UN summit on global food crisis

The UN summit with world leaders gathering in Rome today is calling to confront the global food crisis/catastrophe. The Secretary-General has reiterated, "As I have said before, I say again now: Beggar Thy Neighbour food policies cannot work,” meaning that price controls and limits on exports are not helping any longer (see here). An estimated 850 million people around the world had a food shortage even before the current crisis. That number is estimated to grow by another 100 million... Only in Ethiopia as of today there are 176,000 children in urgent need for therapeutic care as a result of severe malnutrition and about 3.4 million people need food (see the story).

(photo credit)

Fundamental rights

Many would agree with me that extreme poverty is a violation of human rights. More specifically, it is in violation of socio-economic rights. But I do not like using the word 'socio-economic' in lieu of 'human' because I think the first sounds more trivial than the latter... No matter how we understand these labels, rights to food, shelter, basic livelihood are fundamental, inalienable and unquestionable... The only problem is how to find the avenue of enforcing them in the world of greed, corruption, selfishness and unequal distribution of wealth... Hence the strong need for workable international law mechanisms... Poverty, as well as a host of other problems, is something that needs global, truly international attention, struggle and solution...

See the publication by David Bilchitz on 'Poverty and Fundamental Rights' here.

If you are as hungry as I am to study Public International Law visit Oxford University Press here. You will find superb publications on all subjects of interest there...

Poverty-- violation of human rights

We, 'armchair spectators', talk a lot about human rights, how they are identified, limited, enforced. One thing, however, strikes me. We focus a lot on violence-- armed conflict, wars, etc. Of course, we should be greatly concerned with the degree of violence generated by humanity. But much too often we forget another important condition, as important as the level of violence in the world-- that is poverty. We view poverty as a product of unequal distribution of wealth and unfortunate consequence of market failure. We view the degree of poverty with less negativity and less condemnation than the oppression of civil liberties and violence. But in my opinion poverty is a violation of human rights as much as a genocide. Extreme poverty results in slow deterioration, degradation of human life, a real torture. While not specifically inflicted by another human being, starvation and hunger bring about slow death of a human being. Extreme levels of poverty, those we see in Africa, China, India and Indonesia are prime examples of human rights violations.

Reading the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, we can gather that a human being has a right to life in dignity, to enjoy basic needs of life, such as food, shelter, health. Those are the most basic human rights. After those we have other more secondary rights. But basic human existence dictates some level of livelihood. While violence does negate that, so does extreme poverty, so does hunger. Under international law states are responsible to enforce human rights. Therefore a state that is not capable of eliminating extreme poverty is violating most basic human rights. We focus a lot on states, for example in the Middle East, that have militaristic tendencies. But we do not focus enough on states, those in Africa, that are completely incompetent in providing for their people. While violence and poverty are interconnected, the causal link is not always clear or projected. Does violence breed poverty, or the opposite is true?

Coining certain acts as violations of human rights as opposed to others is also a very political process. Africa will never be in the center of attention nearly as much as the Middle East. Iraq and Iran have received hundred times more attention in recent years than Sudan or Somalia. Of course, nobody even bothered to intervene in Rwanda in 1994 while Yugoslavia received bonuses of accelerated action.

I think, it is time for spectators to take account of certain pronounced disparities in the world arena and start a new identification system for human rights violations.

Possible to eradicate poverty?

From the UN Millennium Development Goals Report 2007 I gathered that while the poorest in the world have become a little less poor, the gap between the rich and poor has increased in many places. The goals are not any different from year to year, but actions and level of awareness change from year to year...

A question is bothering many-- is it possible to eradicate poverty in the world? Many have offered quite plausible theories and proposed pretty good plans. But it seems poverty has become a simple by-product of human existence. Perhaps humans create it by virtue of their very existence... A dim observation to reckon with or to put up with.

Poverty Olympics

On February 3 Raise the Rates Coalition in Vancouver, Canada is hosting its 'Poverty Olympics.' The organizers have chosen the name to bring the attention not only of the Canadian government but also of the world on the number of homeless and extremely poor in Canada. As one of the organizers suggested in bitterness, people coming to Vancouver for 2010 Winter Olympics will only see beatiful hotels and resorts, having no idea that the number of homeless in Vancouver is many times more than the number of athletes visiting from all over the world. The Olympic games have an enormous influence in bringing people from all over the world together. And so it is precisely the time to come together against poverty and realize that we are all in it together. An apt analogy by the coalition.

read more here and here

Balance of Powers and World Order

Thinking about the 2008 and the increasing destabilization of the world order, I would like to bring to your attention portions of Vladimyr Putin's speech at the 43rd Munich Conference on Security Policy held last year (here). You can judge for yourselves. No extensive comments are needed here. One phrase-- balance of powers-- says it all:

I consider that the unipolar model is not only unacceptable but also impossible in today’s world. And this is not only because if there was individual leadership in today’s – and precisely in today’s – world, then the military, political and economic resources would not suffice. What is even more important is that the model itself is flawed because at its basis there is and can be no moral foundations for modern civilisation....

We are seeing a greater and greater disdain for the basic principles of international law. And independent legal norms are, as a matter of fact, coming increasingly closer to one state’s legal system. One state and, of course, first and foremost the United States, has overstepped its national borders in every way. This is visible in the economic, political, cultural and educational policies it imposes on other nations. Well, who likes this?...

