Human Rights Conference in Bangladesh
A South Asian Human Rights (SAHR) conference was held in Bangladesh earlier this week. The attendants, including the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Mary Robinson and a 50-member delegation from Bangladesh, called for all-out efforts to promote and protect human rights in the region. While inaugurating the conference, Mary Robinson cautioned against the violation of human rights in the global "fixation"with the war against terrorism. "What must never be forgotten is that human rights are no hindrance to the promotion of peace and security. Rather they are an essential element in any strategy to defeat terrorism,"she said. Robinson described the emergence of a body like SAHR in the region as a remarkable event.
Coffee Crisis in Nicaragua
Drought-affected northern and western Nicaragua are facing a crisis characterized by the World Food Program as the "worst to hit Central America since Hurricane Mitch."Though President Aleman maintains that there is no famine, thousands of coffee farmers have been flocking to cities in search of relief.
The coffee crisis was caused by the collapse of this year's coffee cycle, which resulted in a dive of the price of coffee beans and an estimated unemployment in Nicaragua of 300,000 people. The impact on the farmers has been debt foreclosures, land loss, bankruptcy for thousands, and malnutrition among children in the region.
With the government offering only minor measures of support, mayors of nine municipalities of the northern department of Madriz have declared their own state of emergency.
In April, the National Assembly passed a bill suspending all foreclosusres due to debts and unpaid loans for coffee growers for 300 days However, under pressure from the Inter-American Bank and International Monetary Fund, the President vetoed the bill.
According to Mario Gonzalez of the National Union of Coffee Growers, "27,000 small and medium producers are now left with no financing of any kind to start work on the new coffee cycle."Sixty-four percent of coffee farmers in Nicaragua are small and medium sized and coffee is the country's largest export.
The IMF's structual adjustment measures and focus on cash crop development has resulted in a dramatic increase in coffee production across the world from Vietnam to Tanzania Currently, more than 50 nations and 20 millions households worldwide are dependent on coffee revenues.
However, because of these measures coffee production now consistently surpasses consumption demands and stockpiles of coffee are driving the prices down.
Northern Alliance rule brings some freedoms, some fears
As of Wednesday, Nov. 14, the Northern Alliance had taken control of much of northern Afghanistan, including the capital city of Kabul. Now that the Taliban has been driven out and the Northern Alliance is picking up momentum, some in the West are rejoicing at the restoration of "freedom"to Afghanistan However, some people familiar with Afghanistan have concerns about the future.
While the Northern Alliance has told women that they can stop wearing their burqas and begin participating in public life, many Afghan women will not significantly change their lifestyles. This is largely because the restrictions on women in the name of Islam were not particularl ydifferent from tribal and village practice, but the enforcement under Taliban rule was more severe. Some say that only the urban population had ever allowed women a role in public life. However, even though it was enforced, the burqa offered women a sens eof anonymity. This was particularly useful during times of instability, like the current change of power in the city. Many women who have expressed intent to shed their burqas have said that they will wait until the soldiers have left their cities becaus eof their previous experiences with the Northern Alliance.
The diverse, loose coalition of the Northern Alliance secured power for the first time in 1992. This alliance quickly disintegrated into factional divisions that resulted in many documented war crimes, some of them against women. From 1992 to 1996 in part icular, women were used as a weapon through acts of rape, torture, abduction and forced marriage. Additionally, Amnesty International has documented that an estimated 25,000 civilians were killed during this period marked by murders, disappearances, tortur e, and rapes. The daily street fighting and rockets raining down on schools and homes is also not something that Afghans are eager to experience again Coincidentally, Rabbani, the U.N. recognized president of Afghanistan, was president during this period. The Taliban received initial support from many Afghans for the peace established after they ousted Rabbani, whom the U.N. still recognizes as president.
Now that the Northern Alliance has moved into Kabul without U.S. support, many are wondering if the Northern Alliance will allow for a broad based multi-ethnic government to be peacefully implemented in place of Taliban or Northern Alliance rule.
