Latest news with #OfficialDevelopmentAssistance
Scoop
28-05-2025
- Politics
- Scoop
Iceland: Social Rights And Safety For All Must Remain A Top Priority, Says UN Expert
Reykjavík, 28 May 2025 The Independent Expert on the promotion of a democratic and equitable international order, George Katrougalos, today urged Iceland to close remaining protection gaps for migrants, persons with disabilities and trans people. 'Iceland stands out globally as a model for equality, progressive governance and human rights. Ensuring access to social rights and safety for all must remain a top priority,' Katrougalos said in a statement at the end of his visit to the country. He raised several issues related to migration, including family reunification and the use of solitary confinement in particular for migrants in pretrial detention. The expert stressed the importance of Icelandic institutions adapting proactively to evolving societal needs, particularly those arising from increased migration and the growing impact of tourism. Katrougalos warned against the rise in disinformation and hate speech, particularly online and targeting religious groups among migrants as well as trans persons. He underscored that the national action plan to combat hate speech – presented in 2023 – had not been adopted and urged Iceland to develop a comprehensive strategy to address the issue. The expert raised concerns about involuntary psychiatric treatment and called for stronger legal safeguards to protect the rights of patients and vulnerable groups. Katrougalos noted important legislative reforms aimed at addressing gender-based violence. He urged the government to step up efforts to ensure that all cases of abuse are investigated by the police and prosecuted, and that victims receive adequate support. 'Iceland stands out globally as a model for its leadership in gender equality,' the expert said. 'The country's progressive governance shows how a small nation can have a global impact.' Katrougalos also welcomed Iceland's commitment to international human rights protection. 'Increasing Official Development Assistance (ODA) rather than reducing it, in the current context, is exemplary,' he said. The Independent Expert will present a full report to the UN Human Rights Council in September 2026.
See - Sada Elbalad
14-05-2025
- Politics
- See - Sada Elbalad
Japan to Highlight African Diplomacy at TICAD 9
Ahmed Emam The Foreign Press Center Japan (FPCJ) has announced an upcoming online press briefing ahead of the 9th Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD 9), scheduled to take place in Yokohama from August 20 to 22, 2025. This year's conference is being positioned as Japan's most significant diplomatic initiative with the Global South. The FPCJ briefing, set for Thursday, May 22, will feature Mr. Kenju Murakami, Deputy Director-General and Deputy Assistant Minister of the International Cooperation Bureau and African Affairs Department at Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Under the theme 'Strengthening Japan's Relations with Countries in the Global South through TICAD 9,' Mr. Murakami will present Japan's evolving Official Development Assistance (ODA) strategy in response to shifting global dynamics. TICAD, launched in 1993, has long been a key forum for Japan-Africa engagement. With African nations becoming more prominent on the global stage, TICAD 9 comes at a pivotal moment. Mr. Murakami is expected to outline how Japan plans to reinforce partnerships across the continent, emphasizing development cooperation, economic growth, and strategic diplomacy. The press briefing will be held in Japanese with consecutive English interpretation and will include a Q\&A session exclusively for members of the foreign press. Participants are encouraged to submit questions in advance by Thursday, May 15, at 12:00 JST. read more Gold prices rise, 21 Karat at EGP 3685 NATO's Role in Israeli-Palestinian Conflict US Expresses 'Strong Opposition' to New Turkish Military Operation in Syria Shoukry Meets Director-General of FAO Lavrov: confrontation bet. nuclear powers must be avoided News Iran Summons French Ambassador over Foreign Minister Remarks News Aboul Gheit Condemns Israeli Escalation in West Bank News Greek PM: Athens Plays Key Role in Improving Energy Security in Region News One Person Injured in Explosion at Ukrainian Embassy in Madrid News Egypt confirms denial of airspace access to US B-52 bombers Lifestyle Pistachio and Raspberry Cheesecake Domes Recipe News Ayat Khaddoura's Final Video Captures Bombardment of Beit Lahia News Australia Fines Telegram $600,000 Over Terrorism, Child Abuse Content Arts & Culture Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban's $4.7M LA Home Burglarized Sports Former Al Zamalek Player Ibrahim Shika Passes away after Long Battle with Cancer Sports Neymar Announced for Brazil's Preliminary List for 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers News Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly Inaugurates Two Indian Companies Arts & Culture New Archaeological Discovery from 26th Dynasty Uncovered in Karnak Temple Business Fear & Greed Index Plummets to Lowest Level Ever Recorded amid Global Trade War
The Hindu
04-05-2025
- Business
- The Hindu
Demise of foreign aid in India
