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Category: Child Poverty

  • MIL-OSI Global: Why Donald Trump’s trade tariffs are a threat to global food security

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Lotanna Emediegwu, Senior Lecturer in Economics, Manchester Metropolitan University

    Billion Photos/Shutterstock

    Donald Trump’s tariffs will make many things more expensive for his fellow US citizens. The price of imported cars, building materials and some tech will go up – and so will the cost of the food on American dining tables.

    The US currently imports around 16% of its food supply, with a large proportion of its fruit and vegetables coming from countries now hit by tariffs.

    Mexico stands out. It supplies over half the fresh fruit and nearly 70% of the fresh vegetables consumed in the US.

    And even when it comes to home grown produce, the US still depends on imported fertiliser for its crops, with Canada providing up to 85% of its neighbour’s supply.

    So grocery bills for American families, especially for fresh produce (and processed foods dependent on foreign ingredients) will get higher. But there will also be a noticeable effect on food prices outside the US.

    The consequences could be particularly serious for developing economies that rely on stable international prices to secure affordable food imports. The prices of many global staples including maize, wheat and soybeans are benchmarked against US markets so when disruptions occur, they reverberate globally.

    Research I conducted with a colleague found that when international prices are disturbed, local food prices, especially in developing countries, go up.

    Take global maize prices, which this year rose by 7% between April 2 (Trump’s “liberation day”) and April 11. Our study suggests this will immediately lead to a similar increase in local maize prices in places like sub-Saharan Africa.

    This is where many of the world’s poorest people live, with hundreds of millions in households earning below the World Bank’s poverty line of US$2.15 (£1.61) per day. When much of that income is spent on food, a 7% increase in the price of maize could be devastating.

    Growth market

    According to another study, tariffs on agricultural products such as fertiliser will increase global production costs, potentially lowering crop yields and worsening food insecurity.

    While the US has reduced tariffs on Canadian potash from 25% to 10%, other fertiliser producers face steeper levels (up to 28% for another major exporter, Tunisia, before Trump’s reciprocal tariffs were paused).

    This is especially worrying for agriculture in countries like Brazil, India and Nigeria, which are still reeling from fertiliser shortages caused by the war between Russia and Ukraine. As with food costs, US tariffs are likely to drive up prices in the global fertiliser market, making it more expensive for everyone, everywhere.

    And when the cost of farming rises, crop production can suffer. This could significantly weaken food production in developing countries that are already battling climate change and volatile markets.

    Another study I conducted found that countries such as the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Somalia – already struggling with food insecurity – are among the most vulnerable to local food price shocks. These economies depend heavily on food imports and face high exposure to currency fluctuations and transport costs.

    A banana field in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
    giulio napolitano/Shutterstock

    If the trade war escalates, farmers in these regions may be forced to abandon staple crops for cash commodities such as cocoa or coffee, deepening their reliance on volatile global markets and reducing their food self-sufficiency. Global inequality will worsen unless things change.

    One option would be to protect essential agricultural imports, especially fertilizers and staple foods, from punitive tariffs. This would stabilise prices and protect vulnerable economies. The recently announced 90-day pause for negotiations offers a glimmer of hope, but it must be used wisely to build a more equitable trading system.

    In the long term, developing countries need to bolster the resilience of their food systems. My research recommends investing heavily in mechanised agriculture which is resilient to climate change, incentivising farmers with government support, and strengthening regional trade.

    The global food system is heavily interconnected. Decisions made in Washington can quickly affect food prices in Lagos, Cairo and New Delhi. And if tariffs go unchecked, they may unleash a silent and subtle crisis – one measured not in GDP, but in millions of empty stomachs.

    Lotanna Emediegwu does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. Why Donald Trump’s trade tariffs are a threat to global food security – https://theconversation.com/why-donald-trumps-trade-tariffs-are-a-threat-to-global-food-security-255064

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: Thirty years of WTO accessions

    Source: World Trade Organization

    Since its establishment on 1 January 1995 to oversee the multilateral trade agreements negotiated by its 128 original members, the WTO has seen an ongoing expansion of its membership and continued interest from many economies seeking to join the organization. As a result, the percentage of world trade accounted for by WTO members has risen from 87 per cent in 1995 to over 98 per cent today.

    Over the past 30 years, 60 countries and customs territories have applied for accession to the WTO. Of these, 38 have completed the process, bringing the WTO’s total membership to 166. Meanwhile, 22 economies are currently at various stages of negotiating their accession.

    Although those seeking to join the WTO have followed similar paths of economic reform, WTO accession processes have varied significantly. Some completed the process relatively quickly – for example, after just three to four years of negotiations, the Kyrgyz Republic and Oman joined the WTO, in 1998 and in 2000, respectively. Others, such as Kazakhstan and Seychelles, spent nearly two decades in accession talks before becoming members, both in 2015. These longer timelines reflect the evolving nature of the accession process.

    Unlike accessions in the era of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), WTO accessions require far-reaching structural reforms that go well beyond traditional trade-opening, often encompassing multiple sectors of the acceding economy. Moreover, the process demands a thorough understanding of the applicant’s economic systems, policy frameworks and reform priorities, which must be underpinned by broad-based domestic consensus.

    Why, then, do governments choose to undertake the rigorous demands of WTO accession? For many, the answer lies in a desire to modernize institutions and regulatory practices, enhance the business environment and attract foreign direct investment. These motivations often go hand-in-hand with broader national goals, including market-oriented reforms, poverty reduction and sustainable development.

    Market-opening and structural reforms, for instance, have been central to the evolution of many economies. Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia in 1991, international trade played a pivotal role in transforming the economies of the newly independent states and in strengthening their ties with the global economy. WTO membership served as a powerful vehicle for the modernization of these economies, as well as of other formerly centrally planned economies, such as China and Viet Nam.

    In addition, least-developed countries (LDCs), beginning with Cambodia and Nepal in 2004, and most recently Comoros and Timor-Leste in 2024 – making a total of 11 LDC accessions to date – have used the accession process to lay the foundations for poverty reduction and sustainable economic growth.

    In the cases of Cabo Verde, Samoa and Vanuatu, WTO membership was soon followed by graduation from LDC status (in 2008, 2014 and 2020, respectively). For others, including the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Nepal and Cambodia, graduation is expected before the end of this decade.

    As many LDCs began their accession processes while classified as “fragile and conflict-affected states”, WTO membership has also played an important role in reshaping perceptions of their economic and development potential.

    Recently, WTO economists quantified the economic impact of undertaking the robust commitments required for WTO accession. Their analysis found that economies implementing reforms and making deeper commitments during accession negotiations grew an average of 1.5 percentage points faster than they otherwise would have done. A review of both completed and ongoing accessions underscores that the WTO accession process serves as a catalyst for domestic reform, helping to create an enabling environment for economic resilience and sustainable growth.

    In the same way that WTO accessions have anchored domestic transformations, accessions have also benefitted the global trading system. Through accessions, the percentage of world trade accounted for by WTO members has risen from 87 per cent in 1995 to over 98 per cent today.

    Despite the proliferation of free trade agreements and the sharp rise in tariff barriers, the vast majority of this trade – still more than 70 per cent – continues to be conducted under the WTO’s most-favoured-nation (MFN) principles. This has promoted the integration of global supply chains and, in so doing, has lowered trading costs for all WTO members.

    The scope of the WTO can also be measured in terms of population. At the time when the WTO was established, the original members represented just 69 per cent of the world’s population. Today, thanks to the accession of new members, that share has risen to 94 per cent. In other words, over the past 30 years, the WTO has extended its reach to an additional 2 billion people – further strengthening the inclusiveness and global relevance of the multilateral trading system.

    Beyond their individual reforms, economies that have joined the WTO since 1995 have made substantial systemic contributions to the WTO. Each accession prompts existing members to reflect on how best to uphold and advance the WTO’s core values. As a result, accessions have repeatedly helped to deepen, clarify and modernize existing disciplines.

    Collectively, acceded members have added more than 1,500 legally binding commitments to the WTO rulebook. These commitments – coupled with guarantees for deeper access to their domestic markets for goods and services – have made the WTO stronger, more dynamic and more responsive to evolving global trade realities.

    In key areas, such as domestic support in agriculture and the regulation of state-owned enterprises, members who have joined over the past 30 years have often taken on more comprehensive and detailed commitments, reflecting an evolution of obligations in relation to existing WTO norms. In several areas – notably trade facilitation, tariff rate quotas and export subsidies – accession negotiations have also achieved concrete results years before the emergence of multilateral trade disciplines, demonstrating the forward-looking nature of the accession process.

    In the area of transparency alone, acceded members have adopted over 250 specific commitments. Some of these members could even be considered to be “transparency champions”, given that they have submitted extensive notifications to the WTO about their trade measures – including in areas where original members have been less forthcoming, or where multilateral disciplines do not yet exist, such as the notification of privatization programmes.

    Today, 30 years after the establishment of the WTO, acceded members account for more than one-fifth of its total membership. Accessions are a force for change – driving re-examinations of the WTO rulebook, steering the trading system away from complacency, and challenging original members to match the benchmarks set by the newer members. This has been especially relevant in recent years, as the multilateral trading system has been facing mounting pressure.
    Acceding members offer a source of hope for the future of the trading system. Even amid global uncertainty and growing challenges, many of them have remained actively engaged, recognizing that no economy’s prosperity is secure in isolation, however large or small that economy might be.

    The admission of new members has been a true success story, but work on WTO accessions is far from complete. Twenty-two governments – a diverse group, whose future membership will further enrich the WTO – remain in the process of accession.

    As an institution, the WTO will try to support these governments by providing targeted technical assistance and capacity-building. As always, a key area of focus will be the accession of the remaining LDCs, all of which are also classified as fragile and conflict-affected states. Supporting these countries in their WTO accession processes, through dedicated programmes and tailored approaches, can serve as a catalyst for economic reform, institution-building and integration into the global trading system. Over time, this can also help to foster lasting stability and peace and to establish a gradual pathway out of fragility and toward greater resilience.

    Over the years, it has become increasingly clear that integration into the multilateral trading system does not end on the date of an economy’s accession. Indeed, the immediate post-accession period presents a distinct set of challenges – particularly for governments with limited institutional and administrative capacity.

    While the WTO recognizes the need for sustained support during this critical phase – when newly acceded members are often required to implement further domestic reforms to fulfil their WTO commitments – it has yet to develop robust institutional mechanisms to provide targeted support during this period. There is scope for improvement in this area, and especially in supporting the effective integration of recently acceded LDCs.

    Thirty years since the establishment of the WTO, accessions continue to renew and enrich the organization. As new members continue to bring fresh perspectives and commitment to the multilateral trading system, WTO accessions will remain a powerful force for reform, international cooperation and global economic integration.

    MIL OSI Economics –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Speech to Tauranga Business Chamber: The Case For a Smaller, Focused Executive

    Source: ACT Party

    Speech to Tauranga Business Chamber: The Case For a Smaller, Focused Executive

    Intro

    The term of Government is nearing half time, when we should be reviewing the first half and planning the second.

    I believe the Government can point to significant progress, and this is reflected in us maintaining a lead in the polls despite tough economic times.

    Inflation and interest rates have been beaten back. Government doesn’t control every factor influencing them, but we can control our own spending. The Government’s commitment to spend less, and maintaining that discipline over four years has helped win the war on inflation and interest rates. This week’s announcement that we will come in $1.1 billion under the allowance this year is a very positive development.

    The priority in crime has switched from criminals to victims. There is nothing wrong with rehabilitating criminals to reduce crime, and save money on imprisonment. There is a big problem, however, with seeing the gangs as partners, a lower prison muster as a goal in itself, and spending more on pre-sentencing reports for convicted criminals than victim support.

    Across the board we have made innocent people the priority and criminals the target. Gangs are no longer partners to the Government, Three Strikes is back, and the expansion of prisoner rights will be reversed, to name just a few. As a result, violent crime is falling and we’re not finished yet.

    In healthcare the prescription is very simple and very complex all at once. What we need to do is stabilise years of restructuring and chaos so that New Zealanders get value for money. The health budget is up 67 per cent, from $18 billion in 2019 to $30 billion six years later. The complex part is unblocking the myriad issues that make the system so frustratingly unproductive.

    Finally the Government has taken many steps to restore our country’s commitment to liberal democracy. The liberal part means all people are equal, regardless of their immutable characteristics. The democratic part means each person gets an equal say on the wielding of political power, or one person, one vote. These are uneasy conversations, but essential ones. We have problems to solve and they’re easier solved together as a people united by our common humanity than divided by identity politics.

    Half time talk

    Any good half time team talk, though, should be warts and all. Have we done well? I claim we have. Is it time to declare victory? Far too early? Could we do better? Absolutely, and here’s one way we might do better in the future.

    I often hear the change is too slow. People look at Donald Trump, Elon Musk, Javier Milei and ask, why don’t you just change things faster like them?

    Part of the reason that we are not a dictatorship, with all the power in one office. That’s a good thing. Power in New Zealand rests in many institutions. There are boards, like the board of Pharmac. There are councils, such as in universities. There are individuals’ statutory positions, such as the privacy commissioner. All of these are there thanks to parliamentary laws, which take time to change. Unless you’re Che Guevara, you probably want a stable, thoughtful political system that consults people affected by its changes and governs by consent.

    On the other hand, it’s time to start planning play even better in the future. Today I’d like to float an idea about how we could transform government management and get better results for the people who pay for it.

    The suggestion I’m making changes the way we think about government. At the moment it’s supposed to be something that can solve all your problems – although the track record is not good.

    Like any business, it needs to be an organisation focused on running itself well first. It is something that a determined manager would do as the first order of business, getting the right people in the right seats on the bus before setting off on the journey, so to speak.

    It’s also about tackling head on the lingering feeling in New Zealand of paralysis by analysis, that NOTHING GETS DONE, because there’s too much hui and not enough dui. Everyone is always consulting someone to make sure nobody’s feelings would be hurt if, hypothetically, anybody ever actually did anything.

    Our current set up of government, that has evolved over the past 25 years, seems to be an example of our national paralysis.

    The idea I’m about to share may seem a little like shuffling deckchairs, but it’s more like pass the parcel, because it involves seriously reducing the number of seats. It goes like this.

    Untangling Spaghetti

    Here’s a simple question. Each government minister has specific areas of responsibility assigned to them called portfolios. How many ministerial portfolios do you think New Zealand has today? 40? 60?

    Well, don’t feel too bad if you’re well off the mark. The truth is, most people wouldn’t know. And frankly, most wouldn’t believe it if I told them.

    We currently have 82 ministerial portfolios. Yes, you heard that right. Eighty-two.

    Those 82 portfolios are held by 28 ministers. And under them, we have 41 separate government departments. That’s a big, complicated bureaucratic beast. It’s hungry for taxpayer money and it’s paid for by you.

    Let’s put this in perspective.

    Ireland, with roughly five million people, has a constitutional maximum of 15 Ministers managing 18 portfolios.

    And yet, somehow, the Irish have managed to keep the lights on, run hospitals, fund schools, maintain roads, and defend their borders without 82 portfolios, 28 ministers, or 41 government departments.

    In fact, they’ve done much better than us on most measures this century. That’s not in spite of having simpler government, I suspect it’s because they have it.

    If we look further abroad, the comparison is even more stark.

    South Korea, with a population of 52 million, has 18 Ministers. The United Kingdom, with 67 million people, has around 22. The United States, with over 330 million citizens, runs a Cabinet of about 25.

    By comparison, New Zealand’s executive looks bloated.

    Now I recognise these countries have different political systems. But that doesn’t mean we should accept inefficiency as inevitable. It certainly doesn’t mean we should celebrate it.

    Something has to change. That means fewer portfolios, fewer ministers, and fewer departments. Sure, that might put me and a few of my colleagues out of a job. But if that’s the price of having a government that delivers core services efficiently and gives taxpayers real value for money, then it’s worth it.

    It wasn’t always this way.

    New Zealand once had a lean cabinet. Sixteen ministers all sat at the same table. Each responsible for one or two departments. You were the Minister of Police. That was your job. Everyone knew who was accountable.

    Then came the 1990s and the dawn of MMP.

    Suddenly, governments needed to bring in coalition partners. The idea of ministers outside cabinet was invented. These were people with the title but not the seat at the table. Four of those ministers were created initially. That brought the total number to 20.

    A few years later, Helen Clark came along and took things further. Her government had 20 cabinet ministers and eight Ministers outside cabinet. 28 in total. And it’s stayed around that number ever since.

    With such a large executive, coordinating work programmes and communicating between ministers inside and outside cabinet is difficult, and as a result governments run the risk of drifting.

    Some departments now report to a dozen ministers or more.

    Officials at MBIE report to 19 different ministers. When you have 19 ministers responsible for one department, the department itself becomes the most powerful player in the room. Bureaucrats face ministers with competing priorities, unclear mandates, and often little subject matter expertise. The result? Nothing happens. Or worse, everything happens, badly. There’s a wonderful line in a report by the New Zealand Initiative: “Confusion empowers the bureaucracy.”

    The size of the executive might have stabilised, but the number of portfolios has exploded.

    It used to be roughly a one-to-one equation between a minister and a department. Now ministers hold three or four portfolios each.

    There are portfolios without a specific department, including Racing, Hospitality, Auckland, the South Island, Hunting and Fishing, the Voluntary Sector, and Space, just to name a few of the 82 portfolios that now exist. We have to ask ourselves, do we need a Government Minister overseeing each of these areas?

    I’m not saying those aren’t important communities. What I am saying is that creating a portfolio or a department named after the community is completely different from running a real department to deliver a service. It’s not a substitute for good policy. It’s not proof of delivery.

    It is an easy political gesture though. The cynics among us would say it’s symbolism. Governments want to show they care about an issue, so they create a portfolio to match. A Minister gets a title, and voters are told in the most obvious way possible that it is a priority.

    Take the Child Poverty Reduction portfolio under the Ardern Government. It came after Jacinda Ardern made child poverty her raison d’être. Creating the portfolio was a way to show she meant business. But five years later, has the creation of the portfolio improved the rate of child poverty? Were children better off because of a new Minister for Child Poverty Reduction?

    We all know the answer. Child poverty rates plateaued and New Zealand is still grappling with the same problems. At the time, only ACT had the courage to say this and to vote against the Child Poverty Reduction Act, because we knew it was window dressing.

    I’m proud to be part of a government that believes the path out of poverty isn’t paved by political slogans but better school attendance and achievement, making it easier to develop resources and build homes, getting more investment into New Zealand, and ending open-ended welfare in favour of mutual obligation.

    Deep down I think we all know that the only true path out of poverty is building the individual’s capacity to provide for themselves and their family. There are no examples of anyone escaping poverty though dependence on their fellow citizens.

    I know that if I start talking about specific ministries, people will start talking about the examples and the politics of who survives and who is cancelled and so on. Let me just say that I’ve been through the current list and I believe we could easily get to 30 departments.

    Now, some people might be thinking, hang on, didn’t you just create the Ministry for Regulation? Yes, I did. And here’s why it matters.

    Because government doesn’t just spend and tax. It also regulates. It restricts what people can do with their property. It dictates what can be built, where, how, and by whom. In fact, everything government does is either tax your money or put rules on the property it hasn’t taxed yet. That’s it. Try to think of something government does that isn’t either a) taxing and spending your money or b) making rules about what you can do with your remaining property.

    And yet, until now, there was no central department looking at the cumulative effect of regulation. No one asking whether the rules were achieving their goals or just stacking up and strangling productivity in red tape.

    The Ministry for Regulation is one of just five central agencies in government. It was created not to grow bureaucracy, but to hold the bureaucracy accountable.

    We don’t need more Ministers, we need fewer. But we also need smarter government. And that means focusing on what matters

    Portfolios shouldn’t be handed out like participation trophies. There’s no benefit to having ministers juggling three or four unrelated jobs and doing none of them well.

    Take Nanaia Mahuta. She was Minister for Foreign Affairs and Local Government. Two large, complex areas. It’s not uncommon for a Minister to fail at one of their major portfolios when performing this juggling act. She managed to be equally bad at both.

    Ministers should have a remit over a single, clearly defined, policy area. Stretching ministers across multiple, disparate areas of complex policy empowers the bureaucracy because there will always be a knowledge gap where ministers are overly dependent on the bureaucrats. This situation empowers the Wellington bureaucracy.

    That’s how they get away with spending your taxes with little accountability. Take Labour’s health restructure as an example. There’s no doubt our health system needed change, it clearly still does, and this government is working hard to address this. However, the change it needed was never to create more enormous, tax-absorbing bureaucracies with little explanation of how they would change things for you. That’s what Labour delivered.

    There was never any evidence that the creation of the Māori Health Authority and Health NZ was going to have any positive impact. Labour politicians simply knew that health was a big issue and Māori health in particular has appalling statistics.

    Progress would be figuring out the underlying causes and addressing them with evidence-based policy, like this Government has done with its changes to bowel screening ages. However, it was easier to publicise a glitzy administrative reform that cost billions. It’s decisions like this that mean our next budget is going to be so tight, and getting a doctor’s appointment is still just as difficult as it was before the change.

    They burnt billions of dollars shuffling deck chairs, restructuring, and creating the divisive and ineffective Māori Health Authority. We even got to the point where a call to Healthline, New Zealand’s primary telehealth service, began by asking patients’ ethnicity. A voice would say, “If you are Māori and would like to speak to a Māori clinician, please press 1. Alternatively, please stay on the line with Healthline who will triage your call.”

    I’m pleased our government is now prioritising workforce training, development, and retention. It doesn’t grab as many headlines, but it’s more likely to provide another GP down the road, train another mental health nurse, or deliver a midwife to rural New Zealand. We’re unwinding the divisive race-based categorising that was so prevalent. The goal must be to treat people first, as human beings, and to not make assumptions of people based on their background.

    You could say that the health reforms were just bad policy by Wellington’s prospective Mayor Andrew Little, who despite that disaster is somehow an improvement on the current Wellington Mayor.

    But I’d say that the size of the bureaucracy was as much the culprit for the health reforms. They write the memos. They draft the advice. When a minister isn’t providing leadership, they decide the pace and direction of reform, if reform happens at all. When no one is clearly responsible, the only people left standing are the officials. Because if you want to know why it’s so hard to shrink government, why red tape keeps piling up, and why reform feels impossible it’s because no one is really in charge and the bureaucracy is too big to pull itself into line.

    That’s not how a democratic system should function.

    Now, for the first time, ACT is at the centre of government.

    We didn’t set the table, but we’re sitting at it. If we could set it, there would be a lot fewer placemats.

    Here’s how we’d do it:

    • Only 20 Ministers, with no ministers outside cabinet
    • No associate ministers, except in finance
    • Abolish ‘portfolios’, there’s either a department or there’s not
    • Reduce the number of departments to 30 by merging them and removing low-value functions
    • Ensure each department is overseen by only one minister
    • Up to eight under-secretaries supporting the busiest ministers, effectively a training ground for future cabinet ministers

    Some simple rules to improve the way government works.

    This wouldn’t just act as a structural reform, but as a philosophical one.

    It’s a shift away from the idea that the government exists to solve every problem by creating a minister named after it. And towards a view that the government’s job is to manage your money responsibly and provide core public services that allow you to go about your life, respecting your property rights

    That’s it. That’s enough.

    I think we could easily cut the number of portfolios in half, while reducing the number of ministers by eight. Bringing cabinet back to a scale that is manageable, focused, and accountable.

    New Zealanders deserve better than bloated bureaucracy and meaningless titles. They deserve a government that respects them enough to be efficient.

    New Zealanders don’t need 82 portfolios to live better lives. They just need a government that does its job, and then gets out of their way.

    I’m looking forward to the second half, and floating more ideas like this as we plan for a better tomorrow.

    Thank you.

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-OSI China: Chinese vice premier urges efforts to consolidate poverty alleviation achievements, prevent agricultural disasters

    Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News

    Chinese vice premier urges efforts to consolidate poverty alleviation achievements, prevent agricultural disasters

    ZHENGZHOU, April 30 — Chinese Vice Premier Liu Guozhong has urged sustained poverty alleviation efforts, and emphasized the need to fully implement agricultural disaster prevention and mitigation measures to secure a bumper summer grain harvest.

