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Closing the gap

March 22, 2013 in Middle East, The World Today

 

Photo from Getty Images

By: Razanne Chatila

In the wake of country reconstructions and faltering economies, findings in the latest report from the World Bank illustrate the number of Middle Eastern women in the work force are at half of the global level falling at 25 percent.In an article from Inter Press Service News Agency (IPS), out last week it stated that “not only would more employed women stimulate economic growth, but a more inclusive labor market has also been thought to encourage political participation among women.” At the same time IPS also notes how the World Bank is warning that Middle Eastern and North African countries are falling behind on bringing more women into the workforce.

In the report it notes some of these discrepancies is based on the regions norms and customs that emphasis the strict ideas of women’s role in society, however it also noted the diversity of the region and how there is a lot of other factors at play. Some of these include as IPS states, is “low-wage, export-oriented industries such as textiles are one typical way through which women have entered the workforce in developing countries. But during oil booms, academics have found that economies tend to shift away from female-heavy ‘traded’ sectors and instead towards male-dominated non-traded sectors, such as construction and retail.”

However, despite having an economy of this manner, Mayra Buvinic, a senior fellow with the U.N.  Foundation said, “The benefits of educating girls are many, and I believe families in the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) region are aware of that.” Another factor that adds to these low numbers is the lack of need seen by many women to work. In Kuwait for example, subsidies for food or electricity account for as much as 20 percent of government spending.  These types of vouchers typically lower household costs, which makes working outside of the home less attractive for women, as it can in turn be accompanied by additional costs. At the same time, however, one of the more prosperous economies in the region, Saudi Arabia has been seeing some of the lowest unemployment figures with women employment in the private sector also doubling in the last year, according to the Saudi Arabia Ministry of Labor.

Photo from IPS

Saudi Arabia is really pushing to help its citizen obtain employment and recently this has also included women. Labor minister, Mofraj al-Haqbani said in a press conference in Riyadh this past Tuesday that they have about one million individuals who are a part of the unemployment program called Hafez and 87 percent of these numbers are women. To make employment even easier, the government introduced new rules last year that made some retail jobs such as lingerie and cosmetics for women only. Also they have sent tens of thousands of women on scholarship abroad, alongside men to improve their job prospects.

“Gender diversity today is no longer a corporate responsibility charter but a sound business practice, with numerous studies clearly pointing out the direct co-relation between diversity and profitability of companies globally,” said Sanjay Modi, managing director India, Middle East and South East Asia, of Monster.com.

More governments need to continue to improve employment opportunities for both the men and women of their countries. Not only will it allow for a more diversified pool of employees but also a more profitable market in the long-run.

This post reflects the author’s personal opinions, not the opinions of Arizona Model United Nations.

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This Isn’t Your Father’s PRI

March 21, 2013 in Articles, México, The World Today

Courtesy of Excelsior

While those of us at MUNdi were away on vacation for a few days of much-needed rest and relaxation (bringing you the news you need can be draining sometimes), the Mexican government of President Enrique Peña Nieto was anything but resting. In fact, they have been quite busy in the last couple of weeks.

Two weeks ago, I wrote about the arrest of the head of the SNTE (Mexico’s powerful teacher’s union) Elba Esther Gordillo on embezzlement charges. Since then, a Mexican judge has ordered her to stand trial after assessing the government’s case against her. The same judge also ordered her to stay in prison while the trial proceeded. As if things could not get worse for Gordillo, she appears to have been abandoned by the party she helped create (the New Alliance Party or PANAL) as well as the SNTE itself, who moved quickly to find her replacement in Juan Diaz de la Torre. Dias de la Torre, who failed to mention her even once in his first speech as the new leader, also announced that the SNTE would no longer oppose the constitutional education reforms passed by Congress. This is good news as it will give the reforms a greater chance of passing once the supplementary bills are drafted and approved.

In my last article, I also questioned whether or not Peña Nieto and the PRI would stop at Gordillo or choose to prosecute other prominent union leaders. Both the conservative PAN (National Action Party) and the left-wing PRD (Party of the Democratic Revolution) have called for Peña Nieto’s government to go after the head of the oil worker’s union, Carlos Romero Deschamps. However, Attorney General Jesus Morillo Karam has said the government is not pursuing an investigation into Deschamps at this time despite Peña Nieto himself warning his party that “there are no untouchable interests” in Mexico.

