During the past decade there has been a rapid increase in the number of private providers of education in many developing countries, with many schools and educational establishments not being registered and being funded and managed by individual proprietors or enterprises. Such providers are distinct from other non-State actors, such as religious institutions, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), community-based groups, foundations and trusts. As a result, education is being commercialized and for-profit education is flourishing as an attractive business, with scant control by pubic authorities. In the present report, the Special Rapporteur looks at the rapid growth in private providers, which is resulting in the commercialization of education, and examines the negative effects of such commercialization on the norms and principles and legal frameworks underlying the right to education as established by international human rights treaties. He also highlights the repercussions of privatization on the principles of social justice and equity, underlining the need for safeguarding education as a public good.

Building upon his 2014 report to the General Assembly (A/69/402), the Special Rapporteur analyses education laws and evolving jurisprudence related to privatization. Finally, he offers a set of recommendations for developing effective regulatory frameworks for controlling private providers in education, in keeping with State obligations on the right to education as laid down in international human rights conventions.

For Full 24-Page Report, go to: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/HRC/RegularSessions/Session29/Pages/ListReports.aspx

Source: WUNRN, UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Education

30.07.2015

Switzerland - “How the World Views Migration” – a report that IOM will release later this spring – will provide rare insights into public attitudes toward migration around the world. Highlights of the report’s initial findings are being released at the World Economic Forum in Davos this week. 

The findings, based on Gallup interviews with 183,772 adults across more than 140 countries between 2012 and 2014, will show a global population that is generally in favour of raising the number of newcomers arriving each year, or else keeping migration at its present level.

“This study presents for the first time some preliminary information about what people worldwide think about migration,” the authors of the report conclude. “Contrary to the negative perceptions of migration often portrayed in the media in certain regions of the world, our findings suggest that most people around the world do not wish to see a decrease in immigration to their countries.”

An important exception is Europe, said IOM Head of Research Frank Laczko, who notes that Gallup’s research shows a sharp divergence in attitudes between Northern Europe and the continent’s Mediterranean zone.

The majority of adults in nearly all Northern European countries (such as Sweden, Denmark, Finland) would like to see levels of immigration stay the same or increase, the research revealed. The United Kingdom is the sole exception, with the majority of people (69%) supporting decreased immigration.

In contrast, residents in much of the Mediterranean region, which is an entry point to Europe for many migrants, would like to see immigration levels decreased. In fact, adults in Greece are the most likely in the world to want immigration levels decreased, with 84% saying this. This sentiment is shared by 56% in Spain, 67% in Italy, and 76% in Malta. In France, about half of residents (45%) would like to see immigration levels decrease, and the same number would like to see levels stay the same or increase.

“People in Europe are the most negative toward immigration, but even there just barely,” said Dr Laczko. “There is a slim majority (52.1%) saying immigration levels should be decreased. By comparison, the corresponding figure for Northern America is 39.3 %.”

¹ Total group results are weighted by population size.

Adults surveyed in Gallup’s World Poll were asked two questions about immigration: 

1. In your view, should immigration in this country be kept at its present level, increased, or decreased?
2. Do you think immigrants mostly take jobs that citizens in this country do not want (e.g., low-paying or not prestigious jobs) or mostly take jobs that citizen in this country want?

IOM and Gallup’s Executive Summary released in Davos focuses on initial findings of the study relating to the first question. To download a map of the findings please go to:
http://www.iom.int/files/live/sites/iom/files/pbn/docs/PublicOpinionMap_Davos.pdf

Beyond Europe, residents in Latin America and the Caribbean generally want immigration levels to stay the same or increase, with some exceptions such as Costa Rica and Ecuador.

In the Middle East, people in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries – which have the highest percentage of temporary migrant workers in their populations – are very positive toward immigration. Relatively small percentages want to see immigration levels decrease, and a high percentage want to see levels increase or stay the same. Again, there are differences by country – adults in Kuwait and Bahrain are much more negative towards immigration.

