That Development Lady

A bloody massacre in Guinea could undermine peace across West Africa. Sign the call for targeted sanctions on the Guinean junta and let’s raise a popular outcry worldwide against this crackdown:

Last week, over 150 civilians were killed when the military opened fire on a peaceful pro-democracy rally in the West African country of Guinea. Women were raped and people were bayoneted on the streets as they tried to escape — a terrifying message to a nation crying out to elect a democratic, civilian government for the first time.

In spite of the international community’s condemnation of the violence and calls for the regime to allow elections, the junta is clinging to power, warning ominously that the army is acting beyond the chain of command. The tense situation threatens to spiral into inter-factional fighting or a counter-coup, which would likely see violence spill over and destabilize the whole region.

We need to act fast. The international community must send a clear message that unless the regime agrees to step down and allow a peaceful democratic transition, they will face immediate, tightly-targeted sanctions. The African and European Unions have discussed invoking travel and banking sanctions on the ruling elite, who love to fly and shop: this could be the best chance to have quick impact, without hurting Guinea’s people — who desperately need our help. We’ll deliver this campaign to European and African leaders before they meet later this month — click the link below to sign the petition and forward this email:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/guinea_stop_the_crackdown

The military ruler of Guinea, Capitan Moussa Dadis Camara, seized power in a military coup last year. He had agreed to step aside and allow for democratic elections next year — but after months of tension, recently reneged on that promise. The people of Guinea have suffered over 50 years of brutal and corrupt dictatorships. Tens of thousands of civilians who attended last week’s rally were clamouring for an end to military rule and opposing his candidacy in elections.

The violence against civilians was brutal. A human rights watch witness stated: “I saw the Red Berets [an elite unit within the military] catch some of the women who were trying to flee, rip off their clothes, and stick their hands in their private parts. Others beat the women, including on their genitals… the women were crying out.”

Firm action is needed not just to make clear that we reject the violent repression of people anywhere who stand up to demand democratic and accountable government, but because what happens in Guinea will affect dozens of other fledgling democracies across Africa, where would-be dictators are closely watching the response from the international community. Years have been spent establishing a fragile peace in neighbouring Sierra Leone and Liberia. If Guinea blows, they too could be at risk.

An international inquiry is needed into the violence and the army must return to barracks. But a week after the massacre, opposition leaders remain in military detention, and Capitan Camara is shirking responsibility for the violence, blaming the opposition and banning all public ‘subversive’ meetings — sending a clear signal that he isn’t going step aside easily or bend to initial international declarations.

The regional body, Economic Community of West African States, has nominated a negotiator for Guinea. But any talks must be backed up by clear international pressure — otherwise the mineral-rich regime could hold on, ruling through the biggest army in the region. A policy of targeted AU and EU sanctions, affecting the leadership personally, could be pivotal — not only could it help halt more bloodshed, it could start to lay the foundation for a democratic transition.

http://www.avaaz.org/en/guinea_stop_the_crackdown

Guinea’s people desperately need international help and support now. Let’s stand with them, send a clear message to the Guinean military and forces across Africa who seek to rule by the gun that the time for repressive military rule is over. Sign the petition and send it on to family and friends:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/guinea_stop_the_crackdown

PITTSBURGH — Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, appearing to forget that his countrymen are generally known for their modesty, declared on Friday that his nation was the envy of the world.

Harper, usually a fairly wooden performer, seized on a routine question at a news conference and used it to deliver an impassioned defense of his 33-million strong nation and how well it has coped with the global economic crisis.

“Canada remains in a very special place in the world… . We are the one major developed country that no one thinks has any responsibility for this crisis,” he said to laughter.

“In fact, on the contrary, they look at our policies as a solution to the crisis. We’re the one country in the room everybody would like to be,” he said at the end of the summit of the Group of 20 advanced and developing nations in Pittsburgh.

Canada, which was running a budget surplus before the recession and avoided major banking problems, has been less affected by the crisis than many of its partners.

Harper said the other G20 nations “would like to be an advanced developed economy with all the benefits that conveys to its citizens and at the same time not have been the source, or have any of the domestic problems, that created this crisis”.

By this stage of his comments, the initial premise of the question had long since vanished and Harper — who leads the right-leaning Conservative Party — was focusing on several other factors that in his mind make Canada so irresistible.

“We’re so self-effacing as Canadians that we sometimes forget the assets we do have that other people see,” he said, speaking with a rare passion.

“We are one of the most stable regimes in history… . We are unique in that regard,” he added, noting Canada had enjoyed more than 150 years of untroubled Parliamentary democracy.

Just in case that was not enough to persuade doubters, Harper threw in some more facts about the geographically second-largest nation in the world.

“We also have no history of colonialism. So we have all of the things that many people admire about the great powers but none of the things that threaten or bother them,” he said.

And his final verdict?

“Canada is big enough to make a difference but not big enough to threaten anybody. And that is a huge asset if it’s properly used.”