Indian attitude to official and private foreign aid has always been ambivalent — sometimes welcoming, at other times hostile. With U.S. President Donald Trump's targeting of USAID, the death knell, at least for official aid, seems to have been rung. Other European countries may follow suit, thanks to continuing global conflicts, anti immigration sentiments, and the slowing of economic development in the aid-offering countries. The writing on the wall could not be clearer. In fact, for India, the writing has been clear for several years now, much before Mr. Trump's action. Western aid-giving nations no longer see India as a country needing aid, given its high growth rate, its oft-vaunted claim of becoming the fifth largest economy by 2047, and the prevailing political and religious ideologies within the country. Also read | How will freeze on USAID affect the world? India sought international aid soon after Independence to assist in its task of catching up with the developed world. Most of the aid went to the government, as it was believed that the government should be the lead change agent. The peak period was from 1955 to 1965, and most of it came from Western nations. Some official development aid also went to private organisations, especially from bilateral aid organisations, for both humanitarian and development needs. However, official developmental aid has shown an almost constant decline, especially from 1970 onwards. After 1990, Official Development Assistance (ODA), as a proportion of either Gross National Product or public investment, became insignificant partly due to the success of India's growth story. What India seeks now is Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and global cooperation in trade, climate change, and technological developments. Thus, declining official aid is not as great a concern as declining private aid to non-government agencies, though it too will have downsides such as unemployment in aid-giving organisations in both donor and recipient countries, wastage of stockpiled food and medicines, and reduced global collaboration in health and environment. Private non-governmental organisations engaged in development work — referred to as NGOs — will be more affected by a decline in aid, both official and private. NGOs not only take up the slack in government provision at the bottom but also hold up a mirror to the truth in governance. While public donations sustained Indian NGOs in the pre-Independence period and for some years afterward, since the 1960s onwards, the two major sources for NGOs in development have come to be government grants and foreign aid. It is only since 2013, when corporate social responsibility contributions became mandatory, that corporate money has become somewhat significant. External aid to NGOs, both from official and private sources, increased continuously, but slowly the amounts received from both have been coming down. Between 2017-18 and 2021-22, NGOs received ₹88,8820 million, but though correct estimates of Foreign Contributions Regulation Act (FCRA) aid are difficult to get, approximate figures indicate that the amount has gone down considerably. Probable reasons The reason for the decline is less about the reluctance of foreign donors and more about the ambivalent attitude of the Indian government towards the receipt of foreign aid by Indian NGOs. While allowing NGOs to accept aid, government regulations have hedged it in with several restrictions since 1976, when the FCRA was passed. Even before the declaration of Emergency in 1975, the 'foreign hand' had become a bogey phrase. The government began to blame it for anti-government sentiments and activities. The anti-national activities purportedly holding up development included religious conversions to Christianity or Islam, protests against development projects, and various policies of the government. The FCRA required those receiving or wishing to receive foreign money to register themselves with the Ministry of Home Affairs, and to use the funds strictly according to the rules. This Act and its rules have been amended in 2010, 2011, 2020, 2023, and again in 2024. Each time, the rules have been made more and more stringent, and several NGOs have lost their FCRA registrations. Certain private foreign donors, such as the Soros Foundation and others, have also been actively discouraged. These factors pushing out aid will slowly but surely toll its death knell. While foreign aid may have had some drawbacks, such as bringing in ideas not entirely or always suited to India, it has played a valuable role for NGOs. Where government grants are meagre, not easily available, and lacking the flexibility to meet changing conditions on the ground, foreign aid was more generous and allowed more flexibility in use, opened windows to the world outside in terms of new ideas and practices, and built the capacity of Indian NGOs. It also allowed NGOs to play a valuable watchdog role on abuses by the government or market forces by voicing dissent against policies and actions detrimental to poor and vulnerable constituencies. If foreign aid ceases entirely, not only will there be unemployment in the voluntary sector, but also unfinished projects or shelving of new projects, and a slowing down of social sector development, but more importantly, no correction to government overreach. While self-reliance is a laudable goal, deliberately killing the golden goose is, in effect, risking harm to India's national interests. Pushpa Sundar is the author of Foreign Aid for Indian NGOs: Problem or Solution? ( 2010)
