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Weekly anb08291.txt #7

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WEEKLY NEWS ISSUE of: 29-08-2002      PART #1/7
* Africa. EU refuses to back GM food for Africa - On 22 August, the European Union rejected a plea by Washington to give assurances to drought-stricken southern African countries about the safety of genetically modified emergency food relief. The US State Department had urged the EU to assure African states that biotech food supplies were safe, and should be distributed immediately to the millions of hungry people in the region. The dispute has erupted on the eve of the United Nations World Summit on Sustainable Development, to be held in Johannesburg, which is expected to address southern Africa's increasing vulnerability to famine as a top priority. But some non-governmental organisations believe the US is using Africa's poverty to gain greater international acceptance for GM food. Zimbabwe, Zambia and Mozambique have turned away food relief shipments of GM grain. They fear that if it finds its way into their agricultural systems it could blight their crop and livestock exports, particularly to the EU. They also believe the food may be harmful to their people. "We do not intend to get involved in what is a discussion between some of the countries of southern Africa and the US," said European Commission spokesman Michael Curtis. "It is our position that they have to sort this out for themselves." Commission officials say the US could have solved any problems by buying food-aid maize locally, as does the EU, to provide countries with non-GM maize, or by milling corn so it cannot take root. (Financial Times, UK, 23 August 2002)
* Africa. Children are the hardest hit by HIV and hunger - UNICEF will encourage pharmaceutical companies to help Africa slow the spread of HIV from mother to child and to make drug therapy affordable, executive director Carol Bellamy said on 25 August. Bellamy told Reuters at the start of a two-day visit to Zambia that millions of children in one of the world's poorest regions would bear the brunt of the spreading HIV/AIDS pandemic, exacerbated by a food crisis and a shortage of clean water. "(Hunger) is exacerbated by the widespread presence of HIV/AIDS, poverty and the long-term effects of poor water levels," Bellamy said. "We at UNICEF are trying to look at how we can help to provide clean water in schools and dig wells," she said. (CNN, USA, 25 August 2002)
* Africa. The "McAfrika Burger" riles aid groups - Humanitarian groups have criticised McDonalds for a new sandwich called the McAfrika, saying the offering is poorly timed because millions of Africans are facing starvation. But on 26 August, aid officials welcomed an agreement by the fast-food restaurant chain to inform customers about the potential famine in southern Africa and tell them how they can help, Tarje Wanvik of the group Norwegian Church Aid said on 26 August. McDonalds was stung by bad publicity in the Norwegian media last week when it announced that the new sandwich, made of beef and vegetables and wrapped in pita bread, will be sold in 15 restaurants in Oslo. The sandwich was advertised as being based on African recipes. "There was nothing wrong with the name. It was the timing,"Wanvik said. "They launched it just as a famine in Africa is starting". McDonalds Norway spokesperson said McDonalds was "very happy with the solution that was reached". (CNN, USA, 26 August 2002)
* Afrique. Le rapport de Transparency International - Pour la huitième année consécutive, l'organisation internationale non gouvernementale de lutte contre la corruption Transparency International a publié son indicateur de corruption, au terme d'une étude portant cette année sur le nombre record de 102 pays. Cet Indice de Perceptions de la Corruption 2002 révèle que 70% des Etats passés au crible obtiennent moins de 5 points, sur un score de 10 points. En d'autres termes, la corruption est perçue comme gangrenant la société dans plus des deux tiers des pays étudiés. Les situations les plus inquiétantes sont relevées en Indonésie, au Kenya, en Angola, à Madagascar, au Paraguay, au Nigeria et au Bangladesh, qui enregistrent moins de 2 points. A l'inverse, certains pays parmi les plus riches du monde, comme la Finlande, le Danemark, la Nouvelle-Zélande, Singapour ou encore la Suède, atteignent 9 points ou plus, témoignant de très bas niveaux perçus de corruption. Avant de partir pour le sommet de Johannesburg, le président de Transparency International, Peter Eigen, a souligné que "la corruption est extrêmement élevée dans les régions pauvres du monde, mais également dans beaucoup de pays dont les sociétés investissent dans les pays en voie de développement". (Les Echos, France, 28 août 2002 -www.lesechos.fr)
