Eldis Governance Reporter12 December 2014
www.eldis.org/go/topics/resource-guides/governance
This is our regular bulletin that highlights recent publications on governance issues. The documents highlighted here are available to download online without charge. If you are unable to access any of these materials online and would like to receive a copy of a document as an email attachment, please contact our editor at the email address given below.
In this issue:
- Sustaining Human Progress: Reducing Vulnerabilities and Building Resilience (Human Development Report 2014)
- The Millennium Development Goals Report 2014
- My rights, my voice: annual progress report 2013
- Nigeria's 5th Periodic Country Report (2011-2014) on the implementation of the African Charter on Human and People's Rights in Nigeria
- Implementing the Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa: Analysing the Compliance of Kenya's Legal Framework
- International Criminal Court: Recommendations to the 13th Session of the Assembly of States Parties
- Human rights indicators: a guide to measurement and implementation
Sustaining Human Progress: Reducing Vulnerabilities and Building Resilience (Human Development Report 2014)
Produced by: United Nations Development Programme (2014)
2014 Human Development Report on reducing vulnerabilities and building resilience. The 2014 Human Development Report, published by the United Nations Development Programme, is the latest in a long series dedicated to independent, empirically grounded analyses of major development issues, trends, and policies. The theme of the 2014 report is on reducing vulnerabilities and building resilience, and it takes a holistic look at the risks and opportunities. Chapter one introduces and summarises the aspects of vulnerability and human development covered in the report, each of which are explored in greater depth in the subsequent chapters. These consist of: the state of human development, including continued progress and the emergence of global threats; the interdependent and cumulative vulnerabilities and insecurities faced; building resilience through a number of ambitious policy goal recommendations; and deepening progress through collective action. The key messages to emerge from the report are highlighted as: - Unless vulnerability is systematically addressed by changing policies and social norms, human development will be neither equitable nor sustainable.
- Life cycle vulnerability, structural vulnerability, and insecure lives are fundamental sources of persistent deprivation, and must be addressed.
- Policy responses to vulnerability should prevent threats and promote capabilities, and ensure the most vulnerable people are proteced.
- The principle of universalism should be put into practice to ensure that everyone can fulfill their right to healthcare, education, and basic services.
- Strong universal social protection not only improves individual resilience, but also the resilience of the economy as a whole.
- Full employment should be a policy goal for societies at all levels of development, with decent jobs recognised as a fundamental aspect of building human capabilities.
- With vulnerability an increasingly global affair, collective action and better international governance is required; global efforts and support can facilitate the enactment of national measures.
- Preparedness and recovery efforts can lessen the effects of major crisis, and can actually leave societies more resilient.
Available online at: http://www.eldis.org/cf/rdr/?doc=68722
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The Millennium Development Goals Report 2014
Produced by: UN (2014)
Fourteen years ago, the Millennium Declaration articulated a bold vision and established concrete targets for improving the existence of many and for saving the lives of those threatened by disease and hunger. There has been important progress across all goals, with some targets already having been met well ahead of the 2015 deadline. All stakeholders will have to intensify and focus their efforts on the areas where advancement has been too slow and has not reached all. Major achievements include: - The world has reduced extreme poverty by half. In 1990, almost half of the population in developing regions lived on less than $1.25 a day. This rate dropped to 22 per cent by 2010, reducing the number of people living in extreme poverty by 700 million.
- Efforts in the fight against malaria and tuberculosis have shown results. Between 2000 and 2012, an estimated 3.3 million deaths from malaria were averted due to the substantial expansion of malaria interventions.
- Access to an improved drinking water source became a reality for 2.3 billion people. Over 2.3 billion people gained access to an improved source of drinking water between 1990 and 2012.
- Disparities in primary school enrolment between boys and girls are being eliminated in all developing regions. Substantial gains have been made towards reaching gender parity in school enrolment at all levels of education in all developing regions.
- The political participation of women has continued to increase. In January 2014, 46 countries boasted having more than 30 per cent female members of parliament in at least one chamber.
- Development assistance rebounded, the trading system stayed favourable for developing countries and their debt burden remained low.
Challenges include: - Major trends that threaten environmental sustainability continue, but examples of successful global action exist.
- Hunger continues to decline, but immediate additional efforts are needed to reach the MDG target.
