Civil societies urge Obama, Uhuru to end inequalities, poverty

ITRealms:

The Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) have urged Presidents Barack Obama of the US and Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya on Thursday to lessen growing inequalities and chronic poverty among vulnerable and marginalized populations in Kenya which threaten security, national integration, and sustainable development despite notable gains made under the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) reports ITRealms.

The Regional Communications Coordinator, Henry Neondo, told ITRealms in a press statement that the CSOs urged the two leaders to ensure delivery of the outcome of their meeting to match the ambition and transformative agenda for the country.

Speaking at the All Saints Cathedral in Nairobi, Kenya, the civil societies and citizens will also ask the two leaders to ensure that no category of population is left behind as their two countries gear up to the UN Summit in New York in September to unveil the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

They added that early intervention and investment in people of all ages, gender and abilities is the surest way to create a more just and inclusive society.  The foundation for inclusive societies begins with investment in health, social protection, security, quality of data and its disaggregation by age and gender, and lifelong education for sustained economic growth and shared prosperity.

Current statistics in Kenya show growing inequalities. In ability to access quality essential services and chronic poverty demands that the State invest further in Social protection programs. 

The CSOs urged the two leaders to support calls for effective, efficient and coherent funding modalities for the design, implementation and extension of social protection programs that meets the needs of the citizens. Additionally they also call on the two leaders to assure and promote the rights of women and girls, youth and older persons while safeguarding the needs of people of all ages. 

“What we need are concrete commitments to implement integrated social protection systems,” said Dr. Prafulla Mishra, Regional Director, HelpAge International, East, West, Central Africa.

 “Our country needs to set national and county human development targets within the framework of universal goals to provide the best opportunity to break out of the cycle of poverty and ensure that the post-2015 framework reaches all people of all ages and abilities,” urged the CSOs. They cautioned against optimism towards private finance to deliver a broad sustainable development agenda saying such approaches are “misplaced”. 

The CSOs also took issue with the existing regressive tax policies such as indirect taxes which disproportionately harm people living in poverty such as older persons, women, minorities, persons with disabilities, and children.

The CSOs said while International Development Cooperation remain critical for development financing and fulfilling the 0.7 per cent commitment made more than four decades ago remains pivotal, Kenya should begin relying more on domestic resources to finance her development.

“That government must increase domestic resources, institute effective and progressive taxation systems, facilitate accountability mechanism and tax justice,” they said adding that an enabling environment for cross-sector, multi-stakeholder initiatives that deliver on the goals in the best interest of children, older persons, people with disabilities, youths and their families and communities is needed.

The CSOs expressed their gratitude to President Uhuru’s offer of his government to seek partnerships in order to deliver on sustainable development but urged him to cast his net wider to include non-state actors.

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Xenophobia: Igbos want Dr Adeniran Abraham Ariyo head examined by Texas Medical Board

ITRealms:

Civil Society Organisations (CSO) and right activists, especially of Igbo extraction in Eastern Nigeria are now calling for the head of Dr. Adeniran Abraham Ariyo to be examined by the Texas Medical Board, over his invitation for massacre of Igbos in Nigeria as the ongoing xenophobia attacks in South Africa rages, reports ITRealms.

This is coming as over 1,874 supporters have endorsed the petition within 18 hours of its commencement, according to ITRealms investigations, cutting across all tribes of Nigeria.

Ariyo reportedly wrote on his Facebook page which has since been deleted, but some fast-fingers screen shot it before it went viral:

“You see how they (the Igbos) are being slaughtered in South Africa. That’s what’s going to happen to them in Lagos…When are they (the Igbos) not going to be slaughtered in Abuja?…God might have put a curse on them (the Igbos)…We will continue to bus them (the Igbos) to Onitsha.” - Dr. Abraham Ariyo.

ITRealms also reports that a petition has been sent to the Texas Medical Board on Change.Org by a group known as Nigerian Moment, calling for investigations on Dr. Ariyo who himself is an immigrant.

