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Tunisia: UN e-government prize, first country in Africa

(ANSAmed) – TUNIS – Tunisia has won the United Nation’s prize for the best administrative e-services in 2014.

The country ranked second in terms of the online participation of citizens, under the UN 2014 e-government survey. ”This prize recognizes national efforts in this field”, the secretary of State for public administration, Anouar Ben Khalifa, told a press conference. He added that, ”this prize will contribute to improve the business climate and will be able to attract foreign investments”.

The Tunisian administration also has major projects in Open Gov and administrative transparency with growing interest in the public opinion.

Access to administrative acts and information can improve the quality of public services. During the presentation of Tunisia’s Open Gov strategy over the next four years, the secretary of state also announced an online platform to propose lawsuits and denounce corruption cases. This will make it easier for citizens to file suits and follow their outcome online in real time.

(ANSAmed).

Source: http://www.ansamed.info/ansamed/en/news/sections/politics/2014/10/21/tunisia-un-e-government-prize-first-country-in-africa_4c889014-eb66-4eb6-abd7-0d28b86c3487.html

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Sustained response to Somalia piracy requires effective State governance – UN political chief

22 October 2014 – While noting the progress made to combat piracy off the coast of Somalia, the United Nations political chief today said that a sustained long-term solution must include the presence of effective Government and State institutions that provide basic services and alternative ways for people to make a living.

Briefing the Security Council on piracy off the coast of the east African nation, Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Jeffrey Feltman today said that this multi-pronged approach may be “a daunting, but unavoidable task, for it will enable Somalia to effectively address, and ultimately defeat, piracy.”

“We should not only ask what more needs to be done to ensure that the scourge does not return, but also what kind of support could be provided to Somalia so that the country is able to respond to the threat of piracy without dependence on the countries support of international navies,” he said.

The decline in pirate attacks off the coast of Somalia is an opportunity to review current efforts and take a long-term perspective on how best to contain Somali piracy including by addressing underlying conditions conducive to breeding piracy, such as political instability and the lack of alternative livelihoods.

“State collapse in Somalia and other political challenges lie at the root of the problem,” Feltman said, adding that this was acknowledged in relevant Security Council resolutions, including the most recent resolution 2125 (2013). Mr. Feltman also introduced to the Council the Secretary-General’s report on piracy submitted pursuant to that resolution.

Since the adoption of the first Security Council resolution on the matter in June 2008, some of the most urgent responses have revolved around the “twin axes of deterring pirate attacks and prosecuting and sanctioning of pirates,” he said.

Coordinated efforts by Member States, organizations and the maritime industry have caused incidents of piracy reported off the coast of Somalia to drop to their lowest levels in recent years. Indeed, the last time a large commercial vessel was hijacked was more than two years ago.

However, Mr. Feltman warns, that progress is in danger of reversing without continued deterrence from the international naval presence and the self-protection measures adopted by the shipping industry.

“This progress is fragile and reversible. We still see pirates attempting to attack vessels and capture them for ransom,” Mr. Feltman told the Council.

State-building and inclusive governance efforts in Somalia must be led and owned by Somalis themselves, he underscored. Moreover, the international community must continue to support the Somali Government in its efforts to deliver on its commitments outlined in Vision 2016 and the Somali Compact. Meanwhile, the UN must be involved in helping strengthen the capacity of Somalia and other region countries to prosecute pirates and to sanction those convicted.

“It is imperative that more nations criminalise piracy on the basis of international law as reflected in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea,” he said, emphasizing the need to deter the financing of piracy and the laundering of ransom money.

It is critical that the international community support regional efforts to implement the 2050 Africa’s Integrated Maritime Strategy (2050 AIM Strategy), adopted by the African Union and other regional players to enable countries in the region to better address this scourge.

As it stands now, Somali pirates continue to hold 37 seafarers, which remains a matter of serious international concern. It is crucial that all efforts are made to secure and promptly release all hostages.

Source: http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=49143#.VEmpO4fq3lw

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UN biodiversity pact seeks to ensure fair, transparent use of world’s genetic resources

13 October 2014 – After decades of negotiations, the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit-Sharing entered into force on Sunday, enhancing opportunities for the equitable sharing of benefits of the world’s biodiversity.

The Protocol, named after the Japanese city where it was agreed in 2010, establishes clear rules for accessing, trading, sharing and monitoring the use of the world’s genetic resources that can be used for pharmaceutical, agricultural and cosmetic purposes.

By establishing this framework, the Protocol, which falls under the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), seeks to ensure that genetic resources are not used without the prior consent of the countries that provide them, and that the communities that possess the traditional knowledge associated with the use of these resources also enjoy the benefits of sharing them with the rest of the world.

However, 50 Parties to the CBD had to ratify before it could enter into force. The Protocol received its final necessary ratification on 14 July 2014. It now has 54 ratifications. “The Protocol essentially offers countries a framework that allows them to regulate the access to their genetic resources and at the same time decide under which conditions this access will take place, and what benefits they will get from it,” said Viviana Figueroa, CBD Associate Programme Officer.

