Yesterday’s unanimous vote by the parliament of Togo has resulted in the death penalty being abolished in the country. Although Togo has not carried out an execution since 1978, there were currently convicts on death row.
Togo has now become the 94th country in the world to abolish the death penalty for all crimes, but there are still more than 50 countries that carry out executions for various offences.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Military Spending - Recession Proof
Global military spending has risen by 45% in the last decade. According to the latest yearbook from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), 2008 saw global military expenditure reach €1464 billion. The US spent €607 billion alone according to the statistics but even this enormous figure may be an underestimation with the Guardian reporting that the White House itself claims spending on "national defence" exceeded €675 billion for the year. However, the rise in expenditure is also due to the spending increase across most of Asia.
This is despite the fact that the world is currently in the throes of a global recession and that there is still 1.3 billion people living in extreme poverty worldwide. Unfortunately however, there tends often to be a large disparity between what countries are willing to allocate to secure their global and regional power status and what they spend on poverty reduction and development. For instance, South Africa is paying an average of €530 million a year until 2010/2011 under an arms deal when an estimated €425 million would pay for free water services for everyone in the country.
Interestingly and unsurprisingly, four of the top five suppliers since the end of the cold war are permanent members of the UN Security Council. Indeed, according to the SIPRI yearbook, the top 20 companies involved in military trade are American or European. With statistics like these it becomes hard not to question the legitimacy of certain countries having a permanent place on the UN Security Council. Furthermore, the UN Controller's office recently listed arrears as of 7th May 2009 showing that the US, UK and China owed €993, €121 and €33 billion respectively. So these countries wield immense power when it comes to world security, engage in massive military expenditure and yet are slow to pay money to the UN which could be used for humanitarian purposes.
Oxfam's briefing paper 'Shooting Down the MDGs' showed how arms transfers can divert funds from social spending and how the availability of and access to conventional arms and ammunition can prolong and/or intensify armed violence. This has been seen recently in Sri Lanka where the government chose a purely military solution when the balance of power was changed due to the large imports of stocks of ammunition that was possible. The success of the Millennium Development Goals are seriously threatened by military expenditure which consumes unjustifiable quantities of financial resources. For example, the leading causes of childhood deaths are easily prevented through simple improvements in basic health services but there needs to be sufficient investment. Similarly, if a fair and safe deal on climate change is to be achieved this year, substantial resources need to be set aside for adaptation and mitigation financing. To look at it another and more positive way, with the political will of certain governments and adequate financial support, the number of children of primary school age who did not attend school fell from €103 million in 1999 to €75 million in 2006 (The United Nations' Millennium Development Goals Report 2008). This is obvious progress on the Millennium Development goal to achieve universal primary education and shows real return on investment.
More needs to be done to combat the international arms trade, considered by Transparency International to be one of the three most corrupt businesses in the world. The developed world needs to stop arming both itself and the developing world and governments of poorer nations need to be supported and encouraged to re-direct their spending so that the plight of the 1.3 billion living in extreme poverty is addressed. A practical step that everyone can take is to get involved in the Control Arms Campaign at http://www.controlarms.org/en.
This is despite the fact that the world is currently in the throes of a global recession and that there is still 1.3 billion people living in extreme poverty worldwide. Unfortunately however, there tends often to be a large disparity between what countries are willing to allocate to secure their global and regional power status and what they spend on poverty reduction and development. For instance, South Africa is paying an average of €530 million a year until 2010/2011 under an arms deal when an estimated €425 million would pay for free water services for everyone in the country.
Interestingly and unsurprisingly, four of the top five suppliers since the end of the cold war are permanent members of the UN Security Council. Indeed, according to the SIPRI yearbook, the top 20 companies involved in military trade are American or European. With statistics like these it becomes hard not to question the legitimacy of certain countries having a permanent place on the UN Security Council. Furthermore, the UN Controller's office recently listed arrears as of 7th May 2009 showing that the US, UK and China owed €993, €121 and €33 billion respectively. So these countries wield immense power when it comes to world security, engage in massive military expenditure and yet are slow to pay money to the UN which could be used for humanitarian purposes.