    Liu, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, made the remarks during a research trip to the provinces of Shaanxi and Henan which took place from Monday to Wednesday.

    In Shangluo City of Shaanxi, he called for targeted measures to boost industries with distinctive local features and advantages to create job opportunities and enrich farmers.

    As winter wheat is in a critical period of growth that will affect the year’s output, he went to the fields in Weinan City of Shaanxi and Luoyang City of Henan, urging strengthened technical guidance and precise irrigation to minimize the impact of drought. He also stressed the importance of enhancing weather forecasting and early warning services and guarding against potential disasters such as plant diseases and insect pests to secure a bumper harvest.

    During the trip, Liu visited health service stations and child care centers, stressing the need to enhance prevention and control of key infectious diseases, leverage the unique advantages of traditional Chinese medicine to improve primary healthcare services, and boost integrated child care services.

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-OSI Africa: Informal workers in Ghana’s chop bars get no benefit from foreign aid: donors are getting it wrong

    Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Matteo Rizzo, Senior Lecturer in Development Studies, SOAS, University of London

    Informal street food caterers, popularly known as chop bars, are a key feature of Ghanaian city life. They offer the urban poor the cheapest food.

    A 2016 survey by the Food and Agriculture Organization estimated there were about 3,300 chop bars in the capital, Accra, employing almost 4,300 workers. This figure is likely to be much higher now due to rapid urban growth in the last decade. Ghana’s urban population increased from 50.9% in 2010 to 56.7% in 2021. By the same year the Greater Accra region was home to 91.7% of the urban population in the country.

    Street food caterers in Accra face a number of problems, including insecurity of land tenure, inadequate knowledge of food hygiene, harassment from local authorities, cut-throat competition, and low returns from work.

    Foreign donors have over the years stepped in to attempt to address these problems. A flagship of this assistance has been a programme funded by Danish trade unions and the Danish Federation of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises. Under its aegis, Ghana’s Trades Union Congress was able to support workers in chop bars.

    Drawing on our expertise on trade unions in Ghana and on the informal economy, we assessed the effectiveness and strategic relevance of this aid.

    The aid focused on entrepreneurial skills and micro-credit. This overlooks some of the real problems in the sector. It leaves wage workers in a precarious position and does nothing to boost demand for what the sector supplies. We argue that to be more effective, foreign aid should address these gaps.

    Entrepreneurial pipe dreams

    Increased donor attention to workers in the informal economy and trade unions could be seen as a positive trend. After all, this is where the majority of workers in African cities are to be found. Ghana’s official statistical service places the size of the country’s informal sector between 70% and 80% of the working populace in its reports from 2024.

    However, close examination of the type of support given, and its results, yields a more sobering picture.

    Aid focused firstly on capacity building and entrepreneurship. This aimed at boosting skills such as financial literacy and capacity to care for customers. The programme’s own evaluation highlights the increased confidence that chop bar operators gained through this training. Important as this might be, increased confidence can do very little to overcome structural challenges, like intense competition in an oversupplied sector and the insecurity of land tenure.

    A second area of support was the provision of micro-credit via the Trades Union Congress (Ghana). One could argue that it boosted the creditworthiness of informal economy operators. But there is evidence, including our study, that credit can often result in a spiral of debt and “poverty finance”.

    Donors chose to focus on small-scale entrepreneurs as the only economic actors in the informal economy. This reflects an ideological, and market fundamentalist, understanding of the informal economy as inhabited only by small enterprises and self-employed workers, and the challenge as one of making the market work better for the poor.

    The blind spots of donors’ support to the informal economy

    This approach by donors neglects informal and highly precarious wage workers within the chop bar sector. Our research shows that the chop bar industry is stratified in terms of class. Within it, alongside genuine self-employed workers, there are people who own relatively small-scale capital (cooking assets and in some cases the land and buildings in which the bars are based) and who employ informal wage workers.

    The informal workforce is by and large made up of migrant female workers with relatively low education and skill. They work without contracts, for very long hours and very low wages, and face the risk of sudden dismissal and harassment from employers. Such poor working conditions stem from the lack of contracts, and of the rights that come with them. This is the weakest category of workers in the industry – yet they have no place in donors’ and trade unions’ activities to support workers.

    The main limitation of donors’ aid to the chop bar sector is that it focuses exclusively on supply-side interventions. It is based on the idea that improving skills and access to finance will result in increased demand for the services of small-scale entrepreneurs. Many aid programmes on employment make this mistake and suffer from so called “employment dementia” .

    This type of aid doesn’t ask where the stimulus to increase demand for street food will come from, or what the structural roots of urban employment challenges are. It doesn’t consider why African cities have large informal economies and poor-quality jobs.

    Aid priorities

    Donors should re-think their aid priorities, and put informal wage workers at their centre. This would entail moving away from the current focus on micro-solutions for job creation, and instead supporting policies to promote structural change, to tighten labour markets and increase the demand for good-quality jobs within them.

    This article was co-authored with Dr Prince Asafu-Adjaye, an associate of Labour Research Service.

    – Informal workers in Ghana’s chop bars get no benefit from foreign aid: donors are getting it wrong
    – https://theconversation.com/informal-workers-in-ghanas-chop-bars-get-no-benefit-from-foreign-aid-donors-are-getting-it-wrong-253633

    MIL OSI Africa –

  • MIL-OSI Africa: Major boost for emerging N West poultry farmer

    Source: South Africa News Agency

    Wednesday, April 30, 2025

    To strengthen rural economies, fight poverty, and ensure food security in the province, the MEC for North West Agriculture and Rural Development, Madoda Sambatha, officially presented a modern poultry facility to an emerging farmer.

    The 5 000-layer poultry structure was handed over to Sibongile Gumede of Bongi G Farm, located in Lindequesdrift, as part of the fourth phase of the Accelerated Service Delivery Programme at the JB Marks Municipality.

    According to the provincial government, the facility will enable Bongi G Farm to scale up egg production significantly, contributing to local food supply chains and creating employment opportunities within the province. 

    Bongi G is an enterprise dedicated to producing naturally grown, free-range poultry and eggs. 

    The farm’s eggs undergo regular grading by the South African Poultry Association (SAPA) to ensure quality.

    Sambatha emphasised empowering small-scale farmers with the infrastructure and resources necessary for sustainable growth.

    “The handover is not just about providing a farm, it’s about creating growth opportunities, ensuring food security, and nurturing the essence of entrepreneurship within farmers,” the MEC added. 

    He further encouraged Bongi G to utilise the resources they are available responsibly and continue working towards sustainable agricultural practices that will benefit future generations.

    Speaking about receiving the state-of-the-art poultry structure, Gumede said: “I am beyond grateful to the department for this opportunity. I am now able to sustain myself, create jobs, and, through the progress I have made, I have even managed to build a 3 000-layer structure on my own.“

    The department said the handover of the farm marks a momentous breakthrough in the province’s ongoing efforts to promote agricultural development, empowering local farmers and strengthening the agricultural sector, whilst ensuring that local farmers have the tools and support they need to thrive. – SAnews.gov.za

    MIL OSI Africa –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Informal workers in Ghana’s chop bars get no benefit from foreign aid: donors are getting it wrong

    Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Matteo Rizzo, Senior Lecturer in Development Studies, SOAS, University of London

    Informal street food caterers, popularly known as chop bars, are a key feature of Ghanaian city life. They offer the urban poor the cheapest food.

    A 2016 survey by the Food and Agriculture Organization estimated there were about 3,300 chop bars in the capital, Accra, employing almost 4,300 workers. This figure is likely to be much higher now due to rapid urban growth in the last decade. Ghana’s urban population increased from 50.9% in 2010 to 56.7% in 2021. By the same year the Greater Accra region was home to 91.7% of the urban population in the country.

    Street food caterers in Accra face a number of problems, including insecurity of land tenure, inadequate knowledge of food hygiene, harassment from local authorities, cut-throat competition, and low returns from work.

    Foreign donors have over the years stepped in to attempt to address these problems. A flagship of this assistance has been a programme funded by Danish trade unions and the Danish Federation of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises. Under its aegis, Ghana’s Trades Union Congress was able to support workers in chop bars.

    Drawing on our expertise on trade unions in Ghana and on the informal economy, we assessed the effectiveness and strategic relevance of this aid.

    The aid focused on entrepreneurial skills and micro-credit. This overlooks some of the real problems in the sector. It leaves wage workers in a precarious position and does nothing to boost demand for what the sector supplies. We argue that to be more effective, foreign aid should address these gaps.

    Entrepreneurial pipe dreams

    Increased donor attention to workers in the informal economy and trade unions could be seen as a positive trend. After all, this is where the majority of workers in African cities are to be found. Ghana’s official statistical service places the size of the country’s informal sector between 70% and 80% of the working populace in its reports from 2024.

    However, close examination of the type of support given, and its results, yields a more sobering picture.

    Aid focused firstly on capacity building and entrepreneurship. This aimed at boosting skills such as financial literacy and capacity to care for customers. The programme’s own evaluation highlights the increased confidence that chop bar operators gained through this training. Important as this might be, increased confidence can do very little to overcome structural challenges, like intense competition in an oversupplied sector and the insecurity of land tenure.

    A second area of support was the provision of micro-credit via the Trades Union Congress (Ghana). One could argue that it boosted the creditworthiness of informal economy operators. But there is evidence, including our study, that credit can often result in a spiral of debt and “poverty finance”.

    Donors chose to focus on small-scale entrepreneurs as the only economic actors in the informal economy. This reflects an ideological, and market fundamentalist, understanding of the informal economy as inhabited only by small enterprises and self-employed workers, and the challenge as one of making the market work better for the poor.

    The blind spots of donors’ support to the informal economy

    This approach by donors neglects informal and highly precarious wage workers within the chop bar sector. Our research shows that the chop bar industry is stratified in terms of class. Within it, alongside genuine self-employed workers, there are people who own relatively small-scale capital (cooking assets and in some cases the land and buildings in which the bars are based) and who employ informal wage workers.

    The informal workforce is by and large made up of migrant female workers with relatively low education and skill. They work without contracts, for very long hours and very low wages, and face the risk of sudden dismissal and harassment from employers. Such poor working conditions stem from the lack of contracts, and of the rights that come with them. This is the weakest category of workers in the industry – yet they have no place in donors’ and trade unions’ activities to support workers.

    The main limitation of donors’ aid to the chop bar sector is that it focuses exclusively on supply-side interventions. It is based on the idea that improving skills and access to finance will result in increased demand for the services of small-scale entrepreneurs. Many aid programmes on employment make this mistake and suffer from so called “employment dementia” .

    This type of aid doesn’t ask where the stimulus to increase demand for street food will come from, or what the structural roots of urban employment challenges are. It doesn’t consider why African cities have large informal economies and poor-quality jobs.

    Aid priorities

    Donors should re-think their aid priorities, and put informal wage workers at their centre. This would entail moving away from the current focus on micro-solutions for job creation, and instead supporting policies to promote structural change, to tighten labour markets and increase the demand for good-quality jobs within them.

    This article was co-authored with Dr Prince Asafu-Adjaye, an associate of Labour Research Service.

    Matteo Rizzo does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. Informal workers in Ghana’s chop bars get no benefit from foreign aid: donors are getting it wrong – https://theconversation.com/informal-workers-in-ghanas-chop-bars-get-no-benefit-from-foreign-aid-donors-are-getting-it-wrong-253633

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Nadler Opening Statement on the Markup of Transportation & Infrastructure Committee Reconciliation Bill

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Jerrold Nadler (10th District of New York)

    WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Congressman Jerrold Nadler (NY-12) made the following statement on the Markup of Transportation & Infrastructure Committee Reconciliation Bill.

    “This markup is just one small slice of a much larger, deeply dangerous reconciliation bill. But even this narrow portion tells you everything you need to know about Republican priorities.

    Let’s start with just one example: the Neighborhood Access and Equity Grant Program. This is one of the few federal programs specifically designed to repair the damage done by decades of discriminatory infrastructure policy—when highways were deliberately routed through Black and Brown neighborhoods and tore those communities apart. These grants fund real, shovel-ready projects that reconnect people to jobs, schools, health care, and each other.

    And here’s what’s especially galling: half of this grant funding is headed to states that voted for Donald Trump—rural areas and small towns that have been left behind for generations and stand to benefit the most from these investments.

    So why are Republicans attacking it? Because instead of delivering for their own constituents, they’re trying to scrape together offsets to fund their extreme, unpopular tax cuts for billionaires. And they’re doing it by targeting the very programs their communities rely on—Medicaid, SNAP, and other lifelines working families depend on to survive.

    In fact, by passing a budget resolution instructing $880 billion in cuts to Medicaid and billions more to SNAP, Republicans are proposing the most devastating assault on the health and well-being of American families in modern history.
    And let’s be very clear: in March, the CBO confirmed what we have known all along—the only way Republicans can cut at least $880 billion within the Energy and Commerce Committee’s jurisdiction is by making deep, harmful cuts to Medicaid. Additionally, we know that cutting waste, fraud, and abuse will not get you anywhere in the same universe as $880 billion.

    The consequences of these Medicaid cuts would be catastrophic. Medicaid alone covers one in five Americans—nearly 72 million people. In New York, it protects nearly 5.5 million residents, including 44 percent of all children, half of all births, and two-thirds of our nursing home residents. For tens of millions of Americans, Medicaid isn’t just a line in a budget. It’s how they survive. It’s how they manage cancer treatment, vaccinate their children, or afford a wheelchair for an aging parent.

    A new analysis from the Center for American Progress estimates that if Republicans succeed in slashing Medicaid’s federal match rate, more than 34,000 people could die each year. Their likely proposal to impose punitive work reporting requirements—which have consistently failed—would result in another 15,000 unnecessary deaths annually.

    And behind these numbers are real lives. Patricia, 83 years old, lives in poverty in New York and relies on Medicaid just to get to her doctor. She told us, “I have no transportation other than help from Medicaid. I also live on only my Social Security and SNAP. If I lose this precious help, I will be homeless and surely die.” That’s the real cost of these cuts.

    Nearly $9.3 billion in Medicaid payments go to New York hospitals each year, including billions in support for safety-net care. Half of New York’s community health centers’ revenue comes from Medicaid. If this bill passes, doors will close, jobs will vanish, and entire communities—especially in rural areas—will lose access to care altogether. It’s been reported that states like South Dakota, Missouri, and Oklahoma will face even more severe consequences from these cuts.

    And perhaps most absurdly, even after all these brutal cuts, this reconciliation bill will still add over $3 trillion to the national deficit over the next decade. Why? Because the tax giveaways for the ultra-wealthy cost more than the services they’re gutting to justify them. My Republican colleagues aren’t even reducing the deficit—they’re exploding it.

    So my message to my colleagues on the other side of the aisle is simple: reject these cruel cuts. Refuse to take food and health care away from the people who elected you. Each of you has the power to stop this. And let’s be honest—hitching your wagon to a president with the lowest 100-day approval rating in 70 years is not just morally indefensible, it’s politically reckless. Your constituents are watching—and so is history”.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: ODHS announces new online training on recognizing and reporting child abuse

    Source: US State of Oregon

    he Oregon Department of Human Services (ODHS) has launched its first-ever interactive online training for the public about reporting suspected child abuse. The training rollout coincides with Child Abuse Awareness Month and the announcement of a new safety initiative underway in Child Welfare.

    Safety priorities in the initiative include improving safety for children in foster care and children who come to the attention of Child Welfare in addition to providing training to the public and professionals known as mandatory reporters. Mandatory reporters are required by law to report suspected child abuse, and include professionals in healthcare, law enforcement, social work and education fields, among others.

    The new online training helps reporters identify types of child abuse, learn how to report, and recognize when a family needs material or economic assistance. Across the country and in Oregon, efforts to better distinguish between child abuse and neglect and family needs related to poverty are driving family support programs, sometimes called family preservation or prevention.

    “We all contribute to child safety not only by being mandatory reporters, but by being mandatory supporters,” said Aprille Flint-Gerner, ODHS Child Welfare Division director. “This training provides the public with the tools needed to recognize signs of abuse that must be reported, as well as understanding when a family needs a community resource or support, rather than a report to the hotline.”

    The interactive training takes about an hour to complete and is considered the official Oregon Health Authority and ODHS state course with the most up-to-date guidance on child abuse and effective reporting. Prior to the new training, ODHS used a shorter explanatory video about reporting child abuse.

    The course, Mandatory Reporting of Child Abuse in Oregon, teaches:

    • How to recognize signs of child abuse and understand the definitions.
    • The role and impact of personal biases when determining whether a report is required.
    • How to make a report and what information to provide to the Oregon Child Abuse Hotline.
    • What happens after a report is made.
    • How to connect a family with resources.

    The training also aims to prevent unnecessary abuse reports. The Oregon Child Abuse Hotline (ORCAH) receives a high number of calls that are neither reports of child abuse nor require Child Welfare intervention. In 2024, ORCAH received 176,393 contacts, resulting in 96,246 documented screening reports. Of the documented reports, 46,483, or 27% resulted in Child Protective Services completing an assessment. ORCAH data shows that 80% of reports are from mandatory reporters, largely from representatives of law enforcement, education and the medical field.

    Data in Oregon and nationally show that Black and/or African American and American Indian/Alaska Native families are disproportionately reported to child welfare. The training addresses how reporters can recognize their personal biases and how they view a child or family in need.

    “We hope the training will help reduce disproportionality in reporting and get families connected to the services they need to thrive,” Flint-Gerner said. “Child safety is about early intervention in communities whenever possible, so that children who are unsafe get help quickly, and families who need resources get connected to supports. Prevention and early intervention are where the public and mandatory reporters can really make a difference.”

    The new training is available on the Reporting Child Abuse web page in partnership with Oregon State University’s Professional and Continuing Education (PACE).

    Resources

    Additional learning materials and guides about child abuse reporting.

    Find local resources financial assistance, food pantry information and other free or reduced-cost help at 211info.org, via phone at 211, or via text 898211.

    Information about how youth in foster care can file a complaint: email fco.info@odhsoha.oregon.gov or call 855-840-6036.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Kanga power! Homegrown cotton for a homegrown economy – UK & Kenya launch Lamu cotton processing facility.

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    World news story

    Kanga power! Homegrown cotton for a homegrown economy – UK & Kenya launch Lamu cotton processing facility.

    A partnership between Kenya, the UK and private sector to deliver growth and jobs by reducing reliance on foreign imports, supporting women and the environment.

    The (L-R) Lamu County Governor, H.E Issa Timamy; Hon. Lee Kinyanjui, CS Trade Investments and Industry, Kenya; Principal Secretary for Investments – Mr. Abubakar Hassan Abubakar, Kenya; and Ms. Tejal Dodhia, Managing Director, Thika Cotton Mills; officially lay the foundation stone at the Lamu cotton ginnery, Lamu County, Kenya.

    The UK, Kenya, and the County Government of Lamu have joined forces to lay the foundation stone at a new cotton processing facility in Lamu County. 

    This four-way partnership between the UK, national government, local government and the private sector is a great example of the how the UK and Kenya are working together to deliver homegrown economic growth and jobs – a standout example of the tangible results that collaboration can achieve. 

    Construction will begin immediately and is hoped to be completed by November 2025. The project is expected to support up to 5000 jobs in the next three years. 

    The Hon. Lee Kinyanjui, Cabinet Secretary for Ministry of Investments, Trade and Industry, said:

    The ginnery, by Thika Cloth Mills, will boost cotton uptake and thus earn farmers more income, create jobs, and provide raw material for the textile industry. 

    With the infrastructure supporting export including a special economic zone, Lamu Port and LAPPSET, Lamu will be the hub for investors in the region.

    British Deputy High Commissioner to Kenya, Ed Barnett, said:

    The UK is a long-term partner for long-term economic growth in Kenya. This project is a testament to the power of partnerships – the UK, national government, and county governments have joined forces with the private sector to deliver 5,000 jobs and future economic growth. 

    This partnership will reduce reliance on imports, put money in the pockets of farmers. It will strengthen, stabilise and support a sustainable homegrown cotton industry in Kenya. Long live Kenya kanga!

    This partnership directly supports the Government of Kenya’s textiles and garments national development priority, by reducing reliance on foreign imports – which currently make up around 90% of cotton in the country. Kenya currently produces 3,000 bales of cotton per year, whilst the total demand ranges between 140,000 – 260,000. This partnership will develop a homegrown cotton industry and allow Kenyan businesses to capitalise on economic opportunities within their own country. 

    The processing plant will create jobs and stimulate economic growth in Lamu County. It is hoped the facility will triple cotton production in Lamu from 2,000 bales per year to 6,000 over the next three years. This will also support local cotton farmers as the facility will be built close to farms, reducing transportation costs as well as providing them with a larger market for their produce. The proposed plant will not only source cotton from Lamu County but from Kilifi, Tana River, Kwale, and Taita Taveta counties. 

    The reduced need for transportation is expected to decrease the carbon footprint of the textile production process by 262 metric tons of carbon dioxide every year, supporting Kenya’s climate ambitions. 

    This project will also have a positive social impact and place a significant emphasis on providing substantial economic opportunities to women and promoting gender equality, as the employees at the processing plant are expected to be at least 50% women.  

    The programme falls under the UK’s Sustainable Urban Economic Development programme (SUED), which aims to add value to Kenyan agricultural produce before export. 

    The UK has provided seed-funding to de-risk the investment for all partners involved. The Government of Kenya has provided additional funding, with the remaining funds being provided by Thika Cotton Mills. Lamu County sealed the deal by providing land for the ginnery. 

    SUED has been operational in Lamu for four years, and this is the programme’s fourth value-chain project in the county. It has secured investors for the cotton ginnery as well as fish processing, coconut processing, and cashew nut processing facilities. Across Kenya, our £8 million seed fund investments through SUED have helped unlock £48 million in private capital and supported the creation of more than 10,000 jobs. 

    The UK Government partners with Kenya across multiple sectors in Lamu County. The UK supports: trade and investment though the development of infrastructure and customs processes at Lamu Port; regional security through programmes to counter violent extremism; and environmental programmes to reduce plastic pollution and increase biodiversity. 

    Notes for Editors

    Photo and video content

    Google Drive link

    The UK-Kenya Strategic Partnership

    The UK-Kenya strategic partnership joint statement can be found here. 

    Funding

    • The UK has provided seed funding to de-risk a private sector investment project. 

    • The Government of Kenya has subsequently provided additional financing to further support the investment through the Kenya Development Corporation (KDC) 

    • The Lamu county government has supported the venture with land acquisition and created an enabling local operating environment.  

    What is the SUED program?

    SUED is a seven year, £43m programme that seeks to create jobs and promote inclusive economic growth in selected municipalities across Kenya, through better urban planning and by attracting increased investment – including both investments in climate resilient infrastructure and agricultural processing projects 

    Thika Cotton Mills

    • Thika Cloth Mills Limited (TCM) was established in 1958 and is one of the leading Kenyan textile manufacturers. 

    • The mission of the company is “Bringing textiles home”, and the vision is “Creation of employment to improve livelihoods and alleviate poverty in Kenya”.  

    • The company has been an active participant in the “Buy Kenya Build Kenya”3 initiative, sourcing most of their raw materials locally. 

    • TCM owns and operates a plant in Thika that employs 700 staff and manufactures 100% cotton fabrics, polyester cotton fabric and blended polyester viscose. 

    • TCM currently sources raw cotton lint from ginneries in Makueni, Kitui, Rift Valley, and Meru. 

    • They work with over 10,000 farmers covering approximately 50% of Kenya’s cotton growing region   

    Contact

    British High Commission: Tom Walker tom.walker2@fcdo.gov.uk  

    SUED: Louisa Nandege Ssennyonga louisa.nandegessennyonga@tetratech.com

    Updates to this page

    Published 30 April 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Scotland just an afterthought for Keir Starmer’s Labour

    Source: Scottish National Party

    The SNP’s candidate for the Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse by-election, Katy Loudon, has written to the candidate for Keir Starmer’s Labour, David Russell, challenging him to “call out Labour’s cuts for what they are – austerity in all but name.”

    Last month the Labour government announced plans to cut £4.8 billion of support to disabled people. In the weeks since, the Joseph Rowntree Foundation has warned these are “the deepest cuts to social security since Osborne was Chancellor.”

