While the nation does possess legitimate political rights, including free and fair elections, lack of human rights in Guinea-Bissau continues to make victims out of its citizens. As of 2016, these included abuses such as corruption of government officials as well as violence and discrimination of women and children.
The list continues on, according to the U.S. Department of State. Other abuses included unfair and abusive treatment of detainees, lack of due process and human trafficking. No effective action was taken against the perpetrators of human rights in these situations.
In particular, prisoner detention stands out as one of the most grotesque human rights abuses. The conditions of detention facilities are life-threatening, according to the state departments.
“Cells lack running water, adequate heating, ventilation, lighting and sanitation. Detainees’ diets were poor and medical care was virtually non-existent,” stated the human rights report in 2016. The means by which detainees arrive in these deplorable conditions often violates another human right, lack of due process, as authorities often “arbitrarily” arrest and detain people.
Police are, for the most part, ineffective and corrupt, which might result be a result of their lack of regular payment by the state. Lack of funding results in insufficient of training as well as scarce resources for police to carry out their duties properly. Unfortunately, almost all levels of law enforcement are susceptible to coercion, threats and bribes, including the attorney general’s office.
Consequently, unlawful arrests continue to be made, violating human rights in Guinea-Bissau. These include arrests without warrants and the holding of detainees for longer than the permitted period of time. Additionally, military detainees were often not informed of charges against them.
To add to the human rights abuses conducted throughout the justice system, the independent courts, including judges, were “poorly trained, inadequately and irregularly paid and subject to corruption.”
It appears that those accused of suspected of crime in the state have very little security, as human rights in Guinea-Bissau are not enforced. Furthermore, there continues to be no administrative means of addressing human rights violations.
Little progress had been made in improving these conditions, and the justice system remains extremely weak to this day. One of the only few actions of accountability undertaken by the state was in July 2015 in the Oio region, where three officers were sentenced to imprisonment for human rights abuses.
Investigations continue to be made by human rights organizations, such as Amnesty International. The citizens of Guinea-Bissau are desperately in need of intervention from the international community.
– Melanie Snyder
Photo: Flickr
Teaching Impoverished Women Solar Panel Engineering
The project estimates it will bring clean, renewable power to over 200,000 people by training 400 women at five centres in Latin America, Africa and the Pacific Islands. Since 2008, when the initiative started, the college estimates it has trained 1084 women, or ‘solar mamas’ as they call them, from 83 different countries in solar panel installation and maintenance. Hogan Lovells is now providing Barefoot with pro bono legal advice and financial backing to help with the most recent expansion of the program.
Although a majority of the women are illiterate, through sign language and color-coded textbooks they are taught how to create, install and maintain solar panels for their community. Not only does this help bring a renewable power source to thousands of destitute villages, but by teaching impoverished women solar panel engineering, it helps to develop gender equality in these regions. The ‘solar mamas’ become respected community advisers and hold a high position as the installers and maintainers of a village’s main power source.
Installing solar panels also brings an array of other benefits to poor, rural, areas. It replaces the use of toxic kerosene, allowing children to study at night with the use of lamps, and family incomes tend to rise, since they pay less than what they paid for kerosene, batteries, candles, etc. Barefoot estimates that it has replaced over 500 million litres of the highly toxic and flammable kerosene since the program started.
Barefoot College and its ‘solar mama’ initiative in cooperation with Hogan Lovells is an example of the innovative progress made by non-governmental institutions in the race to meet the U.N’s Sustainable Development Goals. By training impoverished women in solar panel engineering, Barefoot, in a single program, addresses seven of the 17 goals, including tackling poverty, promoting gender equality and developing affordable and clean energy. It is an example to be followed.
– Alan Garcia-Ramos
Photo: Flickr
How to Help People in Tuvalu
Here are some ideas on how to help people in Tuvalu:
Climate change is already beginning to affect Tuvalu. While emergency response to flooding and other natural disasters is important, the most important long-term solution is for countries all over the world to make swift cuts in emissions, until the world reaches what scientists say is a safe level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere – 350 parts per million.
