By Xin Huang
Northwest Asian Weekly

Xin Huang

Geneva

Cluster munitions have finally been banned.

The Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM) took effect on Aug. 1, when it became binding international law in countries around the world. To date, 107 states have joined the Convention on Cluster Munitions, and 37 nations have ratified it. Unfortunately, the big boys — the U.S., Russia, and China — have not agreed to join this convention.

Thomas Nash, spokesman of the Cluster Munitions Coalition, witnessed a family tragedy: A mother was terribly injured by a cluster bomb explosion. It was buried in front her house for more than 30 years, and two of her children were killed.

“The cluster bomb is dangerous,” Mr. Nash explained, “[Compared with guided missiles] it attacks a much wider area; it creates massive and uncontrollable damage; most of its victims are civilians; so many of the bombs failed to explode when hitting on the ground, they are seriously threatening local inhabitants. Though the exact data of the global injuries from cluster bombs are unclear, we do know there are 300 victims yearly from cluster bombs in Laos; 3 months after the Lebanon cease-fire, there were 3 civilians being killed or injured every day.”

Mr. Nash was very optimistic about this treaty. He said: “This treaty is going to save people’s lives, protect them from being injured…we are celebrating this achievement, there will be drumming actions in 76 countries.”

Peter Herby, head of the mines/arms unit of the ICRC (International Committee for the Red Cross), considered this treaty fairly innovative in terms of the broader definition of cluster bomb victims. “The definition of victims is not limited to civilians who are physically hurt by cluster munitions, but their dependents and family members whose life will also be terribly affected.”

This treaty was initiated by NGOs, and the humanitarian progress that it marks is great and undeniable. This convention is still facing serious challenges, Mr. Herby admitted. cluster munitions are still considered an important weapon when attacking and threatening the enemy. The number of cluster bombs in existence is enormous. According to information provided by Mr. Nash, the United States has 800 million cluster bombs, Germany and the UK each have 50 million, and the number Russia and China has is unknown owing to their military secrecy. Mr. Herby remarked, “Most of those cluster munitions were designed and produced during the Cold War; they are over 40 years old, and should be eliminated just for military reasons.”

Along with the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons and the Geneva Convention, CCM will further ensure that cluster bombs are illegal in member nations. Regarding the absence in the treaty of three of the biggest cluster weapons producers and holders, Mr. Herby pointed out that this convention will make those countries who have not joined the treaty “consider or reconsider to ban this weapon.” This treaty has raised international awareness and a universal agreement on banning cluster bombs.

The proponents believe that with the influence this treaty has already established, the nations who have not joined will be pressured by the international civil society. Their political agendas would not be achieved if they were to use cluster weapons. Consequently, cluster bombs will less likely be used in future military actions and this will achieve the humanitarian purpose even if the treaty is lacking the participation of China, Russia, and the United States.

From Nov. 8-12, the first meeting of States Parties will be held in Vientiane, Laos PDR, which is the most severely bombed country in the world. A foundation will be laid for future engagement in the convention by bringing together the States Parties, UN agencies, international organizations, cluster bomb survivors, and other interest groups to the treaty for the first time. The CCM is encouraging member nations to develop action plans to implement the treaty. Meanwhile, the task of clearing unexploded bombs on the ground looms.

Xin Huang is a senior at Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma. He is participating in a summer internship in Geneva, Switzerland, where he is attending conferences at the United Nations.

Xin Huang
Northwest Asian Weekly

Xin Huang

July 21th, 2010

Today, on July 21st, the United Nations signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) regarding child protection in Darfur. It is recognized as a landmark deal in humanitarian issues in the Darfur area.

On July 10–11, 2008, the Geneva centered dialogue based Humanitarian gathered Sudanese opposition movements and representatives from the African Union (AU), the United Nations (UN), non-governmental organizations (NGO), and others. This meeting initiated the dialogue on humanitarian issues in Darfur.

Since then, JEM has had further discussions with UN organizations, especially the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) about this issue. Within this framework, the Memorandum of Understanding with the United Nations was developed.