Some other important findings include:

1. Attitudes toward migration vary according to experience of migration.

• In countries with the highest percentages of migrants in their population, people are more likely to have an opinion about migration, but not necessarily a negative one. In the GCC states, where migrants can account in some countries for more than half of the population, as noted above, people are more likely to be in favour of immigration.
• In the top 10 migration destination countries, opinions are divided. Nearly half of adults (46.8%) believe that immigration levels should increase or stay the same, and about as many (47.5%) believe that it should decrease.
• Adults in countries with recent large increases in immigration are less likely to want to see immigration levels decrease. People in these countries are more likely to be leaning toward increasing levels.
• Adults in the top 10 origin countries are less likely to have an opinion about immigration to their countries (30.3%), but at the same time, 30% want to see a decrease.

1. People’s economic perceptions may be the strongest predictor of their attitudes about immigration.

• People’s attitudes toward immigration are related to their perceptions of their country’s economic conditions. Adults who believe economic conditions in their country are “fair” or “poor” are almost twice as likely to say immigration levels should decrease, as those who say conditions are “excellent” or “good.” Similarly, those who say conditions are getting worse, are nearly twice as likely to favour decreased immigration as those who say conditions are getting better (48.0% vs. 25.3%).
• In nearly all global regions, people who see conditions as “excellent or good” are more likely to have a positive outlook on migration than those who see it as “fair or poor.” These gaps are quite large in several countries, including major economies such as France (46% vs. 29%), Spain (56% vs. 29%), Canada (41% vs. 21%) and Japan (17% vs. 10%).
• The exception to this is Africa, where attitudes toward migration are not much different among the “fair/poor” and “excellent/good” groups. In addition to Africa, in a few countries around the world there is no or very little difference in attitudes to immigration based on the state of the economy. These include South Korea, Bangladesh, Uzbekistan, Philippines, Jordan, Israel, Iraq, Malta, Belgium and Venezuela.

1. There are people in every region and every country who are more open to immigration in their countries, and who have the potential to operate as “change leaders.”

• Business owners in Western Europe, Northern Africa, Southern Africa, Eastern Asia, and Australia/New Zealand are more positive about immigration levels than non business owners. This includes G20 members such as China and South Africa. Further, this holds true regardless of the size of the business.
• Young people (those younger than age 44) are more aware of immigration and are more likely to favour increasing immigration levels. About one in four younger people (24%) favour increasing immigration levels, compared with 17% of those who are aged 65 and older.
• This “youth effect” exists in most receiving regions and countries. The big exception is Russia. Young Russians are as negative about immigration levels in their country as older Russians are.
• Educated people – adults with a college degree - are more likely than those with less education to want to see immigration kept at its present level or increased. They are also more likely to have an opinion on the matter.
• Economic conditions and prospects in a country are strong predictors of opinions on immigration levels, the study’s authors conclude. Compared with others in the workforce, those who are not working, but actively looking for work and able to begin work, are considerably more likely to want immigration decreased (40.5% of the unemployed vs. 33.4% of those not unemployed).

“Understanding the profile of people who are for or against immigration, as well as the factors that influence their opinions, is essential in shaping more positive attitudes to immigration around the world,” said Dr Neli Esipova, Director of Research on Global Migration for Gallup’s World Poll.

“Negative public perceptions of migration restrict the ability of policy-makers to manage migration effectively,” said Dr Laczko. “There is a risk that migration policies in such countries will be increasingly shaped by fears and misconceptions rather than evidence. If we are to combat the worrying rise in discrimination against migrants and the general public’s fears about migration, we need to continue to monitor on a regular basis public perceptions of migration.” 

Direct Link to Full 7-Page 2015Executive Summary – IOM Full Report Forthcoming

http://www.iom.int/files/live/sites/iom/files/pbn/docs/How-the-World-Views-Migration-Gallup-flyer.pdf

 Source: WUNRN, IOM – International Organization for Migration

30.07.2015

GENEVA (28 July 2015) – Speaking ahead of World Day Against Trafficking in Persons, United Nations human rights expert Maria Grazia Giammarinaro calls for sweeping changes in policy and on perception of trafficking. Fighting trafficking is not just about law enforcement, the Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially women and children reminds governments across the world.

