In her book, Islam and Democracy: Fear of the Modern World” my friend, Fatima Mernissi wrote “Hijab is manna from heaven for politicians facing crises, it is not just a scrap of cloth; it is a division of labor; it sends women back to the kitchen.” In the modern world facing economic and natural disaster crisis, we have to make use of the able physical and brain power of all women and men to get us out of the problems of, for example, joblessness, economic down turn, and nation-building. If the recent earthquake in Haiti takes place instead in the Gulf states area, are we not to use all capable human beings, men and women, to dig up the injured victims out from collapsed buildings? Can “veiled” women covering their face, do the physically challenging work wearing an awkwardly long black dress, effectively saving the victim’s life? For me, covering-up faces and bodies of the female population in any country has less to do with following a religion but more to do with blindly following an archaic “patriarchy” tradition of oppression of women. Burqa is against the human rights of women. France is doing the right thing in putting this issue out for an opened public discussions and parliamentary debates. There should not be any compromise or an exception for any group of people that do not follow the French law on gender equality and/or on the grounds of security from terrorism. The French Parliamentary Committee’s Report said that the wearing of the full veil is a challenge to their republic principles of secularism and equality which is unacceptable. I agree with members of the French National Assembly and the French people in supporting the full ban on the veil.
“We have a deal in Copenhagen,” UN Secretary Ban Ki-moon said, referring to the Copenhagen Accord. I rated the “deal” as a “C” Accord. But many world leaders had exaggerated the importance of the Climate Deal. They came up with a new deal at the end of the Copenhagen Climate Change Conference (Dec-7-18) and called it an “unprecedented breakthrough” or “a major step forward.” The fact is, this “deal” was whipped up by only five countries, Brazil, China, India, United States and South Africa for fearing that there would not be any agreed outcome from the Copenhagen Conference. Leaders of other countries (outside of those fives) were divided on how to end the Conference without an agreed negotiated text. They wanted a legally binding treaty to replace the soon-to-be-expired “Kyoto Treaty” which 187 delegations voted for in Kyoto, Japan in 1997. Reluctantly, those leaders decided to “take note” of the “Copenhagen Accord”instead of formally approving it. The text of the agreement includes a method for verifying each nations reduction of green-house gases, an emergency aid to poor developing countries and a reduction of carbon emission to keep the increase in average global temperatures below 2 degrees Celsius. The accord failed on a binding deal to reduce green-house gases and on a concrete plan to protect the tropical forests. Most of the Conference’s participants were disappointed that they did not have legally binding treaty. After two years of negotiations, in several UN meetings venues in Indonesia, Thailand and Germany, I am also disappointed that in the end of the negotiation process, we did not have a new treaty on Climate Change. From reading the Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Fourth Assessment Report (AR4) on “Climate Change 2007”, we know that in the absence of mitigation policies, there is a possibility of disappearance of sea ice by the end of the 21st century. That there will be increase in frequency of hot extremes, heat waves and heavy precipitation, and in tropical cyclone intensity. Scientists have predicted the decrease in water resources due to climate change in the Mediterranean Basin, western United States, southern Africa and north-eastern Brazil. There is also a possibility of Greenland ice sheet disappearance resulting in the rise of sea-level of about 7 meters. While 20-30 percent of species assessed so far will be at risk of extinction if increases in global average warming exceed 1.5 to 2.5 degree Celsius. Climate change is expected to exacerbate current stress on water resources from population growth and economic land-use change. And there will be a significant future increase in heavy rainfall, resulting in flooding of many regions of the world. Climate change increases atmospheric carbon dioxide that will make the oceans become acidic. The consequences of which could be serious for all forms of marine organisms and other forms of life. I agree whole heartedly with Tara Buakamsri, a campaign manager of Greenpeace Southeast Asia, that the World must take decisive action on climate change. I don’t think we should allow world leaders to continue wasting of time making ineffective deals after deals based on their narrow local political and economic interests, thus compromising the safety of us and future generations.