Yahoo
25-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
World Bank is not an American bank, German development minister says
By Maria Martinez WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The Trump administration cannot determine the mission of the World Bank because the global lender's goals are based on agreement by many countries, Svenja Schulze, Germany's minister for economic cooperation and development, told Reuters. "This is not an American bank, it's a world bank," Schulze said in an interview on Thursday on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank spring meetings in Washington. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Wednesday called on the IMF and World Bank to refocus on their core missions of macroeconomic stability and development, arguing they have strayed too far into vanity projects such as climate change. Certain euphemisms are starting to be used in international institutions, such as "weather developments" instead of "climate change," and words like "gender" or "climate" or "inclusion" are being avoided. "That is the founding mission of this bank, to take care of exactly these issues, and therefore we will now have to talk about what the U.S. actually wants," Schulze said. The U.S. is the largest single shareholder of the World Bank, with just under 16%. President Donald Trump's administration has cancelled billions of dollars in foreign aid, including funding for projects that provide lifesaving care for millions of people in some of the world's poorest countries. Schulze noted that these cuts have caused "a very large loss of trust" in developing countries, adding that rebuilding trust and showing that the World Bank and Germany are reliable partners were her goals for this week's meetings. Schulze's Social Democrats will retain control of the German development ministry as part of the coalition agreement reached by the parties forming Germany's next government. It is not clear who the next minister will be, though Schulze said she would like to remain in the position. "We want to continue investing in development," she said. "Investment in development policy is also part of our security policy. It's not just foreign policy and defence, but also development." Germany provided 30 billion euros ($34.16 billion), or 0.67% of its gross national income, for development aid in 2024, but failed to meet the agreed United Nations target of 0.7% of GDP, the Official Development Assistance (ODA) quota. The agreement reached by the incoming German coalition includes an "appropriate reduction in the ODA quota," which comes after years in which the budget was constantly reduced, according to the agreement. ($1 = 0.8781 euros) Sign in to access your portfolio
Reuters
25-04-2025
- Business
- Reuters
World Bank is not an American bank, German development minister says
WASHINGTON, April 25 (Reuters) - The Trump administration cannot determine the mission of the World Bank because the global lender's goals are based on agreement by many countries, Svenja Schulze, Germany's minister for economic cooperation and development, told Reuters. "This is not an American bank, it's a world bank," Schulze said in an interview on Thursday on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank spring meetings in Washington. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Wednesday called on the IMF and World Bank to refocus on their core missions of macroeconomic stability and development, arguing they have strayed too far into vanity projects such as climate change. Certain euphemisms are starting to be used in international institutions, such as "weather developments" instead of "climate change," and words like "gender" or "climate" or "inclusion" are being avoided. "That is the founding mission of this bank, to take care of exactly these issues, and therefore we will now have to talk about what the U.S. actually wants," Schulze said. The U.S. is the largest single shareholder of the World Bank, with just under 16%. President Donald Trump's administration has cancelled billions of dollars in foreign aid, including funding for projects that provide lifesaving care for millions of people in some of the world's poorest countries. Schulze noted that these cuts have caused "a very large loss of trust" in developing countries, adding that rebuilding trust and showing that the World Bank and Germany are reliable partners were her goals for this week's meetings. Schulze's Social Democrats will retain control of the German development ministry as part of the coalition agreement reached by the parties forming Germany's next government. It is not clear who the next minister will be, though Schulze said she would like to remain in the position. "We want to continue investing in development," she said. "Investment in development policy is also part of our security policy. It's not just foreign policy and defence, but also development." Germany provided 30 billion euros ($34.16 billion), or 0.67% of its gross national income, for development aid in 2024, but failed to meet the agreed United Nations target of 0.7% of GDP, the Official Development Assistance (ODA) quota. The agreement reached by the incoming German coalition includes an "appropriate reduction in the ODA quota," which comes after years in which the budget was constantly reduced, according to the agreement. ($1 = 0.8781 euros)