    Meanwhile, Amnesty International have heavily criticised Keir Starmer’s government for their benefit cuts saying they have attempted to redefine the definition of austerity.

    Cllr Loudon said Labour’s attempts to ignore the issue in Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse was yet another example of Scotland being treated as an afterthought by this Labour government – just like they did with nationalising British Steel in Scunthorpe whilst ignoring the Grangemouth refinery.

    The by-election is a prime opportunity for the people of Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse to send a message to Labour that they are tired of being treated as an afterthought by Labour.

    In her letter, Katy wrote:

    Dear David,

    The Labour government’s decision to implement nearly £5 billion of cuts to support for disabled people is unconscionable, and yet so far in this campaign you have stayed silent on this issue.

    DWP estimates show it will push 250,000 people, including 50,000 children into poverty, and yet your party has pressed ahead with no regard for vulnerable families who will suffer as a result.

    The Resolution Foundation estimates that lower income households are set to become £500 a year poorer as a result, and the Glasgow Disability Alliance has warned hundreds of thousands of disabled Scots could lose out.

    In South Lanarkshire alone, 11,229 will have their health element of Universal Credit frozen, with new recipients seeing a cut in support.

    That’s austerity in all but name, harming incredibly vulnerable people who in most cases are unable to work.

    Scotland, as usual, is being treated as an afterthought by this Labour government.

    Unsurprisingly, Labour’s Scottish branch office has dutifully fallen in line; with Labour MSPs voting last week to support the cuts or, as Anas Sarwar did, failing to vote at all.

    As the Labour candidate in this by-election, will you too put party before constituency, follow Starmer’s orders and defend the indefensible? Or will you do right by Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse and call out these cuts for what they are: Labour austerity.

    The people of this constituency deserve a local champion who stands up for them, and so far, your silence speaks volumes about where your priorities really lie.

    I look forward to your response.

    Yours sincerely,

    Katy Loudon

    SNP Candidate for Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-Evening Report: People’s mental health goes downhill after repeated climate disasters – it’s an issue of social equity

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ang Li, ARC DECRA and Senior Research Fellow, NHMRC Centre of Research Excellence in Healthy Housing, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, The University of Melbourne

    Across Australia, communities are grappling with climate disasters that are striking more frequently and with greater intensity. Bushfires, floods and cyclones are no longer one-off events. And this pattern is predicted to worsen due to climate change.

    As it becomes more common to face climate disasters again and again, what does this mean for the mental health and wellbeing of people affected?

    In a new study published today in the Lancet Public Health, we found experiencing repeated disasters leads to more severe and sustained effects on mental health compared to experiencing a single disaster.

    What we did in our study

    We drew on ten years of Australian data (2009–19) from the nationally representative Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia survey.

    Specifically, our study involved data from 1,511 people who experienced at least one disaster. We tracked them from the year before the first disaster, at the first disaster, and, where applicable, each subsequent disaster, and a few years after each disaster.

    We also included 3,880 people who did not experience disasters during this time but shared similar demographic, socioeconomic, health and place-based characteristics for comparison.

    We measured exposure to climate disasters based on whether respondents reported a weather-related disaster (for example, flood, bushfire or cyclone) damaged or destroyed their home in the previous year.

    The mental health outcomes were measured using two questionnaires commonly administered to assess depression and anxiety disorders (the 5-item mental health inventory) and psychological distress (the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale).

    Cumulative effects

    Our results show mental health declines became more severe with repeated disasters.

    The graph below plots the mental health trajectories for everyone in our study who experienced at least one disaster, and the control group who did not experience any disasters. We looked at a maximum of three disasters in the study due to data availability.

    It shows experiencing one disaster led to a decline in mental health during the disaster year, followed by a recovery to pre-disaster levels in the post-disaster period.

    However, with repeated disasters, mental health trajectories declined further and it took longer to recover to pre-disaster levels.

    We also found experiencing an additional disaster close to a previous disaster (for example, one or two years apart) was linked to greater mental health declines than disasters that were spaced further apart.

    Some risk factors

    We observed that certain factors consistently shaped mental health outcomes. For instance, having social support was consistently a protective factor, while having a long-term health condition consistently increased the risk of poorer mental health. This was true regardless of the number of disasters someone experienced.

    On the other hand, some risk factors became stronger with each disaster. In particular, households with lower incomes, those in rural areas, and younger people appeared to experience greater effects of cumulative disasters.

    There are some limitations to our research. For example, the data we had did not detail the type or severity of each disaster. It also was limited in what it could tell us about the mental health effects of three or more disasters.

    Nonetheless, our study provides novel insights into the mental health consequences of multiple climate disasters. This highlights the need for better support for communities facing an increasing number of emergencies.

    Our findings also align with other studies that have observed increasing risk to mental health with multiple disasters.

    At the same time, our findings add a new perspective by showing how trajectories can change over time. People’s mental health often recovers to pre-disaster levels after a single disaster, but repeat disasters can delay or halt this recovery.

    Why might repeated disasters lead to worse mental health?

    Repeated disasters, especially when they occur in close succession, can lead to cumulative stress driven by trauma and uncertainty. This can create a reinforcing cycle. People already facing social disadvantages – such as poor health and low income – are more likely to be exposed to disasters. In turn, these events disproportionately affect those facing existing disadvantages.

    The result is a compounding effect that can contribute to worsening mental health outcomes and slower recovery over multiple disasters. This means disasters are an issue of social equity and must be considered in efforts to reduce poverty and improve social outcomes, as well as health outcomes.

    Repeated disasters in particular can drain financial, social and community resources. They can exacerbate existing strain on household savings, disrupted social ties due to displacement, and reduced access to services after disasters – especially in rural areas.

    What can we do to support people through multiple disasters?

    We need to transform the way we think about disasters. It’s estimated children born today will experience up to seven times the number of extreme weather events across their lifetimes than someone born in 1960.

    We are starting to get a better picture of what people need to recover from climate disasters. Our research points to the need for clinical services (for example, GPs) to screen for past disaster exposures in mental health assessments.

    Emergency services need to plan services to reach at-risk groups during disasters. They also need to ensure recovery planning considers the effects of past disasters, for example by making sure support programs are not just tied to one disaster, but can be used across multiple.

    The current approach to emergency services that looks at “one disaster at a time” doesn’t work anymore. As the climate continues to change, we urgently need to consider the effects of multiple disasters in public health, welfare and disaster services.

    Ang Li receives funding from the Australian Research Council.

    Claire Leppold does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. People’s mental health goes downhill after repeated climate disasters – it’s an issue of social equity – https://theconversation.com/peoples-mental-health-goes-downhill-after-repeated-climate-disasters-its-an-issue-of-social-equity-254475

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Universal Credit change brings £420 boost to over a million households

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Press release

    Universal Credit change brings £420 boost to over a million households

    More than one million households struggling with debt will get to keep an average £420 more of their benefits each year, under a change to Universal Credit coming into force today [30 April 2025].

    • Around 1.2 million of the poorest households – including 700,000 with children – will keep an extra £420 a year on average, due to Universal Credit change.
    • New Fair Repayment Rate – which comes into force today – caps Universal Credit deductions at 15%, down from 25%.
    • Comes as part of the Government’s Plan for Change to make working people better off by helping them into jobs and extending support for low-income families.

    More than one million households struggling with debt will get to keep an average £420 more of their benefits each year, under a change to Universal Credit coming into force today [Wednesday 30 April 2025].

    The Fair Repayment Rate places a limit on how much people in debt can have taken off their benefits to pay what they owe. The maximum amount that can be taken from someone’s Universal Credit standard allowance payment to repay debt has been 25% – but from today this is reduced to 15%.

    This will mean an average £420 extra a year for 1.2 million of the poorest households, including 700,000 households with children, while helping people to pay down their debts in a sustainable way.

    It forms part of the Government’s Plan for Change to put more money into people’s pockets and boost living standards and marks the Government’s first step in a wider review of Universal Credit to ensure it is still doing its job.

    The Fair Repayment Rate was introduced by the Chancellor at the Autumn Budget, as part of broader efforts to raise living standards, combat poverty, and tackle the cost-of-living crisis.

    Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves said:

    As announced at the budget, from today, 1.2 million households will keep more of their Universal Credit and will be on average £420 better off a year. This is our plan for change delivering, easing the cost of living and putting more money into the pockets of working people.

    With as many as 2.8 million households seeing deductions made to their Universal Credit award to pay off debt each month, the new rate is designed to ensure money is repaid where it is owed, and people can still cover their day-to-day needs.

    Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall said:

    As part of our Plan for Change, we are taking decisive action to ensure working people keep more of the benefits they’re entitled to – which will boost financial security and improve living standards up and down the country.

    We’re delivering meaningful change to ensure everyone has a fair chance, the support they need, and real hope for the future.

    The Fair Repayment Rate is one of a number of bold measures the Government is taking as part of its Plan for Change to kickstart growth and spread prosperity across the country.

    Viewing work as a key route out of poverty, the Government set out the Get Britain Working White Paper – aiming to achieve its target 80% employment rate by overhauling Jobcentres, introducing a new jobs and careers service, and launching a youth guarantee so every young person is earning or learning. This comes on top of increasing the National Minimum and National Living Wage to ensure being in work pays.

    To support those in greatest need, the Household Support Fund has been extended another year – backed by £742 million, so local councils can continue to support low-income households with energy bills, food and essential items, while also funding long-term solutions, like home insulation, to help people at risk of falling into poverty.

    The Government is also working to tackle child poverty, rolling out free breakfast clubs in all primary schools in England as the dedicated ministerial taskforce builds its ambitious strategy to ensure every child has the best start in life.

    Additional information:

    • The change will be applied to all assessment periods that start on or after 30 April.
    • The 15% deductions cap continues to support customers to repay their debts at a sustainable rate.

    Updates to this page

    Published 30 April 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Families to get more choice over home upgrades

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Press release

    Families to get more choice over home upgrades

    Proposals to give families greater choice when upgrading their home’s heating as well as plans to create up to 18,000 training places for green jobs

    • Working families to get greater choice on upgrades to their home’s heating including new products, such as air-to-air heat pumps and heat batteries, as well as offering new heat pump purchase options.  

    • Plan to build a ‘clean power army’ receives a boost, with up to 18,000 professionals to be trained to retrofit homes, and install heat pumps, insulation, solar panels and heat networks.   

    • Comes as government invests £4.6 million in Copeland to manufacture more heat pump parts at home in the UK, supporting local jobs and boosting economic growth as part of the Plan for Change.

    Homeowners are set to have more choice over ways to access heating systems and bring down costs under proposals being considered as part of the Warm Homes Plan – helping to deliver on the government’s milestone of higher living standards as part of the Plan for Change. 

    Demand for heat pumps is surging, with the Boiler Upgrade Scheme – which offers up to £7,500 off the cost, enjoying its best month since opening, with 4,028 applications received in March 2025, up 88 per cent on the same month last year. Heat pumps can save families around £100 on their average energy bills when used with a smart tariff. 

    With more households wanting to make the upgrade to cleaner, homegrown energy, the government has today launched a new consultation on expanding the Boiler Upgrade Scheme to give families even greater choice to pick what works best for them. 

    Changes to the scheme could see families potentially access air-to-air heat pumps and electric heating technologies such as heat batteries, which are currently not eligible for grants under the scheme, alongside new purchase and ownership models which could spread the cost of a heat pump over several years, or give households the opportunity to lease one for a monthly fee instead. 

    As part of the government’s Plan for Change, even more households will be able to take up the offer of switching to low-carbon heating, while protecting the pounds in people’s pockets by making more options available. 

    The government has also set out plans to bolster the ‘clean power army’, training up to 18,000 more home retrofitters, to install heat pumps, insulation, solar panels and heat networks, alongside a major new deal to support the UK’s heat pump supply chain.   

    Minister for Energy Consumers Miatta Fahnbulleh said:  

    Our Warm Homes Plan will mean lower bills and warmer homes for millions of families – helping drive better living standards as part of the Plan for Change.   

    Following a record-breaking month for applications to our Boiler Upgrade Scheme, we are now proposing to give working families more choice and flexibility to pick the low-carbon upgrades that work best for them. 

    And on top of this, we are investing over £4 million in Copeland to continue building a homegrown heat pump industry and training up the army of skilled workers we need to achieve this.

    Copeland in Northern Ireland have been awarded £4.6 million to expand their manufacturing for heating compression technology – a key component of heat pumps, which can help protect family finances from the roller coaster of international gas markets by running on clean electricity. 

    This investment, backed by a multi-million pound investment from Copeland, will help to support the industries and jobs of the future, while unlocking economic growth, as part of the Prime Minister’s Plan for Change.  

    Ministers have also unveiled plans to train up to 18,000 skilled workers to install heat pumps, fit solar panels, install insulation and work on heat networks through the extension of the Heat Training Grant and launch of the Warm Homes Skills Programme.

    With three days to go until the government’s consultation on introducing higher minimum energy efficiency standards in private rented sector homes closes, ministers have issued a final call for tenants and landlords to make their views heard.  

    Under the proposals, all private landlords would be required to meet a higher standard of Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) C or equivalent in their properties – up from the current level of EPC E, by 2030.  

    This will deliver on the priorities of working people, in line with the Prime Minister’s Plan for Change, by requiring landlords to invest in measures such as loft insulation, cavity wall insulation or double glazing – ensuring homes are warmer and more affordable for tenants. Alongside higher standards & funding in the social rented sector, this could lift up to one million households out of fuel poverty by 2030. 

    Stakeholder reaction: 

    Charlotte Lee, CEO at the Heat Pump Association said: 

    Following a record year for UK heat pump sales in 2024, we warmly welcome today’s announcements which will continue to support growth in the sector and increased deployment of clean heating. 

    The additional funding to support those wishing to become qualified to install heat pumps and heat networks is especially welcome, alongside proposals to expand the Boiler Upgrade Scheme to make clean heating solutions an accessible option for more consumers.

    Jambu Palaniappan, CEO at Checkatrade said: 

    We fully support this latest Government investment in skills and training, and greater choice for homeowners.  

    At Checkatrade, we’ve seen the growing importance of green energy to consumers, and with our new Green Hub are more easily connecting them with skilled tradespeople to make their homes more energy-efficient.  

    The new funding is a key step towards empowering more people to enter the trade and a boost for the economy, helping to build long-term, sustainable careers for thousands across the UK.

    Verity Davidge, Director of Policy and Public Affairs at Make UK said: 

    As we continue to transition to a low-carbon economy it is critical we have the people and skills needed to make it happen.

    Today’s announcement is a positive step towards ensuring the workforce is equipped with these skills. Many of those trained will develop the transferable skills needed to support industry in its own quest to transition to net zero.

    Ned Hammond, Deputy Director (Customers) at Energy UK, said:

    Expanding the Boiler Upgrade Scheme and giving families greater choice in the types of low-carbon heating systems available to them is a really positive move. More flexibility in the way customers can pay for these technologies will also help make efficient and smart heating systems, such as heat pumps, heat batteries and heat networks, available to even more customers who are struggling with high energy bills and looking for an alternative to costly gas boilers. 

    The recent surge in demand for the Boiler Upgrade Scheme following the Government’s funding uplift is a clear signal of consumer appetite and what can be done with the right support in place – and it’s vital this level of investment continues.

    Underpinning this is the need for a skilled and dedicated installer supply chain, so it’s fantastic to see Government extending its support for skills and training as part of today’s announcement.

    The Government’s figures show that 71% of installers benefitting from the Heat Training Grant said it made all the difference in their decision to upskill into heat pump systems. Extending the subsidy out to 2030 would help further with bringing in the thousands of new entrants we need into the heat pump and heat networks sectors.

    Chris O’Shea, CEO of Centrica, said:

    As the UK’s largest installer of low carbon heating technologies, we are delighted with the Government’s proposals to expand the Boiler Upgrade Scheme to offer customers more choice on how to decarbonise their homes through greater financing, ownership and technology options.

    We can’t wait to add more to our Clean Power Army, the largest in the UK, using our award-winning academies and British Gas engineers to train installers across the UK.

    Garry Felgate, Chief Executive of The MCS Foundation, said: 

    Consumer confidence in low-carbon technologies is growing, with more households installing heat pumps across the UK than ever before. Today’s announcements will help to accelerate that trend, by ensuring more people can access heat pump grants and supporting the growth of the heat pump workforce.

    These steps are very welcome news, enabling lower bills, lower carbon emissions, and sustainable jobs.

    Sando Matic, Europe President for Copeland, said:

    This investment marks a pivotal step in advancing clean energy solutions and driving economic growth.

    By expanding our manufacturing capabilities for heating solutions here in Northern Ireland, Copeland is proud to play a key role in helping to reduce reliance on fossil fuels and supporting the energy transition to more sustainable, electricity-powered heating.

    Notes to Editors:  

    • Options being considered to help spread the installation cost of a heat pump include:   

    • Hire purchase, giving households the option to pay for a heat pump in instalments, meaning they would own the equipment at the end of their contract.  

    • Hire purchase plus, combining paying for a heat pump in instalments with a separate contract for an energy tariff, allowing providers to simplify costs into a single monthly payment.   

    • Leasing, offering households the option to lease a heat pump for a set amount of time, like leasing a car. At the end of the contract, households would either enter into another agreement to continue leasing the heat pump, or would replace it.  

    • Further information on the Heat Pump Investment Accelerator award to Copeland can be found here: Heat Pump Investment Accelerator Competition successful projects.  

    • The Warm Homes Skills Programme will deliver up to 9,000 training places across England, providing opportunities for people to develop skills in areas including fitting solar panels and installing insulation. More details can be found here: Warm Home Skills Programme. 

    • An extra £5 million will be provided to continue the Heat Training Grant until March 2026, supporting a further 5,500 heat pump installers and 3,500 heat network professionals. The Grant has already trained over 10,650 individuals up to the end of March 2025. More details can be found here: Apply for the Heat Training Grant: discounted heat pump training. 

    • More details on the Heat Training Grant: Heat Network training can be found here: Training providers: apply to offer the Heat Training Grant for heat networks 

    • The government’s consultation on minimum energy efficiency standards for private rented sector homes can be found here: Improving the energy performance of privately rented homes: consultation document

    Updates to this page

    Published 30 April 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI Africa: Secretary-General’s remarks to the General Assembly event in Commemoration of His Holiness Pope Francis [trilingual, as delivered; scroll down for All-English and All-French versions]

    Source: United Nations – English

    xcellencies, ladies and gentlemen,

    His Holiness Pope Francis was a man of faith — and a bridge-builder among all faiths.  

    He was a champion of the most marginalized people on earth.

    He was a voice of community in a world of division…

    A voice of mercy in a world of cruelty…

    A voice of peace in a world of war.

    And he was a steadfast friend of the United Nations, addressing Member States from this very podium in 2015.

    During that historic visit, he also spoke of our organization’s ideal of a “united human family living in harmony, working not only for peace, but in peace, working not only for justice, but in a spirit of justice.”

    On behalf of our UN family, I extend by deepest condolences to the Catholic community and to so many others around the world grieving this tremendous loss.

    Excellencies,

    Pope Francis was at the helm of the Roman Catholic Church for a dozen years — but that was preceded by decades of service and good works.

    As a young man, Pope Francis found his calling in the slums of Buenos Aires, where his dedication to serving the poor earned him the title “Bishop of the Slums.”

    These early experiences sharpened his conviction that faith must be an engine of action and change.  

    Pope Francis put that engine into overdrive as an unstoppable voice for social justice and equality.  

    His 2020 encyclical, Fratelli Tutti, drew a straight line between greed and poverty, hunger, inequality and suffering.

    While decrying the inequality that defines our globalized economy, he also warned against what he called “globalization of indifference.”  

    I will never forget the first official visit he undertook as Pope, at a time when I served as High Commissioner for Refugees.

    Pope Francis chose to go to the Mediterranean island of Lampedusa in 2013 — to put a global spotlight on the desperate plight of asylum seekers and migrants.

    He warned against “the culture of comfort, which makes us think only of ourselves, makes us insensitive to the cries of other people.”

    And on last year’s World Refugee Day, he called on all countries “to welcome, promote, accompany and integrate those who knock on our doors.”

    When I met with him at the Vatican as Secretary-General in 2019, I was struck by his humanity and his humility. 

    He always saw challenges through the eyes of those on the peripheries of life. 

    And he said we can never look away from injustice and inequality — or close our eyes to those suffering from conflict or acts of violence.   

    Always a pilgrim for peace, Pope Francis ventured to war-torn countries around the world — from Iraq to South Sudan to the Democratic Republic of Congo and beyond — decrying bloodshed and violence, and pushing for reconciliation.  

    He stood with conviction for innocents caught in war zones such as Ukraine and Gaza.

    He did it with his global platform — but he also did it in much more personal and profound ways.

    Every day without fail, precisely at 7:00 p.m., he would quietly call the Church of the Holy Family in Gaza City.

    As someone at the Church said, “He would ask us how we were, what did we eat, did we have clean water, was anyone injured? It was never diplomatic or a matter of obligation. It was the questions a father asks to their son.”

    And in his final message on Easter Sunday, Pope Francis underscored the vital importance of ending these conflicts.      

    Jusqu’au bout, le pape François aura incarné l’appel à la justice – pour les peuples et pour la planète.

    Grâce à son encyclique Laudato Si publiée en 2015, il a contribué à l’adoption de l’Accord de Paris en appelant les dirigeants à protéger « notre maison commune ».

    Il a également mis en évidence les liens manifestes entre la dégradation de l’environnement et la dégradation de la condition humaine.

    Le pape François comprenait que ceux qui avaient le moins contribué à la crise climatique en subissaient les conséquences les plus graves – et que nous avons le devoir spirituel et moral d’agir.

    Excelencias:

    En el mundo actual de división y discordia, es particularmente significativo que el Papa Francisco haya proclamado 2025 como el año de la esperanza.

    Él fue siempre un mensajero de esperanza. 

    Ahora nos corresponde a todos nosotros llevar adelante esta esperanza.

    En su funeral del sábado, me conmovió profundamente ver a líderes de todas las religiones y tendencias políticas unirse en solidaridad para honrar la vida y los logros del Papa Francisco – un raro espíritu de unidad y reflexión solemne que necesitamos ahora más que nunca.

    Nuestro mundo sería un lugar mucho mejor si siguiéramos su ejemplo de unidad, compasión y comprensión mutua a través de nuestras propias palabras y acciones.  

    Mientras lloramos la muerte del Papa Francisco, renovemos nuestro compromiso con la paz, la dignidad humana y la justicia social – las causas a las que dedicó cada momento de su extraordinaria vida.

    Muchas gracias.

    ***
    [All-English]

    Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen,

    His Holiness Pope Francis was a man of faith — and a bridge-builder among all faiths.  

    He was a champion of the most marginalized people on earth.

    He was a voice of community in a world of division…

    A voice of mercy in a world of cruelty…

    A voice of peace in a world of war.

    And he was a steadfast friend of the United Nations, addressing Member States from this very podium in 2015.

    During that historic visit, he also spoke of our organization’s ideal of a “united human family living in harmony, working not only for peace, but in peace, working not only for justice, but in a spirit of justice.”

    On behalf of our UN family, I extend by deepest condolences to the Catholic community and to so many others around the world grieving this tremendous loss.

    Excellencies,

    Pope Francis was at the helm of the Roman Catholic Church for a dozen years — but that was preceded by decades of service and good works.

    As a young man, Pope Francis found his calling in the slums of Buenos Aires, where his dedication to serving the poor earned him the title “Bishop of the Slums.”

    These early experiences sharpened his conviction that faith must be an engine of action and change.  

    Pope Francis put that engine into overdrive as an unstoppable voice for social justice and equality.  

    His 2020 encyclical, Fratelli Tutti, drew a straight line between greed and poverty, hunger, inequality and suffering.

    While decrying the inequality that defines our globalized economy, he also warned against what he called “globalization of indifference.”  

    I will never forget the first official visit he undertook as Pope, at a time when I served as High Commissioner for Refugees.

    Pope Francis chose to go to the Mediterranean island of Lampedusa in 2013 — to put a global spotlight on the desperate plight of asylum seekers and migrants.

    He warned against “the culture of comfort, which makes us think only of ourselves, makes us insensitive to the cries of other people.”