* Africa. Tackling corruption - Corruption is worsening in many industrialised and developing countries, according to a closely-watched league table published today. This year's corruption perceptions index, compiled by the Berlin-based watchdog Transparency International, shows that about 70 of the 102 countries listed scored fewer than five out of the possible 10 points allocated to "highly clean" countries. Last year 55 of the 91 countries listed scored fewer than five points. Peter Eigen, Transparency International chairman, said: "The picture of widespread corruption is continuing, with public officials misusing their power to corrupt ends." Mr Eigen said several countries, including Slovenia and Russia, had improved their standing this year. "Slovenia is the leading European Union membership candidate when it comes to tackling corruption," he said, now outranking EU members Italy and Greece. Russia's fight against corruption was welcomed, although Mr Eigen was cautious about reading too much into it until anti-money laundering and other laws became fully established. Bangladesh was listed as the most corrupt country, followed by Nigeria, Paraguay, Madagascar, Angola, and Kenya. Among developing countries, Botswana and Namibia had done well, he said. (Financial Times, UK, 28/29 August 2002)
* Afrique. Sommet de la Terre - Du 26 août au 4 septembre, se tient à Johannesburg (Afrique du Sud) le plus grand sommet de l'histoire des Nations unies, qui rassemblera 189 pays, représentés par plus de 100 chefs d'Etat et de gouvernement et quelque 7.000 ONG engagées dans un contre-sommet. L'ambition de Johannesburg: améliorer la qualité de la vie sur terre en tenant compte des trois dimensions économique, environnementale et sociale. Cette volonté englobe à la fois la mise en oeuvre des 2.500 recommandations de l'agenda 21 du sommet de Rio, des objectifs du Millénaire sur la réduction de la pauvreté et des cinq priorités fixées par les Nations unies (eau, énergie, agriculture, santé et biodiversité). Mais l'ébauche du plan demeure un catalogue d'intentions sans engagements précis. Les dernières négociations à Bali, en juin, se sont soldées par un échec. Et l'absence délibérée du président américain Bush est de mauvaise augure. De son côté, dans une note du 27 août, le correspondant du Monde souligne le coût du Sommet qui, estime-t-il, coûtera à l'Afrique du Sud 33 millions d'euros et à l'ONU 47 millions d'euros, soit au total 80 millions d'euros. Cette somme représente 67% des dépenses de santé du Mali (11 euros pour chacun des 11 millions d'habitants, selon la Banque mondiale), ou encore le raccordement à l'eau potable de 80.000 personnes dans une ville telle que La Paz (Bolivie) ou Manille (Philippines), selon la firme Ondeo. La partie sud-africaine des dépenses d'organisation de la conférence est assurée par une compagnie privée, la Johannesburg World Summit Company, qui a trouvé l'essentiel de ses fonds auprès de grandes entreprises locales comme Eskom, South African Airways ou la Standard Bank. -- 27 août. Au lendemain de l'inauguration du sommet, on a abordé un des dossiers les plus brûlants des négociations: les subventions accordées par les pays riches, notamment à leurs agriculteurs. A quoi bon en effet, aider les pays en développement, si c'est pour neutraliser cette aide financière par des subventions agricoles, dont le montant total ($350 milliards) est six fois plus élevé? Combinées aux barrières douanières, ces mesures disqualifient les produits des pays pauvres. La disparition de ces subventions à l'échelle de la planète entraînerait, estime Oxfam, un afflux de 100 milliards de dollars vers les pays en développement. La question est particulièrement vitale pour l'Afrique, puisque l'agriculture y représente entre une quart et les deux tiers de sa production. Mais ni les Etats-Unis, ni l'Union européenne ne semblent disposés à faire évoluer leurs positions. -- 28 août. Le sommet a commencé par les discussions sur l'eau, dont un cinquième de l'humanité est encore privé. 1,3 milliard d'humains n'ont pas accès à l'eau potable. L'eau contaminée tue chaque année 5 millions d'habitants, davantage que le sida. Mais à l'instar de la plupart des grands dossiers mis sur la table des négociations, celui de l'eau est, sans surprise, loin de faire l'unanimité. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 29 août 2002)
* Africa. World Summit on Sustainable Development - 23 August: Police in South Africa have arrested at least 77 people campaigning for landless people's rights in the run-up to next week's World Summit on Sustainable Development. In a related case, an American land rights campaigner was arrested when she tried to visit the detainees at a Johannesburg police station. The authorities say they intend to deport the woman -- Ann Eveleth -- for immigration offenses. The arrests followed a demonstration in the city on 21 August, attended by about two-thousand people. -- About 20,000 delegates have registered to attend a week of briefings, debates and conferences, centred around sustainable development. Estimates are that at least 60,000 people will file through the Sandton Convention Centre, which will become UN territory on 25 August. Day One --26 August: The World Summit officially gets under way in Johannesburg today, with negotiators still said to be far apart on a plan of action