Oxfam's briefing paper 'Shooting Down the MDGs' showed how arms transfers can divert funds from social spending and how the availability of and access to conventional arms and ammunition can prolong and/or intensify armed violence. This has been seen recently in Sri Lanka where the government chose a purely military solution when the balance of power was changed due to the large imports of stocks of ammunition that was possible. The success of the Millennium Development Goals are seriously threatened by military expenditure which consumes unjustifiable quantities of financial resources. For example, the leading causes of childhood deaths are easily prevented through simple improvements in basic health services but there needs to be sufficient investment. Similarly, if a fair and safe deal on climate change is to be achieved this year, substantial resources need to be set aside for adaptation and mitigation financing. To look at it another and more positive way, with the political will of certain governments and adequate financial support, the number of children of primary school age who did not attend school fell from €103 million in 1999 to €75 million in 2006 (The United Nations' Millennium Development Goals Report 2008). This is obvious progress on the Millennium Development goal to achieve universal primary education and shows real return on investment.
More needs to be done to combat the international arms trade, considered by Transparency International to be one of the three most corrupt businesses in the world. The developed world needs to stop arming both itself and the developing world and governments of poorer nations need to be supported and encouraged to re-direct their spending so that the plight of the 1.3 billion living in extreme poverty is addressed. A practical step that everyone can take is to get involved in the Control Arms Campaign at http://www.controlarms.org/en.
Monday, June 15, 2009
Irish AIDS Day
Today, Ireland marks Irish AIDS Day.
However, some Irish people still do not recognize HIV or AIDS as hardships that many people in Ireland face on a daily basis. Even when confronted with the reality that a number of people in this country are living with HIV and AIDS, there are those that will lay the blame on foreigners living in Ireland, drug users and homosexuals. This mistaken explanation for the prevalence of HIV and AIDS in any country unfortunately stigmatizes people who are already feeling isolated and at times ostracized by society. With that in mind, it is worth noting some of the most recent findings by the Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC):
405 new HIV and 28 new AIDS diagnoses were reported to the HPSC in 2008.
The highest number of HIV cases that were reported was due to heterosexual transmission.
Of the 312 reported cases of HIV in Ireland with information available as to the geographical origin of the diagnosed person, it was found that 39% were born in Ireland. This is the same percentage of the overall figure as of those who were born in sub-Saharan Africa.
These figures are just a sample of the available data but were highlighted deliberately to encourage people to question any prejudices they may have about HIV and AIDS. Irish AIDS Day should serve as a reminder that many people in Ireland and around the world fight a disease every day. They should not have to fight a stigma too.
However, some Irish people still do not recognize HIV or AIDS as hardships that many people in Ireland face on a daily basis. Even when confronted with the reality that a number of people in this country are living with HIV and AIDS, there are those that will lay the blame on foreigners living in Ireland, drug users and homosexuals. This mistaken explanation for the prevalence of HIV and AIDS in any country unfortunately stigmatizes people who are already feeling isolated and at times ostracized by society. With that in mind, it is worth noting some of the most recent findings by the Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC):
405 new HIV and 28 new AIDS diagnoses were reported to the HPSC in 2008.
The highest number of HIV cases that were reported was due to heterosexual transmission.
Of the 312 reported cases of HIV in Ireland with information available as to the geographical origin of the diagnosed person, it was found that 39% were born in Ireland. This is the same percentage of the overall figure as of those who were born in sub-Saharan Africa.
These figures are just a sample of the available data but were highlighted deliberately to encourage people to question any prejudices they may have about HIV and AIDS. Irish AIDS Day should serve as a reminder that many people in Ireland and around the world fight a disease every day. They should not have to fight a stigma too.
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Update - Shell Settles
Royal Dutch Shell has agreed to pay $15.5 million (€11.2 m) to settle the case of Wiwa v Shell which was due to commence this week. Shell stood accused of taking part in human rights abuses in Southern Nigeria during the 1990s.
Although, Shell maintains that the allegations were false and is pleading innocent to all civil charges, the settlement is still one of the largest ever agreed by a multinational corporation in similar circumstances. Also, there is no smoke without fire!
Other companies may now fear legal action and begin to take into account the impact that their operations have on local communities.
Although, Shell maintains that the allegations were false and is pleading innocent to all civil charges, the settlement is still one of the largest ever agreed by a multinational corporation in similar circumstances. Also, there is no smoke without fire!
Other companies may now fear legal action and begin to take into account the impact that their operations have on local communities.
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