Benefits received in exchange for access to genetic resources can be monetary or non-monetary, including, for instance, technology transfer, joint research or capacity-building activities.

Establishing a clear path from the discovery of a genetic resource all the way to its commercialization can be a tricky and comprehensive legal process, one that involves various governments, local authorities, businesses and indigenous communities. The Protocol seeks to reduce uncertainty in this entire process by setting transparent and fair conditions throughout the whole value chain.

“On the one hand, many regions are rich in biodiversity and are therefore rich in genetic resources and traditional knowledge,” Ms. Figueroa explained in an interview with the UN News Centre. “This is the case of Latin America, Africa and the Pacific. On the other hand, more developed countries have the technology but not the genetic resources or traditional knowledge, which they need to access to develop new products such as medicine, food, etc. All of this requires a structured process with clear relationships between supplier and consumer countries.”

For example, the healers of the indigenous Maori in the Cook Islands possess a wide range of traditional medicinal knowledge, including applications for various plants such as the arnebia auchroma and hibiscus esculentus which are useful in the treatment of bone fractures and skin afflictions.

If a researcher wanted to further investigate and commercialize these genetic resources he/she would have to follow a number of procedures including obtaining consent from indigenous communities and the Government to use these plants. From the point of view of the indigenous group, they possess the traditional knowledge on this resource and are therefore entitled to benefits from its sharing and trading. The Cook Islands Government would also seek to ensure that it benefits from resources found in its territory.

In this case, Dr. Graham Matheson, a national of the Cook Islands, consulted both the Government and the Koutu Nui before doing further research into these plants in 2003. The parties successfully reached a benefit-sharing agreement and an incorporated company was created, with Mr. Matheson and the Koutu Nui equal shareholders.

But indigenous communities are not always involved in negotiations from the start and many times they may not even know that they are entitled to benefits derived from their knowledge.

Before the Nagoya Protocol there was no overarching international framework to document the use of genetic resources, and it is hoped that with its implementation there will be more legal certainty and transparency when researchers approach countries about using their genetic resources for various purposes.

“The Nagoya Protocol is the first international instrument to recognize that indigenous and local communities have the right to receive benefits from the resources found in their lands and knowledge that they have about these,” said Maria Eugenia Choque Quispe, from the Aymara people in Bolivia, who is also an Expert Member on the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues .

Ms. Quispe, along with many other representatives of indigenous communities around the world, was involved throughout the negotiations of the Nagoya Protocol, and sees the agreement as an instrument to empower indigenous people.

“Indigenous communities have been key to the Nagoya Protocol, and no other instrument gives them as much rights as this one,” said Ms. Figueroa, who, with CBD, travels to indigenous communities offering capacity-building workshops for indigenous communities in which their rights regarding genetic resources are explained.

The Nagoya Protocol and Sustainable Development

By helping to ensure fair benefit-sharing, the Nagoya Protocol will also create incentives to conserve and sustainably use genetic resources, increasing the contribution of biodiversity to development and human well-being.

“The implementation of the Nagoya Protocol represents a milestone not only for the Convention on Biological Diversity, but also in the history of global governance for sustainable development,” said Braulio Ferreira de Souza Dias, Executive Director of the Convention on Biodiversity, at the opening of the first meeting of the Parties of the Protocol, which is taking place concurrently with the 12th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the CBD in Pyeongchang, Republic of Korea.

“The sustainable use of biological diversity plays a key role in poverty eradication and environmental sustainability, thereby contributing to achieving the Millennium Development Goals,” he said, referring to the eight largely anti-poverty targets, which come due in 2015.

One of the ways in which the Protocol seeks to increase transparency is through its Access Benefit-Sharing Clearing House (ABS-SH), which is an online platform for exchanging relevant information. Its goal is to enhance clarity on procedures for access as well as offering opportunities to connect users and providers of genetic resources and their associated traditional knowledge. With the Protocol entering into force, parties will be required to provide and regularly update information on the platform.

The way forward

Even though the Protocol has entered into force, it will take some time before it is fully operational, as many countries still need to implement national measures that comply with the accord’s terms of agreement. “There is an imbalance of knowledge between the North and South, so for example, African countries requested the German and Dutch governments at the time to support them in the negotiation phase,” said Suhel Al-Janabi, co-manager of the ABS- Capacity Development Initiative, which supports countries and stakeholders in developing national Access and Benefit Sharing systems. While the initiative began as a way to help developing countries in the Protocol negotiations, it has now drifted into providing support towards implementation.

“You cannot take the Protocol as a blueprint to be copied and pasted into national legislation because it’s a framework,” Mr. Al-Janabi said in an interview.

“Before legislation, countries have to know what they want to legislate, and many things need to be defined at national level. For instance, who will provide a genetic resource when it’s in the national park and there are indigenous communities around? Who will provide prior consent? Who will negotiate with the industrial sector? Is it the parks authority? Is it the chief of the local community? Is it the government? All these things need to be defined at a national level and these definitions need to take place before changing the law.”

Mr. Al-Janabi stressed that one of the key components of ABS systems is that they need to involve all relevant stakeholders to share benefits in an equitable way. “You need to have an inclusive process,” he said. “Stakeholder involvement is absolutely crucial so that you do not forget one important group in the setup of your ABS system.”