According to the petition, the group urged the Texas Medical Board to investigate a Dallas-based cardiologist, Dr. Adeniran Abraham Ariyo who called for xenophobic attack against Igbos the way foreigners were violently attacked in South Africa.

They also argued that the petition was based on the fact that the massacre or extermination of any ethnic group is against the United Nations (UN) law and of course the laws of United States. 

“No ethnic group should ever have to be massacred due to hate for any reason whatsoever since there are legally accepted ways of dealing and settling differences. The world cannot allow this to happen,” the proponents of Nigerian Moment declared.

One of the petitioners, Ogechi Akalezi from Igbobi-Lagos, stated that this call for the killing of the Igbos is enough to generate violence and attack on the Igbos residing in non-Igbo states in Nigeria. “His hospital should also be investigated and his license revoked,” Akalezi said.

 

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Xenophobia attacks: Nigerians protest against MTN investment in Edo State

ITRealms:

An Edo State-based Civil Society Organisations (CSO) known as 'The Flagship', Monday stopped business at the Benin City office of MTN Nigeria to register its displeasure over the killings of African origin and looting of their properties in South Africa in the name of xenophobia, reports ITRealms.

Correspondent quoted Elombah.com as reporting that the group took to the street in display of xenophobic grievances to MTN which brought about closure of businesses in the process.

“The group were seen protesting the lootings and killings of Nigerians and other African citizens in South Africa, calling all Nigerians to boycott the products and services of South African companies in Nigeria.

“Some of the protesters were seen carrying placards that read:

“Nigerians Boycott South African Companies”

“South Africa Against Africa”

“South Africa Can’t be Making From Us And Killing Us”, etc.

Some Nigerians, however, have shown apprehension over the protest saying that it might throw more Nigerian employees in MTN into the labour market considering that South Africans working in those outfits are quite insignificant compared to their Nigerian counterparts.

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Pix: courtesy: Elombah.com

JustNet Coalition petitions ITU Plenipotentiary on Internet Governance rights

ITRealms:

A coalition of civil society organisations (CSOs) and individuals under the aegis of Just Net Coalition from across the globe has petitioned the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) on Internet Governance (IG) rights, reports ITRealms.

The petition signed by the co-convener, Mr. Norbert Bollow, was sent to the 2014 Plenipotentiary Conference of the International Telecommunication Union expressing concerns with issues of Internet governance, from the perspective of all human rights, including democracy and social justice.

ITRealms gathered that JNC statement was addressed to ITU conference that will take place from 20 October to 7 November 2014, in Busan, South Korea, part of which states:

“As we stand on the cusp of a social revolution mediated through ICTs, of which the Internet is a central paradigm, it is important for the Conference to take note of key global issues that are in its ambit so as to address them and contribute positively to the further development of ICTs in general and the Internet in particular.

“It will be a missed opportunity and a great disservice to the world if the Conference gets bogged down over the issue as to whether Internet is telecommunication or not, and accordingly whether the ITU should be dealing with Internet related public policy issues.

“Surely it is more productive to recognize, as many have done, that the ITU does have an important role to play with respect to certain issues, and to concentrate on agreeing on a programme with respect to those issues.

“In that light, the Just Net Coalition calls on the Plenipotentiary Conference to:

1.       Resolve that there is a need to develop a comprehensive treaty on cyber-security and cyber-peace with discussions to be initiated by the ITU given the strong need for domain knowledge including core technical knowledge.

2.     

  As a first step in that direction, call upon all states to accede to the 2014 International Telecommunication Regulations, which include an article on network security.

Recognize and endorse the report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (HCHR) on the protection and promotion of the right to privacy, in the context of domestic and extraterritorial surveillance and/or the interception of digital communications and the collection of personal data, including on a mass scale.”

+RemmyNweke (ITRealms)
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