When Tuvalu has experienced flooding or other weather disasters in the past, several humanitarian organizations have responded promptly. However, climate change also exacerbates droughts. One of the biggest problems that can occur during a drought is a lack of safe, clean water. Many on the island will have to ration water. A household of six to nine people is allotted just 40 liters of water per day. This means that basic water needs are only just being met in these conditions.
In 2015, Enele Spoaga, the Prime Minister of Tuvalu, asked European leaders to help save Tuvalu ahead of the negotiations for the Paris climate accord. Spoaga warned that a climate that was even 2 degrees celsius warmer would mean that Tuvalu would eventually disappear under water. Later that year, leaders from around the world agreed to take steps to limit future global warming. However, President Trump has recently said he wants to take the U.S. out of the Paris climate accord. Since the U.S. is a large, highly industrialized and influential country, the effects of it leaving the Paris climate accord would be devastating. If you would like to help protect Tuvalu from the effects of severe climate change, consider calling the White House and expressing your concern about this issue.
Tuvalu is in a uniquely frightening position, since its very existence is under threat from climate change. However, as people realize the dangers of climate change, more and more will hopefully seek to learn about how to get involved to help people struggling in Tuvalu.
– Brock Hall
Photo: Flickr
How to Help People in Laos
Firstly, you can donate or contribute to a variety of organizations that do work in the region. SOS Children’s Villages International is an organization that works to protect the rights of children in Laos and other countries. They focus on providing quality emotional and physical care to children who have lost their families or are not in a position to stay with their families. You can sponsor a child or a village, or make a one-time donation.
Care is another organization that works in Laos, among many other countries. Care’s goals are to cut poverty off at the root by providing substantial and sustainable change to those who are most vulnerable to poverty, hunger and disease. They also provide emergency relief when necessary. Care accepts donations.
ChildFund Australia is another organization that works to secure children’s rights and promote community development. They work in a variety of countries, including Laos. ChildFund Australia puts 78 percent of all funds towards program expenditures in the countries they work in. They accept donations and allow you to sponsor a child.
There are a lot of other nonprofit organizations that work to protect children’s rights in Laos, but these are a few of the largest. Whichever of these organizations you donate, volunteer, or contribute to, the people in Laos need all the help they can get. Now you know what to say the next time someone asks how to help people in Laos.
– Liyanga De Silva
Photo: Flickr
Building Toilets in India
Although India has significantly improved its infrastructure and is now one of the world’s fastest growing economies, much of the population continues to lack access to basic sanitation facilities such as toilets and clean running water. An astounding 500 million people in India resort to open defecation, accounting for 60 percent of the world’s population who do so. Unexpectedly, an Indian romantic comedy aptly named “Toilet, a Love Story” has been instrumental in pushing the need for building toilets in India into the spotlight.
With a renewed focus on providing more access to toilets, Narendra Modi, India’s Prime Minister, has promised to build 100 million new toilets across the country. Additionally, he started a new cleanliness initiative called Clean India mission in 2014 that will attempt to make India open defecation-free by 2019. According to the Indian government, 47 million toilets have already been built in rural villages and public areas, but many have criticized the program for its many failures. New toilets are being built around the country so rapidly that many of them are not even connected to running water, rendering them dirty to the point that few use them. The Indian government must focus on adding additional sewage systems throughout the country in order to properly handle the increase in toilets.
Even if toilets are built, there needs to be an entire shift in mindset before open defection will stop. For many Indians, having a toilet inside a house is considered an unclean practice, so there needs to be tangible steps taken to confirm that the newly built toilets are actually being used. Educating communities, particularly rural ones, about the undeniable health benefits of utilizing toilets, is a worthwhile pursuit. With many families using toilets as a store house for fodder, India’s government must dedicate time and resources to bringing the serious harms of open defecation to the forefront of public health issues.
The lack of basic sanitation often leads to epidemics of dangerous diseases, including potentially fatal ones such as cholera, which are spread through fecal matter. Furthermore, water sources and crops are commonly contaminated by open defecation, but many lack the awareness or the resources to properly clean their food and water before consuming it, leading to thousands of deaths every year. In addition to the need for a larger effort into raising awareness of the benefits of building toilets in India, resources need to be invested into infrastructure for waste management.
