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The Human Consciousness Now...Our World in the Midst of Becoming...to What? Observe, contemplate Now.

By Alison Kentish
Ten ambitious scholars have the opportunity to participate in the Nippon Foundation-Partnership for Observation of the Global Ocean Centre of Excellence in Observational Oceanography. Credit: Riley Smith/Courtesy OFI
Ten ambitious scholars have the opportunity to participate in the Nippon Foundation-Partnership for Observation of the Global Ocean Centre of Excellence in Observational Oceanography. Credit: Riley Smith/Courtesy OFI

DOMINICA, Mar 19 2024 (IPS) - Picture yourself as an early-career ocean researcher. You have the opportunity to be at sea in addition to learning on campus. Through cutting-edge technology and immersive facilities, you experience the most realistic ocean exploration scenarios, including braving extreme cold and harsh environments. That’s the experience at the Launch, a ‘living lab’ at the Marine Institute of Memorial University in Newfoundland and Labrador, located on the east coast of Canada. It’s an experience meant to prepare you for the real-world complexities of the type of ocean research needed to tackle urgent global issues like climate change.

In the same spirit of immersion, imagine being able to conduct research at two unique ecological observatories: Hakai Institute’s Quadra Island with labs for genomics, ancient DNA, and physical and chemical observatory, and the Institute’s remote Calvert Island observatory—an off-grid site and the only settlement on the island, which is located between Vancouver and Alaska. There, you can conduct research in oceanography, ecosystems mapping, nearshore habitats, watersheds, and biodiversity.

What sounds like a researcher’s most ambitious dream is the reality for scholars of the Nippon Foundation-Partnership for Observation of the Global Ocean Centre of Excellence in Observational Oceanography. Once spearheaded by the Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences and the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research, the next phase of the programme is being hosted by the Ocean Frontier Institute (OFI), which is led by Dalhousie University, in partnership with the Faculty of Open Learning and Career Development at Dalhousie University. Partnerships with the Marine Institute of Memorial University and the Hakai Institute make for dynamic learning and hands-on experience.

“By providing 10 scholars a year the opportunity to develop and fine-tune their interdisciplinary skills, all relevant to observation of the global ocean, the Centre of Excellence is equipping the next generation of leaders and mentors,” says Tracey Woodhouse, OFI’s Training and Early Career Development Program Manager.

The Centre of Excellence is being hosted by the Ocean Frontier Institute (OFI) in partnership with the Faculty of Open Learning and Career Development at Dalhousie University. Credit: Courtesy OFI

The Centre of Excellence is being hosted by the Ocean Frontier Institute (OFI) in partnership with the Faculty of Open Learning and Career Development at Dalhousie University. Credit: Courtesy OFI

With a significant number of applicants received, priority consideration is being given to candidates from developing and emerging nations who hold positions at research, academic, or governmental institutes in their home country, and who anticipate returning there after the completion of the program.

“They learn about the climate-ocean nexus, how to communicate with diverse groups, including policymakers, data management practices, coding, and modelling, all while networking with researchers at the forefront of ocean and climate work.”

Since its start in 2008, there have been 10 cohorts of scholars, producing over 100 scholars. Woodhouse says the scholars join a larger network of alumni and have inspired the next generation of ocean observers. Founder and President of the Tula Foundation’s Hakai Institute, Eric Peterson, says the values of the Centre of Excellence seamlessly align with those of the partners.

“Our Hakai Institute is an integrated program of coastal science and community programs on our Pacific coastal margin. We say that we study everything from “icefields to oceans,” mainly through the lens of climate change. Together with many partners, we conduct long-term observational science and experimentation ranging from analyzing water masses upwelling across the continental shelf to glacial loss and coastal instability,” he told IPS.

“We provide the fellows with exposure to the Pacific Coast, hands-on field research, and greater exposure to Indigenous perspectives on science, resource management, and education,” he told IPS.

Peterson says the programme’s diversity ensures that no region is left out of ocean science research.

The scholars have the opportunity to experience both ocean exploration and learning on campus. Credit: Courtesy OFI

The scholars have the opportunity to experience both ocean exploration and learning on campus. Credit: Courtesy OFI

“Our other program, which has been in place for over 20 years, is a public health and nursing education program (TulaSalud) in the rural Indigenous regions of Guatemala. We welcome initiatives that build links between our ecological work in Canada and our longstanding work in global health, in the spirit of what is now called OneHealth. The Centre of Excellence, with its emphasis on educating future leaders from the global south, is therefore a very good fit for us,” he said.

Officials of the Marine Institute campus of Memorial University agree. Vice President Dr. Paul Brett told IPS that the programme is “creating space” for early-career researchers to expand their work in ocean observation within the wider context of ocean research.