[Summary adapted from source]
Available online at: http://www.eldis.org/cf/rdr/?doc=70010
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My rights, my voice: annual progress report 2013
Produced by: Oxfam (2014)
My Rights, My Voice (MRMV) engages marginalized children and youth in their rights to health and education services in eight countries. The 2013 Annual Progress Report provides an overview of the second year of this innovative three year programme and of the MRMV Global Programme Framework. In 2013 the Annual Learning Event, Mid-Term Review process, Strategic Gender Review and Global Advocacy Workshop were important moments of reflection, review, alteration and innovation. These events and processes also highlighted programme challenges, especially in relation to strengthening the gender analysis. There was significant progress against the four key objectives: - To increase children and youth's awareness of their rights to health and education services.
- To strengthen children and youth's and their allies' skills and capacity to claim these rights.
- To facilitate opportunities for children and youth to engage with duty bearers (e.g. health and education ministries, teaching and medical professionals, religious leaders) which lead to specific actions delivering better access to and quality of health and education services.
- To strengthen Oxfam and partners' capacity to work on youth agency and support the global campaigning force to facilitate youth claiming and accessing better health and education.
The number of young people and their allies reached through awareness-raising messages in 2013 more than trebled to over 207,000 children, youth and their allies (47 per cent girls and young women). Young people also took greater responsibility for awareness-raising activities, educating their peers and allies using a variety of methods and channels, including social media and popular culture. MRMV-supported groups' organisational skills and ability to develop shared agendas increased. Critically the number of meetings between organised youth groups and duty-bearers doubled to 113. All projects cited examples of duty-bearers recognising child and youth groups as valid bodies to engage, discuss and consult with about health and education services, listening to them and taking initial action as a result of MRMV lobbying and advocacy activities. [Summary adapted from source]
Available online at: http://www.eldis.org/cf/rdr/?doc=70007
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Nigeria's 5th Periodic Country Report (2011-2014) on the implementation of the African Charter on Human and People's Rights in Nigeria
As a member of the African Union (AU), Nigeria was among the first countries to sign (1982), ratify (1983) and domesticate the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights (ACHPR). This is the fifth periodic report submitted by Nigeria to the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights. It complements the earlier report submitted for the period of 2008–2010, highlighting developments that have occurred in Nigeria from 2010 to 2014 in the implementation of the country's obligation under the Charter. Hence, the present progress report provides an update on the implementation of the ACHPR in line with the Commission's 2010 concluding observations, concerns, follow-up maters and recommendations.
In partial fulfilment of the nation's obligation to domesticate all of the relevant regional and international legal instruments it has ratified, this report describes a consolidated bill to domesticate both the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and the AU Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa (Maputo Protocol). Named the Gender and Equal Opportunities Bill 2010/13, this draft legislation was before the Nigerian National Assembly at the time this report was submitted.
The report also describes Nigeria's progress toward ensuring the provision of compulsory and free primary education, for the girls. The Nigerian government continues to address the high rate of girls who are out of school. To boost girl-child education nationwide, a tripartite partnership programme and funding between the Federal and State Governments and UNICEF was launched in 2011.
Regarding the enactment of legislation at the federal level prohibiting female genital mutilation (FGM), violence and other discriminatory practices against women, the country reports that women's rights focused civil society organisations and activists have formed a National Coalition on Affirmative Action in Nigeria to push forward the domestication and progressive implementation of both CEDAW and the Maputo Protocol in Nigeria. Efforts are being made by this Coaliton and the Gender Ministry to re-table the Gender and Equal Opportunities Bill (2010/2011) and the Violence against Women Bill in 2013.
Among the other issues addressed in this report are: women's inheritance rights and equal access to land; measures to ensure female participation at all levels of government; providing adequate and comprehensive maternal facilities for women, including ensuring that unsafe out-of-hospital abortions are prevented; ensuring that women have access to micro-credits that will help them establish small businesses; measures that ensure that more women enter the employment market; and funding for women's empowerment.