Also, the lack of sanitation facilities has proven to be an issue for women’s rights and human dignity. Without access to toilets, women in rural villages are often forced to travel in groups and are only able to relieve themselves before the sun rises in order to ensure their safety. Unfortunately, these groups of women are often met with verbal and sometimes physical abuse. Sexual assault remains a frighteningly common occurrence for Indian women who are forced to relieve themselves in open fields.
Several studies have shown that lack of access to private toilets frequently make women significantly more susceptible to sexual violence. According to a senior police officer in the state of Bihar, about 400 women were raped while they relieved themselves outside simply because they did not have access to a private toilet. Rapidly and effectively ending open defecation must be of the utmost urgency, as millions of Indian women continue to endure vicious sexual violence on a daily basis.
With toilets being a taboo subject in India, there are undoubtedly serious obstacles to be overcome if India wishes to end open defecation, which is linked to sexual violence and the spread of disease. “Toilet, a Love Story” has gone a long way in helping Indians openly discuss and raise awareness of the dangers of continuing to avoid building toilets in India. If there is to be lasting success, the Indian government must prioritize shifting the public’s mindset away from believing that toilets are unclean as well as build an accompanying sewage system alongside the new toilets.
– Akhil Reddy
Photo: Google
Human Rights in Samoa Improving
According to a 2015 Human Rights Report on Samoa, the country did generally well keeping up with the code of conduct prescribed in the Samoan constitution. An executive summary reported that there were no unlawful government or police killings, torture or inhuman punishment, denial of fair trials or restrictions on academic, internet or speech freedoms. However, the report noted some breaches of the human rights standards in Samoa.
In 2015, conditions in men’s prisons were reported to be overcrowded and there was a lack of ventilation and lighting in cells; in fact, one cell at police headquarters in the city of Tuasivi was deemed unfit for human containment. There was also a general lack of security at prison centers, but authorities did properly investigate and monitor conditions.
The report also noted a violation of privacy of homes and families. Lack of privacy in some villages meant possibly granting officials access to homes without a warrant and there were several allegations of village councils banishing people from their villages. Those exiled by traditional government law were banished due to cases of rape, adultery, murder and unauthorized claims to land. There were some reports of government corruption in 2013, but elections were considered generally fair. Reported rape cases in 2015 were thoroughly investigated and had high conviction rates. Domestic violence is considered common criminal assault with a maximum penalty of one year imprisonment and offenders were generally only punished if the abuse was considered extreme.
In August 2017, a United Nations human rights panel released a report on Samoa’s handling of gender-based violence. The U.N. Working Group on discrimination against women noted that it is only once womens’ sexual and reproductive rights are met that laws regarding gender-based discrimination and violence in Samoa can be fully effective. In Samoa, gender-based violence is somewhat taboo and perceptions of discrimination against women are buried deep within the roots of Samoan culture. The goal of the 10-day delegation on Samoan laws was to open a dialogue about gender-based violence and to rally support from government leaders, stakeholders and men and women alike in order to make the necessary reforms to change misconceptions about violence and discrimination against women. Suggestions for new policies at the event included a state-sponsored welfare system, support for female victims of sexual violence and better funding for civil society groups.
The country, which is making several strides toward bettering human rights for all, has a history of ratifying treaties which work in favor of all Samoans and give people equal and humane treatment. Some include the 2016 Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the 1994 Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women, and the 2008 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. With continued pressure on leaders to make permanent changes to the human rights standards of the country, and with the participation and education of the public, human rights in Samoa are on their way to serious improvement.
– Olivia Cyr
Photo: Flickr
Causes of Poverty in Luxembourg
In Luxembourg, most people live comfortably. Since 2009, the employment rate has increased by more than 16 percent but the current unemployment rate is only 5.9 percent – well below the European average of 10.4 percent. Generous social benefits and laws condemning discrimination against women, ethnic minorities and disabled people further improve the overall quality of life in Luxembourg.
Despite these promising conditions, poverty is still an issue in Luxembourg. In 2013, the threshold for the risk of poverty amounted to approximately €1,665. During that year, about 15.9 percent of people living in the country found themselves in that category – of this group, 23.9 percent were children.