In this document, JEM committed itself to “actively support UNICEF work on the protection and well-being of children affected by the conflict in Darfur.” It pledged to release any children under the age of 18 currently associated with the group, and then hand them over to UNICEF.

“I am sure that the children will be well protected,” said Ahmed Hussain Adam, JEM’s official spokesperson. “We made a very strong commitment…starting now, the children will see a brighter future…there is no military resolution in the issue of child protection; it should be solved through political dialogues.”

“JEM has been very open and active during this process,” remarked Dennis McNamara, Humanitarian Adviser. The area that the statement covers is limited, though he is “hoping this agreement to be a classic example of a positive outcome of humanitarian cooperation.”

“This agreement has been well-acknowledged by the government,” said Nils Kastberg, UNICEF director.

“This treaty identifies rape and other sexual violations against children.” He continued: “Peace talks may or may not go well, but the protection of children should go well and we are committed to this endeavor.”

He further pointed out that the reasons children associated with the military are various, such as lack of food, water, and education; some are simply taken along by their fathers. “It is not enough to prevent children from recruitment, but to ensure they are not associated to any Sudan army in any forms.”

UNICEF and other organizations have made significant progress on children protection issues. 10 years ago, according to monitoring reports, there were 20,000 children slower in the Darfur area; now the number is down to 8,000-10,000.

“Children [in the Darfur conflict area] only see the dark side of life, such as killing, shooting, violence…this agreement means to make changes for the future generation of Darfur,” said Sulieman Mohammed Jamous, JEM Secretary for Humanitarian Affairs.

Xin Huang is a senior at Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma. He is participating in a summer internship in Geneva, Switzerland, where he is attending conferences at the United Nations.

By Xin Huang
Northwest Asian Weekly

Xin Huang

July 20, 2010

The XVIII International AIDS Conference took place in Vienna, Austria, from July 18th to the 23rd. The conference gathered those working in the field of HIV, as well as policy makers, persons living with HIV, and other individuals committed to ending the pandemic. The United Nations organizations have been working together towards preventing the spread of HIV.

A new treatment has been announced by UNAIDS (Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS) – treatment 2.0. It is cheaper, with lower toxicity, higher treatment coverage, and a lower mortality rate. Dr. Michel Sidibe, the Executive Director of UNAIDS, was excited and hopeful about this development. He said, “Treatment 2.0 is a ‘game changer’… more people will be able to afford the HIV treatment; more than 10 million deaths could be averted by 2025.”

Due to raising awareness of HIV, people, especially the younger generation, have been changing their sexual behavior. “For example, more and more young men and women from Namibia, Zimbabwe are choosing to have sex later, and wearing condoms,” said Dr. Michel Sidibe. According to the statistics provided by UNAIDS, in most African countries, the trends of HIV pandemic prevalence are steadily going upward.

UNAIDS again emphasized their classic guidelines for preventing HIV as “A-B-C”: Abstinence (delaying sexual activity), being faithful, and using condoms.

On the other hand, the United Nations World Food Program (WFP) is urging healthcare providers, governments, and other partners to include a simple, yet vital, ingredient in the treatment of people living with HIV – good nutrition.

“There is a growing body of evidence that food and nutritional support are essential for keeping people living with HIV healthy for longer and for improving the effectiveness of treatment,” said Martin Bloem, WFP’s head of Nutrition and HIV.

“If people don’t have access to food, it is hard to take antiretroviral drugs, and the risk of going off the treatment rises. Among malnourished patients that start antiretroviral therapy (ART), the risk of death is 2 to 6 times higher compared to those who are receiving proper nourishment,” Bloem said during the AIDS 2010 conference in Vienna.

People living with HIV need more calories to help fight the virus. HIV-positive children need between 50-100 percent more calories than HIV-negative children, while adults need up to 300 percent more calories as the disease progresses.

Xin Huang is a senior at Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma. He is participating in a summer internship in Geneva, Switzerland, where he is attending conferences at the United Nations.