I am convinced that we have reached that decisive moment when we must seriously think about the architecture of global security.
And we must proceed by searching for a reasonable balance between the interests of all participants in the international dialogue. Especially since the international landscape is so varied and changes so quickly – changes in light of the dynamic development in a whole number of countries and regions....

I think it is obvious that NATO expansion does not have any relation with the modernisation of the Alliance itself or with ensuring security in Europe. On the contrary, it represents a serious provocation that reduces the level of mutual trust. And we have the right to ask: against whom is this expansion intended? And what happened to the assurances our western partners made after the dissolution of the Warsaw Pact? Where are those declarations today? No one even remembers them. But I will allow myself to remind this audience what was said. I would like to quote the speech of NATO General Secretary Mr Woerner in Brussels on 17 May 1990. He said at the time that: “the fact that we are ready not to place a NATO army outside of German territory gives the Soviet Union a firm security guarantee”. Where are these guarantees?...

The stones and concrete blocks of the Berlin Wall have long been distributed as souvenirs. But we should not forget that the fall of the Berlin Wall was possible thanks to a historic choice – one that was also made by our people, the people of Russia – a choice in favour of democracy, freedom, openness and a sincere partnership with all the members of the big European family.
And now they are trying to impose new dividing lines and walls on us – these walls may be virtual but they are nevertheless dividing, ones that cut through our continent. And is it possible that we will once again require many years and decades, as well as several generations of politicians, to dissemble and dismantle these new walls?...

And there is still one more important theme that directly affects global security. Today many talk about the struggle against poverty. What is actually happening in this sphere? On the one hand, financial resources are allocated for programmes to help the world’s poorest countries – and at times substantial financial resources. But to be honest -- and many here also know this – linked with the development of that same donor country’s companies. And on the other hand, developed countries simultaneously keep their agricultural subsidies and limit some countries’ access to high-tech products.

And let’s say things as they are – one hand distributes charitable help and the other hand not only preserves economic backwardness but also reaps the profits thereof. The increasing social tension in depressed regions inevitably results in the growth of radicalism, extremism, feeds terrorism and local conflicts. And if all this happens in, shall we say, a region such as the Middle East where there is increasingly the sense that the world at large is unfair, then there is the risk of global destabilisation.

I fear that the new next President of the US will continue pushing the same agenda of the Bush Administration in foreign policy-- world order under one single leader... As long as this agenda is pushed, the world will continue to be an unstable place... and peace will only be a far-fetched dream...

Harmony envisioned by Mother Theresa

It is not the magnitude of our actions but the amount of love that is put into them that matters.

Love begins at home, and it is not how much we do... but how much
love we put in that action.

We ourselves feel that what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean. But the ocean would be less because of that missing drop.

Be faithful in small things because it is in them that your strength lies.

Being unwanted, unloved, uncared for, forgotten by everybody, I think that is a much greater hunger, a much greater poverty than the person who has nothing to eat.

Do not think that love, in order to be genuine, has to be extraordinary. What we need is to love without getting tired.

If we want a love message to be heard, it has got to be sent out. To keep a lamp burning, we have to keep putting oil in it.

Intense love does not measure, it just gives.

Love begins by taking care of the closest ones - the ones at home.

Love is a fruit in season at all times, and within reach of every hand.

Spread love everywhere you go. Let no one ever come to you
without leaving happier.

There should be less talk; a preaching point is not a meeting point. What do you do then? Take a broom and clean someone's house. That says enough.

(for more here)

Women and childbirth

The report by the Global Conference on Maternal Health (UNICEF) has pointed to the alarming rate of maternal death in developing and least developed countries:

Each year an estimated 536,000 women die needlessly from pregnancy and childbirth complications — such as hemorrhage, obstructed labor and infections — or in the simple act of giving birth. Ninety–nine per cent of those women die in the developing world. For example, in sub–Saharan Africa — which accounts for half of all maternal deaths — women have a 1 in 22 chance of
dying as a result of pregnancy or childbirth complications.
In Afghanistan and Sierra Leone, pregnancy is even riskier,
killing one in eight women, and in Niger an estimated one
in seven women dies from complications related to
pregnancy and childbirth.

Regardless of their country of origin, at least 15 per cent of all
pregnant women around the world will experience a life–threatening
complication. Their survival will depend on access to quality health care and emergency interventions. Maternal mortality has virtually disappeared as a problem for those who have access to quality health care in wealthy nations and communities, where the lifetime risk of maternal mortality is as low as 1 in 8,000.

Yet the mothers of the developing world — where there is limited access to quality medical care, reproductive education and emergency interventions — continue to die in unacceptable numbers. These numbers are a reflection not only of their lack of medical care, but of their status in society. A woman who is better educated about her health and childbirth options, who is able to make decisions for herself and her household, and who is treated as an equal member of society has a far greater chance of survival. So, in turn, do her children.

Of course, the status in society dictates much of what happens to women. If women are regarded as inferior creatures, whose very existence is to give birth and perhaps even die during childbirth, then there will be little incentive to improve this condition, because most statesmen in the world are men. Women do not get to make decisions at the state level most of the time. While education of women and grass-roots is crucial, it is not sufficient because top-down approach is essential in curbing this problem. The only hope is that through vociferous international organizations the governments will be forced to fundamentally adjust their treatment of women.

Certainly, we also need to remember that poverty is the biggest challenge. Most of these countries do not have enough resources or the means to alleviate this condition. While social prejudice and lack of attention are at the crux of it, poverty is the major barrier to any improvement.

(For poverty statistics see the report by the UN Development Programme here and here).