All of this does not mean that President Enrique Peña Nieto’s campaign to reform the PRI and prove to the Mexican public that his party is indeed different has ended. If anything, it has picked up momentum. Last Monday, Peña Nieto unveiled a plan to reform the telecommunications sector of the country, which is criticized for being dominated by a handful of major companies. These reforms would raise or eliminate limits on foreign investment, create two new national television channels, and form a new independent regulatory commission à la the FCC here in the United States. This new commission would have the power to unilaterally punish non-competitive practices while a second independent commission would have the power to order firms to sell off their assets to reduce their market dominance.

The reforms do not stop there. They require TV networks to provide their programming free to most cable operators and said operators must carry all broadcast channels. They also allow for foreign firms, currently banned from radio and TV broadcast, to have as much as a 49% stake and allow for total foreign ownership of all telecommunications and satellite TV services.

All of these changes and reforms to telecommunications will pit Peña Nieto and his administration against the richest man in the world: Carlos Slim. Slim, whose Telmex controls 80% of Mexican landlines and 70% of the mobile phone market, has initially been open and welcoming of the reforms. The proposal of the reforms appear to have been born out of a pact made between the three major political parties in Mexico and have some saying that Peña Nieto is the first Mexican president since Carlos Salinas to exert such executive power.

President Enrique Peña Nieto does not appear to be the only one pushing reforms in Mexico, at least within his own party. A day before Peña Nieto announced to the country his telecommunications reforms, the PRI (Institutional Revolutionary Party) voted to alter its platform in order to allow for private investment in the oil industry. This could result in a possible overhaul of the state-owned petroleum company PEMEX, an overhaul that Peña Nieto has been advocating for a long time in order to end PEMEX’s monopoly on oil production while preserving its state-owned status.

In order to cover the projected loss in government revenue from such a move, members of the PRI also unanimously voted to remove their opposition to raising food and medicine taxes. These changes in the PRI are quite ironic considering the same PRI had voted against them when proposed by the ruling PAN between 2000-2012. These proposed changes will also pit Peña Nieto and his party against the left of Mexican politics, who see PEMEX and its state-owned status as a source of national pride and do not want to see it become compromised to foreign investment.

Two weeks ago marked President Enrique Peña Nieto’s first one hundred days in office and boy what a hundred days it has been for him and the country. If I were to ask my parents if they ever thought they would see a day where the PRI would be the party prosecuting the powerful union leaders, pushing through much-needed educational and telecommunications reforms, or even suggesting a break-up of the petroleum monopoly, they would look at me like I was loco. But fortunately for myself, my parents, and many other Mexicans, this is the reality we are facing. And as surprising or farfetched as it may appear to many, the PRI has realized that Mexico is on the verge of becoming a major economic player on the world stage and it can no longer be the ones getting in the way of our country reaching its full potential.

This post reflects the author’s personal opinions, not the opinions of Arizona Model United Nations.

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Introducing Pope Francis I

March 19, 2013 in Latin America, The World Today

Image Courtesy Reuters

By Elise Zimmerman

The Catholic Church’s new pope is, for the first time in history, from the Americas. After a brief, two-day Conclave, 76-year-old Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Buenos Aires was announced as the new leader of the faith. Pope Francis I, as he has chosen to be called, has been described as moderate, monk-like, and diplomatic. According to Reuters, he led a simple life, utilizing public transportation and residing in a simple apartment outside of Buenos Aires before moving to the Vatican.

Bergoglio is the first pope to come from the Jesuit order. After becoming a priest at the age of 32, he rose quickly among the Jesuits in his area, serving as their leader from 1973 to 1979. In spite of his success within the church, the new pope’s first years in power were marked also by Argentina’s “Dirty War” and military dictatorship.

As is common for those active in the church during the dictatorship, Bergoglio has received criticism for his failure to condemn the heinous crimes and human rights abuses that were common at the time. Despite Bergoglio’s public apology for the crimes committed during the dictatorship, Argentine journalist Horacio Verbitsky has suggested that Bergoglio downplayed the church’s collusion during the war.   