“This program sees scholars come together worldwide and with varied academic experiences. The diversity in perspectives will be beneficial in many elements of the group’s shared learning and in the independent research projects they will engage in throughout the program. It is anticipated that participation in the independent research work, coupled with curricular elements of science communication and presentation skills, will equip students to engage in critical conversations concerning ocean research in Canada and their home country.”

Brett says the Marine Institute will host the scholars for about six months and they will be part of a programme ‘tailored to the fundamentals of observational oceanography’.

“Topics include applied oceanography, ocean observation, and remote sensing. The curriculum will be delivered through classroom theory, practical hands-on shops, labs, and time spent on the water from MI’s Holyrood facility, The Launch,” he said.

With the Hakai Institute’s assistance, the scholars will benefit from investment in geospatial science. According to Peterson, this includes satellites, aircraft, drones, and bathymetry.

“Most of the work we do from our ecological observatories is fortified by detailed mapping, modelling, etc. This ranges from mapping of ocean dynamics, planktons, kelps, and seagrass, intertidal invertebrates, snow and ice cover, geomorphological change to our coastline, and even identification of ancient human settlements has a geospatial component,” he said.

OFI has confirmed International Ocean Institute Canada and DeepSense as additional curriculum delivery partners and the Institute intends to forge new partnerships as the programme progresses.

The Centre of Excellence will be hosted by OFI for at least three years, with the possibility of an extension. Institute officials say that through this partnership, the scholars are given the tools, facilities, mentorship, and opportunities to make their mark on ocean research.

“Graduates from the Nippon Foundation-Partnership for Observation of the Global Ocean Centre of Excellence go on to complete higher-level degrees; guide ocean stewardship in their home countries; teach, mentor, and inspire the next generation; lead innovative ocean research; inform policy; and more. There’s no limit to the number of doors the Centre of Excellence can open for the scholars,” said Woodhouse.

IPS UN Bureau Report

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Excerpt:

The Ocean Frontier Institute is hosting the fourth Nippon Foundation-Partnership for Observation of the Global Ocean Centre of Excellence in Observational Oceanography. The immersive programme is empowering scholars and advancing ocean research.

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By Ines M Pousadela
Credit: Silvana Flores/AFP via Getty Images

MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay, Mar 18 2024 (IPS) - Global progress on gender rights has slowed almost to a halt. After decades of steady progress, demands for the rights of women and LGBTQI+ people now play out on bitterly contested territory. Over the course of several decades, global movements for rights won profound changes in consciences, customs and institutions. They elevated over half of humanity, excluded for centuries, to the status of holders of rights.

The reaction is intense. Gains for feminist and LGBTQI+ movements have brought severe backlash. In the last year, this has been apparent all over the world, from Russia’s crackdown on LGBTQI+ activism, to new extreme anti-gay laws in Ghana and Uganda, to anti-trans hysteria in the USA, to the Taliban’s imposition of gender apartheid in Afghanistan and the ruling theocracy reasserting itself in Iran.

The latest State of Civil Society Report, from global civil society alliance CIVICUS, shows that crises – which invariably hit women and girls the hardest – worsened in 2023. The global femicide epidemic is showing no sign of abating and prospects of gender equality are receding. Women remain vastly underrepresented in decision-making, with only about 10 per cent of states female-headed – likely a major reason why gender-based violence, one of the most prevalent human rights violations in the world, continue to receive such little attention.

The gender gap – the unfair disparities between women and men in status and opportunities – has only barely returned to pre-pandemic levels. It’s estimated that, at the current pace, it will take another 131 years to achieve gender parity.

The story of the last year has, however, also been one of resistance. In war after war, women’s bodies have become battlefields, weapons and bounty – but still, women are refusing to be pigeonholed as victims and are standing at the forefront of humanitarian response and peacebuilding efforts, including in Gaza, Sudan and Ukraine.

Anti-gender narratives are making headway on all continents and across cultural and ideological divides, driven by well-organised and well-connected anti-rights movements. Supported by powerful conservative foundations, anti-rights movements are much better funded than their progressive counterparts, and they’re coopting human rights language to shift the narrative. In country after country, anti-rights discourse is being instrumentalised for political gain and driving a rise in attacks on activists who defend women’s and LGBTQI+ people’s rights. But brave activists around the world are rising to the occasion, devoting increasing efforts to defending hard-won rights. And they’ve still managed to achieve some memorable victories in the process.

Thanks to sustained civil society activism, last year Mexico legalised abortion, Mauritius defied the African anti-LGBTQI+ trend by decriminalising same-sex relations, Estonia became the first ex-Soviet nation to legalise same-sex marriage, and Latvia and Nepal took crucial steps towards equal rights. Long-term struggles for marriage equality continue in every region, recently coming to fruition in Greece and likely soon in Thailand as well.