Dr. Rajendra Pachauri, Chairman of the Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) said at the opening ceremony that if the temperature increase is to be limited to between 2.0 and 2.4 C, global emissions must peak no later than 2015 — barely six years from now. By December 18, I hope that the Copenhagen Climate Change Conference will conclude with an agreement that ensure a secure climate future for us all and for the future generations. There is no time to wait for a concerted action to protect people and our planet from global warming. Mitigation of emissions is essential. China, United States and India are the three major greenhouse gas polluters in the world. Therefore, they are key to the success of this important Conference. They should come up with a common strategy and mitigation action to cut their emissions by 25 to 45 percent compared with 1990 levels by 2020. Small Island states, the most vulnerable to global warming and the rise of sea-water, calls for a target of keeping the temperature rise since pre-industrial times below 1.5 C. They are also concerned about funding to help them deal with the impact of climate change. It is hopeful that the European Union has pledged to contribute $10.6 billion over the next three years to help the poorer countries in adapting to climate change. I think government representatives should seriously consider the recommendations from the People’s Climate Summit taking place at a sports facilities in Central Copenhagen, to completely stop the use of fossil fuels within the next 30 years and to bring down the carbon dioxide emissions to not more than one ton per capita in each single country by 2025. Whether there will be an agreed text at the end of the Conference is anybody’s guest. I hope representatives of 192 countries that attended this Conference will base their negotiations on the survival of humankind and the future generations, and not on their country narrow domestic economic interests. We, the people of the world, are waiting for a new Copenhagen agreement that will add to what had already been agreed to in the Kyoto Protocol, adopted on 11 December 1997 in Japan by 187 states to combat global warming.
Government officials at several recent regional and inter-regional meetings held this month from cities of Stockholm to Singapore, promised to take action together on climate change. This is good news to me, for those who are working to prepare the big United Nations meeting in December this year in Copenhagen, Denmark, on Climate Change. At the Russia – EU Summit on 18 November, Russian President, Dmitry Medvedev promised to reduce its greenhouse gas emission by 25% from 1990 levels. The European Union and Russia also agreed on the two-degree target and the need for emission reductions. Two days earlier on 15 November, the First ASEAN – US Leaders” Summit, held in Singapore Co-chaired by Thailand’s Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, Chairman of ASEAN, and US President Barack Obama, leaders stressed the importance of access to diverse, reliable, and affordable clean energy to sustain economic growth. They agreed to diversify energy supplies and strengthen energy security. They said that ways will also be found for future cooperation in renewable and alternative energy such as hydropower and biofuels. The Joint Statement – 1st ASEAN – US Leaders’ Meeting indicates future close-working relationships on Climate Change, especially on the improvement of research on climate impacts, the development, and action on appropriate policies and measures. The US – China Clean Energy Announcement of 17 November also is a good sign that there will be active cooperation and future cooperation on the clean energy front between these two big powers.
The World Survey on the Role of Women in Development this year focuses on women’s lack of access to and control over economic resources: land, water, various types of property, financial and social protection. The Survey gives us clear insight into the gender inequality of macro-economic policies and structures in the world in key areas of employment and labour-market. Global financial crisis exacerbates this problem that we should solve it by drawing-up the new national development strategy. Gender analysis must first be done to find out how the economic growth or recession effected men and women differently. Experts recommended the new monetary policy of gender-responsive budgeting to deal with existing inequality. They also underscored the importance of the under-representation of women in finance and economic Institutions in most member countries of the United Nations. The Bank of Thailand is one of the few exceptions of solving this “male-dominated/under-representation of women” problem. It now has the female Central Bank Governor for the first time in the Bank’s history, Mrs.Tarisa Watanagase. Central Bank of any country is one such economic/financial structure that determined macro-economic policy. I find the Survey useful in giving me additional knowledge concentrating on women in the informal and non-standard forms of employment, and the unequal distribution of unpaid care work in the household. Without pay, or almost no community support system, a large number of women around the world continue to endure the burden of being the only sex that care for the sick, handicapped, and/or aging family members, and in many cases, in addition to their income earning jobs in the labour market. The 2009 Survey predicted that the promotion of women’s access to economic and financial resources would become an investment on the welfare of the next generation. I think that the problem of “women lack of control and access to resources” is urgent enough that we should solve it right now so women of this generation can enjoy better quality of life.
