European emergency coordination. ZEI Discussion Paper C259 2020

The European elections in 2019 sent two messages. Firstly, Europe is stronger than what its opponents thought it would be. Despite major challenges like Brexit and migration, the results of the election demonstrated strong European cohesion. Therefore, Europe was the true winner of the elections. Secondly, citizens demand a more proactive, responsive and accountable Union that provides concrete answers to major challenges, such as adaptation to climate change, sustainable growth, clean energy or social cohesion. Both, the new Commission and the Parliament got the message. They have committed to work more for a greener, more inclusive and more competitive Union. A Union that is there for their citizens and for the rest of the world. A Europe of solidarity and humanity

Missing: Where Are the Migrants in Pandemic Influenza Preparedness Plans?

Influenza pandemics are perennial global health security threats, with novel and seasonal influenza affecting a large proportion of the world’s population, causing enormous economic and social destruction. Novel viruses such as influenza A(H7N9) continue to emerge, posing zoonotic and potential pandemic threats. Many countries have developed pandemic influenza preparedness plans (PIPPs) aimed at guiding actions and investments to respond to such outbreak events. Migrant and mobile population groups—such as migrant workers, cross-border frontier workers, refugees, asylum seekers, and other non-citizen categories residing within national boundaries—may be disproportionately affected in the event of health emergencies, with irregular/undocumented migrants experiencing even greater vulnerabilities. Because of a combination of political, sociocultural, economic, and legal barriers, many migrants have limited access to and awareness of health and welfare services, as well as their legal rights. The conditions in which migrants travel, live, and work often carry exceptional risks to their physical and mental well-being. Even if certain migrant groups have access to health services, they tend to avoid them due to fear of deportation, xenophobic and discriminatory attitudes within society, and other linguistic, cultural, and economic barriers. Evidence indicates that social stigmatization and anxieties generated by restrictive immigration policies hinder undocumented immigrants’ access to health rights and minimizes immigrants’ sense of entitlement to such rights

APFIC/FAO Regional Consultative Workshop: Securing sustainable small-scale fisheries: Bringing together responsible fisheries and social development, Windsor Suites Hotel, Bangkok, Thailand 68 October 2010

In the Global Overview, we attempt to view reefs in terms of the poor who are dependent on reefs for their livelihoods, how the reefs benefit the poor, how changes in the reef have impacted the lives of the poor and how the poor have responded and coped with these changes. It also considers wider responses to reef issues and how these interventions have impacted on the lives of the poor

Compulsory Licensing of Patents During Pandemics

Wealthy countries with major pharmaceutical industries have historically supported strong patent rights and opposed temporarily abrogating them—even to save lives. However, as drug shortages have become commonplace due to COVID-19, governments have begun reassessing their views. The European Union and various countries have issued new policies and passed legislation facilitating their ability to provide drugs to their citizens for the duration of the pandemic. They have signaled a willingness to do so through “compulsory licensing,” in which the government issues a license to a third party to produce a patented invention without the patent holder’s permission and pays the patent holder compensation. By contrast, the United States has opposed compulsory licensing of drugs for several decades. Although the Biden administration supports lower-income countries seeking to license patented drugs, it remains opposed to the practice to provide drugs for its own citizens, even during drug shortages. This Article provides an overview of compulsory licensing and examines the U.S. government’s inconsistent views regarding its use. It further discusses how other high-income countries have facilitated compulsory licensing during the pandemic. It then proposes legislative and contractual solutions for addressing future pandemic-related drug shortages in the United States. This includes expanding third-party manufacturers’ ability to petition for a compulsory license and requiring companies to provide an adequate supply of patented drugs that were developed with government funds, or else be required to license out their technology and know-how to willing third-party manufacturers

Protection of Bangladesh waters against accidental oil pollution from ships

Bangladesh, as being a flag, coastal and port state, has a genuine concern about the threat of oil pollution from marine transportation in its waters. However, her concern for accidental oil pollution from ships is not adequately matched by appropriate preventive and remedial measures. As a result, the country continues to be in an absolutely vulnerable position with respect to the dangers of oil pollution. This dissertation is a study of the need for and the ways of protecting the marine environment of Bangladesh from oil pollution incidents. The threats of accidental spills in Bangladesh waters are discussed and the present marine environment protection framework and oil spill response arrangements are briefly examined. A critical appraisal of the response to a past oil spill incident is given and major areas of concern and tasks to be undertaken are identified. Finally, conclusions are drawn on the basis of the study and a number of recommendations are made for enhancing the effectiveness of the existing marine environment protection framework and national arrangements for oil spill response

Working on Disability in Country Programmes

[Excerpt] The World Bank estimates that 20% of the world’s poorest people are disabled. This means that disabled people comprise one of the largest single groups of excluded and chronically poor people in the developing world. Challenging exclusion is central to reducing poverty and meeting the MDGs. So promoting the inclusion, rights and dignity of disabled people is central to poverty reduction and to achieving human rights

Temporary labour migration for victims of natural disasters: the Columbia-Spain model

Environmental degradation is increasingly causing large-scale migration. This paper looks into international labour migration as a strategy to adapt to a changing environment. Facilitating legal migration for persons affected by environmental degradation can prevent them from being forcibly displaced, can reduce their vulnerability to future environmental disruptions, and can contribute to the development of vulnerable communities. This paper analyses how ‘environmental migration’ could be facilitated, through a case study of the Colombian Temporary and Circular Labour Migration project. Through this innovative migration model, based on an agreement between Colombia and Spain, Colombians facing recurring natural disasters, are offered a livelihood alternative through temporary work abroad, while affected zones can recuperate. This programme, supported by the IOM, illustrates how a European member State can enable vulnerable people to migrate overseas by providing labour migration opportunities for selected beneficiaries. By supporting migrants in maximizing the impact of remittances on the recovery of their place of origin, the TCLM programme increases their resilience to natural disasters, and offers them an alternative to permanent and/or urban migration. The paper discusses the normative framework supporting the TCLM programme, and identifies some conditions for the replication of the programme in other states. The potential of the project for both development and adaptation to environmental changes is being considered