Available online at: http://www.eldis.org/cf/rdr/?doc=69140
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Implementing the Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa: Analysing the Compliance of Kenya's Legal Framework
Produced by: Oxfam (2014)
This report analyses the implementation of the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and People's Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa, better known as the Maputo Protocol in Kenya. The Maputo Protocol guarantees comprehensive rights to women. The report analyses the steps that have been taken in Kenya on a legal, policy, and practical level to implement the Maputo Protocol. It is structured around the following themes: Guarantees of Equality and Elimination of Discrimination; Elimination of Violence Against Women; Marriage; Access to Justice; Education; Inheritance; Economic and Social Welfare Rights; and Health and Reproductive Rights. This paper was developed so that its findings – and the analysis on which these are based – can be used by legal, human rights and development actors across Kenya in their efforts to promote women's rights. It is also hoped that the paper acts as a practical reference for other organisations seeking to use compliance mapping as a starting point for their own advocacy for legal reform in support of women's rights. The Maputo Protocol can be a powerful tool for change. However, it must be recognized as such and embraced by governments and civil society. While legislative and other measures to protect women's rights should be undertaken once States ratify the Protocol, these actions towards gender equality do not happen automatically. Implementing the Maputo Protocol requires commitment by governments to gender equality as well as strategic efforts by civil society to hold States accountable to their obligations under the Maputo Protocol. Kenya ratified the Maputo Protocol in 2010, and the government has taken systematic steps towards addressing gender discrimination and inequality through the enactment of pro-women's rights legislation. Kenya's constitution promulgated in 2010 enumerated several specific gains for women in the areas of citizenship, equal rights during and after marriage, elimination of gender discrimination in relation to land matters, gender equity in the political sphere particularly with regard to appointed positions. However, significant challenges and gaps are still a barrier to full implementation of the Protocol.
Available online at: http://www.eldis.org/cf/rdr/?doc=70003
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International Criminal Court: Recommendations to the 13th Session of the Assembly of States Parties
Produced by: Amnesty International (2014)
The 13th session of the Assembly of States Parties of the International Criminal Court (Assembly) is taking place in New York from 8 to 17 December 2014. At this session, the Assembly will: - Conduct a General Debate about the International Criminal Court (ICC or Court) and the Rome Statute system;
- Adopt the 2015 budget for the ICC;
- Elect six judges and seven members of the Committee on Budget and Finance;
- Conduct a plenary discussion on cooperation with a particular focus on the ICC's role in addressing impunity for crimes of sexual and gender-based violence; and
- Consider resolutions on cooperation, victims and strengthening the ICC and the Assembly of States Parties, among others.
This paper sets out Amnesty International's recommendations on some of these issues. The recommendations reflect the organization's overarching call for states parties' deliberations and decisions to support the ICC's efforts to combat impunity for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes and to protect the integrity of the Rome Statute. Recommendations include: - During the general debate States parties should affirm their support for the ICC and commit to protect the integrity of the Rome Statute
- States parties should commit to support and cooperate fully with the ICC's efforts to investigate and prosecute crimes of sexual and gender-based violence
- The Assembly should ensure that discussions and any action taken as a result are consistent with the Assembly's mandate and respect the independence of the ICC
- States Parties should ensure that amendments to the Rules of Procedure and Evidence do not undermine the rights of the accused
- States parties should ensure that the Assembly provides the ICC with sufficient resources to function effectively and independently in 2015
[Summary adapted from source]
Available online at: http://www.eldis.org/cf/rdr/?doc=70005
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Human rights indicators: a guide to measurement and implementation
Produced by: United Nations High Commission for Human Rights (2012)
The demand for and the use of indicators in human rights are part of a broader process of systematic work to implement, monitor and realize rights. Together with national human rights action plans, baseline studies and rights-based approaches to development and good governance, the oversight work of United Nations human rights mechanisms, and regional and national human rights institutions, indicators provide concrete, practical tools for enforcing human rights and measuring their implementation. There is a recognition that one has to move away from using general statistics and instead progress towards identifying specific indicators for use in human rights. The general statistics are often indirect and lack clarity in their application, whereas specific indicators are embedded in the relevant human rights normative framework and can be more readily applied and interpreted by their potential users. Human rights standards and principles as a value based, prescriptive narration, essentially anchored in the legalistic language of the treaties, are not always directly amenable to policymaking and implementation. They have to be transformed into a message that is more tangible and operational. Indeed, there is a need for human rights advocates to be equipped with an approach, methodology and specific tools that ensure a better communication with a broader set of stakeholders, who may or may not have had a formal introduction to human rights. At the same time, it is important to ensure that the message so created withstands rigorous scrutiny by the human rights community, as well as by those on the other side of the debate, who may have a greater role or be more directly involved in the implementation of human rights (e.g., policymakers). It is this gap between theory and practice that is expected to be bridged, in part, by identifying appropriate indicators for human rights. Moreover, the exercise of identifying and using suitable indicators—quantitative as well as qualitative— also helps in clarifying the content of human rights standards and norms. While the interpretation of human rights standards (such as by the treaty bodies or by courts) is a separate step in the monitoring process, the use of indicators helps to ensure that the interpretive phase is well informed. This could, in turn, facilitate the implementation and attainment of the objectives associated with the realization of human rights. [Summary adapted from source]
Available online at: http://www.eldis.org/cf/rdr/?doc=70008
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