Amid rising femicides, women are mobilising against gender-based violence in numerous countries, from Italy to Kenya to Bulgaria, sometimes scoring significant policy changes.

Even in the direst of circumstances, women are finding new ways to resist oppression. In Afghanistan and Iran, they’re circumventing restrictions by holding clandestine demonstrations and building international solidarity. Last year, besieged Afghan and Iranian women joined together to launch the End Gender Apartheid campaign, demanding international recognition – and condemnation – of their countries’ regimes as based on gender apartheid. They want the 1973 UN Convention on the Suppression and Punishment of the Crime of Apartheid, which so far applies only to racial hierarchies, extended to gender. They want this specific and extreme form of gender-based exclusion to be codified as a crime under international law so that those responsible can be prosecuted and punished. United Nations human rights experts are already acknowledging and amplifying these efforts.

In the USA, the source of so much of the global backlash, LGBTQI+ rights are under unprecedented strain and abortion rights are at their worst state in 50 years following the 2022 Supreme Court overturning of the Roe v Wade ruling. But civil society and allies have stepped up, successfully pushing for state laws to shield abortion and LGBTQI+ rights. The pro-choice movement has regrouped to assist women lacking access to reproductive health services. They’ve managed to improve many lives and are proving it’s far from game over for gender rights.

While these are testing times, the situation would be much worse without the enormous efforts of countless civil society unsung heroes. Progress has slowed significantly, but most historic gains are enduring. Across the world, civil society is resisting – through street protest, advocacy, campaigning, solidarity, mutual support and litigation – and standing firm.

The fight is on. Short-term setbacks won’t succeed in halting long-term progress because civil society is set on keeping up the struggle until there’s freedom and equality for all.

Inés M. Pousadela is CIVICUS Senior Research Specialist, co-director and writer for CIVICUS Lens and co-author of the State of Civil Society Report.

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By Margee Ensign

BLAGOEVGRAD, Bulgaria, Mar 18 2024 (IPS) - Putin’s regime has made it abundantly clear that it will violently repress and punish political opposition. Even as protestors chanted “Russia will be free!” at Nalvalny’s funeral, dozens were arrested simply for honoring his memory.

Nalvalny’s martyrdom and the crackdown on his followers points up a loss of freedom not only in Russia but around the world, as authoritarian regimes everywhere seek to stifle dissent and undermine democracy through ever-more sophisticated disinformation campaigns. It’s a lethal threat which requires a coordinated international response.

The Framework to Counter Foreign State Information Manipulation, which the US, UK, and Canada endorse, posits a multilateral approach to nurturing fact-based information ecosystems resistant to manipulation by foreign states.

That’s a start, but countering growing authoritarianism requires a bigger, more interconnected ecosystem of robust civil society, media, and academia, each of which underpin democratic values and an informed citizenry, and connect the individual to the state.

They are the institutions which nurture and amplify the voices daring to speak out against tyranny. They incubate grassroots movements pushing back against disinformation, and demanding accountability.

Universities are a key part of this mix. In the struggle to preserve freedom, they can’t stand above the political fray. They must embrace their crucial role in building courageous citizenship and equipping students to think critically and serve the higher good.

My institution, the American University in Bulgaria (AUBG) has produced people like investigative journalist Christo Grozev. He and his team exposed the operatives behind the 2018 poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal in Salisbury, England, and Navalny’s poisoning in 2020, landing him on Putin’s “most-wanted” list. Grozev was prominently featured in the 2022 documentary “Navalny” and shared an Oscar for it.

Universities around the world should consciously cultivate their role in producing the next generation of Navalnys, Volkovs, and Grozevs. With Russia assuming the presidency of the BRICS bloc and expanding disinformation campaigns across the Global South, authoritarianism is getting deliberately globalized.

We therefore should be deliberate about globalizing independent journalism and courageous citizenship. Universities must make it part of their mission to nurture them, and governments and civil society need to consciously protect journalists and activists.

It’s getting more and more dangerous to be either. Youth activists engaging on social media have never been more at risk. Killings of environmental activists are at record highs. Recently more journalists died in Palestine in three months than were ever killed in a single country in a whole year.

When journalists are murdered for doing their jobs, nine out of ten times the killer walks free. So groups advocating for journalists are calling for stepped up prevention, protection, and prosecution of their attackers.

Such measures aren’t acts of charity; they are necessary, strategic defense of the infrastructure of democracy, which is under attack from disinformation campaigns. International awards and recognition, multilateral legal instruments, and diplomatic pressure are necessary but often insufficient, as Navalny’s death proves.