Perhaps more serious, allegations have been made about Bergoglio’s involvement in the 1976 kidnapping of two Jesuit priests in Buenos Aires. According to another expository article by Verbitsky, the then-leader of the Argentine Jesuits approved the abduction of the bishops, who he believed were too progressive. Orlando Yorio and Francisco Jalics, the victims, were found five months after their disappearance, reportedly drugged and half naked.

Years after the end of the Dirty War, tension continues to follow the new pope. Since the beginning of the Kirchner administration in 2003, the relationship between Argentina’s federal government and Bergoglio has been strained. Beginning with the description by Bergoglio of the government’s “exhibitionism and strident government ads,” the rift between church and state only grew larger due to notable differences in values.

Tensions appeared to settle when the presidency was passed to the late Kirchner’s wife and current president Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner. However, the two sides clashed once more over the passage of same-sex marriage in July 2010. Shortly before the bill’s passage in congress, Bergoglio published a letter condemning the initiative. The letter was met by a response expressing alarm at the archbishop’s interpretation of the issue as a moral dilemma, rather than a “reality that is already.”

It appears some progress has been made, however, as the new pope entertained President Fernandez Monday, holding his first audience with a head of state. Ceremonial visits aside, there is still much to be desired in the relationship between Argentina and the new leader of the Catholic faith.

Despite the mounting criticism, Pope Francis’ history represents many of the themes faced by Latin Americans today: nations struggling to properly address the atrocities of abusive dictatorships, modernization versus traditional views of social issues, and the role of Catholicism in each nation are all relevant now both in Latin America and the Vatican.

This post reflects the author’s personal opinions, not the opinions of Arizona Model United Nations.

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Preparedness Level: Kim Jong-un

March 18, 2013 in Asia, The World Today, United States

AP Photo/The Santa Maria Times, Daniel Dreifuss

 

By Stewart Benson

In response to Pyongyang’s recent daring threats against South Korea and the United States, recently appointed Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel announced a $1 billion deployment of ballistic missile interceptors along the Western coast of the United States. The deployment is a clear indication that North Korea’s young leader, Kim Jong-un, is becoming increasingly unstable and without China’s normal restraint. After China helped draft a Security Council resolution enacting even tougher sanctions on the already impoverished country, the relationship between the two can only be described as severely frayed. The number of interceptors in Alaska and California will increase from thirty installations to forty four, and will be completed by 2017.

 Senior Obama Administration officials have acknowledged that part of the reason of deployment has been the severity of the North’s threats, but also because China seems to be losing control of its once strong ally. In the past, any provocations of the North would be handled accordingly by leadership in Beijing, making sure things did not become out of hand. After the Security Council resolution was approved, and general discontent among the Chinese towards their North Korean neighbors has become vocalized, the increasing isolation has led to the present case of belligerence.

 The installations have been called as a reminder to the world that the United States will stand firm against aggressors towards the homeland and their allies. The threats of North Korea breaking a long-standing cease-fire with South Korea and of a pre emptive nuclear strike has propelled the U.S. to develop a ‘two-tiered’ response to any North Korea threat. Admiral James Winnefeld Jr., the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has described this system as one where the U.S. has the deterrence capability for any North Korean strike, but if they do commit a strike, then serious costs will be put upon them. While worded in generalized terms, this warning suggests that North Korea would be sufficiently disabled from performing any military action in a time of war with the United States.

 The antimissile systems will also serve other purposes. The Senate Armed Services Committee has stated that they will also be needed to not only successfully deter North Korea, but also the growing threat of Iran’s nuclear program. However, the reliability of these interceptors has been in question. Administration officials and members of Congress are wary of pouring additional funds into these programs, which have only proven a success rate of around fifty percent. The Pentagon has stated that the new antimissile systems will have to prove reliability before they are deployed. They will stick with their ‘fly before we buy’ approach and cited a successful launch in late January. However, Congress is adamant that the systems need to be successful in order to avoid wasting taxpayer money. 

 In addition to the interceptors being deployed in the U.S., Patriot Missile batteries will be installed in South Korea and U.S. warships with ballistic defense capabilities will be stationed off the Korean Peninsula. The U.S. is also working closely with Japan in deploying missile-defense radar in the region. While it is hopeful that the recent North Korean provocations will be unfulfilled, the threats have clearly struck a nerve with the U.S. and its allies, the most severe in recent memory. 