    And on last year’s World Refugee Day, he called on all countries “to welcome, promote, accompany and integrate those who knock on our doors.”

    When I met with him at the Vatican as Secretary-General in 2019, I was struck by his humanity and his humility. 

    He always saw challenges through the eyes of those on the peripheries of life. 

    And he said we can never look away from injustice and inequality — or close our eyes to those suffering from conflict or acts of violence.   

    Always a pilgrim for peace, Pope Francis ventured to war-torn countries around the world — from Iraq to South Sudan to the Democratic Republic of Congo and beyond — decrying bloodshed and violence, and pushing for reconciliation.  

    He stood with conviction for innocents caught in war zones such as Ukraine and Gaza.

    He did it with his global platform — but he also did it in much more personal and profound ways.

    Every day without fail, precisely at 7:00 p.m., he would quietly call the Church of the Holy Family in Gaza City.

    As someone at the Church said, “He would ask us how we were, what did we eat, did we have clean water, was anyone injured? It was never diplomatic or a matter of obligation. It was the questions a father asks to their son.”

    And in his final message on Easter Sunday, Pope Francis underscored the vital importance of ending these conflicts.      

    Throughout, Pope Francis was a clear voice of justice for people and planet.

    He helped secure the adoption of the Paris Agreement with his 2015 encyclical Laudato Si that called on leaders to protect “our common home.”

    He also highlighted the clear ties between environmental degradation and the degradation of humanity.

    Pope Francis understood that those who contributed the least to the climate crisis suffered the most — and that we have a spiritual and moral duty to act.

    Excellencies,

    In today’s world of division and discord, it is particularly meaningful that Pope Francis proclaimed 2025 to be the year of hope.

    He was forever a messenger of hope. 

    Now it falls to all of us to carry this hope forward.

    At his funeral on Saturday, I was deeply moved to see leaders from across all faiths and political stripes come together in solidarity to honour the life and achievements of Pope Francis — a rare spirit of unity and solemn reflection that we need now, more than ever.
    Our world would be a much better place if we followed his lifelong example of unity, compassion and mutual understanding through our own words and actions.  

    As we mourn the passing of Pope Francis, let us renew our pledge to peace, human dignity and social justice — the causes for which he dedicated every moment of his most extraordinary life.

    Thank you.

    ***
    [All-French]

    Excellences, Mesdames et Messieurs,

    Sa Sainteté le pape François était un homme de foi – et un bâtisseur de ponts entre toutes les religions.

    Il s’était fait le champion des personnes les plus marginalisées sur Terre.

    Il était une voix de solidarité dans un monde de clivages…

    Une voix de compassion dans un monde de cruauté…

    Une voix de paix dans un monde de guerre.

    C’était aussi un grand ami de l’Organisation des Nations Unies et il s’était exprimé en 2015 devant les États Membres depuis cette même tribune.

    Lors de cette visite historique, il avait évoqué l’idéal de notre Organisation, à savoir « une famille humaine unie, vivant en harmonie, travaillant non seulement pour la paix, mais dans la paix ; travaillant non seulement pour la justice, mais dans un esprit de justice. »

    Au nom de notre famille, celle des Nations Unies, j’adresse mes plus sincères condoléances à l’ensemble des catholiques et aux nombreuses autres personnes qui, partout dans le monde, souffrent de cette terrible perte.

    Excellences,

    Le pape François a été à la tête de l’Église catholique romaine pendant 12 ans, mais son pontificat a été précédé par des décennies de service et de bonnes œuvres.

    Jeune homme, il a trouvé sa vocation dans les quartiers défavorisés de Buenos Aires, où son dévouement au service des pauvres lui a ensuite valu le titre « d’évêque des bidonvilles ».

    Ces premières expériences ont renforcé sa conviction que la foi devait être un moteur d’action et de changement.

    Restant fidèle à cette conviction, il a défendu sans relâche la cause de la justice sociale et de l’égalité.

    Dans son encyclique de 2020, Fratelli Tutti, François a établi un lien direct entre la cupidité, d’une part, et la pauvreté, la faim, l’inégalité et la souffrance, d’autre part.

    Tout en dénonçant les inégalités qui caractérisent notre économie mondialisée, il a également mis en garde contre ce qu’il appelait la « mondialisation de l’indifférence ».

    Je n’oublierai jamais sa première visite officielle en tant que pape, à une époque où j’étais Haut‑Commissaire pour les réfugiés.

    En 2013, François avait choisi de se rendre sur l’île méditerranéenne de Lampedusa pour appeler l’attention du monde entier sur la situation désespérée des demandeurs d’asile et des migrants.

    Il avait alors mis en garde contre « la culture du bien-être, qui nous amène à penser à nous-même, nous rend insensibles aux cris des autres ».

    L’année dernière, à l’occasion de la Journée mondiale des réfugiés, il a exhorté tous les pays à « accueillir, promouvoir, accompagner et intégrer ceux qui frappent à nos portes ».

    Quand je l’ai rencontré au Vatican en 2019 en ma qualité de Secrétaire général, j’ai été frappé par son humanité et son humilité.

    Il voyait toujours les problèmes à travers les yeux de celles et ceux qui sont relégués aux périphéries.

    Il disait qu’il ne fallait jamais détourner le regard de l’injustice et de l’inégalité, ni fermer les yeux sur celles et ceux qui subissent les conséquences d’un conflit ou d’actes de violence.

    Infatigable pèlerin de la paix, le pape François s’est rendu dans des pays déchirés par la guerre – de l’Iraq au Soudan du Sud, en passant par la République démocratique du Congo – pour dénoncer la violence et les affrontements sanglants et prôner la réconciliation.

    Il défendait avec conviction les innocents qui se trouvent dans des zones de guerre, comme en Ukraine et dans la bande de Gaza.

    Il le faisait depuis sa tribune, mais aussi à un niveau beaucoup plus personnel.

    Tous les jours sans exception, à 19 heures précises, il se retirait pour appeler l’église de la Sainte-Famille, à Gaza.

    L’un de ses interlocuteurs a raconté ces conversations : « François nous demandait : “comment allez-vous ? Qu’avez-vous mangé ? Avez-vous de l’eau ? Y-a-t-il des blessés parmi vous ?” Il ne le faisait pas pour des raisons diplomatiques ou par obligation. C’était le genre de questions qu’un père aurait posées ».

    Et, dans son tout dernier message, le dimanche de Pâques, le pape François a souligné à quel point il était vital de mettre fin à tous ces conflits.

    Jusqu’au bout, le pape François aura incarné l’appel à la justice – pour les peuples et pour la planète.

    Grâce à son encyclique Laudato Si publiée en 2015, il a contribué à l’adoption de l’Accord de Paris en appelant les dirigeants à protéger « notre maison commune ».

    Il a également mis en évidence les liens manifestes entre la dégradation de l’environnement et la dégradation de la condition humaine.

    Le pape François comprenait que ceux qui avaient le moins contribué à la crise climatique en subissaient les conséquences les plus graves – et que nous avons le devoir spirituel et moral d’agir.

    Excellences,

    Dans ce monde de division et de discorde, le fait que le pape François ait proclamé 2025 année de l’espérance revêt une signification particulière.

    Il aura été jusqu’au bout un messager de l’espérance.

    Et c’est à nous qu’il revient maintenant de continuer de faire vivre cette espérance.

    À ses funérailles, samedi, j’ai été profondément ému de voir des dirigeants de toutes confessions et toutes tendances politiques réunis dans la solidarité pour rendre hommage à la vie et à l’œuvre du pape François, dans un esprit d’unité et de réflexion solennelle rares dont nous avons plus que jamais besoin aujourd’hui.

    Notre monde serait bien meilleur si nous suivions, dans nos propres paroles et actions, l’exemple d’unité, de compassion et de compréhension mutuelle qu’il a donné tout au long de sa vie.

    Que ce deuil soit l’occasion de renouveler notre engagement en faveur de la paix, de la dignité humaine et de la justice sociale, causes pour lesquelles le pape François a consacré chaque instant d’une vie pour le moins extraordinaire.

    Je vous remercie.
     

    MIL OSI Africa –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: Secretary-General’s remarks to the General Assembly event in Commemoration of His Holiness Pope Francis [trilingual, as delivered; scroll down for All-English and All-French versions]

    Source: United Nations secretary general

    Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen,

    His Holiness Pope Francis was a man of faith — and a bridge-builder among all faiths.  

    He was a champion of the most marginalized people on earth.

    He was a voice of community in a world of division…

    A voice of mercy in a world of cruelty…

    A voice of peace in a world of war.

    And he was a steadfast friend of the United Nations, addressing Member States from this very podium in 2015.

    During that historic visit, he also spoke of our organization’s ideal of a “united human family living in harmony, working not only for peace, but in peace, working not only for justice, but in a spirit of justice.”

    On behalf of our UN family, I extend by deepest condolences to the Catholic community and to so many others around the world grieving this tremendous loss.

    Excellencies,

    Pope Francis was at the helm of the Roman Catholic Church for a dozen years — but that was preceded by decades of service and good works.

    As a young man, Pope Francis found his calling in the slums of Buenos Aires, where his dedication to serving the poor earned him the title “Bishop of the Slums.”

    These early experiences sharpened his conviction that faith must be an engine of action and change.  

    Pope Francis put that engine into overdrive as an unstoppable voice for social justice and equality.  

    His 2020 encyclical, Fratelli Tutti, drew a straight line between greed and poverty, hunger, inequality and suffering.

    While decrying the inequality that defines our globalized economy, he also warned against what he called “globalization of indifference.”  

    I will never forget the first official visit he undertook as Pope, at a time when I served as High Commissioner for Refugees.

    Pope Francis chose to go to the Mediterranean island of Lampedusa in 2013 — to put a global spotlight on the desperate plight of asylum seekers and migrants.

    He warned against “the culture of comfort, which makes us think only of ourselves, makes us insensitive to the cries of other people.”

    And on last year’s World Refugee Day, he called on all countries “to welcome, promote, accompany and integrate those who knock on our doors.”

    When I met with him at the Vatican as Secretary-General in 2019, I was struck by his humanity and his humility. 

    He always saw challenges through the eyes of those on the peripheries of life. 

    And he said we can never look away from injustice and inequality — or close our eyes to those suffering from conflict or acts of violence.   

    Always a pilgrim for peace, Pope Francis ventured to war-torn countries around the world — from Iraq to South Sudan to the Democratic Republic of Congo and beyond — decrying bloodshed and violence, and pushing for reconciliation.  

    He stood with conviction for innocents caught in war zones such as Ukraine and Gaza.

    He did it with his global platform — but he also did it in much more personal and profound ways.

    Every day without fail, precisely at 7:00 p.m., he would quietly call the Church of the Holy Family in Gaza City.

    As someone at the Church said, “He would ask us how we were, what did we eat, did we have clean water, was anyone injured? It was never diplomatic or a matter of obligation. It was the questions a father asks to their son.”

    And in his final message on Easter Sunday, Pope Francis underscored the vital importance of ending these conflicts.      

    Jusqu’au bout, le pape François aura incarné l’appel à la justice – pour les peuples et pour la planète.

    Grâce à son encyclique Laudato Si publiée en 2015, il a contribué à l’adoption de l’Accord de Paris en appelant les dirigeants à protéger « notre maison commune ».

    Il a également mis en évidence les liens manifestes entre la dégradation de l’environnement et la dégradation de la condition humaine.

    Le pape François comprenait que ceux qui avaient le moins contribué à la crise climatique en subissaient les conséquences les plus graves – et que nous avons le devoir spirituel et moral d’agir.

    Excelencias:

    En el mundo actual de división y discordia, es particularmente significativo que el Papa Francisco haya proclamado 2025 como el año de la esperanza.

    Él fue siempre un mensajero de esperanza. 

    Ahora nos corresponde a todos nosotros llevar adelante esta esperanza.

    En su funeral del sábado, me conmovió profundamente ver a líderes de todas las religiones y tendencias políticas unirse en solidaridad para honrar la vida y los logros del Papa Francisco – un raro espíritu de unidad y reflexión solemne que necesitamos ahora más que nunca.

    Nuestro mundo sería un lugar mucho mejor si siguiéramos su ejemplo de unidad, compasión y comprensión mutua a través de nuestras propias palabras y acciones.  

    Mientras lloramos la muerte del Papa Francisco, renovemos nuestro compromiso con la paz, la dignidad humana y la justicia social – las causas a las que dedicó cada momento de su extraordinaria vida.

    Muchas gracias.

    ***
    [All-English]

    Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen,

    His Holiness Pope Francis was a man of faith — and a bridge-builder among all faiths.  

    He was a champion of the most marginalized people on earth.

    He was a voice of community in a world of division…

    A voice of mercy in a world of cruelty…

    A voice of peace in a world of war.

    And he was a steadfast friend of the United Nations, addressing Member States from this very podium in 2015.

    During that historic visit, he also spoke of our organization’s ideal of a “united human family living in harmony, working not only for peace, but in peace, working not only for justice, but in a spirit of justice.”

    On behalf of our UN family, I extend by deepest condolences to the Catholic community and to so many others around the world grieving this tremendous loss.

    Excellencies,

    Pope Francis was at the helm of the Roman Catholic Church for a dozen years — but that was preceded by decades of service and good works.

    As a young man, Pope Francis found his calling in the slums of Buenos Aires, where his dedication to serving the poor earned him the title “Bishop of the Slums.”

    These early experiences sharpened his conviction that faith must be an engine of action and change.  

    Pope Francis put that engine into overdrive as an unstoppable voice for social justice and equality.  

    His 2020 encyclical, Fratelli Tutti, drew a straight line between greed and poverty, hunger, inequality and suffering.

    While decrying the inequality that defines our globalized economy, he also warned against what he called “globalization of indifference.”  

    I will never forget the first official visit he undertook as Pope, at a time when I served as High Commissioner for Refugees.

    Pope Francis chose to go to the Mediterranean island of Lampedusa in 2013 — to put a global spotlight on the desperate plight of asylum seekers and migrants.

    He warned against “the culture of comfort, which makes us think only of ourselves, makes us insensitive to the cries of other people.”

    And on last year’s World Refugee Day, he called on all countries “to welcome, promote, accompany and integrate those who knock on our doors.”

    When I met with him at the Vatican as Secretary-General in 2019, I was struck by his humanity and his humility. 

    He always saw challenges through the eyes of those on the peripheries of life. 

    And he said we can never look away from injustice and inequality — or close our eyes to those suffering from conflict or acts of violence.   

    Always a pilgrim for peace, Pope Francis ventured to war-torn countries around the world — from Iraq to South Sudan to the Democratic Republic of Congo and beyond — decrying bloodshed and violence, and pushing for reconciliation.  

    He stood with conviction for innocents caught in war zones such as Ukraine and Gaza.

    He did it with his global platform — but he also did it in much more personal and profound ways.

    Every day without fail, precisely at 7:00 p.m., he would quietly call the Church of the Holy Family in Gaza City.

    As someone at the Church said, “He would ask us how we were, what did we eat, did we have clean water, was anyone injured? It was never diplomatic or a matter of obligation. It was the questions a father asks to their son.”

    And in his final message on Easter Sunday, Pope Francis underscored the vital importance of ending these conflicts.      

    Throughout, Pope Francis was a clear voice of justice for people and planet.

    He helped secure the adoption of the Paris Agreement with his 2015 encyclical Laudato Si that called on leaders to protect “our common home.”

    He also highlighted the clear ties between environmental degradation and the degradation of humanity.

    Pope Francis understood that those who contributed the least to the climate crisis suffered the most — and that we have a spiritual and moral duty to act.

    Excellencies,

    In today’s world of division and discord, it is particularly meaningful that Pope Francis proclaimed 2025 to be the year of hope.

    He was forever a messenger of hope. 

    Now it falls to all of us to carry this hope forward.

    At his funeral on Saturday, I was deeply moved to see leaders from across all faiths and political stripes come together in solidarity to honour the life and achievements of Pope Francis — a rare spirit of unity and solemn reflection that we need now, more than ever.
    Our world would be a much better place if we followed his lifelong example of unity, compassion and mutual understanding through our own words and actions.  

    As we mourn the passing of Pope Francis, let us renew our pledge to peace, human dignity and social justice — the causes for which he dedicated every moment of his most extraordinary life.

    Thank you.

    ***
    [All-French]

    Excellences, Mesdames et Messieurs,

    Sa Sainteté le pape François était un homme de foi – et un bâtisseur de ponts entre toutes les religions.

    Il s’était fait le champion des personnes les plus marginalisées sur Terre.

    Il était une voix de solidarité dans un monde de clivages…

    Une voix de compassion dans un monde de cruauté…

    Une voix de paix dans un monde de guerre.

    C’était aussi un grand ami de l’Organisation des Nations Unies et il s’était exprimé en 2015 devant les États Membres depuis cette même tribune.

    Lors de cette visite historique, il avait évoqué l’idéal de notre Organisation, à savoir « une famille humaine unie, vivant en harmonie, travaillant non seulement pour la paix, mais dans la paix ; travaillant non seulement pour la justice, mais dans un esprit de justice. »

    Au nom de notre famille, celle des Nations Unies, j’adresse mes plus sincères condoléances à l’ensemble des catholiques et aux nombreuses autres personnes qui, partout dans le monde, souffrent de cette terrible perte.

    Excellences,

    Le pape François a été à la tête de l’Église catholique romaine pendant 12 ans, mais son pontificat a été précédé par des décennies de service et de bonnes œuvres.

    Jeune homme, il a trouvé sa vocation dans les quartiers défavorisés de Buenos Aires, où son dévouement au service des pauvres lui a ensuite valu le titre « d’évêque des bidonvilles ».

    Ces premières expériences ont renforcé sa conviction que la foi devait être un moteur d’action et de changement.

    Restant fidèle à cette conviction, il a défendu sans relâche la cause de la justice sociale et de l’égalité.

    Dans son encyclique de 2020, Fratelli Tutti, François a établi un lien direct entre la cupidité, d’une part, et la pauvreté, la faim, l’inégalité et la souffrance, d’autre part.

    Tout en dénonçant les inégalités qui caractérisent notre économie mondialisée, il a également mis en garde contre ce qu’il appelait la « mondialisation de l’indifférence ».

    Je n’oublierai jamais sa première visite officielle en tant que pape, à une époque où j’étais Haut‑Commissaire pour les réfugiés.

    En 2013, François avait choisi de se rendre sur l’île méditerranéenne de Lampedusa pour appeler l’attention du monde entier sur la situation désespérée des demandeurs d’asile et des migrants.

    Il avait alors mis en garde contre « la culture du bien-être, qui nous amène à penser à nous-même, nous rend insensibles aux cris des autres ».

    L’année dernière, à l’occasion de la Journée mondiale des réfugiés, il a exhorté tous les pays à « accueillir, promouvoir, accompagner et intégrer ceux qui frappent à nos portes ».

    Quand je l’ai rencontré au Vatican en 2019 en ma qualité de Secrétaire général, j’ai été frappé par son humanité et son humilité.

    Il voyait toujours les problèmes à travers les yeux de celles et ceux qui sont relégués aux périphéries.

    Il disait qu’il ne fallait jamais détourner le regard de l’injustice et de l’inégalité, ni fermer les yeux sur celles et ceux qui subissent les conséquences d’un conflit ou d’actes de violence.

    Infatigable pèlerin de la paix, le pape François s’est rendu dans des pays déchirés par la guerre – de l’Iraq au Soudan du Sud, en passant par la République démocratique du Congo – pour dénoncer la violence et les affrontements sanglants et prôner la réconciliation.

    Il défendait avec conviction les innocents qui se trouvent dans des zones de guerre, comme en Ukraine et dans la bande de Gaza.

    Il le faisait depuis sa tribune, mais aussi à un niveau beaucoup plus personnel.

    Tous les jours sans exception, à 19 heures précises, il se retirait pour appeler l’église de la Sainte-Famille, à Gaza.

    L’un de ses interlocuteurs a raconté ces conversations : « François nous demandait : “comment allez-vous ? Qu’avez-vous mangé ? Avez-vous de l’eau ? Y-a-t-il des blessés parmi vous ?” Il ne le faisait pas pour des raisons diplomatiques ou par obligation. C’était le genre de questions qu’un père aurait posées ».

    Et, dans son tout dernier message, le dimanche de Pâques, le pape François a souligné à quel point il était vital de mettre fin à tous ces conflits.

    Jusqu’au bout, le pape François aura incarné l’appel à la justice – pour les peuples et pour la planète.

    Grâce à son encyclique Laudato Si publiée en 2015, il a contribué à l’adoption de l’Accord de Paris en appelant les dirigeants à protéger « notre maison commune ».

    Il a également mis en évidence les liens manifestes entre la dégradation de l’environnement et la dégradation de la condition humaine.

    Le pape François comprenait que ceux qui avaient le moins contribué à la crise climatique en subissaient les conséquences les plus graves – et que nous avons le devoir spirituel et moral d’agir.

    Excellences,

    Dans ce monde de division et de discorde, le fait que le pape François ait proclamé 2025 année de l’espérance revêt une signification particulière.

    Il aura été jusqu’au bout un messager de l’espérance.

    Et c’est à nous qu’il revient maintenant de continuer de faire vivre cette espérance.

    À ses funérailles, samedi, j’ai été profondément ému de voir des dirigeants de toutes confessions et toutes tendances politiques réunis dans la solidarité pour rendre hommage à la vie et à l’œuvre du pape François, dans un esprit d’unité et de réflexion solennelle rares dont nous avons plus que jamais besoin aujourd’hui.

    Notre monde serait bien meilleur si nous suivions, dans nos propres paroles et actions, l’exemple d’unité, de compassion et de compréhension mutuelle qu’il a donné tout au long de sa vie.

    Que ce deuil soit l’occasion de renouveler notre engagement en faveur de la paix, de la dignité humaine et de la justice sociale, causes pour lesquelles le pape François a consacré chaque instant d’une vie pour le moins extraordinaire.

    Je vous remercie.
     

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-OSI Africa: Secretary-General’s remarks at the 2025 ECOSOC Forum on Financing for Development [Bilingual, as delivered; scroll down for All-English and All-French versions]

    Source: United Nations – English

    r. President of the General Assembly, Mr. President of ECOSOC,

    Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen,

    This year’s ECOSOC Forum comes at a pivotal time.

    We are in the final stretch of preparations for the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development in Sevilla.

    And we face some harsh truths. 

    The harsh truth of donors pulling the plug on aid commitments and delivery at historic speed and scale.

    The harsh truth of trade barriers being erected at a dizzying pace.

    The harsh truth that the Sustainable Development Goals are dramatically off track, exacerbated by an annual financing gap of an estimated $4 trillion.

    And the harsh truth of prohibitively high borrowing costs that are draining away public investments in everything from education and health systems, to social protection, infrastructure and the energy transition.

    But there’s another, much larger — and more dangerous — truth underlying all these challenges:  
    The harsh truth that global collaboration is being actively questioned.

    Look no further than trade wars. 

    Trade — fair trade — is a prime example of the benefits of international cooperation.

    And trade barriers are a clear and present danger to the global economy and sustainable development – as demonstrated in recent sharply lower forecasts by the International Monetary Fund, UNCTAD, the World Trade Organization and many others.

    In a trade war, everybody loses — especially the most vulnerable countries and people, who are hit the hardest.

    Excellencies,

    Against this turbulent background, we cannot let our financing for development ambitions get swept away.

    With just five years to reach the Sustainable Development Goals, we need to shift into overdrive.  

    That includes making good on the commitments countries made in the Pact for the Future in September:

    From an SDG stimulus to help countries invest in their people…

    To vital and long-awaited reforms to the global financial architecture…

    To the Pact’s clear commitments to open, fair and rules-based trade…

    To its call for an analysis of the impact of military expenditures on the achievement of the SDGs, with a final report out by September…

    To the Pact’s urging for an ambitious outcome to July’s Conference on Financing for Development.

    As you continue negotiations on the draft outcome document for Sevilla, I push for action in three key areas.

    First — on debt.

    When applied smartly and fairly, debt can be an ally of development.

    Instead, it has become a villain.

    In many developing countries, gains are getting crushed under the weight of debt service, siphoning away investments in education, health and infrastructure.

    And the problem is getting worse.

    Debt service for developing economies has soared past $1.4 trillion a year.