He had no lack of support from Western democracies, and a slew of awards from many countries, including a nomination for the Nobel Prize.

We must learn from Navalny’s death as well as his life, and from growing attacks on democracy advocates everywhere, and get serious about building a better, stronger bulwark against the rising tide of authoritarianism. The global community must invest in training, legal protection, access to international platforms, and material and moral support for journalists under threat.

Universities must own their role as crucibles for courageous inquiry, truth-telling, public service, and unflinching civic engagement. That’s why AUBG will organize a series of workshops this year in Alexei Navalny’s memory, working with journalists and government officials to recognize and redress the dangers posed by disinformation campaigns.

In the end, it is by the courage with which we pursue truth that our era will be defined and freedom will stand or fall. Journalists who face down repression and bear witness, and activists who speak truth to power, are the architects of democratic resilience.

As authoritarianism and disinformation seek to expand around the world, we must optimize and globalize not only our markets and technologies, but also our active defense of truth and democracy.

Dr. Margee Ensign is the 10th president of the American University in Bulgaria.

IPS UN Bureau

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By Khisi Mdluli
It is critical that African scientists tackle African problems, and the reasons extend beyond access. Credit: Jeffrey Moyo/IPS.
It is critical that African scientists tackle African problems, and the reasons extend beyond access. Credit: Jeffrey Moyo/IPS.

BOSTON, US, Mar 15 2024 (IPS) - I was born in Brakpan, Johannesburg, South Africa, and grew up in eSwatini (known then as Swaziland). People in these two countries share one predominant fear: unemployment. Other worries in these countries and others in the region include unwanted pregnancies, low income and food safety. The diseases that are dreaded the most are cancer and diabetes. Feared infectious diseases include HIV-AIDS, COVID and cholera.

Even though South Africa and eSwatini are among the more than two dozen African countries with a high burden of either tuberculosis (TB), drug-resistant TB or HIV/TB co-infections, TB is not feared in the same way, even though it is the disease that haunts my people the most.

More than 90% of current funding for TB R&D currently comes from North America and Europe, and most of those funds stay in the high-income countries, and train and develop and indeed employ scientists in the high-income countries. Of the high-burden countries, only India has an investment in the field large enough to be noted — at 1.9% of the total global funding

So many are affected on the African continent by TB, which hits the young and vibrant the hardest in our region and in the world. Eswatini joins the seven most populous sub-Saharan African countries — Ethiopia, DR Congo, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Uganda and Tanzania — where TB hits the 25-34 and 35-44 age brackets especially hard.

It is not just the years of life that this disease takes away from us, but also the future leadership and economic productivity of our countries. I see this even within my own family, with one niece currently being treated for TB and another niece having survived drug-resistant TB a few years back.

World TB Day is March 24, a day when we will hear about ending TB by 2030 — even though it is a disease that has been with us forever. With only six years left, that goal seems too distant. To achieve this goal, we need better awareness, yes. But we also need Africans to be fully engaged with the rest of the world, which includes conducting drug discovery and development research for TB in Africa.

Most of the current TB drugs, like the drugs for most diseases that affect Africans, are developed by companies in high-income countries. We saw what that meant in the delayed rate at which lifesaving COVID vaccines reached African countries; the high-income countries that helped develop the vaccines received them much faster.

This is why, for the Gates Medical Research Institute’s trials testing investigational treatments or vaccine candidates, the relationships that we establish with the trial sites in Africa and elsewhere are meant to support those facilities when they eventually take the lead on future trials.

It is critical that African scientists tackle African problems, and the reasons extend beyond access. Local scientists have a better understanding of the social fabric and context threatened by diseases like TB; they understand which solutions could be adopted and embraced and which will remain on the shelf.

In September 2023, the United Nations held a High-Level Meeting where member states agreed to boost the amount of funding for TB research by a fivefold increase by 2027 — but no guidelines on geography were placed on this pledge.

More than 90% of current funding for TB R&D currently comes from North America and Europe, and most of those funds stay in the high-income countries, and train and develop and indeed employ scientists in the high-income countries. Of the high-burden countries, only India has an investment in the field large enough to be noted — at 1.9% of the total global funding.

Funding specifically earmarked for TB (and antimicrobial resistance) research in Africa would ensure that more of it takes place on African soil. Funding is needed to build appropriately equipped research and production infrastructure, much like the new mRNA vaccine facility being built in Rwanda.

Such facilities would be staffed with African scientists, who would get opportunities to expand their basic and applied research skills. The H3D Research Centre at the University of Cape Town, led by Dr. Kelly Chibale, is one example of how successful African ingenuity can be, with four patents already filed.