This post reflects the author’s personal opinions, not the opinions of Arizona Model United Nations.

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“Silicon Savannah”

March 1, 2013 in Africa, The World Today

Photo from Newsweek Magazine

By: Razanne Chatila

A new industry has hit Africa. The mobile phone market in Africa is the fastest-growing in the world and for many industries it is being considered as the “last frontier with the potential for unlocked riches and luring global interest.” However, this is not a sure golden ticket to success but rather many industry leaders and analysts stated there are two important challenges they face. These include lowering prices for handsets and services and boosting a patchy network.

Nonetheless, the use of this technology is booming across the continent especially as landline networks are poorly developed and many individuals rely on mobile phones for financial transactions or to link to the Internet. Global consultants PwC said the number of mobile telephone subscriptions in Africa exploded from 16 million in 2000 to 246 million in 2008 and is more than 500 million now, with estimates of 600 million subscribers by 2016. To profit from cheaper calls many Africans have two SIM cards, which can change the data on the estimates of who actually has a mobile telephone.

Getting more mobile phones to individuals is what Chinese manufacturer Huawei did. Just this month they launched a new smartphone adapted for Africa called the 4Africka that runs on Microsoft’s Windows phone operating system with a four-inch screen.  The phone is expected to sell for less than $200 and is going to be launched in Angola, Egypt, the Ivory Coast, Kenya, Morocco, Nigeria, and South Africa within the next month. The total investment in fixed and mobile networks in Africa according to PwC  is expected to rise from $78.8 billion in 2008 to $145.9 billion by 2015.

It is beyond just having a means of communication but in many rural areas it has become a tool. In Uganda, banana plant farmers use their mobile devices to track crop disease and communicate the latest scientific facts to other farmers. New companies are also developing applications specifically geared to the needs of that region such as agriculture focused apps. Although, Africans have never been avid telephone users and with most Africans living on $2 a day or less, many corporate investments in cellular networks far outside the more prosperous cities and towns saw this region as too poor. But the lack of resources is not stopping many citizens or companies from capitalizing on this new opportunity.

The Kenyan company Safaricom introduced M-KOPA, which is program that offers simple solar lighting equipment and a pay-as-you-go SIM card. Customers have one year to pay for the package, and after that they have free solar electricity. This allows over 80 percent of Kenyans to be able to charge their phones and still be able to afford lighting their homes. These innovate approaches are what is needed for this region. It is not a matter of not having the means to be technologically advanced, but rather it is about adapting this to the capabilities and resources of Africa. Communication is essential for development and these new technologies could be the pathway to a more prosperous future for many. 

 

This post reflects the author’s personal opinions, not the opinions of Arizona Model United Nations.

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Cyber Wars

February 25, 2013 in Asia, The World Today, United States

Martin H. Simon/Pool via Bloomberg

By Stewart Benson

The Cold War may be over, but it looks like another type of “cool” war is brewing between the United States and China. Instead of the buildup of nuclear weapons as a form of deterrence, the two prefer the use of cyber attacks by hacking groups. Last week, the Obama administration sent a confidential list of computer addresses to U.S. internet providers who have stolen data from American Corporations. These addresses are all linked to a specific hacking group in China: the Chinese military’s cybercommand. The fact that all of these attacks from China are coming from one source, connected to the military and government, is a very troubling find for the United States. China has repeatedly denied issuing state-sponsored cyber attacks, however the evidence points that not only is the military behind the latest attacks on American corporations and even The New York Times, the hacks are being traced to a specific address in Shanghai. Confronting China over the attacks is a sticky situation for President Obama; how do you threaten such an important trading partner and, technically, your bank?

The Obama administration had previously kept the source of the cyber attacks a secret to the nation’s internet providers and to those affected because there is still a question on what should be the correct course of action in confronting China. In the latest State of the Union Address, President Obama spoke on foreign countries stealing American corporate secrets, but avoided mentioning China by name. He also said these enemies were conspiring to sabotage our power grid, financial institutions and air traffic control systems. There is sensitivity in Washington over outright accusing the Chinese of issuing the cyber attacks; perhaps there is worry that the Chinese will become even more defensive and perhaps nationalistic, making future talks uncomfortable and unproductive. However, Attorney General Eric Holder as well as members of the House Intelligence Committee are backing confrontational approaches to the Chinese, saying it is without a doubt the Chinese are behind the hacking.