    Debt service now exceeds 10 per cent of government revenue in more than 50 developing countries — and more than 20 per cent in 17 countries — a clear warning sign of default.

    The Sevilla Conference should emerge with a commitment by Member States to lower the cost of borrowing, improve debt restructuring, and prevent crises from taking hold.

    This includes establishing a dedicated facility to help developing countries manage their liabilities and enhance liquidity in times of crisis.

    The G20 must also continue its work to speed up the Common Framework for Debt Treatments and expand support for countries that are currently ineligible — including middle-income countries in difficulties.

    And credit ratings agencies need to rethink ratings methodologies that drive up borrowing costs for developing countries.

    At the same time, the IMF and World Bank should push forward on reforming debt assessments to account for sustainable development investments and climate risks.

    These proposals and the many others contained in the draft outcome document provide an ambitious roadmap to help developing countries use debt in a constructive and sustainable way.

    Second — we need to unlock the full potential of our international financial institutions.

    If finance is the fuel of development, Multilateral Development Banks are its engine.

    And this engine needs revving up. 

    We will keep pushing to triple the lending capacity of Multilateral Development Banks, making them bigger and bolder, as called for in the draft outcome document.

    This includes recapitalization, stretching their balance sheets and substantially increasing their capacity to mobilize private finance at reasonable costs for developing countries.

    We must ensure that concessional finance is deployed where it is most needed.

    And we need to see that developing countries are represented fairly — and have a voice — in the governance of these institutions they depend on.

    Troisièmement, nous devons prendre des mesures concrètes pour augmenter tous les flux de financement.

    Oui, les temps sont durs.

    Mais c’est d’autant plus dans les périodes difficiles qu’un investissement responsable et durable s’impose.

    Au niveau national, les gouvernements doivent mobiliser davantage de ressources internes et les diriger vers des systèmes essentiels tels que l’éducation, la santé et les infrastructures…

    Ils doivent collaborer avec des partenaires privés pour multiplier les options de financement mixte…

    Et intensifier la lutte contre la corruption et les flux financiers illicites.

    Au niveau mondial, nous devons poursuivre nos efforts en vue d’établir un régime fiscal mondial inclusif et efficace, et veiller à ce que les règles fiscales internationales soient effectivement et équitablement appliquées.

    Les donateurs doivent tenir leurs promesses en matière d’aide publique au développement et s’assurer que ces précieuses ressources parviennent aux pays en développement.

    Pour notre part, nous donnerons aux équipes de pays des Nations Unies tous les moyens pour collaborer avec les gouvernements hôtes, afin qu’un maximum de ressources soit affecté au développement durable aux niveaux national et régional.

    Et nous saisirons toutes les occasions, y compris la COP30 au Brésil, pour demander aux dirigeants de trouver des sources innovantes de financement de l’action climatique dans les pays en développement – afin de mobiliser 1 300 milliards de dollars par an d’ici à 2035.

    Tout cela exige des efforts particuliers en terme de sources innovantes de financement.

    Excellences,

    À bien des égards, l’avenir du système multilatéral dépend du financement du développement.

    Il en va de notre conviction que le règlement des problèmes mondiaux – tels que la pauvreté, la faim et la crise climatique – demande des solutions mondiales.

    Tirons le meilleur parti de ce moment charnière, alors que nous nous préparons pour la conférence de Séville.

    Maintenons nos ambitions à la hauteur des enjeux, et agissons pour les populations et pour la planète.

    Et je vous remercie.

    ***
    [All-English]

    Mr. President of the General Assembly, Mr. President of ECOSOC,

    Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen,

    This year’s ECOSOC Forum comes at a pivotal time.

    We are in the final stretch of preparations for the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development in Sevilla.

    And we face some harsh truths. 

    The harsh truth of donors pulling the plug on aid commitments and delivery at historic speed and scale.

    The harsh truth of trade barriers being erected at a dizzying pace.

    The harsh truth that the Sustainable Development Goals are dramatically off track, exacerbated by an annual financing gap of an estimated $4 trillion.

    And the harsh truth of prohibitively high borrowing costs that are draining away public investments in everything from education and health systems, to social protection, infrastructure and the energy transition.

    But there’s another, much larger — and more dangerous — truth underlying all these challenges:

    The harsh truth that global collaboration is being actively questioned.

    Look no further than trade wars. 

    Trade — fair trade — is a prime example of the benefits of international cooperation.

    And trade barriers are a clear and present danger to the global economy and sustainable development – as demonstrated in recent sharply lower forecasts by the International Monetary Fund, UNCTAD, the World Trade Organization and many others.

    In a trade war, everybody loses — especially the most vulnerable countries and people, who are hit the hardest.

    Excellencies,

    Against this turbulent background, we cannot let our financing for development ambitions get swept away.

    With just five years to reach the Sustainable Development Goals, we need to shift into overdrive.  

    That includes making good on the commitments countries made in the Pact for the Future in September:

    From an SDG stimulus to help countries invest in their people…

    To vital and long-awaited reforms to the global financial architecture…

    To the Pact’s clear commitments to open, fair and rules-based trade…

    To its call for an analysis of the impact of military expenditures on the achievement of the SDGs, with a final report out by September…

    To the Pact’s urging for an ambitious outcome to July’s Conference on Financing for Development.

    As you continue negotiations on the draft outcome document for Sevilla, I push for action in three key areas.

    First — on debt.

    When applied smartly and fairly, debt can be an ally of development.

    Instead, it has become a villain.

    In many developing countries, gains are getting crushed under the weight of debt service, siphoning away investments in education, health and infrastructure.

    And the problem is getting worse.

    Debt service for developing economies has soared past $1.4 trillion a year.

    Debt service now exceeds 10 per cent of government revenue in more than 50 developing countries — and more than 20 per cent in 17 countries — a clear warning sign of default.

    The Sevilla Conference should emerge with a commitment by Member States to lower the cost of borrowing, improve debt restructuring, and prevent crises from taking hold.

    This includes establishing a dedicated facility to help developing countries manage their liabilities and enhance liquidity in times of crisis.

    The G20 must also continue its work to speed up the Common Framework for Debt Treatments and expand support for countries that are currently ineligible — including middle-income countries in difficulties.

    And credit ratings agencies need to rethink ratings methodologies that drive up borrowing costs for developing countries.

    At the same time, the IMF and World Bank should push forward on reforming debt assessments to account for sustainable development investments and climate risks.

    These proposals and the many others contained in the draft outcome document provide an ambitious roadmap to help developing countries use debt in a constructive and sustainable way.

    Second — we need to unlock the full potential of our international financial institutions.

    If finance is the fuel of development, Multilateral Development Banks are its engine.

    And this engine needs revving up. 

    We will keep pushing to triple the lending capacity of Multilateral Development Banks, making them bigger and bolder, as called for in the draft outcome document.

    This includes recapitalization, stretching their balance sheets and substantially increasing their capacity to mobilize private finance at reasonable costs for developing countries.

    We must ensure that concessional finance is deployed where it is most needed.

    And we need to see that developing countries are represented fairly — and have a voice — in the governance of these institutions they depend on.

    And third — we need concrete action to increase all streams of finance.

    Yes, these are tough times.

    But it is in difficult periods that the imperative for responsible, sustainable investment is even more critical. 

    At the country level, governments need to strengthen the mobilization of domestic resources and channel them towards critical systems like education, health and infrastructure…

    To work with private sector partners to increase blended finance options…

    And to scale-up the fight against corruption and illicit financial flows.

    At the global level, we must keep working to shape an inclusive and effective global tax regime, and ensure that international taxation rules are applied fairly and effectively.

    Donors must keep their promises on official development assistance, and ensure those precious resources reach developing countries.  

    For our part, we will fully deploy our UN Country Teams to work with host governments to channel the maximum amount of resources towards sustainable development at the national and regional levels.
     
    And we will use every opportunity — including COP30 in Brazil — to call on leaders to identify innovative sources of climate finance for developing countries leading to the mobilization of $1.3 trillion annually by 2035. 

    All this requires a focus on innovative sources of finance.  

    Excellencies,

    In many ways, financing for development is integral to the future of the multilateral system.

    It’s about our conviction in the power of global solutions to global problems like poverty, hunger and the climate crisis.

    Let’s make the most of this critical moment as we prepare for Sevilla.

    Let’s keep our ambitions high and deliver for people and planet.

    And I thank you.

    ***
    [All-French]

    Monsieur le Président de l’Assemblée générale, Monsieur le Président de l’ECOSOC,

    Excellences, Mesdames et Messieurs,

    Le Forum du Conseil économique et social de cette année tombe à un moment charnière.

    Les préparatifs de la quatrième Conférence internationale sur le financement du développement, qui se tiendra à Séville, entrent dans leur dernière ligne droite.

    Parallèlement, nous nous heurtons à de dures réalités :

    Des donateurs qui reviennent sur leurs engagements et renoncent à verser l’aide promise à une vitesse et à une ampleur sans précédent ;

    Des barrières commerciales qui sont érigées à un rythme effréné ;

    Des objectifs de développement durable qui sont encore bien loin d’être atteints et qui pâtissent d’un déficit de financement annuel estimé à 4 000 milliards de dollars ;

    Ou encore des coûts d’emprunt prohibitifs qui tarissent les investissements publics dans tous les domaines, de l’éducation et des systèmes de santé à la protection sociale, en passant par les infrastructures et la transition énergétique.

    Mais il y a une autre réalité – bien plus importante et bien plus dangereuse – qui est à la base de tous ces problèmes.

    Cette réalité, c’est la remise en question de la collaboration internationale.

    Inutile de chercher un exemple bien loin : prenons les guerres commerciales.

    Le commerce – un commerce équitable – illustre parfaitement les avantages de la coopération internationale.

    Les barrières commerciales constituent un danger réel et immédiat pour l’économie mondiale et le développement durable – comme le montrent les récentes prévisions en forte baisse du Fonds monétaire international, de la CNUCED, de l’Organisation mondiale du commerce et de bien d’autres organismes.

    L’Organisation mondiale du commerce prévoit déjà que le commerce international de marchandises se contractera de 0,2 % cette année – un revirement brutal par rapport à la hausse de 2,9 % enregistrée l’année dernière.

    Dans une guerre commerciale, tout le monde est perdant, en particulier les pays et les populations les plus vulnérables, qui sont les plus durement touchés.

    Excellences,

    Dans ce contexte mouvementé, nous ne pouvons laisser s’envoler nos ambitions en matière de financement du développement.

    Il ne reste que cinq ans pour atteindre les objectifs de développement durable ; il nous faut donc passer à la vitesse supérieure.

    Il faut notamment honorer les engagements pris par les pays dans le cadre du Pacte pour l’avenir en septembre :

    Du plan de relance des objectifs de développement durable, qui vise à aider les pays à investir dans leurs populations…

    Aux réformes vitales et longuement attendues de l’architecture financière mondiale…

    Aux engagements clairs pris dans le Pacte en faveur d’un commerce ouvert, équitable et régi par des règles…

    À l’analyse qui y est préconisée de l’impact des dépenses militaires sur la réalisation des objectifs de développement durable, qui fera l’objet d’un rapport final publié d’ici à septembre…

    Et au résultat ambitieux qui y est fixé pour la Conférence internationale sur le financement du développement de juillet.

    Alors que les négociations sur le projet de document final de Séville se poursuivent, j’insiste pour que des mesures soient prises dans trois domaines clés.

    Premièrement, la dette.

    Lorsqu’elle est exploitée de manière intelligente et équitable, la dette peut être une alliée du développement.

    Or, elle est devenue une ennemie.

    Dans bon nombre de pays en développement, les acquis obtenus dans le domaine du développement croulent sous le poids du service de la dette, qui ponctionne les investissements dans l’éducation, la santé et les infrastructures.

    Et le problème ne fait qu’empirer.

    Le service de la dette des économies en développement s’est envolé à plus de 1 400 milliards de dollars par an.

    Il dépasse aujourd’hui de 10 % les recettes publiques dans plus de 50 pays en développement – et plus de 20 % dans 17 pays – un signe évident de défaillance.

    À l’issue de la conférence de Séville, les États Membres devraient s’engager à réduire le coût des emprunts, à mieux restructurer la dette et à empêcher les crises de perdurer.

    Pour ce faire, il faudra notamment mettre en place un dispositif pour aider les pays en développement à gérer leurs dettes et à améliorer leur situation de trésorerie en temps de crise.

    Le G20 doit également poursuivre ses travaux afin d’accélérer la mise en œuvre du Cadre commun pour le traitement de la dette et d’apporter un plus grand appui aux pays qui ne remplissent pas les conditions requises pour bénéficier de l’Initiative de suspension du service de la dette, notamment les pays à revenu intermédiaire.

    En outre, les agences de notation doivent revoir leurs méthodes, qui font grimper les coûts d’emprunt pour les pays en développement.

    Dans le même temps, le FMI et la Banque mondiale devraient faire avancer la réforme de l’évaluation de la dette de sorte que les investissements dans le développement durable et les risques climatiques soient pris en compte.

    Ces propositions, comme les nombreuses autres propositions faites dans le projet de document final, constituent un plan d’action ambitieux devant aider les pays en développement à utiliser la dette de manière constructive et durable.

    Deuxièmement, nos institutions financières internationales doivent pouvoir exploiter tout leur potentiel.

    Si le financement est le carburant du développement, les banques multilatérales de développement en sont le moteur.

    Et ce moteur doit être rendu plus performant.

    Nous continuerons à faire pression pour tripler la capacité de prêt des banques multilatérales de développement, en les agrandissant et en les rendant plus audacieuses, comme le prévoit le projet de document final.

    Il s’agit notamment d’augmenter leur capital, d’étendre leurs bilans et d’accroître considérablement leur capacité à mobiliser des financements privés à des coûts raisonnables pour les pays en développement.

    Il faudra également veiller à ce que des financements à des conditions favorables soient accordés là où ils sont le plus nécessaires.

    Et il faudra que les pays en développement soient représentés équitablement – et aient voix au chapitre – dans la gouvernance de ces institutions, dont ils dépendent.

    Troisièmement, nous devons prendre des mesures concrètes pour augmenter tous les flux de financement.

    Oui, les temps sont durs.

    Mais c’est d’autant plus dans les périodes difficiles qu’un investissement responsable et durable s’impose.

    Au niveau national, les gouvernements doivent mobiliser davantage de ressources internes et les diriger vers des systèmes essentiels tels que l’éducation, la santé et les infrastructures…

    Ils doivent collaborer avec des partenaires privés pour multiplier les options de financement mixte…

    Et intensifier la lutte contre la corruption et les flux financiers illicites.

    Au niveau mondial, nous devons poursuivre nos efforts en vue d’établir un régime fiscal mondial inclusif et efficace, et veiller à ce que les règles fiscales internationales soient effectivement et équitablement appliquées.
    Les donateurs doivent tenir leurs promesses en matière d’aide publique au développement et s’assurer que ces précieuses ressources parviennent aux pays en développement.

    Pour notre part, nous donnerons aux équipes de pays des Nations Unies tous les moyens pour collaborer avec les gouvernements hôtes, afin qu’un maximum de ressources soit affecté au développement durable aux niveaux national et régional.

    Et nous saisirons toutes les occasions, y compris la COP30 au Brésil, pour demander aux dirigeants de trouver des sources innovantes de financement de l’action climatique dans les pays en développement – afin de mobiliser 1 300 milliards de dollars par an d’ici à 2035.

    Tout cela exige des efforts particuliers en terme de sources innovantes de financement.

    Excellences,

    À bien des égards, l’avenir du système multilatéral dépend du financement du développement.

    Il en va de notre conviction que le règlement des problèmes mondiaux – tels que la pauvreté, la faim et la crise climatique – demande des solutions mondiales.

    Tirons le meilleur parti de ce moment charnière, alors que nous nous préparons pour la conférence de Séville.

    Maintenons nos ambitions à la hauteur des enjeux, et agissons pour les populations et pour la planète.

    Et je vous remercie.
     

    MIL OSI Africa –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: Secretary-General’s remarks at the 2025 ECOSOC Forum on Financing for Development [Bilingual, as delivered; scroll down for All-English and All-French versions]

    Source: United Nations

    Mr. President of the General Assembly, Mr. President of ECOSOC,

    Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen,

    This year’s ECOSOC Forum comes at a pivotal time.

    We are in the final stretch of preparations for the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development in Sevilla.

    And we face some harsh truths. 

    The harsh truth of donors pulling the plug on aid commitments and delivery at historic speed and scale.

    The harsh truth of trade barriers being erected at a dizzying pace.

    The harsh truth that the Sustainable Development Goals are dramatically off track, exacerbated by an annual financing gap of an estimated $4 trillion.

    And the harsh truth of prohibitively high borrowing costs that are draining away public investments in everything from education and health systems, to social protection, infrastructure and the energy transition.

    But there’s another, much larger — and more dangerous — truth underlying all these challenges:  
    The harsh truth that global collaboration is being actively questioned.

    Look no further than trade wars. 

    Trade — fair trade — is a prime example of the benefits of international cooperation.

    And trade barriers are a clear and present danger to the global economy and sustainable development – as demonstrated in recent sharply lower forecasts by the International Monetary Fund, UNCTAD, the World Trade Organization and many others.

    In a trade war, everybody loses — especially the most vulnerable countries and people, who are hit the hardest.

    Excellencies,

    Against this turbulent background, we cannot let our financing for development ambitions get swept away.

    With just five years to reach the Sustainable Development Goals, we need to shift into overdrive.  

    That includes making good on the commitments countries made in the Pact for the Future in September:

    From an SDG stimulus to help countries invest in their people…

    To vital and long-awaited reforms to the global financial architecture…

    To the Pact’s clear commitments to open, fair and rules-based trade…

    To its call for an analysis of the impact of military expenditures on the achievement of the SDGs, with a final report out by September…

    To the Pact’s urging for an ambitious outcome to July’s Conference on Financing for Development.

    As you continue negotiations on the draft outcome document for Sevilla, I push for action in three key areas.

    First — on debt.

    When applied smartly and fairly, debt can be an ally of development.

    Instead, it has become a villain.

    In many developing countries, gains are getting crushed under the weight of debt service, siphoning away investments in education, health and infrastructure.

    And the problem is getting worse.

    Debt service for developing economies has soared past $1.4 trillion a year.

    Debt service now exceeds 10 per cent of government revenue in more than 50 developing countries — and more than 20 per cent in 17 countries — a clear warning sign of default.

    The Sevilla Conference should emerge with a commitment by Member States to lower the cost of borrowing, improve debt restructuring, and prevent crises from taking hold.

    This includes establishing a dedicated facility to help developing countries manage their liabilities and enhance liquidity in times of crisis.

    The G20 must also continue its work to speed up the Common Framework for Debt Treatments and expand support for countries that are currently ineligible — including middle-income countries in difficulties.

    And credit ratings agencies need to rethink ratings methodologies that drive up borrowing costs for developing countries.

    At the same time, the IMF and World Bank should push forward on reforming debt assessments to account for sustainable development investments and climate risks.

    These proposals and the many others contained in the draft outcome document provide an ambitious roadmap to help developing countries use debt in a constructive and sustainable way.

    Second — we need to unlock the full potential of our international financial institutions.

    If finance is the fuel of development, Multilateral Development Banks are its engine.

    And this engine needs revving up. 

    We will keep pushing to triple the lending capacity of Multilateral Development Banks, making them bigger and bolder, as called for in the draft outcome document.

    This includes recapitalization, stretching their balance sheets and substantially increasing their capacity to mobilize private finance at reasonable costs for developing countries.

    We must ensure that concessional finance is deployed where it is most needed.

    And we need to see that developing countries are represented fairly — and have a voice — in the governance of these institutions they depend on.

    Troisièmement, nous devons prendre des mesures concrètes pour augmenter tous les flux de financement.

    Oui, les temps sont durs.

    Mais c’est d’autant plus dans les périodes difficiles qu’un investissement responsable et durable s’impose.

    Au niveau national, les gouvernements doivent mobiliser davantage de ressources internes et les diriger vers des systèmes essentiels tels que l’éducation, la santé et les infrastructures…

    Ils doivent collaborer avec des partenaires privés pour multiplier les options de financement mixte…

    Et intensifier la lutte contre la corruption et les flux financiers illicites.

    Au niveau mondial, nous devons poursuivre nos efforts en vue d’établir un régime fiscal mondial inclusif et efficace, et veiller à ce que les règles fiscales internationales soient effectivement et équitablement appliquées.

    Les donateurs doivent tenir leurs promesses en matière d’aide publique au développement et s’assurer que ces précieuses ressources parviennent aux pays en développement.

    Pour notre part, nous donnerons aux équipes de pays des Nations Unies tous les moyens pour collaborer avec les gouvernements hôtes, afin qu’un maximum de ressources soit affecté au développement durable aux niveaux national et régional.

    Et nous saisirons toutes les occasions, y compris la COP30 au Brésil, pour demander aux dirigeants de trouver des sources innovantes de financement de l’action climatique dans les pays en développement – afin de mobiliser 1 300 milliards de dollars par an d’ici à 2035.

    Tout cela exige des efforts particuliers en terme de sources innovantes de financement.

    Excellences,

    À bien des égards, l’avenir du système multilatéral dépend du financement du développement.

    Il en va de notre conviction que le règlement des problèmes mondiaux – tels que la pauvreté, la faim et la crise climatique – demande des solutions mondiales.

    Tirons le meilleur parti de ce moment charnière, alors que nous nous préparons pour la conférence de Séville.

    Maintenons nos ambitions à la hauteur des enjeux, et agissons pour les populations et pour la planète.

    Et je vous remercie.

    ***
    [All-English]

    Mr. President of the General Assembly, Mr. President of ECOSOC,

    Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen,

    This year’s ECOSOC Forum comes at a pivotal time.

    We are in the final stretch of preparations for the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development in Sevilla.

    And we face some harsh truths. 

    The harsh truth of donors pulling the plug on aid commitments and delivery at historic speed and scale.

    The harsh truth of trade barriers being erected at a dizzying pace.

    The harsh truth that the Sustainable Development Goals are dramatically off track, exacerbated by an annual financing gap of an estimated $4 trillion.

    And the harsh truth of prohibitively high borrowing costs that are draining away public investments in everything from education and health systems, to social protection, infrastructure and the energy transition.

    But there’s another, much larger — and more dangerous — truth underlying all these challenges:

    The harsh truth that global collaboration is being actively questioned.

    Look no further than trade wars. 

    Trade — fair trade — is a prime example of the benefits of international cooperation.

    And trade barriers are a clear and present danger to the global economy and sustainable development – as demonstrated in recent sharply lower forecasts by the International Monetary Fund, UNCTAD, the World Trade Organization and many others.

    In a trade war, everybody loses — especially the most vulnerable countries and people, who are hit the hardest.

    Excellencies,

    Against this turbulent background, we cannot let our financing for development ambitions get swept away.

    With just five years to reach the Sustainable Development Goals, we need to shift into overdrive.  

    That includes making good on the commitments countries made in the Pact for the Future in September:

    From an SDG stimulus to help countries invest in their people…

    To vital and long-awaited reforms to the global financial architecture…

    To the Pact’s clear commitments to open, fair and rules-based trade…

    To its call for an analysis of the impact of military expenditures on the achievement of the SDGs, with a final report out by September…

    To the Pact’s urging for an ambitious outcome to July’s Conference on Financing for Development.

    As you continue negotiations on the draft outcome document for Sevilla, I push for action in three key areas.

    First — on debt.

    When applied smartly and fairly, debt can be an ally of development.

    Instead, it has become a villain.

    In many developing countries, gains are getting crushed under the weight of debt service, siphoning away investments in education, health and infrastructure.

    And the problem is getting worse.

    Debt service for developing economies has soared past $1.4 trillion a year.

    Debt service now exceeds 10 per cent of government revenue in more than 50 developing countries — and more than 20 per cent in 17 countries — a clear warning sign of default.

    The Sevilla Conference should emerge with a commitment by Member States to lower the cost of borrowing, improve debt restructuring, and prevent crises from taking hold.

    This includes establishing a dedicated facility to help developing countries manage their liabilities and enhance liquidity in times of crisis.

    The G20 must also continue its work to speed up the Common Framework for Debt Treatments and expand support for countries that are currently ineligible — including middle-income countries in difficulties.