Together with the much-needed funding from Africa’s better-resourced foreign partners in high-income countries, African governments should incentivize African businesses, African foundations and charities, and high-net-worth Africans to build African Research Institutes to train, develop and employ African scientists.

Developing medicines for diseases like TB that are killing African youth and stunting Africa’s economic growth should be everyone’s priority, in Africa and the world.

It is critically important that such efforts are not tied to immediate profits, as this leads to disappointment and ends with dwindling funds for research.

Drug discovery is a “long and winding road” that begins with building talent and infrastructure and expanding the critical mass of well-trained drug developers. Investment in biomedical research should be for the sake of expanding biomedical knowledge and training young scientists; the discoveries and the profits will follow.

The timing couldn’t be more appropriate than now as new futuristic technologies — including artificial intelligence, machine learning and high-speed connectivity — are entering the drug development arena.

We can now see a point when the health profile and the life expectancy of people in Africa could be comparable to the rest of the world. Africa and the world should be guided by the belief that all lives have equal value and that health equality is ensured for everyone, on all continents.

Khisimuzi (Khisi) Mdluli, PhD, is a TB Drug Scientist and a Discovery Project Leader at the Bill & Melinda Gates Medical Research Institute (Gates MRI).

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By Farai Shawn Matiashe
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations is training young beekeepers in Zimbabwe. Credit: Farai Shawn Matiashe/IPS
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations is training young beekeepers in Zimbabwe. Credit: Farai Shawn Matiashe/IPS

CHIMANIMANI, Zimbabwe, Mar 15 2024 (IPS) - Honeybees quickly react with a sharp and loud buzz sound as beekeeper Tanyaradzwa Kanangira opens one of the wooden horizontal Kenyan top bar hives near a stream in a thick forest in Chimanimani, 412 kilometres from Zimbabwe’s capital, Harare.

The 26-year-old puffs some smoke, a safety measure, as he holds and inspects a honeycomb built from hexagons by the honey bees.

Many people in this part of the country rely on many forms of agriculture, from agroforestry and horticulture to crop production.

Nonetheless, with increasing floods and droughts as a result of climate change, both rainfed and irrigation agriculture have become somewhat unreliable, forcing farmers to diversify into other forms of farming like apiculture to sustain their livelihoods.

Kanangira is part of the 11 young people in Chimanimani, Manicaland Province, who have been supported by the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) with training in beekeeping as well as market linkages since June 2023.

“Factors to consider when establishing an apiary include the type of forage, such as flowers and herbs, warm climatic conditions, and water availability,” says Kanangira, wearing a white sting-proof bee suit.

Silence Dziwira, another beekeeper, says the use of chemicals by farmers is restricted in areas surrounding an apiary.

“We are planting bushy trees within the apiary and other different speeches. This helps in keeping the ground intact, preventing land degradation,” Dziwira, a mother of one, whose first harvest was late in 2023 and supplies the local market, tells IPS.

Beekeeping is not new in Zimbabwe, as it is part of the tradition and culture.

The knowledge has been passed from generation to generation.

But traditionally, people used log hives, which promoted deforestation.

In this day and age, farmers use modern-day hives like the Kenyan top bar hive used in Chimanimani, made out of sustainable materials.

An agroecology case study from the Alliance for Food Sovereignty Africa shows that there are more than 50,000 beekeepers in Zimbabwe today.

Patrice Talla, FAO representative in Zimbabwe, says they are supporting the beekeepers with capacity building on beekeeping, including hive making, honey harvesting and processing, and business management.

“Since 2021, FAO, under the Green Jobs project, has trained and equipped 300 youth in selected communities to increase employment amongst rural youths, enhance food security, reduce poverty, and support environmental sustainability,” he tells IPS.

To date, 319 beehives have been built to set up apiaries in different areas, according to Talla.

So far, out of 48 hives belonging to Kanangira and team, 13 have been colonised with Apis mellifera honey bees, the size of a paper clip.

Admire Munjuwanjuwa, a beekeeping expert based in Mutare, says beekeeping helps preserve forests.

“Beekeeping reduces deforestation because people cannot cut trees where there are bees; by so doing, trees will work as carbon sinks and reduce climate change,” he says.

A beekeeper holds a honeycomb in Chimanimani, Zimbabwe. Credit: Farai Shawn Matiashe/IPS

A beekeeper holds a honeycomb in Chimanimani, Zimbabwe. Credit: Farai Shawn Matiashe/IPS

Robert Mutisi, another beekeeping expert, says apiaries protect the forests that act as bee habitats as well as sources of nectar.