One way in convincing the Chinese to stop the attacks is the toll the espionage is taking on American global firms. Over the last several decades, these multinational corporations have forged a strong economic relationship with Chinese firms, resulting in trade priced at $425 billion in goods last year. It could be very effective to tell the Chinese that continued attacks will erode their alliance with the American business community, hurting not only the U.S. but the Chinese as well. American officials have said that in the next few months, private warnings will be issued to many Chinese leaders, including new president Xi Jinping. National Security Adviser Tom Donilon and Secretary of State John Kerry will be making trips to China to further cement these warnings, hopefully convincing the Chinese that more attacks on American global firms will undermine the special U.S.-China economic relationship.

There are only a few ways to deter cyber attacks by another country, and the U.S. is facing the problem of choosing the best course of action. The Chinese have been aiming at American commercial targets, such as plans for aerospace design and wind-energy products, and American officials have demanded that these need to end. But in what way do we convince the Chinese? As of now, the only way to end cyber attacks is either through negotiations, economic sanctions or cyber counterattacks. If an attack is made on American infrastructure or another massive American institution, then counterattacks should be ordered. However, that has not yet come to fruition, thankfully. According to Robert Hormas, the under secretary of state for business and economic affairs, convincing the Chinese  that future attacks will hurt their hopes for economic growth is the best choice. Hopefully negotiations will be successful, but you can be sure that the debate over retaliation to cyber attacks is just beginning in Washington.

This post reflects the author’s personal opinions, not the opinions of Arizona Model United Nations.

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Numbers illustrate a brewing problem in Africa

February 22, 2013 in Africa, The World Today

Photo from Deutsche Welle News

By: Razanne Chatila

Africa has taken second place in the worldwide trafficking and consumption of illicit drugs. Drugs take a heavy toll on Africans. According to UN statistics,  37,000 people in Africa die annually from drug-related causes, with estimates of over 28 million drug users. Chief of drug prevention and health branch at the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Gilberto Gerra, said the reason for this rise of illegal drug consumption is the result of political instability and loose borders.

To address this problem a two-day, international conference in Kampa took place this week.  At the conference, young people in consumption countries were identified as the most vulnerable population falling victim to drugs with the lure of fitting in or having a better a life with each drug they take.

Just last month, the West Africa Commission on the Impact of Drugs on Governance, Security and Development was launched by the former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan at the Kofi Annan Peacekeeping Center in Accra, Ghana. Former President of Nigeria, Olusegun Obasanjo, was appointed to serve as its chair. Some of the goals of this commission include: developing evidence,  based policy recommendations,  public awareness and political commitment, and promoting local and regional solutions to deal with drug trafficking.

In regards to this new commission, Obasanjo said,  “The trade in illegal drugs has already caused devastation in other regions of the world. We must all work together to prevent West Africa from experiencing the same fate. The Commission looks forward to its urgent and important work.”

Although globally, illicit drug use has remained stable in five years according to the World Drug report, the problem still remains large. Governments in countries all over Africa voiced their concern for this issue and protecting their most vulnerable, the youth.

With West Africa’s weak borders, according to Gerra, drug cartels from Colombia and Latin America have chosen to use these locations as gateways to reach Europe, which has increased significantly in recent years. In an article by All Africa news, it was reported that since 2008 the volume of cocaine transiting through West Africa was about 50 tons a year, an estimated $2 billion annually. They also stated that nearly 50 percent of cocaine, or about 13 percent of all global flows, is now believed to be smuggled through West Africa. The reason for this is due to West Africa’s geographical proximity to European markets that make it strategically well-located for drug-smuggling purposes and with the lack of strong government control of its borders, this area has quickly flourished to a drug transit hotspot.

With 70 percent of the sub-region’s population under the age of 35, the vast majority has limited access to education and large portions are unemployed. The lack of opportunities or reliable income put most individuals in a risky situation. Drugs offer a means of escaping difficult and desperate circumstances and a ticket for securing an income. However, not only do alternate livelihoods need to be provided for these populations, but more drug education needs to be taught in schools to educate the younger population of what these “golden tickets” really mean and what effects it can truly have on their lives. 