“After more than a decade of efforts aimed at combatting trafficking in persons, we have to recognize that results are still modest. The vast majority of trafficked persons -not less than 20 million people globally- are not recognized as such, and as a result do not have access to justice and remedies.

Trafficking means extreme exploitation -often in slavery-like conditions- of women, men and children who are socially vulnerable, mostly due to their being undocumented migrants. To tackle these gross human rights violations, a policy shift is needed, and the same perception of trafficking in persons should change.

So far, trafficking has been considered mostly a law enforcement issue. Today, we should look at trafficking as an economic and social issue, linked with global trends including migration. Therefore prevention is key.

To prevent trafficking in persons, national authorities should deal with a broader area of exploitation, in the sex industry, in agriculture, fishery, domestic work, garments, and the tourist industry.

Governments and the private sector must prevent and combat exploitation wherever and whenever it takes place, especially when migrant workers are involved, and tackle the driving factors of exploitation. Among them, one of the most powerful is the lack of regular channels for migration.

In that regard, policy coherence is essential: the fight against trafficking is incompatible with restrictive migration policies that place people in a situation of irregularity and vulnerability to exploitation and trafficking.

Furthermore, within mixed migration flows, an increasing number of people migrate to flee from conflict and crisis areas. Better international cooperation is needed to ensure that people entitled to international protection are offered a viable solution in one of their preferred countries.

However, in the current situation, asylum seekers and refugees are amongst the most vulnerable migrants, often exposed to the risk of trafficking, including children traveling alone, women and girls who are raped during the journey and exploited in prostitution at destination, men, women and children obliged to accept inhuman working conditions to survive.

This is the policy shift which is much needed today: to prevent trafficking and to protect trafficked persons’ rights, it is necessary to protect the rights of all migrants, and of all vulnerable people, be them foreigners or nationals.

Once someone is recognized as being subjected to exploitation and/or trafficking, she/he should have immediate access to legal counseling, healthcare, and tailored forms of assistance, in order to be able to claim their rights.

These opportunities should be given without any condition. No legal requirements should be established which actually denies exploited and trafficked persons their right to access justice and remedies.

Trafficking - as in the case of historical slavery - takes place because enormous economic interests lie behind exploitation of the global poor. However, this can be stopped, if people of good will - both powerful people and simple citizens - feel that trafficking is morally and socially unacceptable, and take action against exploitation, injustice, and human rights violations.”

Maria Grazia Giammarinaro (Italy) was appointed as Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially women and children by the UN Human Rights Council in June 2014, to promote the prevention of trafficking in persons in all its forms, and to encourage measures to uphold and protect the human rights of victims. Ms. Giammarinaro has been a Judge since 1991 and currently serves as a Pre-Trial Judge at the Criminal Court of Rome. She was the Special Representative and Co-ordinator for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings of the OSCE, and served in the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Justice, Freedom and Security in Brussels, where she was responsible for combating human trafficking and sexual exploitation of children. She drafted the EU Directive on preventing and combating trafficking in human beings and protecting its victims.

Learn more, log on to: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Trafficking/Pages/TraffickingIndex.aspx

The Special Rapporteurs are part of what is known as the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Special Procedures, the largest body of independent experts in the UN Human Rights system, is the general name of the Council’s independent fact-finding and monitoring mechanisms that address either specific country situations or thematic issues in all parts of the world. Special Procedures’ experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. They are independent from any government or organization and serve in their individual capacity.

For more information and media requests, please contact Nathalie Stadelmann (+41 22 917 9104 /  Оваа е-адреса е заштитена од спамботови. Треба да ви е овозможено JavaScript за да ја видите. ) or write to  Оваа е-адреса е заштитена од спамботови. Треба да ви е овозможено JavaScript за да ја видите.

Source: WUNRN

30.07.2015

About 795 million people are undernourished globally, down 167 million over the last decade, and 216 million less than in 1990–92. The decline is more pronounced in developing regions, despite significant population growth. In recent years, progress has been hindered by slower and less inclusive economic growth as well as political instability in some developing regions, such as Central Africa and western Asia.