An article written by Gornick and Jantti identified Luxembourg as a high income country with disproportionately high child poverty. In the study, they found that children in Luxembourg were 20 percent more likely to be poor than the overall population.
One of the main causes of poverty in Luxembourg is having lived in poverty before. The risk of remaining poor or becoming poor for those who have previously lived in poverty is about 70 percent. On the other hand, those who have had no prior experience with poverty only face a four percent risk of entering poverty. Consequently, 60 percent of the level of state dependence is made up of those who have previously experienced poverty.
The Luxembourg Chamber of Employees identified another one of the causes of poverty in Luxembourg. They analyzed the relationship between the risk of poverty and cost of housing and found that nearly one third of tenants faced the risk of poverty. In other European countries, such as France and Germany, this risk is much lower.
One way that the Luxembourg government attempts to fight poverty and social exclusion is through the minimum guaranteed income (MGI). The MGI is given to people or households who fall below a certain threshold and its main goal is to provide sufficient means of existence and opportunities for social and professional inclusion.
Efforts such as the MGI are critical steps to improving poverty in Luxembourg. While many live comfortably and the country is prosperous in several ways, still more must be done to assist those in poverty and to lower the unnaturally high proportion of children in poverty.
– Lauren Mcbride
Photo: Flickr
Justice System Violates Human Rights in Guinea-Bissau
While the nation does possess legitimate political rights, including free and fair elections, lack of human rights in Guinea-Bissau continues to make victims out of its citizens. As of 2016, these included abuses such as corruption of government officials as well as violence and discrimination of women and children.
The list continues on, according to the U.S. Department of State. Other abuses included unfair and abusive treatment of detainees, lack of due process and human trafficking. No effective action was taken against the perpetrators of human rights in these situations.
In particular, prisoner detention stands out as one of the most grotesque human rights abuses. The conditions of detention facilities are life-threatening, according to the state departments.
“Cells lack running water, adequate heating, ventilation, lighting and sanitation. Detainees’ diets were poor and medical care was virtually non-existent,” stated the human rights report in 2016. The means by which detainees arrive in these deplorable conditions often violates another human right, lack of due process, as authorities often “arbitrarily” arrest and detain people.
Police are, for the most part, ineffective and corrupt, which might result be a result of their lack of regular payment by the state. Lack of funding results in insufficient of training as well as scarce resources for police to carry out their duties properly. Unfortunately, almost all levels of law enforcement are susceptible to coercion, threats and bribes, including the attorney general’s office.
Consequently, unlawful arrests continue to be made, violating human rights in Guinea-Bissau. These include arrests without warrants and the holding of detainees for longer than the permitted period of time. Additionally, military detainees were often not informed of charges against them.
To add to the human rights abuses conducted throughout the justice system, the independent courts, including judges, were “poorly trained, inadequately and irregularly paid and subject to corruption.”
It appears that those accused of suspected of crime in the state have very little security, as human rights in Guinea-Bissau are not enforced. Furthermore, there continues to be no administrative means of addressing human rights violations.
Little progress had been made in improving these conditions, and the justice system remains extremely weak to this day. One of the only few actions of accountability undertaken by the state was in July 2015 in the Oio region, where three officers were sentenced to imprisonment for human rights abuses.
Investigations continue to be made by human rights organizations, such as Amnesty International. The citizens of Guinea-Bissau are desperately in need of intervention from the international community.
– Melanie Snyder
Photo: Flickr
Common Diseases in Sint Maarten
When traveling to any island or foreign country, the CDC recommends a series of vaccinations to prevent illness from communicable diseases. It is recommended that travelers to Sint Maarten receive these vaccinations:
These vaccinations help prevent common diseases in Sint Maarten from spreading to tourists. A non-vaccine-preventable disease that is common is dengue fever. This is a leading cause of febrile illness among travelers from the Caribbean, South America and southeast Asia.
Common diseases in Sint Maarten can be spread by many means. The female Aedes aegypti mosquito transmits mosquito-borne diseases such as Zika, dengue and chikungunya. Taking precautions against mosquitoes by using bed nets at night, insect repellent and wearing long sleeve shirts and long pants can prevent these diseases. Zika is especially dangerous for pregnant women, as it can lead to birth defects. Others should use protection when there and home, and while traveling.
