28 October 2009 [MEDIAGLOBAL]: The situation is worsening for Somalia’s 1.55 million Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), given lack of humanitarian access to camps and a shortage of international donor aid, according to Walter Kaelin, Representative of the Secretary-General on the human rights of IDPs. Kalein says he was “shocked about the degrees of violence taking place” during his recent trip to the conflict-ridden East African nation. He called on humanitarian organization to relocate their offices to safe parts of Somalia, noting that many of them operate out of Nairobi, Kenya, and for international donors to step up efforts in providing aid to Somalia’s most vulnerable individuals. The United States is presently withholding US$50 million to relief efforts, citing an inability to ensure that the money would not be diverted into extremist hands. Kaelin told MediaGlobal that there is “a certain danger of aid being diverted,” but that that risk “should not lead to stopping the support.” At a UN press conference on 27 October, he suggested “finding ways to mitigate that [risk], which can be mitigated, and one approach to this would be to better distinguish between different areas of the country.” Humanitarian organizations could adopt a similar approach in relocating their bases and operations, Kaelin noted, saying that he felt “a lot of willingness to move operations,” but that too is dependent on security assessments. Kaelin’s visit to Somalia comes at the heels of the African Union adopting a Convention for the Protection and Assistance of Internally Displaced Persons in Africa on 23 October, marking the first convention to address the needs and protection of IDPs. Kaelin called the measure a “historic event,” saying that international support is now needed in ensuring its successful implementation. There are 26 million IDPS worldwide, as opposed to the 16 million refugees. East Africa alone is home to ten million IDPs, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, with four million in Sudan and 2.2 million in the Democratic Republic of Congo, in addition to Somalia’s 1.55 million. Amy Lieberman

African nations receive assistance for road projects, social development

27 October 2009 [MEDIAGLOBAL]: The African Development Bank (AfDB) has been increasing assistance to African nations in recent weeks to finance construction of new road infrastructure and social development programs. On 15 October, the Bank gave the green light to a loan which allocates US$85 million for a road project in Ghana. The Bank is continuing its financial assistance with a US$65 million loan to Malawi for similar infrastructure projects. In addition to alleviating congestion in growing urban centers, the loans will finance social services such as schooling and water supply. Lydie Ehouman, a transport economist at the Infrastructure Department of AfDB, told MediaGlobal, “The Bank approach is quite unique in the sense that construction and rehabilitation of socio-economic infrastructure in the vicinity of the intervention zones are integrated into transport projects. Socio-economic infrastructure interventions are selected and designed in a participatory manner taking into account the key needs of the communities,” she said. Ehouman went on to describe how these projects, including ones financed by the newest Ghana loan, will improve the economic standing of local women, improve local health centers, increase HIV/AIDS awareness, and teach locals about road safety and sanitation. While these types of programs are critical to the development of poorer countries, road infrastructure is becoming just as central to economic development. Road usage and car ownership is increasing rapidly, providing a perfect opportunity to finance separate but related development areas at the same time. “With more than 40 percent of its population living in urban areas, Ghana is one of the most urbanized countries in Africa. The population of Accra, the largest city in the country, is growing at 4 percent per year,” explained Ehouman. However, she continued that such rapid growth means that basic services have become more difficult to provide to locals, and heavy traffic congestion and overcrowding are contributing to environmental degradation and poor sanitation. The projects in Malawi and Ghana include provisions to address as many of these problems as possible. Ryan Dicovitsky

