Project(DTP, $150M) will increase access to high quality broadband internet services for government, businesses, and citizens, and improve the government’s capacity to deliver digital public services. This will be achieved through four components: (i) the digital ecosystem: strengthening the laws, policies, regulations, institutional capacity, and human capacity needed to promote ICT infrastructure investment, market competitiveness, digital engagement, job creation, and innovation; (ii) digital connectivity: ensuring access to affordable, high-quality internet services for all citizens, including in rural areas, and for critical government institutions; and (iii) digital platforms and services: building the technical capacity, skills, institutions, and local digital infrastructure for the government to deliver services to citizens and conduct its own business digitally. By the end of DTP’s implementation, more than 75 percent of Tanzania’s population will be covered by a mobile broadband network signal (3G or higher); some 425 government ministries, departments and agencies will benefit from broadband internet service; and a minimum of 40 percent of citizens (aged 15 and above) will be able to use the internet. The number of monthly transactions accessing a public service via internet or a mobile phone will increase from 200,000 to at least 500,000.

*The World Bank’s International Development Association (IDA), established in 1960, helps the world’s poorest countries by providing grants and low to zero-interest loans for projects and programs that boost economic growth, reduce poverty, and improve poor people’s lives. IDA is one of the largest sources of assistance for the world’s 76 poorest countries, 39 of which are in Africa. Resources from IDA bring positive change to the 1.6 billion people who live in IDA countries. Since 1960, IDA has supported development work in 113 countries. Annual commitments have averaged about $21 billion over the last three years, with about 61 percent going to Africa.

Source: World Bank

We applaud young successful feminist activists such as Amanda Gorman, Malala Yousafzai and Greta Thunberg. Yet there is a real danger that the world sits by and watches as adolescent girls bear the brunt of a devastating global food crisis, shattering their ability to contribute to society.

In 2019, 688 million people were chronically hungry. Today, this figure has shot up to about 1 billion and of these, 270 million are “marching towards starvation”, to borrow the haunting words of David Beasley, Executive Director of the World Food Programme. The COVID-19 pandemic is a key contributing factor to this rising global hunger, which today means four countries are on the brink of famine. But it isn’t the only reason. Conflicts and insecurity have also forced huge swathes of people to flee their homes and livelihoods. Climate change is devastating harvests, inducing pests and increasing disasters such as floods and cyclones. To top this off, between January 2020 and January 2021, food prices globally have risen by 20% due to export restrictions and demand exceeding supply.[1] And girls and women, who account for 70% of the world’s hungry, are bearing the brunt.

Time and again, our moral compass kicks in when we see images of emaciated bodies in the media. But by then, it is too late. Hunger has an impact on girls’ lives months and even years before, as families adopt heart-breaking coping strategies to survive. This could be pulling girls from school to support with childcare or to earn income, or worse, marrying them to obtain a dowry and reduce the number of mouths to feed. It is projected that COVID-19 will result in an additional 13 million child marriages taking place over the next 10 years.[2]

On top of this, UNESCO estimates that some 24 million pupils are at risk of not returning to education due to COVID-19[3]. Being out of school exposes adolescent girls to an array of abuses, often of a sexual nature. When the 2014 Ebola outbreak[4] forced schools to close in Sierra Leone, adolescent pregnancy increased by 65%. Inevitably we will see girls becoming adolescent mothers. If they make it that far. Becoming pregnant without adequate nutrition puts mothers at risk of dying in childbirth, the leading cause of death for girls aged 15 to 19 globally. It also increases the risk of stillbirth or newborn death, low birth weight and stunting, meaning the impacts of hunger snowball and limit the prospects of generations to come.

The responsibility lies with all of us to ensure adolescent girls are not forgotten. But what actions can be taken? First of all, governments worldwide must contribute the funds needed to avert famine. It has been a year since the UN warned of “famines of biblical proportions”, yet donors have still only funded 5% of the UN’s $7.8bn food security appeal for 2021.

Next, we need equitable access to safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines in low and middle-income countries. This will prevent the setback to girls’ and women’s rights caused by the pandemic from deepening. So will peace efforts to end conflicts, which are perhaps the biggest contributor to food insecurity. And finally, we must scale up financing commitments to mitigate the impacts of the climate emergency in countries who have contributed the least to it yet are bearing the brunt of impacts.

But most importantly, we must listen to the voices of adolescent girls themselves. And we need to act on what they say, if we are to prevent a catastrophe and no longer have the chance to say “never again.”

[1] https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/agriculture/brief/food-security-and-covid-19

[2] https://www.unfpa.org/sites/default/files/resource-pdf/COVID-19\_impact\_brief\_for\_UNFPA\_24\_April\_2020\_1.pdf

[3] https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000373992/PDF/373992eng.pdf.multi

[4] https://www.sl.undp.org/content/sierraleone/en/home/library/crisis\_prevention\_and\_recovery/assessing-sexual-and-gender-based-violence-during-the-ebola-cris.html

Source: Plan International