According to the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA), cancer is a non-communicable, common disease in Sint Maarten that causes death. Among females, breast cancer is the most prevalent, followed by cervical cancer. Prostate cancer is the leading cause of death among men, with lung cancer coming in second. Lung cancer is also a contributor to a high number of deaths among women. These cancers can be caused by genetics or environmental factors.
Non-environmental factors such as overeating have led to childhood obesity, which is seen as an epidemic in the youth of Sint Maarten based on the Youth Obesity Research study done in 2010. In 12-17-year-olds, the prevalence of overweight is 39 percent, and of that group, 54 percent are obese. The study also indicated that 60 percent of youths do not participate in sports and rarely consume fruits and vegetables.
The government has declared its aim to ensure that their “education sectors promote programs aimed at providing healthy school meals and promoting healthy eating.” They want to make a difference by promoting physical activity and providing healthy food choices in the schools. In order to achieve this goal, the schools will need to cooperate with the parents and educate them on healthy eating at home as well as at school.
The common diseases in Sint Maarten vary from non-communicable to communicable, to preventable and non-preventable. The good news is that making healthy lifestyle choices and taking the necessary precautions, one can easily avoid disease.
– Stefanie Podosek
Photo: Flickr
How to Help People in Timor-Leste
1. Support NGOs working for the people of Timor-Leste
Nongovernmental Organizations (NGOs) are working to advance social and economic causes. CARE Australia is working to decrease the country’s 35 percent literacy rate and they are also working to improve maternal health in under-resourced rural communities. Oxfam Australia is also working to lift rural communities out of poverty through efforts to improve food security, essential services and infrastructure development. Peace Fund Timor-Leste collaborates and funds NGOs that focus on peace-building activities in the youth development area. Using these organizations as examples, a great way to help the people of Timor-Leste is to research more organizations, evaluate their impact and donate or volunteer your time.
2. Call Congress
United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is doing essential work in Timor-Leste. They’ve deployed USAID community police officers to 442 villages to contribute to post-independence stability. USAID is also working to improve the skills of the Ministry of Health staff in reproductive, maternal and newborn health; Timor-Leste still has the highest maternal and under five mortality rates in Southeast Asia. USAID also assists in increasing farm income and improving nutrition for rural households throughout the nation. USAID has been working in Timor-Leste since the early 1980s, with both the government and other development partners; in the fiscal year 2016, the agency spent about $14 million in Timor-Leste. As of now, the 2017 fiscal budget is still under debate and USAID may be at risk of receiving budget cuts. One way to help is to contact Congress and urge them to protect the international affairs budget, particularly for the country of Timor-Leste.
On average, post-conflict countries take between 15 and 30 years to transition into stability. Considering this, Timor-Leste has made excellent progress thus far; however, there is still work to be done. The people of Timor-Leste deserve to live in a resilient nation where economic stability, political rights and social welfare are guaranteed to its citizens.
– Hannah Seitz
Photo: Flickr
Listening to Africa
In order to understand global poverty and effective methods to eradicate it, data must be gathered on people and their living conditions, whatever they may be. Historically, groups such as the World Bank would collect this data personally, traveling to sites and interviewing locals. However, this can be a vastly ineffective way to gather data for the aforementioned reasons, as people may migrate or the area may be too dangerous to travel. Listening to Africa is an organization investing in technology to help solve this problem.
Listening to Africa is a program set up by the World Bank Group to collect data on global poverty. Listening to Africa is using mobile phones supplemented by information from statistical offices and nongovernmental organizations in Africa in order to systematically collect data on extremely poor regions.
The program marries two different approaches; face-to-face interviews and follow-up phone calls to monitor selected regions. Respondents are asked some simple questions to begin the process and take part in 20-minute phone calls each month as the program is carried out. Those who complete the surveys successfully are awarded credit to their phones. Data from these calls is then paired with data collection done in the field and with other statistical offices to help better understand real time conditions in impoverished regions.
Listening to Africa has a great potential for data analysts to communicate with policy-makers on actual conditions of these regions, which will, in turn, allow them to better serve these communities and eventually help bring global poverty to an end.
– Casey Hess
Photo: Flickr