On the 5th of October 2009, the United Nations Security Council conducted an opened debate on the needs of women and girls in post-conflict situations for sustainable peace and security. The Security Council recognizes the importance of gender mainstreaming at all stages of the peace process since its adoption in 2000 of the Resolution 1325 on
Women, Peace and Security. Gender mainstreaming is about making sure that programs and policies designed by any organization, fund, and agency takes into account the differences between men and women in terms of political, economic and social opportunities, in design, implementation and evaluation. Gender analysis helps us to understand the mainstream political and development context, because it identifies differences between women and men in political, economic and social domains. The analysis is needed to find out whether or not these differences lead to inequality. In peace and security, it is the finding out of different roles of women and men in peacekeeping, peace building, and post-conflict reconstruction action. Gender analysis enables us to know where policy and resource interventions can promote programs that lead to gender equality and human rights. On debated topic, the needs of women and girls in post-conflict situations for sustainable peace and security, I think it is necessary to do gender analysis of all situations leading up to the conflict and in post-conflict follow-up. To find out who does what in conflict and post-conflict areas, who has access to resources that can be used to end violence and aggression, and for peace building. Fund is always needed for projects to target gender issues. The lack of funds for women’s needs reflect the inadequate participation of women in decision-making in the peace process, and post-conflict planning. During the opened debate, members of the Security Council did have a chance to review the past nine years of implementation of Resolution 1325. They also had a chance to evaluate the impact of conflicts in various parts of the world on women and girls, and to estimate their needs in post-conflict situations. It is my hope that they have found the ways and means to promote and sustain women’s role, as active decision-maker in post-conflict reconstruction. I don’t think women should be treated in the same way as girls or minors as “helpless victims” of conflict. Adult women and men should be treated in the same way because both are creators of many conflicts. Therefore, they should work together as peace makers – involved in all actions from peace negotiations, to conflict resolutions.
More than 2000 scientists, experts, politicians, United Nations officials and non-governmental organizations attended the Geneva Conference on Global Framework on Climate Services, just ended last week. They came together to make sure that everyone of us has access to the climate prediction and information so that we can cope with the predictable and unpredictable problems of climate change. The key component of the services is the improving of national and regional observation and research to make weather prediction and forecast accurate to save life. People need to know about evacuation plans and potential disaster information on time — an effective warning system, when cyclone, typhoon, floods, heat waves, drought or sand storm are going to hit us. Some of the warning services are available now, but they are not formalized. Experts have warned us that because of global warming, climate-related disasters will occur more frequently and more intense, no matter where we live. The newly set-up Global Climate Services will equip government and community leaders with required tools such as digital/electronic warning system, hazard maps, health and food security alerts. Most important, Dr. Gro Harlem-Brundtland, Envoy of the United Nations Secretary-General, said that we can not only rely on individual projects or individual agencies to undertake this task. The international community needs to unite to make science-based information on climate available to all. To be prepared at individual level in saving our life and protecting our properties, we should be active in getting accurate information, which are available through the media such as internet, or by contact the communications and public affairs officers of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).