“Beekeeping encourages farmers to plant trees and not cut trees indiscriminately. Beekeeping can act as a fire protection tool to guard against forest and vegetation destruction,” he says.

Kanangira says they have planted 3500 gum trees covering more than 2 hectares.

Three out of every four leading food crops for human consumption and more than a third of agricultural land worldwide depend in part on pollinators, according to the FAO.

Talla says bees are a barometer of the health of natural ecosystems and pollinators in forests.

“They play a major role in maintaining biodiversity, including wild, horticultural, and agricultural crops,” he says.

People consume honey as food, spreading it on bread and as a sweetener in tea.

Other byproducts of bees include beeswax, propolis, and pollen.

Traditionally, the beekeeping industry has been male-dominated but there has been growing interest in the sector by women building and running their apiaries across the country.

In Chimanimani, out of Kanangira’s team of 11 people, seven are women, showing that they are changing the narrative.

These beekeepers get monthly stipends from FAO.

“Earning a living from beekeeping makes me happy. As a woman, I did not think that I could venture into such a project as beekeeping,” says Dziwira, a mother of two.

“This initiative has made me realise my full potential as a woman and that I can successfully run a big project.”

Talla says revenue generated from the initiative will be saved and used to pay wages beyond the two-year support.

FAO’s beekeeping project, Green Jobs for Rural Youth Employment, funded by the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), is currently being implemented in three countries, including Zimbabwe, Sierra Leone, and Timor-Leste.

In Zimbabwe, the project is running in six districts, targeting young people.

Kanangira, who uses the money from beekeeping to look after his siblings, is planning to supply honey to markets in Harare.

“We plan to sell in large quantities to companies in Harare. To add value, we want to have a processing plant where we make things like toothpaste and floor polish using products from honeybees,” he says.

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By Laila Baker
A woman holds her young daughter at a migrant camp in Syria. Credit: UNFPA Syria

CAIRO, Egypt, Mar 15 2024 (IPS) - “I don’t think the world understands what it means to be a woman living in Syria today,” explains Shatha, a woman from Deir-ez-Zor, Syria, who is a survivor of gender-based violence. “It is a life filled with danger, grief, and daily struggle.”

Shatha’s story is not isolated but echoes the harrowing experiences of many Syrian women and girls over the past 13 years. In late 2023, Shatha’s hometown of Deir-ez-Zor became one of the epicentres of the most significant escalation of hostilities in Syria since 2019, which displaced over 120,000 people and affected numerous health facilities, schools, water systems, and other crucial infrastructures.

This was mere months after the devastating earthquake that struck the country’s north-west in February, causing incalculable destruction and impacting nearly 9 million people.

As the Arab region — and indeed the world at large — appears to sink ever deeper into the clutches of armed conflict and humanitarian disasters, it’s crucial to remember the profound impact that the Syria crisis in particular has had on women and girls, who are often the hardest hit during such emergencies.

Since the onset of hostilities in 2011, the situation has escalated to unprecedented levels, with 16.7 million people requiring humanitarian assistance throughout the country. Among them, more than 8 million are women and girls, facing not only the loss of their homes and loved ones but also the erasure of their futures and dreams.

In addition to experiencing ever-growing difficulties in accessing basic services, particularly essential sexual and reproductive health care, the stories from within Syria and among refugee communities throughout the region tell of a distressing normalization of gender-based violence.

Women and girls report spiralling risks of harassment, intimate partner violence, forced and child marriages, conflict-related sexual violence, and other forms of exploitation, now compounded by the proliferation of technology-facilitated abuses.

These are not merely fleeting narratives but reflections of deeper inequalities that are becoming entrenched aspects of post-war Syrian society, fuelled by economic collapse and the disintegration of social and protection networks.

More importantly, the worsening needs of Syrians are a cautionary tale, unfolding against a backdrop of multiplying armed conflicts and humanitarian crises across the globe, from Gaza, Sudan, Yemen, and Lebanon in the region, to the catastrophic and far-reaching war in Ukraine, each demanding urgent attention and significant resources.

This expanding landscape of human misery has strained the already limited humanitarian funding, overshadowing the needs in Syria and diminishing the support for its most vulnerable populations.

The underfunding of the humanitarian response in Syria, particularly services aimed at women and girls, is already being felt by numerous communities. Essential health facilities providing life-saving reproductive healthcare are at risk of imminent closure. Women and girls’ safe spaces, critical for survivors of gender-based violence, are shutting down, leaving them with neither refuge nor support.

The ripple effects of such underfunding also threaten to reverse any progress made towards gender equality and women’s empowerment, undermining societal development and stability at large. A telling example of this is a draft of a so-called “morality law” currently being circulated by the de facto ruling authorities in north-west Syria.