    And credit ratings agencies need to rethink ratings methodologies that drive up borrowing costs for developing countries.

    At the same time, the IMF and World Bank should push forward on reforming debt assessments to account for sustainable development investments and climate risks.

    These proposals and the many others contained in the draft outcome document provide an ambitious roadmap to help developing countries use debt in a constructive and sustainable way.

    Second — we need to unlock the full potential of our international financial institutions.

    If finance is the fuel of development, Multilateral Development Banks are its engine.

    And this engine needs revving up. 

    We will keep pushing to triple the lending capacity of Multilateral Development Banks, making them bigger and bolder, as called for in the draft outcome document.

    This includes recapitalization, stretching their balance sheets and substantially increasing their capacity to mobilize private finance at reasonable costs for developing countries.

    We must ensure that concessional finance is deployed where it is most needed.

    And we need to see that developing countries are represented fairly — and have a voice — in the governance of these institutions they depend on.

    And third — we need concrete action to increase all streams of finance.

    Yes, these are tough times.

    But it is in difficult periods that the imperative for responsible, sustainable investment is even more critical. 

    At the country level, governments need to strengthen the mobilization of domestic resources and channel them towards critical systems like education, health and infrastructure…

    To work with private sector partners to increase blended finance options…

    And to scale-up the fight against corruption and illicit financial flows.

    At the global level, we must keep working to shape an inclusive and effective global tax regime, and ensure that international taxation rules are applied fairly and effectively.

    Donors must keep their promises on official development assistance, and ensure those precious resources reach developing countries.  

    For our part, we will fully deploy our UN Country Teams to work with host governments to channel the maximum amount of resources towards sustainable development at the national and regional levels.
     
    And we will use every opportunity — including COP30 in Brazil — to call on leaders to identify innovative sources of climate finance for developing countries leading to the mobilization of $1.3 trillion annually by 2035. 

    All this requires a focus on innovative sources of finance.  

    Excellencies,

    In many ways, financing for development is integral to the future of the multilateral system.

    It’s about our conviction in the power of global solutions to global problems like poverty, hunger and the climate crisis.

    Let’s make the most of this critical moment as we prepare for Sevilla.

    Let’s keep our ambitions high and deliver for people and planet.

    And I thank you.

    ***
    [All-French]

    Monsieur le Président de l’Assemblée générale, Monsieur le Président de l’ECOSOC,

    Excellences, Mesdames et Messieurs,

    Le Forum du Conseil économique et social de cette année tombe à un moment charnière.

    Les préparatifs de la quatrième Conférence internationale sur le financement du développement, qui se tiendra à Séville, entrent dans leur dernière ligne droite.

    Parallèlement, nous nous heurtons à de dures réalités :

    Des donateurs qui reviennent sur leurs engagements et renoncent à verser l’aide promise à une vitesse et à une ampleur sans précédent ;

    Des barrières commerciales qui sont érigées à un rythme effréné ;

    Des objectifs de développement durable qui sont encore bien loin d’être atteints et qui pâtissent d’un déficit de financement annuel estimé à 4 000 milliards de dollars ;

    Ou encore des coûts d’emprunt prohibitifs qui tarissent les investissements publics dans tous les domaines, de l’éducation et des systèmes de santé à la protection sociale, en passant par les infrastructures et la transition énergétique.

    Mais il y a une autre réalité – bien plus importante et bien plus dangereuse – qui est à la base de tous ces problèmes.

    Cette réalité, c’est la remise en question de la collaboration internationale.

    Inutile de chercher un exemple bien loin : prenons les guerres commerciales.

    Le commerce – un commerce équitable – illustre parfaitement les avantages de la coopération internationale.

    Les barrières commerciales constituent un danger réel et immédiat pour l’économie mondiale et le développement durable – comme le montrent les récentes prévisions en forte baisse du Fonds monétaire international, de la CNUCED, de l’Organisation mondiale du commerce et de bien d’autres organismes.

    L’Organisation mondiale du commerce prévoit déjà que le commerce international de marchandises se contractera de 0,2 % cette année – un revirement brutal par rapport à la hausse de 2,9 % enregistrée l’année dernière.

    Dans une guerre commerciale, tout le monde est perdant, en particulier les pays et les populations les plus vulnérables, qui sont les plus durement touchés.

    Excellences,

    Dans ce contexte mouvementé, nous ne pouvons laisser s’envoler nos ambitions en matière de financement du développement.

    Il ne reste que cinq ans pour atteindre les objectifs de développement durable ; il nous faut donc passer à la vitesse supérieure.

    Il faut notamment honorer les engagements pris par les pays dans le cadre du Pacte pour l’avenir en septembre :

    Du plan de relance des objectifs de développement durable, qui vise à aider les pays à investir dans leurs populations…

    Aux réformes vitales et longuement attendues de l’architecture financière mondiale…

    Aux engagements clairs pris dans le Pacte en faveur d’un commerce ouvert, équitable et régi par des règles…

    À l’analyse qui y est préconisée de l’impact des dépenses militaires sur la réalisation des objectifs de développement durable, qui fera l’objet d’un rapport final publié d’ici à septembre…

    Et au résultat ambitieux qui y est fixé pour la Conférence internationale sur le financement du développement de juillet.

    Alors que les négociations sur le projet de document final de Séville se poursuivent, j’insiste pour que des mesures soient prises dans trois domaines clés.

    Premièrement, la dette.

    Lorsqu’elle est exploitée de manière intelligente et équitable, la dette peut être une alliée du développement.

    Or, elle est devenue une ennemie.

    Dans bon nombre de pays en développement, les acquis obtenus dans le domaine du développement croulent sous le poids du service de la dette, qui ponctionne les investissements dans l’éducation, la santé et les infrastructures.

    Et le problème ne fait qu’empirer.

    Le service de la dette des économies en développement s’est envolé à plus de 1 400 milliards de dollars par an.

    Il dépasse aujourd’hui de 10 % les recettes publiques dans plus de 50 pays en développement – et plus de 20 % dans 17 pays – un signe évident de défaillance.

    À l’issue de la conférence de Séville, les États Membres devraient s’engager à réduire le coût des emprunts, à mieux restructurer la dette et à empêcher les crises de perdurer.

    Pour ce faire, il faudra notamment mettre en place un dispositif pour aider les pays en développement à gérer leurs dettes et à améliorer leur situation de trésorerie en temps de crise.

    Le G20 doit également poursuivre ses travaux afin d’accélérer la mise en œuvre du Cadre commun pour le traitement de la dette et d’apporter un plus grand appui aux pays qui ne remplissent pas les conditions requises pour bénéficier de l’Initiative de suspension du service de la dette, notamment les pays à revenu intermédiaire.

    En outre, les agences de notation doivent revoir leurs méthodes, qui font grimper les coûts d’emprunt pour les pays en développement.

    Dans le même temps, le FMI et la Banque mondiale devraient faire avancer la réforme de l’évaluation de la dette de sorte que les investissements dans le développement durable et les risques climatiques soient pris en compte.

    Ces propositions, comme les nombreuses autres propositions faites dans le projet de document final, constituent un plan d’action ambitieux devant aider les pays en développement à utiliser la dette de manière constructive et durable.

    Deuxièmement, nos institutions financières internationales doivent pouvoir exploiter tout leur potentiel.

    Si le financement est le carburant du développement, les banques multilatérales de développement en sont le moteur.

    Et ce moteur doit être rendu plus performant.

    Nous continuerons à faire pression pour tripler la capacité de prêt des banques multilatérales de développement, en les agrandissant et en les rendant plus audacieuses, comme le prévoit le projet de document final.

    Il s’agit notamment d’augmenter leur capital, d’étendre leurs bilans et d’accroître considérablement leur capacité à mobiliser des financements privés à des coûts raisonnables pour les pays en développement.

    Il faudra également veiller à ce que des financements à des conditions favorables soient accordés là où ils sont le plus nécessaires.

    Et il faudra que les pays en développement soient représentés équitablement – et aient voix au chapitre – dans la gouvernance de ces institutions, dont ils dépendent.

    Troisièmement, nous devons prendre des mesures concrètes pour augmenter tous les flux de financement.

    Oui, les temps sont durs.

    Mais c’est d’autant plus dans les périodes difficiles qu’un investissement responsable et durable s’impose.

    Au niveau national, les gouvernements doivent mobiliser davantage de ressources internes et les diriger vers des systèmes essentiels tels que l’éducation, la santé et les infrastructures…

    Ils doivent collaborer avec des partenaires privés pour multiplier les options de financement mixte…

    Et intensifier la lutte contre la corruption et les flux financiers illicites.

    Au niveau mondial, nous devons poursuivre nos efforts en vue d’établir un régime fiscal mondial inclusif et efficace, et veiller à ce que les règles fiscales internationales soient effectivement et équitablement appliquées.
    Les donateurs doivent tenir leurs promesses en matière d’aide publique au développement et s’assurer que ces précieuses ressources parviennent aux pays en développement.

    Pour notre part, nous donnerons aux équipes de pays des Nations Unies tous les moyens pour collaborer avec les gouvernements hôtes, afin qu’un maximum de ressources soit affecté au développement durable aux niveaux national et régional.

    Et nous saisirons toutes les occasions, y compris la COP30 au Brésil, pour demander aux dirigeants de trouver des sources innovantes de financement de l’action climatique dans les pays en développement – afin de mobiliser 1 300 milliards de dollars par an d’ici à 2035.

    Tout cela exige des efforts particuliers en terme de sources innovantes de financement.

    Excellences,

    À bien des égards, l’avenir du système multilatéral dépend du financement du développement.

    Il en va de notre conviction que le règlement des problèmes mondiaux – tels que la pauvreté, la faim et la crise climatique – demande des solutions mondiales.

    Tirons le meilleur parti de ce moment charnière, alors que nous nous préparons pour la conférence de Séville.

    Maintenons nos ambitions à la hauteur des enjeux, et agissons pour les populations et pour la planète.

    Et je vous remercie.
     

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Where can Black children go in summer? Black families face disparities and need equitable options

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Juliet Bushi, Lecturer, Faculty of Education, University of Windsor

    For many Black families, summer months can be a relief and a stress. The stress is because of the precariousness of summer programming in Canada.

    Typically for families with school-aged children, summer planning usually starts in February or March, when most registration begins. The logistics around finding quality summer programming can be challenging. If you are a newcomer to Canada with financial limitations, navigating the different buffet of summer camps and affordability can be daunting.

    The stress of finding a safe space for your children while also making sure that you’re not overspending and can also provide food and shelter is a constant struggle for Canadian households, including many Black and racialized parents.

    For many Black and new immigrant families with school-aged children, the summer months pose serious mental, physical and financial challenges due to the lack of support and high costs of summer programs for school-aged children. Navigating these disparities can get complicated.

    Many Black parents are left with taking risks to ensure that they keep their jobs during the summer while juggling to find a culturally relevant program and a safe place for their children to stay during work hours.

    The cost of summer programs varies from province to province. On average, day camps can range from $35 to $500 per week, and overnight camps can range from $300 to $1,000 per week for the same period. For a family with three or more children, the cost of summer programs can total over $12,000 each year and with no tax credit, this can contribute to a negative financial investment.

    The reality is that families need accessible summer programming and education support. Prioritizing funding based on community and student needs and investment in community learning centres and programs is paramount.

    Social and economic disparities

    A lack of quality, accessible and affordable options for Black families is one reason I founded Canahari Multidisciplinary Summer Program in Regina, Sask. Canahari was designed to help address what could otherwise be the growth of social, educational and economic disparities during the summer months.

    A contrast exists between parents capable of enrolling their children in frequent literacy-enhancing activities within high-quality summer programs and those from underprivileged backgrounds.

    The latter have limited access to such high-quality resources. This is evident in their children demonstrating what educators assess as being less prepared for school and less able to engage with it than their more privileged peers.

    Studies have found that a lack of summer learning negatively impacts the educational progress of children from low socioeconomic status. These impacts further widen the achievement gap. For these reasons, implementing a national education policy to mitigate differential summer learning loss is crucial for academic success and personal development.

    Inequality gaps, complicated logistics

    Factors such as transportation, work schedules, summer programming fees, program reputation, culturally responsive summer programming and affordability are major factors contributing to educational inequality gaps. Many studies have shown social and economic status and race or ethnicity contribute to the disparities in academic achievement and summertime learning.

    In the summer, children from low-income households experience declines in reading achievement, while middle- and high-income children improve. These experiences have often been overlooked or ignored, and continue to negatively impact social connectedness, mental well-being and academic success.

    Finding an affordable summer camp is one thing. Doing so while ensuring your children feel included and safe is a top concern for Black parents (and their kids).

    Academic achievement gaps and social issues

    Scholars have examined sources of inequalities in students’ academic skills for decades, with numerous studies focusing on socioeconomic status and race or ethnicity. The complexities of these disparities challenge the meaning and intent of quality education in Canada.

    Historically, education has been a powerful tool for social, political and democratic empowerment and a means for personal growth and societal progress for Black people.

    However, Eurocentric education has been a tool that reproduces inequities and has regulated or disciplined Black students in negative ways that undermine the cultural values of Black students and parents. Not only this, these systems challenge fundamental Africentric knowledge systems and moral frameworks.

    Education scholar George Dei has argued we must disrupt the myth that mainstream education is “colour blind.”

    For Black children, schools are sites for recurring racist and traumatic encounters and summer programs are no exception. New policies are needed that disrupt and are accountable for addressing anti-Black racism and acknowledge the lived experiences and struggles of Black people.

    Nationwide policy on summer programs

    Summer programming needs to be deprivatized in Canada to ensure reimagined, consistent, equitable and accessible educational programs during summer. Summer programs are now sources of revenue, and the commercialization and marketization of summer programs make it challenging for grassroots organizations to compete in the this market.

    Recent educational reforms tend to focus on student experiences in school within the academic school calendar, while neglecting the social implications of affordable, high-quality summer programming.

    Implementing a nationwide initiative (similar to the universal child-care plan) to address these challenges appears unfeasible given current political mandates.



    Read more:
    Forgotten futures? Canada urgently needs a national discussion about young people’s futures

    With many provinces struggling with larger class sizes, underfunding and a lack of support for teachers, perhaps a more critical look at providing year-round educational support for students and teachers is the most logical thing to do.

    Planning and investment needed

    A province-wide summer program network and coalition could build accessible and culturally relevant programs that prioritize early detection of learning challenges and student needs.

    This coalition could also develop a more comprehensive policy and funding mechanism to ensure access, equity, quality and deprivatization of summer programs.

    The $10-a-day plan, introduced by the Liberal government and supported by the NDP through Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care agreements with provinces and territories, was developed to improve Canada’s long-standing inadequate childcare situation. A similar policy on summer programs should be envisioned.

    Advocating for policies that prioritize universal and comprehensive accessible education year round could help ensure women and low-income families are not penalized for having children. This practice also promotes true gender equity in the workforce.

    Collaboration between the federal, provincial, municipal and local governments and researchers on data collection and evidence-based funding is crucial in implementing a comprehensive program that considers the voices of parents, students and communities.

    I intend to continue to raise awareness on this issue, with attention to how the colonial ideology of educational reform that has avoided summer programming continues reproducing educational inequalities.

    So I ask: with all the complex social and educational inequalities maintained by colonial ideologies and privatized summer programs, where can Black children go in summer?

    Juliet Bushi receives funding from the organization.
    Canada Summer Jobs – Grants to hire youths in summer
    Multicultural Council of Saskatchewan

    I founded Canahari Multidisciplinary Summer Programs, which offers culturally relevant programs.

    – ref. Where can Black children go in summer? Black families face disparities and need equitable options – https://theconversation.com/where-can-black-children-go-in-summer-black-families-face-disparities-and-need-equitable-options-253013

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: What interviews with ordinary Germans living under the Nazis can teach us about our current politics

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Melissa Butcher, Professor Emeritus, Social and Cultural Geography, Royal Holloway University of London

    “Nazi” and “fascist” are words being used a lot these days; thrown about as descriptions of contemporary populist leaders or to mark out disagreement with someone. Comparisons with 1930s Germany don’t always suit the complexity of the moment we live in, but there are resonances. The choices people are having to make in the face of authoritarianism is among them.

    Darkness Over Germany, originally published in 1943, is a collection of conversations with people having to make difficult choices as the Nazi party gradually takes control of their country. The author, Amy Buller, lived and studied in Germany between 1912 and 1914, maintaining personal and professional networks there throughout her life.

    Concerned by what she saw happening in the 1930s, she established an Anglo-German discussion group. She took academics from the UK to Germany to try to understand the country’s slide into dictatorship.

    Democracy in decline? The risk and rise of authoritarianism

    Democracy is under pressure around the world in 2025. But is this part of a larger historical cycle or does it signal a deeper, more fundamental shift? Join us for a free event in central London on May 8 to discuss these important questions. Come for a panel discussion and stay for food, drinks and conversation.

    Get tickets here

    The conversations, with teachers, priests, military officers, tradesmen, civil servants, students and lawyers, point to some of the underlying economic and emotional drivers of authoritarianism. People speak of grievances related to humiliation and poverty. This is coupled with a desire for a leader who will make the pain of these things disappear.

    Hitler promised to make Germany great again, for which some expressed gratitude, including a skilled tradesman who had spent four years in the trenches of the first world war: “I would ask you not to sneer at an honest attempt to meet a terrible situation and I might add that I am profoundly grateful to the Führer for this idea, which has saved my own sons from the destruction of unemployment.”

    As Buller remarked in a lecture in 1942: “When men are drowning they will not be very particular about the type of rope that picks them up”.

    Amy Buller’s Darkness over Germany.
    Wikipedia

    Faced with fascism, ordinary Germans had to make difficult choices, described as “agony” by a teacher in Darkness Over Germany. At times, there is no good choice available. There were those who decided it was impossible to stay and chose exile. Some became less visible, keeping their heads down and letting it blow over, fatalistically choosing to do nothing because they felt there was nothing to be done.

    There was a choice to stay but openly defy the authorities, possibly resulting in detention or worse. But also a choice to stay, pay lip service to the regime, and try to undermine it where possible, to prevent regime-aligned people taking up another place. There was also the option to join the regime.

    All these decisions reflect how an individual may imagine the future, with despair for some but for others, a mercurial hope – that a new order will take away the humiliations of the past and bring economic prosperity. Or that the current moment is just an aberration and that this too will pass.

    As a young German officer noted: “I would put up with almost anything if in my lifetime this feeling of defeat could be removed from the German army. I know much is bad in what the Nazis do, but it will not last. It is the sort of thing that happens in revolutions.”

    These descriptions of personal responses to the rise of fascism in 1930s Germany echo what I heard in my research talking to voters across the US leading up to Donald Trump’s re-election. There is economic and social rupture as a result of globalisation, financial crises, the legacies of racism, secularism and an exponentially expanding digital life.

    Emotional drivers emerge, expressed as grievance, shame and humiliation. There is a sense of “losing our country” to an enemy, while precarity and crises are accessed daily in doom-laden echo chambers.

    People try to imagine a future out of this state of perma-crises, one in which they will feel better. There are compromises and trade-offs that have to be made, at times with the added stress of having to make choices on behalf of others, such as children. These are painful struggles that require, at times, holding disparate ideas simultaneously.

    In Darkness Over Germany, Buller showed it was possible for some to “hate the Nazis and love England” while still fighting for Germany, if doing so restored pride and economic security. Likewise in the US today, it is possible to find Trump abhorrent but still vote for him, as some of my interviewees did.

    The slide into authoritarianism isn’t “madness” or “evil”. It rests on millions of individual choices made every day by ordinary people: it is the banal, as philosopher Hannah Arendt pointed out in her work on violence and totalitarianism. It is also exhausting and sometimes dangerous for those living under the strain of compromise, as Buller’s empathetic conversations show.

    Darkness Over Germany is a reminder why such conversations are necessary. Not to condone or to cooperate with authoritarianism, as some recent ill-advised attempts for rapprochement between politicians, media personalities and Maga have shown in the US, but to understand the difficult choices that have to be made at times in order to provide people with alternatives.

    This article is part of a series on democracy and the risk of totalitarianism. Join us to find out more about this topic at a free event in London on May 8. Meet the author and Conversation editors, with food and drink included. Get tickets here.

    Melissa Butcher has received funding from UKRI and the ERC. She is a member of the Green Party.

    – ref. What interviews with ordinary Germans living under the Nazis can teach us about our current politics – https://theconversation.com/what-interviews-with-ordinary-germans-living-under-the-nazis-can-teach-us-about-our-current-politics-255401

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: Dialogue, negotiations, disarmament: the Church’s path to peace according to Pope Francis