A visit to Singapore Botanical Gardens is best early in the morning. There are many people visiting the Garden at that time along with walkers and joggers doing their morning exercises along the winding roads through rain forest and around beautiful lakes. Under shady trees, a group of Tai Chi and Chi Gong enthusiasts display their skill in ancient Chinese martial arts, while the young ones prefer to do modern dance from recorded musics. The morning air was also fresh with soft cool breeze. I was already impressed of its beauty when I first visited the garden ten years ago. During my last month’s trip, I saw new addition such as the Shaw Foundation Symphony Stage in the middle of the Palm Valley as I walked through the rain forest towards the National Orchid Garden, which really is a dream place for orchid lovers. Since I enjoy doing painting of orchids, I took the opportunity to photograph the large varieties of a thousand species of Bulbophylium, Aerides Multiflora, Dendrobium, Paphiopedilum Callosum, and Vanda, for painting on my website. At the Garden, the orchids were artistically displayed between small water falls and bridges in natural settings. Crane Fountain decorated with colorful orchids, was also a new addition. I want to invite everyone to come and visit this largest orchid collection in the world. The Singapore Botanical Gardens, at its present site, was founded by the Agri-horticultural Society in 1859. It was later handed over to the Singapore Government. A lake around the Garden was completed in 1866 to be a home for the swans, imported from Amsterdam. I enjoyed seeing them floating around the water of the lake. There were other people watching them and admiring the swan graceful dance from the seats along the lake sides. There were many beautiful sculptures such as “Swans in flights” and “Girl on Swing” that scattered around the Gardens’ walkway donated by Singaporean artists. The entrance to the garden is through Tanglin Gate/Botany Centre at the junction of Holland and Napier Road. Admission is free to the public. There is a charge of five Singapore dollars for entrance to the National Orchid Garden situated adjacent to the main area of the Botanical Gardens.
Israel should do what was called for by Ms. Navi Pillay, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights : a) to stop its illegal expansion of settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories; b) ease of restriction and blockade on Gaza; c) halt evictions and demolition of Palestinian homes; and d) address impunity of Jewish settler violence. She introduced the 34 pages Human Rights Special Committee Report, which was released on 14 August, highlighting the significant evidence of serious violations of international humanitarian law by the Israeli forces between 27 December 2008 to 18 January 2009, during which the Israeli military conducted an offensive operation on the Gaza Strip violating the international law. Ms. Pillay explained that human rights violations included torture, extra-judicial execution, forced eviction, arbitrary detention, home demolition and other violence and restrictions on freedom of movement and expressions. She also expressed her gravely concerned that Israel has not yet complied with the Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice on the Wall that Israel built within the Occupied Palestinian Territories “to keep out suicide bombers”. During those 22 days of military action, many Palestinians have had their human rights violated. Up to 1,400 Palestinian children, women and men were killed by the Israeli forces. Although findings of the UN Human Rights Council are not binding, I want to commend the efforts of the UN Human Rights Council , the Special Committeemembers, and the High Commissioner for Human Rights, in their determination in bringing out this Report, the Violations of Human Rights of the Palestinian People by the Occupying Power, Israel. This report will be sent to the next UN General Assembly meeting in New York.
If you are “luxury wives” of politicians, you would probably not mind when being asked about your husband’s opinion on topical issue of the day, or receiving praise on your husband’s brilliant political skill. You would have felt proud to be connected in marriage with such a “great man”. But when you are professional women, holding one of highest offices in a government, you would feel annoyed when, at a press conference, a question from the floor is not about what you do but about your husband’s opinion on political issue. The US Secretary of State, Hillary R. Clinton was right to be annoyed and angry when an African chauvinist male stood up at press conference to ask a question not about what issue that she was dealing with in Africa but about what her husband’s opinion was. If the situation were in reverse, any male politician with pride, would be angry if the question was about his wife’s opinion instead of about him. But men usually would not dare to insult another male politician in public that way. This type of insulting situation only happened to professional/political woman. As a United Nations professional staff attending many international meetings, my male colleagues would come up to ask me how my husband was working on, or about his opinion on political issues, instead of about me and what interesting work I was doing. Feeling insulted, I used to brush them off by saying “Go and ask him yourself” etc. This is not an issue of competition between “Bill and Hillary”, as many male journalists and the international media had made it to be. It is an issue of discrimination against women, and the trivialization of work performed by a competent professional women. I am glad that Hillary Clinton did not allow that African man questioning her to get away with such a “put down” in public without receiving a strong reaction from her.