In addition to severely curtailing and criminalising basic human rights, the law essentially codifies male supremacy, significantly preventing women and girls from freely engaging in public and cultural life, manifesting their opinions and religion in public places, or seeking employment or professional training.

Despite these challenges, the resilience shown by Syrian women and girls is nothing short of extraordinary. Many have risen above their circumstances, becoming community leaders, activists, and entrepreneurs, striving for a better future for themselves and their communities. Their unyielding spirit underlines the importance of not just meeting immediate needs but also investing in their long-term well-being and empowerment.

As we reflect on the ongoing crisis, it is imperative to put people before politics. The international community must not allow Syrian women and girls to be forgotten amidst the political deadlock and the shifting priorities of global aid.

Their health, safety, and dignity demand our immediate and unwavering support. We must ensure that the humanitarian response is fully funded, not only to meet the urgent needs but also to invest in building a more resilient Syria.

After 13 years, it’s time for the international community to renew its commitment to Syrian women and girls, ensuring they have the support they need to navigate the challenges they face today and in the future.

While their strength and resilience inspire us, they should not have to face the darkness alone. Let us stand with them, ensuring they are not forgotten but supported to rebuild their lives and communities.

Laila Baker is the Regional Director for Arab States of UNFPA, the UN’s sexual and reproductive health agency.

IPS UN Bureau

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By Emilio Godoy
A small farmer checks his corn field in the southern state of Guerrero. The grain is the star of the staple diet in Mexico, consumed in many different forms. CREDIT: Sader
A small farmer checks his corn field in the southern state of Guerrero. The grain is the star of the staple diet in Mexico, consumed in many different forms. CREDIT: Sader

MEXICO CITY, Mar 14 2024 (IPS) - Mexico has taken important steps to protect native corn, even standing up to its largest trading partner, the United States, to do so. But the lack of a comprehensive legal framework in its policy towards genetically modified crops allows authorizations for other transgenic crops.

In fact, the dispute with Washington over corn exposes the regulatory gaps regarding opposition to the use of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in Mexican agriculture."If we win, we will call into question a model of production. We will take a huge step forward, we will set an international precedent. But if corn is defeated in its center of origin, we will see the same in the birthplaces of other crops, and the offensive strategy of the companies will be strengthened." -- Monserrat Téllez

Experts consulted by IPS concurred with the need for a better legal framework to strengthen the evaluation of GMOs.

Monserrat Téllez, a researcher at the non-governmental Seeds of Life Foundation, pointed out that GMOs appeared after the reform of agricultural and trade policies derived from the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) between Canada, the United States and Mexico.

These free trade policies, she added, harmed Mexican farmers by eliminating subsidies and opening the market to imports.

“There was already a concern about regulation. The aim of the law was to boost planting. Although there is a special regime (for corn), it is not enough. It is not only a genetic reservoir, but also includes a series of traditional cultivation practices. The basis should be the precautionary principle, we would like very careful regulation,” she told IPS.

Téllez was referring to the Law on Biosafety of Genetically Modified Organisms, in force since 2005, which specifies three types of cultivation.

Experimental plantations must be in controlled areas, protected to prevent contamination, with risk assessments and other safeguards. In pilot plantations they are optional, and in commercial plantations they do not exist.

However, Mexico lacks an effective GMO monitoring system, say the experts.

In the case of corn, it applies a special protection regime that, based on the centers of origin and diversity of corn and its wild relatives, prohibits the release of GMOs in certain areas.

Lessons learned

In December 2020, the current government of Andrés Manuel López Obrador issued a decree ordering the replacement of the herbicide glyphosate with environmentally friendly alternatives by Jan. 31, 2024 and putting a halt to permits for the planting of genetically modified corn and its use in the food industry.

In order to ingratiate itself with the industry, and therefore with the United States, the Mexican government softened the decree by endorsing the importation of yellow corn for industrial and animal feed purposes, but it failed to win over the United States.

During the last few months of 2022 and the first months of 2023, both governments held several unsuccessful technical meetings to resolve the conflict.

For this reason, the United States announced last August the opening of a dispute settlement panel within the framework of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), based on the chapter on sanitary and phytosanitary measures.

However, it does not mention the chapter of the USMCA, in force since 2020 and which replaced NAFTA, on biotechnology and its trade, which is the elephant in the room, since in the background lies the use of biotechnological products.

At these meetings, the Mexican government conveyed to its U.S. counterparts that the priority was corn, for environmental, health and cultural reasons, and that they were not concerned about other crops, such as canola or soybeans.

The United States accuses its partner of applying excessive measures, lack of scientific evidence on the effects of GMOs and economic damage to corn exports.