 

This post reflects the author’s personal opinions, not the opinions of Arizona Model United Nations.

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Don’t Forget International Mother Language Day!

February 20, 2013 in The World Today

By Aniket Maitra

We sometimes forget the holidays that we don’t get off. In the year 2000, the General Assembly recognized February 21st as International Mother Language Day. It’s a day we overlook but one that we should take a moment to recognize.

The origins of this holiday date back to a brutal cultural war between Bangladesh and Pakistan. In 1947, two countries raised their flags on two separate sides of a border that the British departed from. One country was named India, the other, Pakistan. But the story of Pakistan extends a bit further since it was in reality not one but two far apart geographic regions named West Pakistan and East Pakistan. You might wonder why you can’t find both on a map. That’s because West Pakistan became Pakistan and East Pakistan became Bangladesh. Both countries were established as the homeland of British India’s Muslim population. 

At the time of independence, however, the area of West Pakistan decided that Urdu would be the official language of all of Pakistan despite the fact their brothers in East Pakistan spoke their mother tongue of Bengali. When students at the University of Dhaka protested the forced imposition of an outside tongue, many were killed by the police in defense of one of their most basic fundamental rights. The bloodshed occurred on February 21, 1952.

This rallying movement for language recognition would continue for nearly two decades more as the Bengali people of East Pakistan sought independence in memory of the preservation of their language. In 1971, after a war that involved mainly three nations (India, West Pakistan, and East Pakistan), Bangladesh would be liberated from the oppressive reign of their former rulers and establish a country literally named Country of the Bengalis (“Bangla” meaning Bengali language or people and “Desh” meaning country).

It is in the martyrdom of these students who sacrificed their soul to preserve their mother language that we recognize this holiday. We also recognize it as one of the few moments in history when people fought not because of their ethnicity or religion, but because of their mother tongue.

The legacy, however, cannot be a remembrance of those that died for their mother language, but a remembrance perhaps of our own mother tongues. Whether it is one of the six official languages of the United Nations or whether it is a language spoken by our family, our community, or our nation, all languages deserve recognition on this day. Perhaps even a language we might even be learning right now. And last, we should even take a moment to recognize those languages that many governments around the world have not recognized because language is not only how we communicate but a definition of who are as individuals as well.

This post reflects the author’s personal opinions, not the opinions of Arizona Model United Nations.

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The Keystone Blackmail

February 18, 2013 in The World Today, United States

George Zornick

By Stewart Benson

Imagine a world where the United States and Canada are no longer allies. Previous brotherly excursions (the Second World War, invasion of Afghanistan) now rest in the past, the borders have restricted access, retaliatory tariff policies are enforced, and the Canadians won’t even buy our F-35 fighter jets. While it is probable that most of this will not come true, the Canadians are not guaranteeing anything as President Obama makes his decision regarding the Keystone Oil Pipeline. Thousands on each side of the issue have stated their case on the pipeline, and it is now left to the President to decide on allowing Canadian crude oil to travel through the U.S. or veto the project. Potentially tens of thousands of jobs, the development of the Canadian tar sands oil industry, having Canada as an economic partner and the destruction of the environment are at stake. President Obama will either cater to the industry advocates, the environmental advocates or somehow discover a plan to balance both of those interests.

 In Canada’s recent general election, a thoroughly conservative government came to power, with Prime Minister Stephen Harper as the leading voice in getting the Keystone pipeline getting approved. PM Harper hails from the province of Alberta, which happens to be his heavily conservative base and the home of the Canadian tar sands oil fields. Harper has made it clear that United States cooperation in creating the pipeline is essential, and refusing to do so would be recognized as “unneighborly” and would bring along retaliation. What this “retaliation” would involve remains unclear, but most likely involves retaliatory trade policies including refusal to purchase American fighter jets. This would not be the first time Harper and Obama have differed on the subject of oil production; Harper’s government has thoroughly rejected Obama’s concerns on climate change and withdrew from the Kyoto Protocol. If the U.S. rejects the pipeline, then Canada will be forced to search for other options, perhaps even with China. Development of the Canadian oil industry has serious potential benefits for the overall Canadian economy, and they have been pushing hard for the project to receive approval.