 The year 2015 marks the end of the monitoring period for the Millennium Development Goal targets. For the developing regions as a whole, the share of undernourished people in the total population has decreased from 23.3 percent in 1990–92 to 12.9 per cent. Some regions, such as Latin America, the east and southeastern regions of Asia, the Caucasus and Central Asia, and the northern and western regions of Africa have made fast progress. Progress was also recorded in southern Asia, Oceania, the Caribbean and southern and eastern Africa, but at too slow a pace to reach the MDG 1c target of halving the proportion of the chronically undernourished.

 A total of 72 developing countries out of 129, or more than half the countries monitored, have reached the MDG 1c hunger target. Most enjoyed stable political conditions and economic growth, often accompanied by social protection policies targeted at vulnerable population groups.

For the developing regions as a whole, the two indicators of MDG 1c – the prevalence of undernourishment and the proportion of underweight children under 5 years of age – have both declined. In some regions, including western Africa, south-eastern Asia and South America, undernourishment declined faster than the rate for child underweight, suggesting room for improving the quality of diets, hygiene conditions and access to clean water, particularly for poorer population groups.

Economic growth is a key success factor for reducing undernourishment, but it has to be inclusive and provide opportunities for improving the livelihoods of the poor. Enhancing the productivity and incomes of smallholder family farmers is key to progress.

 Social protection systems have been critical in fostering progress towards the MDG 1 hunger and poverty targets in a number of developing countries. Social protection directly contributes to the reduction of poverty, hunger and malnutrition by promoting income security and access to better nutrition, health care and education. By improving human capacities and mitigating the impacts of shocks, social protection fosters the ability of the poor to participate in growth through better access to employment.

 In many countries that have failed to reach the international hunger targets, natural and human-induced disasters or political instability have resulted in protracted crises with increased vulnerability and food insecurity of large parts of the population. In such contexts, measures to protect vulnerable population groups and improve livelihoods have been difficult to implement or ineffective.

Direct Link to Full 62-Page 2015 Report:

http://www.fao.org/3/a-i4646e.pdf

Source: WUNRN

30.07.2015

Hunger is constant in India's refugee camps, with meagre rations of rice, lentils, cooking oil and salt falling short of most families’ basic needs. Women are forced to walk long distances to fetch firewood for woodstoves. Credit: Priyanka Borpujari/IPS

ROME, Jul 29 2015 (IPS) - The world received an important report card last month, in the form of the latest annual Millennium Development Goals Report. The report highlights a number of important achievements, but omits mention that some targets of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) were lower than those agreed to at the relevant U.N. international conferences of the 1990s.

Some of the good news is real. Halving the share of the world’s population who are extremely poor during 1990-2015 was achieved well ahead of schedule. But there is more to the story. Upon closer inspection, it is clear that progress on poverty has been uneven across and within regions and countries, with the rapid development of China alone accounting for much of world poverty reduction.

Progress toward most other MDG targets has been more limited. Slower growth for over half a decade, increased economic inequality in many countries and reduced public social provisioning in recent decades, have undermined progress despite growth in average incomes.

Progress, yes, but less than aimed for

According to the World Bank, the global poverty rate at the purchasing power parity of 1.25 dollars/day fell to less than half the 1990 rate by 2010. By 2015, the number of extreme poor had fallen from 1.9 billion in 1990 to 836 million. Both the number and proportion of poor have fallen in every region – including sub-Saharan Africa, where the poverty rate is highest.

Meanwhile, the hunger rate or the prevalence of undernourishment (inadequate dietary energy) has declined by less than half since 1990, from 23.3 percent in 1991 to 12.9 percent in 2014. FAO estimates that 780 million people went hungry in developing countries in 2014, down from 991 million in 1991 — well short of the more ambitious 1996 World Food Summit goal to halve the number of hungry people by 2015.

At the same time, progress in reducing child stunting—a key measure of early childhood malnutrition and its lifelong consequences—has been even more modest. Most areas have seen uneven progress, but in Sub-Saharan Africa, the number of stunted children actually rose by a third between 1990 and 2013.