African Renewable Energy Alliance established in Ethiopia

27 October 2009 [MEDIAGLOBAL]: The World Future Council (WFC), the Alliance for Rural Electrification (ARE), and the Heinrich Böll Foundation have collaborated to establish the African Renewable Energy Alliance (AREA) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The alliance sprung from a workshop organized by the aforementioned organizations in an effort to boost renewable energy in Africa. Stefan Schurig, climate and energy director for the WFC, told MediaGlobal, “The idea for the foundation of the AREA came up after the very positive experience with the foundation of the Alliance for Renewable Energy in the U.S., which the World Future Council also initiated. It’s meant to be a network of all stakeholders involved in developing a strong renewable energy sector.” During the workshop, energy technology and policy solutions were discussed as they pertain to off-the-grid regions in developing African countries. The need for a Rural Electrification Development Fund also led to the establishment of AREA. Ideally, AREA will aid in the electrification of Africa in an effort to energize the continent and fight climate change at the same time. The AREA declaration, drafted at the workshop, reads: “Now is the time to set the course towards a massive uptake of Renewable Energy for all people in urban and rural Africa. If we fail to immediately take decisions on Renewable Energy production and distribution in grid connected areas, as well as in off-grid regions, we undermine the right of millions of African citizens to develop a better life in the future.” Schurig noted that AREA would focus on Ethiopia, Nigeria, and South Africa in its first phase, moving onto French-speaking countries thereafter. Ideally, the whole of the continent will eventually benefit from the alliance. Concluding, Schurig said, “In the long term perspective, Renewable Energy will be the only energy source there is. This does not only apply to Africa, but to all parts of the world. Africa has huge potential to become an important player in that field, which is of strategic importance for its development.” Alison Walkley

East Asia Summit seeks to build regional integration, economic partnerships

26 October 2009 [MEDIAGLOBAL]: At the fourth East Asia Summit, the ten member-states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) with Australia, China, India, Japan, the Republic of Korea, and New Zealand met in Thailand on 25 October. Also known as ASEAN+6, the group hoped to create a more decisive community that would better ensure regional stability and the well-being of its citizens. Attending the summit, Dr. Noeleen Heyzer, United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary General of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific presented on a plan to decrease reliance on Western exports in favor of greater regional connectivity. Heyzer explained to MediaGlobal that “the financial crisis has exposed the limitations of the export-oriented growth strategy that had been extensively employed in East Asia.” She also stated that the slow global emergence from the crisis would likely hinder the ability of large economies like the U.S. to import from East Asia at previous high levels. “To sustain their dynamism in the coming years, East Asian countries will [therefore] have to rely more on domestic consumption and regional economic cooperation,” explained Heyzer. Utilizing the tremendous prospects of mutually beneficial regional trade from a future ASEAN+6 unified market, the Under-Secretary-General said that East Asia’s recovery from the economic crisis could lead to a new and better coordinated regional relationship that would make it a stronger economic leader. Heyzer added, “Deeper regional economic cooperation does not have to be at the cost of the region’s integration with the world economy.” Added to the benefits from trade, combined foreign exchange reserves of up to US$4 trillion could also augment the members’ ability to implement solid public goods programs and bolster regional growth, explained Heyzer. In addition to improving relations, the larger ASEAN formal summit closed with several other ambitious goals and outcomes including: the launch of the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights, reaffirming the group’s position on climate change, pushing for better disaster warning systems, calling for strengthened capacity in various sectors and finding an equitable conclusion to the Doha Round negotiations by 2010. Henoch Derbew

Top UN officials remain optimistic and united on climate despite hiccup

26 October [MEDIAGLOBAL]: After a seemingly skeptical remark by Yvo de Boer, who oversees UN climate negotiations, made headlines last week, top officials at the world body made every effort this week to assure the world that international climate negotiations are still on track. “We discussed [his comments] with Mr. de Boer afterwards extensively,” Janos Pasztor told a group of reporters gathered at UN headquarters today. “Not everything that he said was quoted.” In an interview with the New York-based Financial Times, de Boer had expressed feelings that a “fully fledged” treaty was unlikely to be completed during the upcoming climate conference in Copenhagen in December. Pasztor said de Boer’s comments were less focused on content, and more on form. “His message is totally consistent with ours. We’re going to go for as ambitious a deal as possible,” explained the head of the Secretary-General’s Climate Support Team. “There is no plan B. What is important is the content. If we can’t craft that into a legally binding agreement, then we’ll do it after Copenhagen.” In a separate press conference this week, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon expressed similar sentiments. “On climate change, I am still optimistic,” he said. “We are not lowering expectations… We are still keeping ambitious expectations and targets.” Pasztor pointed out that the recently concluded round of negotiations in Bangkok had led to concrete progress on the content of a treaty that could replace the Kyoto Protocol, which expires in 2012. In the areas of adaptation, capacity building, technology transfer, and reducing emissions from deforestation, “the number of options on the table have been substantially reduced,” he told MediaGlobal. “Thus, we are well on the way to have clean agreements at Copenhagen.” Raquel Thompson

Editor: Nosh Nalavala

Assistant Editor: Christina L. Madden

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