In its response dated Jan. 15 and published on Mar. 5, Mexico presented scientific studies that demonstrate the negative impact of GM crops on animals such as rats and on the environment, while at the same time showing that the economic damage complained about by the U.S. did not exist.

The planting of GM corn has been blocked since 2013, when a group of 53 people and 20 small farmer, indigenous, academic, scientific, artistic, consumer and gastronomic organizations won an injunction in a class action lawsuit filed for damage to the biological diversity of native corn and the rights to food and health.

Mexico depends on corn imports, especially from the United States, to satisfy its high domestic consumption. Despite its attempts, the government has failed to increase production. Infographics: Conahcyt

Mexico depends on corn imports, especially from the United States, to satisfy its high domestic consumption. Despite its attempts, the government has failed to increase production. Infographics: Conahcyt

The three million corn farmers who plant around eight million hectares allocate two million to family consumption, in a country that has 64 varieties and 59 native ones.

Mexico is the world’s seventh largest corn producer and the second largest importer of corn, producing some 27 million tons annually. But it still has to import some 20 million tons to meet domestic consumption.

Corn is not only a native and predominant crop in Mexico, but a staple in the diet of its 129 million inhabitants that goes beyond the culinary sphere and is part of the country’s cultural roots.

Despite the promises made, GMOs have not raised agricultural yields, improved pest resistance or offered greater resistance to the effects of the climate crisis, such as drought. Moreover, there is evidence of damage to health.

The planting of genetically modified soybeans offers lessons on regulation. In 2012, US biotech transnational Monsanto obtained a commercial planting permit for some 235,000 hectares in seven Mexican states.

After a legal battle, the Mexican Supreme Court blocked the authorization in 2015 due to potential environmental damage and lack of consultation with affected indigenous communities.

But in the southeastern state of Campeche the crop has expanded, with strong impacts on biodiversity and beekeeping, as foreseen by the government’s National Commission for Knowledge and Use of Biodiversity, which recommended not approving the permit in 2012.

Despite the loopholes, the lawmakers of the governing National Regeneration Movement (Morena) have not modified the legal framework.

“The formal regulatory framework has shortcomings. There are no clear criteria, and there is a lack of clarity on precautionary measures. The law includes special protection for corn, but it is not defined in the regulations. So any authority can interpret it in its own way,” Alma Piñeyro, a researcher at the public Autonomous Metropolitan University, based in Xochimilco, south of Mexico City, told IPS.

This country is the origin and center of corn and cotton cultivation and the government bases its control on this, but the history of GM soybeans shows the lack of breadth of the approach. Therefore, GMOs should be regulated more strictly than corn and with specific measures for each crop.

Unbalanced figures

In Mexico, the release of GMOs into the environment began in 1988, with an authorization for a tomato planting trial, which has since expanded to 19 crops. Since then, agribusiness has focused on crops such as cotton, corn and soybeans.

Statistics from the government’s Interministerial Commission on Biosafety of Genetically Modified Organisms on requests and approvals are inconsistent, contradictory, if not inaccurate, which hinders evaluation, according to the review by IPS.

Between 2005 and 2021, Mexican authorities issued 671 permits, of which 359 were for cotton, 202 for corn, 50 for wheat, 44 for soybeans and the rest for other varieties. The vast majority consisted of experimental licenses, although the total does not match the reported number of permits.

Mexico’s official response to the U.S. complaint, made public on Mar. 5, lists 651 permits, of which 53 percent are for cotton and 30 percent for corn, suspended by the 2013 class action lawsuit.

The administration of López Obrador, who took office on Dec. 1, 2018 and whose term ends on Oct. 1, slowed the pace of approval of GM crops.

In 2022, it rejected six applications for corn, five for cotton, one for soybeans and one for canola. But between that year and the next, it endorsed four permits for canola, two for cotton, two for potatoes and one for soybeans.

On the corn panel, five Mexican and five U.S. non-governmental organizations are preparing to submit comments by Friday, Mar. 15, in an attempt to support the Mexican position.

Piñeyro said it is necessary to analyze each species in the Mexican context.

“Canola, as a crop, can become invasive, because it survives weeds and can displace other native species. It has undergone genetic dispersal, which has happened in Canada, where they have an agronomic problem, and it could happen in Mexico. The monitoring data are opaque. Without sufficient data, it is very difficult to evaluate the whole picture,” she said.

Téllez said the panel with the United States is decisive. “If we win, we will call into question a model of production. We will take a huge step forward, we will set an international precedent. But if corn is defeated in its center of origin, we will see the same in the birthplaces of other crops, and the offensive strategy of the companies will be strengthened,” she stressed.

The USMCA review is scheduled for 2026 and its future appears to be tied to that of corn.

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