    Source: Agenzia Fides – MIL OSI

    Tuesday, 29 April 2025

    Vatican Media

    Vatican City (Fides Agency) – Three chairs, which soon became two, placed in front of the baptistery in St. Peter’s Basilica. Facing each other, Presidents Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky – for a quarter of an hour and on the sidelines of Pope Francis’ funeral- engaged in intense dialogue on the possibilities for ending the bloody conflict in Ukraine. It was an image that in its own way recalled the criteria that have inspired the Holy See’s contribution to attempts to resolve wars, conflicts, and international crises during the pontificate of Pope Francis. Fragments of what the Argentine pontiff himself had called the “world war in pieces.”The paths of dialogue, negotiation, and disarmament are those that the last bishop of Rome, with the help of Vatican diplomacy, repeatedly encouraged, describing them as the only viable ways to find solutions for everyone in ongoing conflicts.Starting with “tormented Syria,” which has always been close to the Argentine Pope’s heart. The Pontiff gave voice to refugees and displaced persons fleeing the violence of a war that, as the Pope himself said, has risked turning into “brutal persecution” for those who profess other religions. Appeals for Syria, which have become a constant feature of the Easter Urbi et Orbi blessings, have been made during several Angelus and Regina Coeli prayers, as well as at the end of Wednesday’s general audiences. Only a few years later, the same would happen with war-torn Ukraine.“How much blood has been shed! And how much suffering must still be endured before a political solution to the crisis can be found?” the Pope asked repeatedly, always calling for ‘courage’ and ‘determination’ to embark on the path of negotiations. He did so by proclaiming September 7, 2013, a day of prayer and penance for peace in Syria, the Middle East, and throughout the world, because, as he said during the Angelus prayer in which he announced this initiative, “Humanity needs to see gestures of peace and hear words of hope and peace!”The gestures were followed by further words, including letters to heads of state, and finally by his physical presence: in spring 2016, he told Syrian refugees housed in the Moria camp in Lesbos: “I want to tell you that you are not alone.” When he returned to Rome, he took three Syrian families with him.And that’s not all. During his apostolic journey to the Holy Land in May 2014, the Pope paused to pray in front of the separation wall built by Israel near Bethlehem, the city where Jesus was born. A few weeks later, the Pope brought together the then Israeli President Shimon Peres and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas at the Vatican to pray together for peace in the Middle East. On this occasion, an olive tree was planted in the Vatican Gardens in the presence of Patriarch Bartholomew I and a delegation of Christians, Jews, and Muslims from the Holy Land as a symbol of peace.“Yes to keeping agreements and no to provocation; this requires courage,” said the Bishop of Rome in June 2024 before saying the closing prayer: “Many times and over many years, we have tried to resolve our conflicts with our own strength and even with our weapons; so many moments of hostility and darkness; so much blood shed; so many lives broken; so many hopes buried… But our efforts have been in vain. Now, Lord, help us! Grant us peace, teach us peace, lead us to peace! Open our eyes and our hearts, and give us the courage to say: “Never again war!” … And may these words—division, hatred, war—be banished from the hearts of every human being! Lord, disarm our tongues and our hands, renew our hearts and minds, so that the word we use to address one another may always be “brother,” and our lives may be expressed in “Shalom, Peace, Salam!” Amen.Last year, on the tenth anniversary of this historic meeting, Pope Francis wanted to gather the entire diplomatic corps accredited to the Holy See around this olive tree, which has since grown, to commemorate the embrace between the two presidents. The ambassadors of Israel and Palestine to the Holy See sat next to the Pope.“Instead of pretending that war can solve problems and lead to peace, we must therefore be critical and vigilant toward an ideology that unfortunately prevails today, according to which ‘conflict, violence, and divisions are part of the normal functioning of society.’ It is always about power struggles between different social groups, about particular economic interests and about international political considerations that aim at an apparent peace and run away from the real problems. Instead, in a time marked by tragic conflicts, we need a new commitment to building a peaceful world. To all believers and people of good will, I say: Let us not cease to dream of peace and to build peaceful relationships!” These were the words spoken by the Pope in the early summer of 2024.A similar initiative was launched in spring 2019, when the Pope invited the civil and ecclesiastical authorities of South Sudan to a two-day spiritual retreat in the Vatican. Contrary to protocol, Pope Francis knelt before them and kissed the shoes of the South Sudanese leaders:“I implore that the fire of war may be extinguished once and for all.” Peace, according to the Bishop of Rome,“is the first gift that the Lord has given us, and it is the first duty that the leaders of nations must fulfill: peace is the fundamental condition for the respect of the rights of every human being and for the integral development of all peoples.” “Dear brothers and sisters, let us not forget that God has entrusted us, the political and religious leaders, with the task of guiding his people: he has entrusted much to us, and for this very reason he will demand all the more from us! He will ask us to give an account of our service and our office, of our commitment to peace and to the good we have done for the members of our communities, especially the poorest and most marginalised. In other words, he will ask us to give an account of our lives, but also of the lives of others.”“Peace is possible,” it is ‘a great gift from God,’ but it also requires a commitment from people “in dialogue, in negotiation, and in forgiveness.” After his words to the Sudanese leadership, Pope Francis said something similar in an interview regarding the war between Russia and Ukraine: “Stronger is the one who thinks of the people, who has the courage to raise the white flag,” and “when you see that things are not going well, you must have the courage to negotiate,” which does not mean surrender, “negotiating is never surrender.” In Gaza, too, he added on that occasion, there is a conflict that “is involves two, not one. The irresponsible ones are these two who are waging war. Today, with the help of the international powers, we can negotiate. The word negotiate is courageous. We need not be ashamed to negotiate before the situation gets worse.”Parallel to the path of dialogue runs the path of disarmament, from the demand for a ban on nuclear weapons to the condemnation of the arms race, the words of Pope Francis are in perfect continuity with those of his predecessors, from Benedict XV to Benedict XVI. The latter also advocated an end to the arms trade: “I would also say that the importation of arms must finally cease, because without the importation of arms, war could not continue. Instead of importing weapons, which is a grave sin, we should import ideas of peace and creativity; seek solutions that accept everyone in their otherness. We must therefore make visible in the world respect for religions, respect for human beings as creatures of God, and charity as fundamental to all religions.”Pope Francis took up this concept again in 2019 when he received participants at a meeting of relief organizations of the Eastern Churches and said: “Those who have nothing to eat, who have no medical care, who have no school, the orphans, the wounded and the widows raise their voices to heaven. Even if people’s hearts are insensitive, this is certainly not true of God’s heart, which is wounded by the hatred and violence that can erupt among his creatures, and which is always touched and concerned with the tenderness and strength of a protective and guiding father. But sometimes I also think of the wrath of God that will be unleashed on those responsible in countries that talk about peace and sell weapons to wage these wars. This hypocrisy is a sin.”Back in 2014, the Argentine pope had already said in his apostolic letter Evangelii gaudium: “There are economic systems that need to wage war to survive.” He repeated several times that the most profitable investments today are made in arms factories. On several occasions, especially in his Urbi et Orbi messages at Christmas and Easter, he called for weapons to be silenced and proposed the establishment of a world fund against hunger, to be financed with the money earmarked for arms. During the pandemic, while praying the Rosary in St. Peter’s Basilica, he proposed the creation of another fund, this time for research and studies: “Holy Mary, stir consciences so that the enormous sums spent on increasing and perfecting weapons may instead be used to promote adequate studies to prevent similar disasters in the future.”According to the latest figures from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) for 2023, global military spending will reach a record high of $2.44 trillion, representing an increase of 6.8% over the previous year.The US spent the most on weapons: $880 billion, followed by China ($309 billion) and Russia ($126 billion). If the military budget is divided by the number of inhabitants, the US spent an average of $2,694 per inhabitant. By comparison, Israel spent $29 billion in 2023, but achieved the highest per capita expenditure in the world: $2,997 per inhabitant.Pope Francis’ words on this subject are illuminating: “Certain decisions are not neutral: spending a large part of the budget on weapons means taking it away from something else, once again taking it away from those who lack the necessities. And that is a scandal. How much is spent on weapons is terrible. We must raise awareness that continuing to spend on weapons defiles the soul, the heart, humanity. What good is it if we all solemnly commit ourselves at the international level to campaigns against poverty, against hunger, against the destruction of the planet, if we then fall back into the old vice of war, into the old strategy of the power of arms, which sets everything and everyone back? War always leads to regression, always. We are going backwards.” (FB) (Fides Agency 29/4/2025)
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    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Greens to stand in Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse by-election

    Source: Scottish Greens

    29 Apr 2025

    Every vote for the Scottish Greens is a vote for people and planet.

    The Scottish Greens have announced that they will be standing in the Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse by-election on June 5th. 

    The Green candidate, Ann McGuinness, is a voice for equality and climate action in South Lanarkshire and beyond.

    Ann is a director of a charity which promotes rural connections and champions rural diversity. Her own lived experiences of poverty and disability provide her with valuable insight into the challenges faced by many whose voices are often unheard in our public discourse.

    A dedicated feminist and environmental justice campaigner, Ann is a mum of two and has championed climate education. Ann has a strong track record of working across party lines to support women in politics, and is a co-convenor of the Scottish Greens Women’s Network.

    Ann McGuinness said:

    “I am proud to have been selected to stand in the upcoming by-election in Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse.

    “I will spend the weeks ahead speaking to as many people as possible across the constituency, to discuss their hopes for their children and their future, the strength and value of their communities and the everyday challenges that they face.

    “Every vote for the Scottish Greens will be a positive vote for a fairer and greener Scotland and a brighter future for Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse.

    “If we are to build a truly just and green future we need to empower every town and village and ensure that no one is left behind.”

    Scottish Green Co-Leader Patrick Harvie said:

    “None of us want this by-election to be taking place. It should be a positive and respectful contest, and one that lives up to the values that Christina McKelvie lived by.

    “By voting for Ann, the people of Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse have the opportunity to elect an experienced campaigner for equality and environmental justice who will prioritise people and planet.”

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: HPV health poster design competition launched for WHO Immunisation Week

    Source: City of Salford

    • Salford launches design a HPV vaccination poster competition for young people to support WHO Immunisation Week.
    • The HPV vaccine plays an important role in preventing cervical cancer, as almost all cases of cervical cancer are caused by HPV.
    • The poster design competition is free to enter and open to all young people aged 11 to 16 who live in Salford or attend a Salford school. 

    In a strong pledge of global public health initiatives, the World Health Organization’s (WHO) World Immunisation Week campaign, “Immunisation for All is Humanly Possible,” highlights the vital impact of vaccines in saving lives. 

    WHO recommends that at least 95% of children should be immunised against vaccine-preventable diseases targeted for elimination or control, including diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, polio, Hib, measles, mumps, and rubella.

    Following this campaign, Salford City Council Health Protection team are working with a group of young people from across the city to take part in an exciting creative health competition to design a poster promoting the HPV vaccination in schools.

    Human papillomavirus (HPV) is the name of a very common group of viruses. Teenage boys and girl are offered the HPV vaccination at high school, in year 8.  The HPV vaccine plays an important role in preventing cervical cancer, as almost all cases of cervical cancer are caused by HPV.

    This competition aims to improve health literacy among secondary school pupils in Year 8. By involving students, we can empower them to become champions for the HPV vaccine and own the importance of protecting their health and the health of others.

    Cllr John Merry, Deputy City Mayor and Lead Member for Adult Services, Health, and Wellbeing, said: “I’m genuinely excited to see creative approaches to health, like the HPV poster competition. I encourage all children to get involved and hope more Salford high schools join our HPV School’s Education Programme.

    We have already seen excellent outcomes with flu vaccination for children aged 2 to 3 in Swinton, Pendlebury, Walkden and Little Hulton Primary Care Networks (PCN). In addition, the Salford University GP service organised vaccination catch-up clinics for students and staff, ensuring our university community remains well-protected.

    The more Salford’s public health colleagues, service providers, and key stakeholders work together to boost the immunisation rates, the greater the opportunity to reduce health inequalities and protect the whole community.”

    Councillor Arnold Saunders, Vice Chair of the Community and Neighbourhoods Scrutiny Panel, also shared: “While immunisation rates in Salford have declined since 2013, it’s encouraging to note that vaccination rates in children aged five have increased for the first time in over a decade.

    Offers of local health events and clinics in Broughton community settings, including evening and weekend sessions have increased, and means more people can now access services at the right time and right place.

    Broughton is a diverse community so programmes that educate residents and service providers about vaccinations and other health priorities are vital to encouraging higher vaccine uptake and better community health for all.”

    The HPV health poster design competition is free to enter and open to all young people aged 11 to 16 who live in Salford or attend a Salford school. 

    For information on how to enter, the prizes, and terms and conditions, visit www.salford.gov.uk/hpvposterdesign

    Submissions open on 25 April 25 and close on 16 June 2025.

    Salford City Council is committed to creating a fairer, greener, healthier and more inclusive city for all. To achieve this vision, it has set out seven interconnected priorities as the focus for our work from 2024 to 2028.

    • Good growth
    • A good home for all
    • Tackling poverty and inequality
    • Creating places where people want to live
    • A child friendly city
    • Responding to climate change
    • Healthy lives and quality of care for all.

    Find out more about our ambitions and how we intend to deliver them in our corporate plan, This is our Salford, at www.salford.gov.uk/this-is-our-salford. The plan builds on past successes and continues to find new and innovative ways to improve residents’ lives.

    Salford continues its remarkable story of transformation with already much to celebrate as a city – more well-paid jobs, new affordable and social homes, thriving local schools, award-winning green spaces, iconic infrastructure, cleaner transport, more integrated health and care and a vibrant cultural scene. 

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    Date published
    Tuesday 29 April 2025

    Press and media enquiries

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: Madagascar: Improving Infrastructure Resilience to Reduce Climate-Related Economic Losses

    Source: UNISDR Disaster Risk Reduction

    Madagascar: Improving Infrastructure Resilience to Reduce Climate-Related Economic Losses

    (In collaboration with UNDRR and CDRI)

    One of the world’s largest islands, located in the tropical south-west Indian Ocean, Madagascar needs new roads, schools, electricity networks, and more to lift large portions of its 30 million population out of poverty. But even as it builds this new infrastructure, its progress remains fragile. Tropical cyclones and other extreme hazard events can wipe out these development gains, and climate change multiplies that threat. 

    Four cyclones

    in 2022 affected or displaced half a million people and flooded over 200 000 hectares of agricultural lands.

    Nation-wide impact:

    50,000 homes destroyed
    10,000 classrooms wrecked
    40 roads blocked

    The damage

    was equal to almost 5% of Madagascar’s GDP, increasing the poverty rate of affected households by 27%.

    The challenge is significant. Madagascar is the world’s fourth largest island, and its relatively small population is spread out, much of it in rural hard-to-access areas. Most villages are isolated and they lack access to decent roads, drinking water or electricity, preventing sustainable development and poverty reduction too. Rapid population growth increases the pressure to build new infrastructure fast, but Madagascar must also find new ways to protect its transport networks, energy supplies, water supplies, and more from the growing threat of climate change. 

    Building resilience into infrastructure will bring significant benefits. Madagascar’s infrastructure currently suffers damage worth roughly USD 100 million each year. Cyclones account for 85 percent of this damage and are expected to increase with climate change.  

    With that in mind, Madagascar has become one of four countries – together with Bhutan, Chile, and Tonga – to pioneer the Global Methodology for Infrastructure Resilience Review. Developed by the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) and the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI), the methodology helps countries to identify and prioritize strategies that will make their infrastructure more resilient through a five-step approach. 

    1

    Stakeholder mapping

    • Key ministries, regulators and operators in infrastructure development
    • Cross-sector coordination mechanisms

    Review of existing policies and regulations

    • Policies and regulations shaping infrastructure resilience
    • Integration of disaster risks in national plans and strategies

    Identification of vulnerabilities (Stress Testing)

    • Data collection on hazards and vulnerabilities
    • Multi-hazard resilience testing of infrastructure systems

    Principles for resilient infrastructure

    • Infrastructure resilience assessment using the UNDRR Resilience Principles
    • Identification of resilience-building interventions

    Development of an Implementation plan

    • Results validation and prioritization
    • Implementation plan with assigned responsibilities

    The roadmap for infrastructure resilience in Madagascar is a key strategic document, as it outlines a comprehensive action plan aimed at minimising disaster risks in the country,” he adds.

    Advancing Infrastructure Resilience in Madagascar

    • Developing the plan

    • Developing the plan

      The methodology follows five steps: Map institutional governance and identify key stakeholders; Review existing policies and regulations; Detect vulnerabilities through a stress-testing analysis; Assess current resilience through the Principles of Resilient Infrastructure; then Develop an implementation plan and produce a final report.

      As part of that process, Madagascar hosted multiple workshops, that were accompanied by an assessment of institutions and regulations, analysis of sector-specific risks, and an evaluation of current practices too. 

      Countries need access to forward-looking information and for infrastructure systems, this means assessing the risks of interconnected infrastructure systems. The final “Roadmap for Infrastructure Resilience in Madagascar” identified nearly 50 measures to enhance the country’s infrastructure resilience.

      The process integrates and complements work by Madagascar’s Cellule de Prévention et d’appui à la Gestion des Urgences (CPGU) to improve construction standards against cyclones, floods, and other hazards. It also brought in a wider range of stakeholders from the disaster risk, climate change, construction and planning, and investment sectors.

      “With this new way of looking by zooming out, we have more of an overall vision of everything that makes infrastructure vulnerable,” Randrianandrasana Lila Norolalaina, Head of Disaster Risk Reduction at the Ministry of Education, says.

      Together, these stakeholders looked at six specific sectors – transport, energy, water, telecommunications, health and education – analyzing them against ten key hazards. Cyclones account for most of Madagascar’s recorded losses, but floods, rising sea levels, variations in rainfall patterns, and heatwaves also have an impact. 

      Cascading disasters were central to the analysis, since a failure in one infrastructure sector can spread to others. Electricity failure impacts communication, transportation, and water supply systems, for example. And pumping equipment loses power and is unable to keep floodwaters under control around the capital Antananarivo, then an electricity failure would lead to other disasters, for example. Understanding these interdependencies helps to prevent a chain of failures and thus much bigger crises. 

      The UNDRR stress testing tool simulated various scenarios and assessed the potential impact on different sectors. It helped decision-makers to understand their vulnerabilities and to analyse the possibilities for cascading disasters. Finally, it concluded that telecommunications and energy were the sectors most likely to trigger further failures, while wastewater management was the most vulnerable to disruptions from elsewhere. 

      Interdependencies of Functions and Cascading Effects

    • Energy

    • Energy

      Discussed within the context of resilient infrastructure, energy is also vital for Madagascar’s human development. It is, however, in short supply throughout the country and this shortage prevents the country from industrialising its key sectors, especially farming. Some 80 percent of the workforce is involved with subsistence farming, for example, while failure to industrialise prevents the creation of higher paying jobs. The lack of energy also slows the modernisation of Madagascar’s young mining sector, a major contributor to GDP, through exports of nickel, cobalt, chromium, titanium, and heavy metals.

      Madagascar aims to connect 70 percent of its population to electricity by 2030, from just 15 percent at present. For those who are connected, however, power cuts and voltage fluctuations are frequent, causing serious disruptions to daily life and economic development alike. The issue is often acute in rural areas, where just 5 percent of the population is connected.

      Stress-testing analysis, Energy

      Inadequate maintenance is part of the problem, but cyclones, heavy rains, landslides, and strong winds all lead to widespread interruptions and power outages. Two of six power stations are vulnerable to rising water levels, while earthquakes and cyber-attacks can also damage production. Droughts and fires threaten serious impacts to water supplies. They can therefore limit the production of electricity from hydropower, which accounts for 31 percent of Madagascar’s energy. 

      Resilience is a vital priority. Part of Madagascar’s resilience plan is to move away from imported fossil fuels towards renewables. Oil and coal, for example, account for 49 and 19 percent respectively of the island’s energy production, but they depend heavily on Madagascar’s transport, which is also vulnerable to storms. Madagascar wants renewables to account for 80 percent of its energy production by 2030, up from 33 percent at present. 

      Even before the review of infrastructure resilience, Madagascar had already begun to improve its energy infrastructure, through its 2015-2030 New Energy Policy (NPE). One key element of NPE is to integrate disaster risk management into the energy sector. In case of emergency, Madagascar has also developed a contingency plan to ensure continuity of essential services. With support from the World Bank, Madagascar is enhancing its energy sector management and improving service quality.

      Despite these initiatives, the infrastructure resilience review highlighted the continued need for Madagascar to strengthen the resilience of its energy infrastructure. While limited finances, insufficient institutional capacity, and lack of maintenance create significant barriers, which all compromise the energy sector’s ability to resist new shocks and crises, the Roadmap includes multiple opportunities to improve its resilience.

      These opportunities mainly link to information and data. Stakeholders discussed the need to strengthen and update data for monitoring and evaluation, as well as to request information and disaster risk best practices from private operators in the sector. By mapping the state of energy infrastructure, including an assessment of vulnerability and resilience levels, Madagascar will be better placed to prioritise its interventions.

      Following the Global Methodology for Infrastructure Resilience Review, therefore, Madagascar has already begun to work with other partners. The Global Risk Modelling Alliance (GRMA), for example, is working with Madagascar to improve their data through better hazard modelling.

      “When we know the state of all our assets, then we will be better able to ensure proper maintenance, keep track of the hotspots, and manage all the gaps.”

    • Transport

    • Transport

      Made up of four sub-sectors – air, sea, road, and rail – Madagascar’s transport illustrates the country’s challenges effectively too. Even without the natural hazards, Madagascar’s transport networks are limited. To the south, for example, one single trainline connects a region of roughly 100,000 people to the rest of the country. Also in the South, covering 500km by road can take three days. 

      With limited internal roads and railways, Madagascar uses its air network to connect different parts of the vast country, especially in the rainy season or when humanitarian aid is needed urgently. Its ports are also vital for the country’s economy, exporting vanilla and other agricultural products, together with minerals and seafood products. 

      Much of this infrastructure is, however, vulnerable to disasters, such as cyclones, cyber-attacks, fire hazards, and even pandemics. Cyclones, landslides, and flooding routinely damage roads and – in the wake of Cyclone Gamane in March 2024 – reconstruction of road infrastructure was set to cost USD 76 million.

      International financial institutions, such as the World Bank and European Investment Bank, support Madagascar to recover from cyclone damage and to make their transport infrastructure more resilient. The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) is supporting the USD 640 million expansion of Toamasina port, the gateway for about 75 percent of Madagascar’s international freight, while the African Development Bank (AfDB) is also considering rehabilitation of the port at Manakara. 

      Policies on rigorous maintenance, disaster planning, and construction or rehabilitation of new infrastructure, such as Ivato International Airport, will also help Madagascar to strengthen its infrastructure resilience. 

      Stress-testing analysis, Transportation

      However, the Infrastructure Resilience Review brought new insights, enabling Madagascar to prioritise its interventions. Data analysis identified:

      5 airports

       vulnerable to flooding of up to 3.5 metres

      9 of 57

       ports vulnerable

      16,292 km

      roads at risk of landslides

      Stakeholders discussed the need to improve regulations and institutions alike, including by incorporating resilience principles. More work is needed on climate adaptation, while Madagascar would also benefit from better engagement with financial institutions and the insurance sector too. Better coordination would improve national adaptation plans and coastal area management. 

      Stakeholders also discussed the need for more data analysis, preventive maintenance, capacity building, and emergency planning, as well as the need to involve the private sector and facilitate more competition. 

      One key topic was the importance of resilience norms, especially in the transport sector. How does Madagascar develop these and then ensure compliance? These norms – and stakeholder compliance – are essential in reducing the amount of substandard construction, a major boost for resilience. 

      “Raising awareness about the importance of norms is an important moment,” Ventsolalaina Ramilison, Head of Disaster Risk Reduction Department at CPGU / Madagascar said. “Now there is just the question of creating and strengthening a monitoring authority.”

    • Lessons for other countries

    • Lessons for other countries

      The Infrastructure Resilience Review represents an important step forward by Madagascar towards infrastructure resilience. Stakeholders hope it will also benefit donors and provide key lessons for other countries. 

      “Given that donors tend to pay the costs of reconstruction following a disaster in Madagascar, they also benefit when Madagascar reduces the extent and cost of those disasters,” Ventsolalaina Ramilison, Head of Disaster Risk Reduction Department at CPGU / Madagascar says. 

      “When we can prevent storms from destroying our water supply infrastructure every year, then we can begin to build more sustainably,” she said. “That gives us hope, because we want to escape these endless cycles of recovery.” 

      Resilient infrastructure is important because it enables and protects sustainable development. All too often, ferocious storms have destroyed donor-financed infrastructure, which means – in other words – that insufficient resilience puts development progress at risk.

    Download the full report:
    Roadmap for Infrastructure Resilience in Madagascar

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: Al-Wahab Foundation (AWF)

    Source: UNISDR Disaster Risk Reduction

    Mission

    Since 2014, Al-Wahab Foundation (AWF) has delivered emergency and developmental aid to combat and eradicate poverty, growing to reach thousands of people each year.

    AWF’s aim is to see a world where people are empowered to step out of deprivation and build their future with independence and dignity. With your support, our aid solutions serve people in remote and rural areas, providing food, clean water, healthcare, education and innovative livelihood support programmes.

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-Evening Report: French Minister Valls warns New Caledonia is ‘on a tightrope’, pleads for ‘innovative’ solutions

    By Patrick Decloitre, RNZ Pacific correspondent French Pacific desk

    French Minister for Overseas Manuel Valls, who is visiting New Caledonia this week for the third time in two months, has once again called on all parties to live up to their responsibilities in order to make a new political agreement possible.

    Failing that, he said a potential civil war was looming.

    “We’ll take our responsibilities, on our part, and we will put on the table a project that touches New Caledonia’s society, economic recovery, including nickel, and the future of the younger generation,” he told a panel of French journalists on Sunday.

    He said that he hoped a revised version on a draft document — resulting from his previous visits in the French Pacific territory and new proposals from the French government — there existed a “difficult path” to possibly reconcile radically opposing views expressed so far from the pro-independence parties in New Caledonia and those who want the territory to remain part of France.

    The target remains an agreement that would accommodate both “the right and aspiration to self-determination” and “the link with France”.

    “If there is no agreement, then economic and political uncertainty can lead to a new disaster, to confrontation and to civil war,” he told reporters.

    “That is why I have appealed several times to all political stakeholders, those for and against independence,” he warned.

    “Everyone must take a step towards each other. An agreement is indispensable.”

    Valls said this week he hoped everyone would “enter a real negotiations phase”.

    He said one of the ways to achieve this will be to find “innovative” solutions and “a new way of looking at the future”.

    This also included relevant amendments to the French Constitution.

    Local parties will not sign any agreement ‘at all costs’
     Local parties are not so enthusiastic.

    In fact, each camp remains on their guard, in an atmosphere of defiance.

    And on both sides, they agree at least on one thing — they will not sign any agreement “at all costs”.

    Just like has been the case since talks between Valls and local parties began earlier this year, the two main opposing camps remain adamant on their respective pre-conditions and sometimes demands.

    The pro-independence Kanak and Socialist National Liberation Front (FLNKS), largely dominated by the Union Calédonienne, held a convention at the weekend to decide on whether they would attend this week’s new round of talks with Valls.

    They eventually resolved that they would attend, but have not yet decided to call this “negotiations”, only “discussions”.

    They said another decision would be made this Thursday, May 1, after they had examined Valls’s new proposals and documents which the French minister is expected to circulate as soon as he hosts the first meeting tomorrow.

    FLNKS reaffirms ‘Kanaky Agreement’ demand
    During their weekend convention, the FLNKS reaffirmed their demands for a “Kanaky Agreement” to be signed not later than 24 September 2025, to be followed by a five-year transition period.