 However, President Obama must also look to his political base, which greatly disapproves of the Keystone pipeline. Several major environmental groups, including the Sierra Club, are greatly involved in the Obama administration and helped gather support for both of his campaigns. Ignoring his support base would be very surprising, and not a smart political move. Obama has also recently stated his administration’s plan on climate change during the Inauguration and the State of the Union Address, which favored development of renewable energy and less dependence on foreign oil. President Obama has made good on some of those promises already: the U.S. currently imports around 2.4 million barrels of oil daily from up North, and that’s more than twice what we import from Saudi Arabia. Will the draw of economic growth and jobs sway Obama to cater to the Canada oil industry, or will he stick true to his political base and focus on the longevity of the planet?

 It is proven that Canadian tar sand oil is some of the crudest and corrosive type of oil in the world, and environmentalists agree that its destructiveness on the grasslands and South of the United States could be incalculable. Canada is overproducing their oil currently, and adding an estimated 700,000 barrels of oil through the U.S. reaches past our point of consumption. Environmental scientists say that if the Keystone Pipeline is approved, production of greenhouse gas emissions will reach a “tipping point” level; in other words, the beginning of the end. This project is more important than simply adding jobs and stimulating the economy, it will test us to see if we truly can organize ourselves together, forget about business interests, and secure the long-term health of our planet. Freeing ourselves from the interests of the few in order for the betterment of the whole is how we defeat the growing effects of climate change, and vetoing the Keystone pipeline is the first step in that process.

This post reflects the author’s personal opinions, not the opinions of Arizona Model United Nations.

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Discussion needs to expand to more action

February 15, 2013 in Africa, The World Today

Photo from Toronto Star

By Razanne Chatila

It took one horrible crime to be the tipping point to spark a national controversy in South Africa on what actions are being taken to prevent and prosecute sexual crimes against women and children.

When news earlier this month of the gang-rape and murder of 17-year-old Anene Booysen, who was badly mutilated and left for dead on a building site in the town of Bredasdorp, 80 miles east of Cape Town, broke out, it sparked outrage by the South Africans and politicians alike. Boosyne who was found barely alive by a security guard the following day, was taken to the hospital where she managed to identify one of her rapists before dying of her injuries It seems to be an echo of another recent case, being compared to the gang-rape and murder of a 23-year-old student on a New Delhi bus that triggered huge demonstrations in India against endemic gender violence.

“When a very similar incident occurred in India recently, there was a massive outbreak of protest and mass demonstrations in the streets; it was a big story around the world,” said Patrick Craven, spokesman for the Congress of South African Trade Unions in a recent interview. “We must show the world that South Africans are no less angry at such crimes and make an equally loud statement of disgust and protest in the streets.”

Many rights groups complain that the reason rape crimes are still occurring is because it has been normalized in society and has lost the power to shock, especially in South Africa, and the statistics definitely emphasize this. In 2010-11, there were 56,272 rapes recorded in South Africa, which is an average of 154 a day. This is more than double the rate in India. According to a study in 2009, one in four South African men has admitted to having raped a woman. The last significant public outcry was a year ago when a 17-year-old mentally disabled girl from Soweto was gang raped by young men who videotaped her anguish and offered her the equivalent of 25 cents to keep quiet.

This time, however, it has garnered the attention of the South African president who called on the courts to “impose the harshest crimes, as part of a concerted campaign to end this scourge in our country.”

He further stated, “The whole nation is outraged at this extreme violation and destruction of a young human life. This act is shocking, cruel and most inhumane. It has no place in our country. We must never allow ourselves to get used to these acts of base criminality to our women and children.”

Many criticize the lack of action taken by the government and have accused the government of neglecting the issue of rape and violence against women. This lack of initiative has also raised international concern as the top human rights official at the United Nations, Navi Pillay, says the scourge of rape in South Africa must be addressed in a “macro fashion in order to find the root causes.” She emphasized the U.N. stance that the primary responsibility of protecting civilians, including from rape, lies in the hands of the state. As such, she commented on South Africa’s approach and praised the law but objected on the lack of implementation, connecting it to the endemic societal patriarchy. Also noting the need to open up the discussion to all citizens, women and men alike should pick up ideas and share solutions in order to change a culture where discrimination and violence against women is condemned, and where punishment is duly given.

 

This post reflects the author’s personal opinions, not the opinions of Arizona Model United Nations.

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