Xin Huang
Northwest Asian Weekly

Xin Huang

Geneva, July 13th 2010

The United State’s new national space policy, released just two weeks ago, is a statement that shows President Obama’s highest priorities for space, while reflecting on the principles and goals in shaping the U United State’s space programs and activities.

Frank A. Rose, the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Defense Policy, spoke and emphasized repeatedly that the feature of the policy is international cooperation.

“We are interested in working with all ‘space varies’ nations,” said Mr. Rose. “[The U.S. government] has consulted Japan and other nations when conducting this policy. So we have done more than just talk, but [have] practically ‘engage America in expanded international cooperation in space activities’… There are a lot of common interests among the nations.”

The new space policy recognizes the transformation of the space environment as well as the evolution of our utilization of space. When the space age began, the opportunities to use space were only available to a few nations. Now, the growth and evolution of the global economy has seen an ever-increasing number of nations and organizations using space.

“All the nations should have equal rights exploring the space capacities, to create wealth and prosperity, to monitor the earth’s environment and its natural resources,” said Mr. Rose.

This report shows a fairly modest and general position that America holds in terms of space policy. Space weapon development does not appear to be a focus in this report. “We are trying to build a sustainable space environment, blowing up satellites is not sustainable,” said Mr. Rose.

Meanwhile, America will not close the door on developing a space weaponry facility to maintain its global strategies. The United Stateswill still consider space arms development. This report also mentioned, “Of equal significance, more nations are using satellites in ways to help maintain international peace and security.”

Regarding the reasons why the United States refused to join the PPWT treaty (Prevention of the Placement of Weapons in Outer Space), Mr. Rose responded: “There are severe limits in that treaty. For example, it does not ban the land based anti-satellite capacity.” Mr. Rose suggested that denying PPWT should not be used as evidence that the United States is against space weapon prevention.

This report does not reveal the amount to be spent on space technology development. Mr. Rose said the new policy provides guidelines for American government officials to conduct budget plans. The budget proposal for the associated departments, such as NASA (the National Aeronautics and Space Administration), will be made according to this new policy.

Xin Huang is a senior at Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma. He is participating in a summer internship in Geneva, Switzerland, where he is attending conferences at the United Nations.

By Xin Huang
Northwest Asian Weekly

Xin Huang

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) warns the international community to start early building sustainable facilities to solve the challenge of sanitation.

By far, after six months following the earthquake, IFRC has made significant progress in stabilizing living conditions for local homeless victims.
Led by the Haitian Red Cross, it has, to date, built almost 2,700 latrines in camps across Port-au -Prince, and each day produces and distributes 2.4 million liters of clean water-enough for 280,000 people.

About 95,000 people have been provided with medical treatment. More than 150,000 people have been vaccinated against measles, diphtheria, and rubella. And 3,722 shelters have been completed, 14,412 shelters in country side, 27,214 in the pipeline.

However, despite considerable achievements, at least half of the directly affected population is yet to see an improvement in their sanitation and water situation. “Water and money are not the biggest headache that we have, but the sanitation is”, says Will Carter, senior officer for water, sanitation and emergency health. “The sanitation in Haiti was very disadvantaged before the earthquake, and it is much worse now; improving it is a dirty job, but it has to be done. It is not only about a clean living environment and health, but also related to the human dignity.”

Matthias Schmale, the IFRC’s undersecretary general for program services is also calling for the international community’s new awareness especially on the issues of local sanitation and waste management. “The sanitation situation in Haiti was already dire before the earthquake. There is a huge opportunity to make a difference”, says Mr. Schmale.

Mr. Schmale points out that we should learn a lesson from the humanitarian mission in Nagua, the northeastern Dominican Republic, where the conditions and facilities stayed on an emergency level for so long. The money ran out, and reconstruction became much more difficult in Nagua. In Haiti, it is also fairly expensive to run every facility on emergency mode. Although IFRC have around 1 billion dollars to use so far, it will be exhausted if the facilities remain unsustainable. Mr. Schmale is trying to draw the attention of international community to start rebuilding early. “We have to take action now to build sanitation according to the plans for Haiti’s future”, he says.