    The official line was to “maintain the trajectory” to full sovereignty, including in terms of schedule.

    On the pro-France side, the main pillar of their stance is the fact that three self-determination referendums have been held between 2018 and 2021, even though the third and last consultation was largely boycotted by the pro-independence camp.

    All three referendums resulted in votes rejecting full sovereignty.

    One of their most outspoken leaders, Les Loyalistes party and Southern Province President Sonia Backès, told a public rally last week that they had refused another date for yet another referendum.

    “A new referendum would mean civil war. And we don’t want to fix the date for civil war. So we don’t want to fix the date for a new referendum,” she said.

    However, Backès said they “still want to believe in an agreement”.

    “We’re part of all discussions on seeking solutions in a constructive and creative spirit.”

    Granting more provincial powers
    One of their other proposals was to grant more powers to each of the three provinces of New Caledonia, including on tax collection matters.

    “We don’t want differences along ethnic lines. We want the provinces to have more powers so that each of them is responsible for their respective society models.”

    Under a draft text leaked last week, any new referendum could only be called by at least three-fifths of the Congress and would no longer pose a “binary” question on yes or no to independence, but would consider endorsing a “project” for New Caledonia’s future society.

    Another prominent pro-France leader, MP Nicolas Metzdorf, repeated this weekend he and his supporters “remain mobilised to defend New Caledonia within France”.

    “We will not budge,” Metzdorf said.

    Despite Valls’s warnings, another scenario could be that New Caledonia’s political stakeholders find it more appealing or convenient to agree on no agreement at all, especially as New Caledonia’s crucial provincial elections are in the pipeline and scheduled for no later than November 30.

    Concerns about security
     But during the same interview, Valls repeated that he remained concerned that the situation on the ground remained “serious”.

    “We are walking on a tightrope above embers”.

    He said top of his concerns were New Caledonia’s economic and financial situation, the tense atmosphere, a resurgence in “racism, hatred” as well as a fast-deteriorating public health services situation or the rise in poverty caused by an increasing number of jobless.

    “So yes, all these risks are there, and that is why it is everyone’s responsibility to find an agreement. And I will stay as long as needed and I will put all my energy so that an agreement takes place.

    “Not for me, for them.”

    Valls also recalled that since the riots broke out in May 2024, almost one year ago, French security and law enforcement agencies are still maintaining about 20 squads of French gendarmes (1500 personnel) in the territory.

    This is on top of the normal deployment of 550 gendarmes and 680 police officers.

    Valls said this was necessary because “any time, it could flare up again”.

    Outgoing French High Commissioner Louis Le Franc said in an interview recently that in case of a “new May 13” situation, the pre-positioned forces could ensure law enforcement “for three or four days . . . until reinforcements arrive”.

    If fresh violence erupts again, reinforcements could be sent again from mainland France and bring the total number to up to 6000 law enforcement personnel, a number similar to the level deployed in 2024 in the weeks following the riots that killed 14 and caused some 2.2 billion euros (NZ$4.2 billion) in damage.

    Carefully chosen words
     Valls said earlier in April the main pillars of future negotiations were articulated around the themes of:

    • “democracy and the rule of law”;
    • a “decolonisation process”;
    • the right to self-determination;
    • a “fundamental law” that would seal New Caledonia’s future status;
    • the powers of New Caledonia’s three provinces; and a future New Caledonia citizenship with the associated definition of who meets the requirements to vote at local elections.

    Valls has already travelled to Nouméa twice this year — in February and March.

    Since his last visit that ended on April 1, discussions have been maintained in conference mode between local political stakeholders and Valls, and his cabinet, as well as French Prime Minister François Bayrou’s special advisor on New Caledonia, constitutionalist Eric Thiers.

    This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI Video: “Sustainable Development Goals are dramatically off track” – UN Chief at ECOSOC FfD Forum 2025

    Source: United Nations (Video News)

    Remarks by António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations, at the 2025 ECOSOC Forum on Financing for Development Follow-Up (FfD Forum).

    With five years remaining to reach the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s), Secretary-General António Guterres said, “we cannot let our financing for development ambitions get swept away,” urging countries to “making good on the commitments” made in the Pact for the Future last September.

    Opening a financing for development forum ahead of the July 4th International Conference on Financing for Development in Seville, the President of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) meeting Bob Rae said, “trade is not a four letter word.”

    Rae said, “trade is a positive way for countries to exchange goods and services, and to be able to emerge from poverty themselves. We need to reinforce the importance of reducing barriers to trade rather than increasing barriers to trade. To think that trade is a win-lose proposition, that some countries win from trade and other countries lose, or to think that there is a simple national solution to the problem of international trade, is simply wrong.”

    Guterres, told the forum that “we face some harsh truths; the harsh truth of donors pulling the plug on aid commitments and delivery at historic speed and scale; the harsh truth of trade barriers being erected at a dizzying pace; the harsh truth that the Sustainable Development Goals are dramatically off track, exacerbated by an annual financing gap of an estimated for 3 billion US dollars; and the harsh truth of prohibitively high borrowing costs that are draining away public investments in everything from education and health systems, to social protection infrastructure, and the energy transition.”

    He said, “from a necessary stimulus to help countries invest in their people, to vital and long awaited reforms to the global financial architecture, to the Pact’s clear commitments to open, fair and rules-based trade, to its call for an analysis of the impact of military expenditures on the achievement of the SDGs – with the final report out by September – to the Pact’s urging for an ambitious outcome to July’s Conference on Financing for Development.”

    The Secretary-General said, “in many developing countries, gains are getting crushed under the weight of debt services siphoning away investments in education and infrastructure. And the problem is getting worse.”

    He said, “the Sevilla Conference should emerge with a commitment by member states to lower the cost of borrowing, improve debt restructuring, and prevent crisis from taking goals. And this includes establishing a dedicated facility to help developing countries manage their liabilities and then has liquidity in times of crisis.”

    Talking to reporters after the meeting, Rae said, “every capital of an advanced economy that is normally a donor is having a debate about what can they do? What can we do? But there’s no one country that can substitute for the efforts that the United States has been making over the last 80 years.”

    He said, “we can’t wait for the United States to make up its mind as to what kind of a player it wants to be in the world. We have an obligation ourselves. Each one of our governments has an obligation to say, what are we going to do to make sure that the public good is not totally forgotten, and that the wellbeing of the world is not forgotten, and that our common security is not forgotten?”

    The 4th International Conference on Financing for Development (FFD4) will be held in Sevilla, Spain, from June 30 to July 3, 2025. The conference will focus on financing for sustainable development and will be held at the FIBES Sevilla Exhibition and Conference Centre.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZ-PvuSh1DU

    MIL OSI Video –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Regulator reveals insights from large-scale trustee research project

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Press release

    Regulator reveals insights from large-scale trustee research project

    New research from the Charity Commission and Pro Bono Economics finds trustees are “immensely positive” about their experience

    The charity regulator for England and Wales, with think tank and social sector research organisation, Pro Bono Economics, has published the findings of the most comprehensive survey ever undertaken of trustee motivations and skills.  

    The research finds that the vast majority of trustees are “immensely positive” about their experience, with eight in ten trustees likely to recommend the role to others. Most trustees feel positive about board dynamics, and their relationships with staff and volunteers.  

    Researchers have analysed over 2,000 responses from trustees across England and Wales, with responses weighted to ensure it was representative of the size profile of charities on the Register. 

    The charity sector has a turnover of £94 billion per year, assets of £340 billion and employs 3% of the UK workforce. Building a better picture of the experience of trustees will help the Commission, policy makers and the sector better understand the skills, motivations and backgrounds of existing trustees, and engage the broadest possible pool of trustee talent. 

    Reported rewards and benefits of trusteeship 

    Among the key benefits reported is the opportunity trusteeship brings to grow and develop professionally, especially among younger trustees. Over half (57%) of trustees aged under 30 said trusteeship supported their career development, while older trustees said it gave them an opportunity to give back. 

    Six in 10 report that the role makes them feel they are having a positive impact on the world and nearly four in 10 feel more fulfilled because of their trustee role (38%). 

    Skills and expertise among trustees  

    The research finds that the trustee population largely feels confident and well-equipped to exercise their duties. More than nine in ten trustees reported understanding their roles and responsibilities (95%) and feeling qualified to fulfil them (93%). 

    However, the findings suggest some boards could benefit from more people with certain skills or expertise.  A quarter of respondents reported accessing legal expertise externally, suggesting a possible lack of relevant skills at board level. 

    While most trustees report their board had significant finance skills and experience (59%), this was also the skillset with the second greatest reliance on external sources (8%). 

    Similarly, fewer than 25% of respondents report having anti-fraud, campaigning or marketing skills on their charity’s board.  

    Demographic profile of trustees  

    The research also offers new data on charity board demographics, suggesting movement towards gender parity on trustee boards. 43% of trustees are female compared to 36% in 2017, when the last comparable research project was undertaken. The findings suggest variation based on charities’ size, with smaller charities tending to have more female trustees proportionally.

    Over half of trustees are retired, more than double the proportion in the general population. People aged 44 and under make up only 8% of trustees, and just 1% overall were aged 30 or under.

    The research suggests that a lower percentage of trustees are from ethnic minority backgrounds compared to the general population (8% compared to 17%, with 92% of trustees being white compared to 83% of the general population). Analysis of the data suggests the difference is related to the age profile of trustees. Notably, the research finds that there are proportionately slightly more black trustees aged below 60 compared to the general population (7% compared to 5%), but that people of Asian heritage make up 1% of trustees compared to 4% in the older population. 

    Charity Commission Chief Executive, David Holdsworth, said: 

    This rich and detailed research gives us valuable new insights into the people on whom all charities, of all sizes, ultimately rely. This research shows what those of us who have been trustees already knew – that whilst it is a significant responsibility, it is also a hugely rewarding way to have an impact on something you care about. I hope that in making these findings available, we can support the sector to respond, encouraging and inspiring a pipeline of committed and skilled people willing to serve as volunteer trustees into the future – and to reap the personal rewards of the role.

    Pro Bono Economics Head of Social Sector, Anoushka Kenley, said: 

    This new research provides plenty of room for optimism, with the vast majority of trustees saying that they find their role rewarding and evidence of an improvement over recent years in the representativeness of the trustee population. But there is further to go, with the potential to bring even more talent and more diverse perspectives to the fore by supporting more young people and individuals from underrepresented backgrounds to take up trustee roles. By encouraging a more diverse range of people to become trustees, we can strengthen boards and better support communities.

    In a speech today at Trustee Exchange, David Holdsworth is expected to say the publication of this report reflects the Charity Commission’s commitment to supporting trustees and doing what it can to promote and position trusteeship as an attractive proposition, as set out in the regulator’s five year strategy.

    ENDS

    Notes to editors: 

    1. Research methodology: Fieldwork was conducted by the Charity Commission of England and Wales and BMG Research in English and Welsh. The survey was sent to 19,929 trustees over July and August 2024, yielding 2,432 completed responses (2,194 valid responses after cleaning). Responses were weighted according to the annual gross income of the respondent’s organisation to ensure the results are representative of the population of charities in the Commission’s Register.

    2. The findings can be viewed on PBE’s website or GOV.UK

    3. Pro Bono Economics (PBE) uses economic analysis and the unique insight from our connection to the social sector to help charities, funders, firms and policymakers tackle the causes and consequences of low wellbeing in the UK. Policy analysts, researchers and economists at PBE work on a wide range of issues related to low wellbeing, including mental health, education, employment, financial security, poverty, disability, inequality, volunteering and civil society. PBE works closely with the economics profession to achieve its aims, building relationships between over 600 economist volunteers and supporting over 600 charities and social purpose organisations since 2009.  

    4. The Charity Commission is the independent, non-ministerial government department that registers and regulates charities in England and Wales. Its ambition is to be an expert regulator that is fair, balanced, and independent so that charity can thrive. This ambition will help to create and sustain an environment where charities further build public trust and ultimately fulfil their essential role in enhancing lives and strengthening society. Find out more: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/charity-commission/about 

    5. Charity Commission Strategy 2024-2029 was published 26 February 2024: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/charity-commission-strategy-2024-2029/charity-commission-strategy-2024-2029 

    6. David Holdsworth’s speech at Trustee Exchange will be published on gov.uk after 14:00hrs Tuesday 29 April 2025.

    Updates to this page

    Published 29 April 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Govt spending decision signals crisis and cuts

    Source: Council of Trade Unions – CTU

    The decision to nearly halve the amount of new investment being made in the next Budget signals that this Government doesn’t care about the users of public services, said NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi Economist Craig Renney.

    “$1.3bn in operating allowance isn’t enough to pay for cost pressures in health alone ($1.55bn). There is no money for cost pressures in education and other public services, or proposed defence spending. This is a Budget that will be built on cuts to essential services,” said Renney.

    “The fact that this announcement has come only three weeks away from Budget suggests that there is no agreement around the cabinet table about what government should be doing.

    “We now know that we are looking at a Budget where departments will be asked to make further rounds of deep cuts – just after cuts at Budget 2024.

    “The Minister of Finance is blaming borrowing for the need to make cuts. At the last Budget the government borrowed $12bn to pay for tax giveaways, including to landlords and tobacco companies.

    “This decision to cut investment is a choice. When child poverty rises, as it currently is, it’s a choice to not increase support. When we can’t support people losing their job, that’s a choice. This Government’s choices are now very clear.

    “We implore the Government to rethink this decision. It doesn’t help solve the public investment gap that already exists. It doesn’t help tackle unmet need in health and education. It’s time for a better approach, and to rebuild our public services,” said Renney.

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-OSI Submissions: Amnesty International warns of global human rights crisis as ‘Trump effect’ accelerates destructive trends

    Source: Amnesty International

    • Annual report highlights the creep of authoritarian practices and vicious clampdowns on dissent around the world
    • President Trump’s first 100 days intensify 2024’s global regressions and deep-rooted trends
    • Global failures in addressing inequalities, climate collapse, and tech transformations imperil future generations
    • The rise of authoritarian practices and annihilation of international law are not inevitable: people do and will resist attacks on human rights; governments can deliver international justice and must continue to do so. 

    The Trump administration’s anti-rights campaign is turbocharging harmful trends already present, gutting international human rights protections and endangering billions across the planet, Amnesty International warned today upon launching its annual report, The State of the World’s Human Rights.

    This “Trump effect” has compounded the damage done by other world leaders throughout 2024,  eating away at decades of painstaking work to build up and advance universal human rights for all and accelerating humanity’s plunge into a brutal new era characterized by intermingling authoritarian practices and corporate greed, Amnesty International said in its assessment of the situation in 150 countries.

    “Year after year, we have warned of the dangers of human rights backsliding. But events of the past 12 months – not least Israel’s livestreamed but unheeded genocide of Palestinians in Gaza – have laid bare just how hellish the world can be for so many when the most powerful states jettison international law and disregard multilateral institutions. At this historical juncture, when authoritarian laws and practices are multiplying the world over in the interests of very few, governments and civil society must work with urgency to lead humanity back to safer ground,” said Agnès Callamard, Amnesty International’s Secretary General.

    The State of the World’s Human Rights documents vicious, widespread clampdowns on dissent, catastrophic escalations of armed conflict, inadequate efforts to address climate collapse, and a growing backlash globally against the rights of migrants, refugees, women, girls and LGBTI people. Each of these faces further deterioration in a turbulent 2025 unless a global about-turn is achieved.

    “One hundred days into his second term, President Trump has shown only utter contempt for universal human rights. His government has swiftly and deliberately targeted vital US and international institutions and initiatives that were designed to make ours a safer and fairer world. His all-out assault on the very concepts of multilateralism, asylum, racial and gender justice, global health and life-saving climate action is exacerbating the significant damage those principles and institutions have already sustained and is further emboldening other anti-rights leaders and movements to join his onslaught,” Agnès Callamard added.

    “But let us be clear: this sickness runs much deeper than the actions of President Trump. For years now, we’ve witnessed a creeping spread of authoritarian practices among states the world over, fostered by aspiring and elected leaders willingly acting as engines of destruction. As they drag us into a new age of turmoil and cruelty, all who believe in freedom and equality must steel ourselves to counter increasingly extreme attacks on international law and universal human rights.”

    The proliferation of authoritarian laws, policies and practices targeting freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly that Amnesty International documented in 2024 was central to the global backlash against human rights. Governments across the world sought to evade accountability, entrench their power and instil fear by banning media outlets, by disbanding or suspending NGOs and political parties, by imprisoning critics on baseless charges of “terrorism” or “extremism”, and by criminalizing human rights defenders, climate activists, Gaza solidarity protesters and other dissenters.

    Security forces in several countries used mass arbitrary arrests, enforced disappearances and often excessive – sometimes lethal – force to suppress civil disobedience. Bangladeshi authorities issued “shoot-on-sight” orders against student protests, resulting in almost 1,000 deaths, while security forces in Mozambique unleashed the worst crackdown on protests in years following disputed elections, leaving at least 277 people dead.

    Türkiye imposed blanket bans on protests and continues to use unlawful and indiscriminate force against peaceful demonstrators, but people power prevailed in South Korea when president Yoon Suk Yeol suspended certain human rights and declared martial law, only to be removed from office and see those measures overturned after massive public protests.

    Armed conflicts highlight repeated failures

    As conflicts multiplied or escalated, state forces and armed groups acted brazenly, committing war crimes and other serious violations of international humanitarian law that devastated the lives of millions.

    Amnesty International documented Israel’s genocide against Palestinians in Gaza in a landmark reportand its system of apartheid and unlawful occupation in the West Bank turned increasingly violent. Meanwhile, Russia killed more Ukrainian civilians in 2024 than it did the year before, continuing to target civilian infrastructure and subjecting detainees to torture and enforced disappearance.

    Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces inflicted widespread sexual violence on women and girls, in what amounts to war crimes and possible crimes against humanity, while the number of people internally displaced by Sudan’s two-year civil war rose to 11 million – more than anywhere else on earth. Yet that conflict elicited near-total global indifference – aside from cynical actors exploiting opportunities to breach the Darfur arms embargo.

    The Rohingya continued to face racist attacks in Myanmar, causing many to flee their homes in Rakhine state. The Trump administration’s massive foreign aid cuts have since aggravated the situation, causing the closure of hospitals in refugee camps in neighbouring Thailand, exposing fleeing human rights defenders to risk of deportation and imperilling programmes helping people survive the conflict.

    The initial suspension of US foreign aid also impacted health services and support for children forcibly separated from their families at detention camps in Syria, and the abrupt cuts have shut down lifesaving programmes in Yemen, including malnutrition treatment for children, pregnant and breastfeeding mothers, safe shelters for survivors of gender-based violence, and healthcare for children suffering from cholera and other illnesses.

    “Amnesty International has long warned of double standards undermining the rules-based order.  The impact of that to-date unfettered backsliding plumbed new depths in 2024, from Gaza to the Democratic Republic of Congo. Having paved the way for this mess by failing to universally uphold the rule of law, the international community must now shoulder the responsibility,” said Agnès Callamard.

    “The cost of these failures is gargantuan, namely the loss of vital protections built to safeguard humanity after the horrors of the Holocaust and World War Two. Despite its many imperfections, obliteration of the multilateral system is no answer. It must be strengthened and reimagined. Yet, having seen it sustain further damage in 2024, today the Trump administration appears intent on taking a chainsaw to the remnants of multilateral cooperation in order to reshape our world through a transactional doctrine steeped in greed, callous self-interest and dominance of the few.”

    Governments are abandoning future generations

    The State of the World’s Human Rights presents stark evidence that the world is condemning future generations to an ever-harsher existence thanks to collective failures to tackle the climate crisis, reverse ever-deepening inequalities and restrain corporate power.

    COP29 was a catastrophe, with a record number of fossil fuel lobbyists inhibiting progress on a fair phase-out, while the wealthiest countries bullied lower-income nations into accepting derisory climate financing agreements. President Trump’s reckless decision to abandon the Paris Agreement and his “drill, baby drill” refrain have only compounded these failings and could encourage others to follow suit.

    “2024 was the hottest year on record and the first to exceed 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. The floods that devastated South Asia and Europe, the droughts that ravaged Southern Africa, the fires that razed swathes of Amazon rainforest and the hurricanes that wreaked havoc in the USA laid bare the immense human cost of global heating, even at its current levels. With a 3°C rise projected this century, richer nations know they’re not immune from increasingly extreme unnatural disasters – as the recent California wildfires drove home – but will they act?” said Agnès Callamard.

    In 2024, extreme poverty and inequality within and between states continued to deepen due to widespread inflation, poor corporate regulation, pervasive tax abuse and rising national debts. Yet many governments and political movements used racist and xenophobic rhetoric to scapegoat migrants and refugees for crime and economic stagnation. Meanwhile, the number and wealth of billionaires grew, even as the World Bank warned of “a lost decade” in global poverty reduction.

    The future looks far bleaker for many women, girls and LGBTI people, amid intensifying attacks on gender equality and identity. The Taliban imposed even-more-draconian restrictions on women’s public existence in Afghanistan, while Iranian authorities intensified their brutal crackdown on women and girls who defy compulsory veiling. Groups of women searching for missing loved ones in Mexico and Colombia faced all manner of threats and attacks.

    Malawi, Mali and Uganda took steps to criminalize or uphold bans on same-sex relations between consenting adults, while Georgia and Bulgaria followed Russia’s lead in clamping down on supposed “LGBTI propaganda”. The Trump administration is bolstering the global backlash against gender justice by dismantling efforts to tackle discrimination, relentlessly attacking transgender rights, and ending funding for health, education and other programmes that supported women and girls all over the world.

    Governments are further harming present and future generations by failing to adequately regulate new technologies, abusing surveillance tools and entrenching discrimination and inequalities through increased use of artificial intelligence.

    Tech firms have long facilitated discriminatory and authoritarian practices, but President Trump has exacerbated this trend, encouraging social media companies to roll back protections – including Meta’s removal of third-party fact-checking – and double down on a business model that enables the spread of hateful and violent content. The alignment between the Trump administration and tech billionaires also risks opening the door to an era of rampant corruption, disinformation, impunity and corporate capture of state power.

    “From seating tech billionaires in prime position at his inauguration to granting the world’s richest man unprecedented access to the US government apparatus, it appears that President Trump will let his self-serving and corporate allies run amok, without the slightest regard for human rights or even the rule of law,” said Agnès Callamard.

    Vital efforts to uphold international justice

    Despite mounting opposition from powerful states – compounded this year by the Trump administration’s shameless sanctions against the ICC prosecutor – international justice and multilateral bodies have continued to push for accountability at the highest levels, with governments from the Global South leading several significant initiatives.

    The ICC issued arrest warrants against senior state officials and leaders of armed groups in Israel, Gaza, Libya, Myanmar and Russia. The UN took an important step towards negotiating a much-needed treaty on crimes against humanity and the Philippines followed suit by arresting former president Rodrigo Duterte last month under an ICC warrant for the crime against humanity of murder.

    The International Court of Justice (ICJ) issued three sets of provisional measure orders in the case South Africa brought against Israel under the Genocide Convention and issued an advisory opinion declaring that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem, is unlawful. The UN General Assembly also passed a resolution calling on Israel to end its occupation, and in January 2025 eight states from the Global South formed the Hague Group, a collective committed to preventing arms transfers to Israel and holding it accountable for violations of international law.

    “We applaud the efforts of nations like South Africa and international justice bodies to push back against powerful states hellbent on undermining international law. In so challenging impunity, those nations and bodies set examples for the whole world to follow. The mounting attacks we’ve witnessed on the ICC in recent months suggest this is emerging as a major battlefield of 2025. All governments must do everything in their power to support international justice, hold perpetrators accountable, and protect the ICC and its staff from sanctions,” said Agnès Callamard.

    “Despite daunting challenges, the destruction of human rights is far from inevitable. History abounds with examples of brave people overcoming authoritarian practices. In 2024 the people of several nations rejected anti-rights leaders at the ballot box while millions around the world raised their voices against injustice. So it’s clear: no matter who stands in our way, we must – and we will – continue to resist the reckless regimes of power and profit that seek to strip people of their human rights. Our vast, unshakeable movement will be forever united in our common belief in the inherent dignity and human rights of everyone on this planet.”

    MIL OSI – Submitted News –