to present to the heads of state and government arriving next week. Delegates are trying to settle major differences between rich and poor nations over issues such as trade, which environmentalists say are a distraction from the real business of the summit. The 10-day conference aims to reach agreement on reducing poverty in developing nations by fuelling environmentally friendly economic growth. South African President Thabo Mbeki welcomed guests yesterday after a musical extravaganza by comparing the gap between the rich and poor with the now-defunct apartheid regime in his own country. "Out of Johannesburg and out of Africa must emerge something new that takes the world forward away from the entrenchment of global apartheid to the realisation of goals of sustainable development," he said. Mr Mbeki also played down pessimism about the summit's chances of success, saying it was time for "hope, not despair". While clashes between police and demonstrators at the weekend did not spoil the inauguration party yesterday, there are fears of further unrest during the week. Today, President Thabo Mbeki calls for greater solidarity with the world's poor. He tells the first session that "a global human society... characterised by islands of wealth, surrounded by a sea of poverty, is unsustainable". Day Two -- 27 August: Agriculture heads the agenda for the second day of debate. Intense negotiations, however, are continuing behind closed doors on several contentious issues, including the use of cleaner energy and access to clean water for the developing world. Summit delegates heard a call on Monday from South Africa's President Mbeki for them to come up with practical ways of tackling poverty and ending a world order based on the "survival of the fittest". Debates on health and biodiversity also began on Monday for the 40,000 delegates set to stay in Johannesburg for another nine days. It is already apparent that the broad agenda of this summit is creating almost endless scope for disagreements and is also making consensus very difficult to achieve. Delegates from the European Union have complained that their American counterparts are not prepared to sign up to specific targets on issues such as energy and water, arguing that instead of new targets countries should try to keep to existing commitments. -- Researchers at the science and technology forum at the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg call for a new "cold war" on climate change. The call comes after delegates reached agreement on ways to tackle the world's fisheries crisis. US researcher Berrien Moore said that political interests had dominated research agendas on climate change for too long. He added that the irreversible changes humans had wrought on the environment, including the felling of large swathes of forests, meant that policy makers could no longer ignore the dangers. The fisheries deal -- the first substantial one reached at the summit -- envisages restoring most of the major global fisheries to commercial health by 2015. Day Three -- 28 August: Nelson Mandela urges politicians to make access to clean water a basic human right, and to put water and sanitation much higher up the political, economic and social agenda. The UN says the lack of fresh water and sanitation is the greatest obstacle to sustainable development and the most visible symbol of the growing gap between the rich and the poor. -- World business leaders launch a programme to promote grater investment by multinationals in developing countries. Day Four -- 29 August: Western Governments at the Summit are due to announce a series of partnerships with businesses and communities in developing countries. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 29 August 2002)
* Africa/USA. Bush to offer $4 billion in health and economic aid - The Bush administration, seeking to soften the blow of President George W. Bush's decision to skip a global development meeting starting next week in South Africa, will propose spending more than $4 billion over the next several years to improve health and economic development in Africa, officials say. The money, much of it diverted from existing programs, is on top of a separate proposal to provide as much as $5 billion a year to developing countries that adopt sound economic policies and attack corruption. Officials said Wednesday that the new proposals to reduce disease, provide clean water and conserve resources were part of a broader plan to work closely with developing nations to provide the foundation for greater prosperity. "We've begun a process months before in which we have placed a premium on partnerships; partnerships among governments, among governments and the private sector," Undersecretary of State Paula Dobriansky said. Secretary of State Colin Powell will lead the US delegation to the UN-sponsored World Summit on Sustainable Development --though just for the last two days of the 10-day conference --before heading to Angola and Gabon. (Int. Herald Tribune, USA, 23 August 2002) 

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