There are other details which are also essential such as finding out whether the genetic resource is also available in another country, and which terms of access and sharing have been established there.

The ABS-Capacity Development Initiative, which is managed by the German Development Corporation, is working with many countries who are in the process of ratifying the Protocol – 52 have ratified it so far – but will not do so until they have their national measures in place. For example, it is currently working with Cameroon to develop an ABS agreement with a French company that is interested in using a plant in the country as an ingredient for perfumes.

“We provided briefs to parliamentarians so they understood what the Protocol is about, there was support of many stakeholder groups, indigenous communities, science, the ministries in developing their national strategy. We also supported the development of interim regulation because the legislative process is long.”

The lengthy process however, could be fast-tracked if a genetic resource was found to be crucial in an emergency such as or a vaccine or for food security reasons. Article 8 of the Convention states that it will give special consideration in cases of “present or imminent emergencies that threaten or damage human, animal or plant health, as determined nationally or internationally.”

Overall, the Nagoya Protocol seeks to spread the benefits of the world’s genetic resources to people who need them. “Clarity between suppliers and consumers benefits us all,” Ms. Figueroa said. “New pharmaceutical products may lead to the cure of diseases, but if we don’t have clear rules mistrust is created and relationships between different stakeholders won’t last.”

Source: http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=49064#.VD3Fp-flflw

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Opening Data for Social and Economic Development

Participants & trainers on the final day of the Regional Open Data Training

Regional training for government officials

Access to open data is a means to increase transparency, promote citizen participation and catalyze innovation and economic development. Open data enables governments to engage in a constructive and informed exchanges with citizens and activists. It additionally creates opportunities for entrepreneurs to transform public information into services and businesses.

For those reasons, UNDP in Europe and Central Asia’s Anti-Corruption for Development programme has been actively promoting and supporting steps toward effective open data in the region. On the 17 and 18th of September 2014, 40 high level government officials from 15 countries in the region were brought together to discuss way forwards regarding publication of their national databases.

The workshop was organized with the support of the Partnership for Open Data network and trainers from the Open Data Institute, the Open Knowledge Foundation and the World Bank.

Through extremely interactive sessions, government officials focused on why and how they could effectively open data. They described the challenges currently faced by their administration. They learned about strategies adopted by countries who faced similar situations.

Participants also had the opportunity to experiment with the technicalities of data opening. They most importantly ended the workshop committing to detailed strategic next steps for their own government and administration. UNDP and its partners have already started working on formalizing a regional network to support their initiatives.

Want to know more?

Check out the workshop’s program: http://fr.slideshare.net/undpeuropeandcis/open-data-for-social-and-economic-growth

 

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Cambodia hosts Reg’l Meeting on Curbing Foreign Bribery in ASEAN

Regional Meeting on Curbing Foreign Bribery in ASEAN Economic Community

Empress Angkor Hotel, Siem Reap, Cambodia, 2-3 October

The Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU) of the Kingdom of Cambodia, in partnership with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), hosts a Regional Meeting on Curbing Foreign Bribery in ASEAN Economic Community 2-3 October in Siem Reap, Cambodia.

The bribery of foreign public officials by companies is of particular concern in the dynamic economies of Southeast Asia who are both the recipient of direct investments by foreign corporations and the home of companies increasingly present in international markets. Bribery undermines fair economic competition, inclusive economic development, rule of law, and ultimately human rights.

With the creation of a single market within the ASEAN economic community in 2015, the need to establish effective foreign bribery frameworks and mutual legal assistance mechanisms is particularly acute. This meeting aims to support ASEAN countries to effectively curb foreign bribery as they revise their foreign bribery and mutual legal assistance and policy frameworks,.

The meeting will discuss challenges and good practices in fighting corruption in ASEAN. It aims to agree on a set of recommendations as a basic resource to help States curb foreign bribery.

To this end, representatives from national Anti-Corruption Authorities and Central Authorities for Mutual Legal Assistance of Southeast Asia, Australia, Japan, Switzerland and USA, together with experts from international organizations, regional fora, civil society and the private sector will share their expertise on four key areas:

  • Legal frameworks: developing corporate liability and a foreign bribery legal framework
  • Enforcement: Implementing foreign bribery investigation and prosecution frameworks
  • International cooperation: Implementing mutual legal assistance, the international cooperation necessary to investigate and prosecute foreign bribery
  • Prevention: Corporate compliance with UNCAC and private sector perspectives on developing foreign bribery compliance frameworks.

Background: The United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC), adopted in 2003, is the only legally binding universal anti-corruption instrument that provides a comprehensive framework to fight corruption through preventive measures, criminalization (including bribery of foreign official and liability of legal persons/corporations) law enforcement and international cooperation and asset recovery. The Convention has 172 parties (as of 5 September 2014), including all 10 ASEAN Member States.

For press queries or invitations, please contact:

Mr. Shervin Majlessi, UNODC Regional Anti-Corruption Adviser. Tel: +66-818115506  Email: shervin.majlessi@unodc.org  Twitter: @MajlessiUN