The Calgary Herald

Oh yeah, no colonialism here. We’re just a former British and French colony that comitted genocide against the First Nations community. That was not colonialism at all.

President Clinton opened the second day of the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) Annual Meeting by reciting damning statistics about women’s economic marginalization, including that only 30% of the world’s workforce is made up of women. Women do 66% of world’s work, make only 10% of world’s income, and own only 1% world’s property. He said investing in women “can unleash an estimated $15 billion in annual productivity.”

Investing in Girls and Women was hosted by Diane Sawyer. The panelists were: Edna Adan, Director and Founder, Edna Adan Maternity and Teaching Hospital; Lloyd Blankfein, Chairman and CEO, The Goldman Sachs Group; Zainab Salbi, Founder and CEO, Women for Women International; Rex W. Tillerson, Chief Executive Officer, ExxonMobil Corporation; Melanne Verveer, Ambassador-at-Large for Women’s Issues, U.S. State Department; and Robert Zoellick, President, The World Bank Group.

For the businessmen on the panel “empowering” women seemed to be more about using them as the person that funds go through. Blankfein said investing in women has the highest leverage because they support their families. The point was reiterated a number of times by a number of speakers that funds are best used when they go to women.

While the businessmen seemed to lack much of a focus on anything but investing in women to benefit their own bottom line, the women on the panel who are actually engaged in this work brought excellent incite.

Salbi was amazing. She said women are dying, being displaced and raped at alarming rates during warfare. “But they have no choice but to stand up on their feet because they have children.” Women are the ones who maintain culture. They’re the only ones not raping, pillaging, murdering, but they are not included at the table to discuss solutions.

Salbi said in southern Sudan 9 year old girls are being exchanged for cows in marriage agreements. She said we can criticize these cows or we can invest in women’s education and show the economic benefit of empowering women as an alternative source of income for parents.

Tillerson made a number of remarks that were either incomprehensible or deeply problematic (or both). In response to Tillerson saying that funding is not the issue, Salbi emphatically pointed out that 1 cent of every funding dollar goes to women. There is a need for both education and resources so women can renegotiate the decision making process in households and countries.

Sawyer asked Tillerson: given the extreme poverty of women in Detroit, how do you decide to invest here or overseas? Once again Salbi jumped in with an important point: women’s issues and girls issues are not just a third world issue. it’s a global issue.

Salbi emphasized three needs: political will and the will of leadership; women organizing, which is happening globally; and societal acknowledgement of women’s role.

Edna Adan, Director and Founder, Edna Adan Maternity and Teaching Hospital, was also an amazing speaker. She focused on the importance of skilled birth attendants in Somalia. “Reproductive health is affected by nutrition, is affected by age at which she is married, so many other factors.” She said women are dying in childbirth, “because nobody cares… [People think] she’s dying because she was meant to die. She was not meant to die. She could be safe.” “The decision of whether she has treatment must be left to the woman. often its a husband or a brother or a father who decides whether she will be taken to the hospital or not.” There is a view that the husband owns the unborn child and therefore the decision is his, which must be countered through education.

Adan said these issues are not just women’s issues and that we need to engage men: “It is demanding men stand up and recognize women belong on this earth.”

September 12, 2009

At a time when Europe struggles to emerge from economic recession, the European Union vows to create indicators for its well-being that go beyond calculating the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The European Commission said Tuesday that it will propose in 2010 a pilot environmental index that complements GDP as a measure of progress by gauging water use and pollution, greenhouse gas emissions, loss of natural landscapes, air pollution and waste generation.

The EU also plans to implement more timely social indicators, including more accurate reporting on inequality.

“GDP was not intended to be a measure of well-being,” a Commission press release said Tuesday. “It doesn’t pick up on issues that are vitally important to the quality of our lives such as a clean environment, social cohesion or even how happy people are.”

The proposals are part of the Union’s efforts to make the shift towards a low-carbon, resource-efficient economy.

“To meet the challenges of the 21st century we need more integrated and transparent policies,” European Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas said in the press release. “To change the world we need to change the way that we understand the world, and to do this we need to go beyond GDP.”

The proposed actions, however, will only complement, and not replace, GDP as a yardstick of economic and social development.

Introduced after the Great Depression in the 1930s, GDP measures the total final market value of all goods and services produced within a country during a given period. Although it effectively indicates a country’s economic growth, it has long been criticized by civil society groups for overlooking non-marketed economic activities as indicators of well-being and wealth.

Despite the Commission’s plans to move beyond it, however, some NGOs are still skeptical, EUobserver reported.

“Fifteen years have passed since initial discussions, and we are no closer to implementing measures for environmental sustainability, societal progress and well-being,” said Tony Long, director of the European Policy Office at the World Wildlife Fund (WWF).

He added that the Commission’s plans also exclude other indices, such as WWF’s “Living Planet Index” – which reflects the health of the planet’s ecosystems — and the “Ecological Footprint” — which shows the extent of human demand on these ecosystems

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