Since the poverty line was originally defined by the money income required to meet basic needs, including food, it is difficult to understand how incomes could rise to a level that cuts poverty by more than half, while the impact on nutrition has been so much less.

Something similar has happened with employment. The proportion of unpaid family workers and own-account workers in the labour force in developing countries declined to 45 percent in 2015 from 55 percent in 1991.

However, their numbers have increased by almost 200 million since 1991. Meanwhile, almost half of the world’s employed work in vulnerable conditions, with women and youth more likely to be in insecure, poorly remunerated occupations.

Uneven progress

Since 1990, 2.1 billion people have gained access to improved sanitation. But the proportion of people defecating in the open has fallen far short of the MDG 75 percent reduction target, threatening the health and nutrition of others, especially children.

The target of halving the population share without sustainable access to safe drinking water was also met by 2010 – with those using an improved water source rising from 76 percent in 1990 to 91 percent in 2015.

The share of slum dwellers in urban populations has declined from 46 percent in 2000 to 30 percent in 2014, but their number has grown by more than 25 percent, from 689 million in 1990 to 881 million in 2014.

The maternal mortality ratio has fallen by almost half since 1990, but well short of the MDG target of 75 percent; only half the countries in the world collect data on maternal death causes.

Globally, more than 71 percent of births in 2014 were assisted by skilled health personnel, up from 59 percent in 1990. In developing countries, only 56 percent of rural births are attended by skilled health personnel, compared with 87 percent of urban births.

The global under-five mortality rate has declined by more than half, from 90 to 43 deaths per 1,000 live births between 1990 and 2015. Nevertheless, about 16,000 children under-five continue to die daily in 2015, mostly from preventable causes.

Tuberculosis prevention, diagnosis and treatment saved an estimated 37 million lives during 2000-2013. Growing interventions have averted over 6.2 million malaria deaths during 2000-2015, primarily of children under-five in sub-Saharan Africa.

Meanwhile, new HIV infections fell by about 40 percent between 2000 and 2013, from around 3.5 million to 2.1 million. By mid-2014, 13.6 million people with HIV were receiving antiretroviral therapy globally, up from just 800,000 in 2003.

The literacy rate among youth aged 15 to 24 rose globally from 83 percent to 91 percent during 1990-2015. The primary school net enrollment rate in developing countries has reached 91 percent in 2015, up from 83 percent in 2000. Many more of the world’s children have been enrolled in primary schools, with girls fast closing the gap with boys.

Primary school age children out-of-school worldwide have declined by less than half, from 100 million in 2000 to 57 million in 2015, while the number of children in primary school in sub-Saharan Africa more than doubled during 1990-2012, from 62 to 149 million.

In developing countries, children from the poorest households are four times as likely to be out of school as those from the richest households. As with child survival and other matters, further progress will require concerted reduction of socio-economic disparities.

Tasks ahead

With the MDGs deadline still five months away, a few more MDG targets may be achieved when monitoring is completed. But much more will need to be done to meet targets on nutrition, public health, sanitation, gender equality, infrastructure, resource sustainability as well as climate change mitigation and adaptation.

Since the Rio+20 conference in June 2012, a new agenda to define goals and targets after 2015 has been taking shape. The new agenda gives greater consideration to environmental sustainability and resource constraints. In mid-2014, 17 goals and 169 targets were agreed to.

Developing a broad, ambitious and universally relevant set of goals to guide world community efforts in the next fifteen years seems done. But as the Addis Ababa Action Agenda has shown, meaningful progress on the ‘means of implementation’ is proving very difficult.

A common vision and a clear agenda, with measurable goals and targets facilitating accountability, are now proven requisites for achieving success. Despite its mixed record, international mobilisation around the MDGs offers valuable lessons to draw upon. It also provides proof that progress is only feasible with the requisite shared political will.

Edited by Kitty Stapp

Source: WUNRN, by Jomo Kwame Sundaram and Michael T. Clark

30.07.2015