Haiti is one of the poorest countries. Mr. Schmale is hoping to build a more complete and sustainable Haiti than the pre-earthquake Haiti. So far, 2,617 latrines have been built — 2,321 pit latrines and 296 flood resistant — in 94 sites serving nearly 238,000 people. The IFRC is hoping for more research on long term sanitation solutions. The humanitarian mission in Haiti should be turned into reconstruction and building a sustainable society.

Xin Huang is a senior at Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma. He is participating in a summer internship in Geneva, Switzerland, where he is attending conferences at the United Nations.

By Xin Huang
Northwest Asian Weekly

Xin Huang

Dr. Harvey Fineberg, who is the chair of the International Health Regulations (IHR) Review Committee, briefed the press. They answered questions related to the external review of the global response to the influenza pandemic that is underway after the conclusion of the second in-person meeting.

In May, 2009, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the HINI flu outbreak to be a “pandemic”. Two conditions were removed from the original definition: “there must be a high morbidity and a high mortality rate.”

At the time of the pandemic declaration, nearly 30,000 people in 74 countries had been infected but only 144 people had died. The death rate works out to less than 0.5 percent, which is very low. In contrast, the diseases Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) had a death rate of about 15 percent, although SARS was not declared a pandemic because few people got infected.
By changing the pandemic definition, the WHO has made it easier to classify the 2009 flu outbreak as one. This, however, adds fuel to criticisms that the WHO seemed to be overly eager to declare a pandemic. (http://www.flu-treatments.com/pandemic-definition.html)

The man with glasses is the speaker, Dr. Harvey Fineberg.

As time goes by, the voices of criticism are getting stronger and stronger. The WHO has been frequently requested to decrypt information to examine the motivation of its definition changing. The review committee has been set up in order to consider the legitimacy of the pandemic definition changing.

From Jun. 30 to Jul. 2, the review committee listened to input from representatives of member states, pharmaceutical companies and media outlets about their experiences with the influenza pandemic response. The external IHR Review Committee is assessing the global response to the influenza pandemic and the general functioning of the revised International Health Regulations.

Dr. Fineberg was not able to judge the essentiality of changing the definition, nor could he point out who should be responsible in this case. He says this meeting was not to “decide to whom the responsibility should be assigned but try to identify lessons we can be learning from this case.”

As the committee, Dr. Fineberg foresees that the approach would be looking into world health assembly questions about the background, policies and procedures of health organizations, especially the WHO. The committee is waiting for the response from some officials of the WHO who were at a certain position in response of this pandemic issue.
Some responses to some criticisms have been posted by the WHO.

The next meeting will be held on Sep. 27–29. The committee is eager to hear from officials responsible in WHO and other leading public organizations, experiences of the developing countries who dealt with the pandemic and international health regulations, additional journalists, and other places which were involved and are able to inform the committee.

Obviously the review has become a fairly time consuming and complex process. It is never easy to pin down a conclusion from a vast diversity of opinions, says Dr. Fineberg. The committee has many avenues to examine the case. But as Dr. Fineberg said, “the committee is not there to satisfy the public but to find the truth.” It is more likely the committee will eventually come up with recommendations for future health regulations making processes; it is not likely that the committee will come up with any candidates who should be accused of being responsible for the enormous amount of money used to purchase HINI vaccines.

During the international controversy about swine flu, the international community has already shown distrust of the international heath regulations. For example, Poland refused to buy the HINI vaccine after the WHO declared a pandemic. Learning from the case of swine flu, more nations might refuse to use the vaccine that the WHO requires in the future when facing flu, which could become a serious health risk.

Regardless who should be blamed, the WHO and the review committee ought to find a solution to rebuild international cooperation and mutual trust, so that international heath security can be ensured and the reaction of the global health emergency can be efficient. That is the responsibility that the WHO should at least bear.

Xin Huang is a senior at Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma. He is participating in a summer internship in Geneva, Switzerland, where he is attending conferences at the United Nations.