Amnesty condemns 'complicity' of European states in Libya migrant 'horror'

Amnesty said it found new evidence of "harrowing violations, including sexual violence, against men, women and children" living in Libyan detention camps after being returned from the Mediterranean.

The rights group said people in Libyan camps were subjected to torture, sexual violence, and forced labor

Amnesty International on Thursday condemned "the ongoing complicity of European states" for cooperating with authorities responsible for “horrific violations” committed against migrants returned to Libya after attempting to cross the Mediterranean Sea.

In a report that focused on migrants returned to detention camps in Libya in 2020 and 2021, the international rights organization said it found new evidence of "harrowing violations, including sexual violence, against men, women and children."

The report was compiled after interviews with 53 refugees and migrants between the ages of 14 and 50. Originally from several countries, including Nigeria, Somalia and Syria, the interviewees were mostly still in Libya.

Watch video 03:19 Europe: Sea rescue in the Mediterranean

Sexual assault for basic necessities

A woman told Amnesty that camp guards say, "Maybe you want fresh water and beds...let me have sex with you, so I can free you." She was one of many who said guards at the detention centers raped women in exchange for their release or basic necessities like clean water.

There were also cases in which pregnant women were raped by guards, men were humiliated by being forced to only wear their underwear, and many others, including boys, were groped and violated.

The detention camps were recently placed under the control of the Libyan Interior Ministry but worsening conditions have led to calls for their closure.
All with Europe's financial backing

The European Union and Italy have, for years, financed and trained coast guards to stop migrants and refugees from crossing the Mediterranean to Europe. About 15,000 people were intercepted by these coast guards at sea and returned to Libya, just in the first half of this year.

Amnesty said some 6,100 people were moved to camps by the end of June.

Watch video 03:28 Germany, UN host peace talks on Libya: Jürgen Hardt (CDU/CSU) speaks to DW

Despite a UN-backed peace plan in place to maintain a truce between Libya's warring factions, armed groups hold significant power on the ground, making it dangerous for refugees and migrants.

The international right groups urged Europe to "suspend cooperation on migration and border control with Libya."

GERMANY

COVID: Why are so many people against vaccination?

The number of people against COVID vaccines seems to rise the more people get vaccinated. 

Is it a misunderstanding? What's the basis of their argument?



COVID vaccine? No, thanks! But why?


"No, no photos and no names, please! I'd rather not be labelled as some crazy conspiracy theorist. I just don't want the vaccine!"

It's fair enough, I think. So, fine. I say we'll call them Richard and Susanne.

I met the pair in a park on the outskirts of Cologne. Richard works in the packaging industry, and Susanne works in admin at a hospital. Both are in their 50s, so I'd say they belong to one of the high-risk groups for COVID-19.

We agreed to meet because I wanted to know why they were against getting vaccinated. I, myself, have recovered from a COVID infection, and am vaccinated.

I've written a lot about the virus and its vaccines. And I've been wondering why some people don't want to get vaccinated. What are their concerns? Where do they get their information and how do they argue their case?
Doubters on the rise

"I feel that a vaccine is a huge intervention in my body. Everyone should make this decision for themselves. And just because you don't get vaccinated, it doesn't mean you're irresponsible or tired of life," says Richard, and Susanne nods in agreement.

The pair is not alone — others feel the same way. It's true that in Germany, more than a third of the population (38.9%) is fully vaccinated and more than half (56.5%) have had at least a first shot. But the rate of vaccination is slowing down.


"Just because you don't want a vaccine, it doesn't mean you're crazy [in German: 'Spinner'] or suicidal."

Richard and Susanne wouldn't say they were against vaccines as such. They got the standard vaccines when they were kids. But they say they don't trust the vaccines for COVID-19.

Their friends and acquaintances don't get it. They say they have experienced rejection and a lack of understanding.

"They think the vaccine makes them immortal. But they could still get infected, despite the vaccine," says Susanne, indignantly.
Calculated risk?

But a vaccine can lower your risk of a severe infection, I say.

"That may well be, but it's no more than a risk-benefit-analysis. You can get infected with anything, anytime, but even if it happens," says Richard, "I have a lot of colleagues and friends who've had COVID and their symptoms were either weak or it was just like a normal flu."

Susanne jumps in: "You hear these stories about severe cases and deaths in the media. That people have died either directly or indirectly because of COVID. But if you then ask how old they were, you find out they were already 87 or something. It just doesn't convince me to get a vaccine."

Germany's Federal Statistical Office (DESTASIS) says there were about 36,300 deaths from COVID-19 in the country last year.

In its most recent report, DESTASIS says that in about 30,100 cases in 2020, COVID was the cause. And in a further 6,200 cases, COVID was an accompanying disease.

Many of those who died due to a COVID infection were indeed older or elderly people. But they weren't the only ones who died.

Richard and Susanne refrain from calling the German media "Lügenpresse" or lying press. They just say they don't trust its corona coverage.

But it also has a lot to do with how you live, say Richard and Susanne: "We don't live in the city, we don't go to any clubs, and we don't hug everyone we meet. I think we can calculate our risk."
COSMO Study on vaccine willingness

People's willingness to get vaccinated in Germany is falling. In a study called COSMO, 41% of those asked said they wanted to get vaccinated. That's much lower than at the start of June when 57% of participants wanted to get vaccinated. Run by the University of Erfurt, with the Robert Koch Institute and other research bodies, the study involved 1,011 people.

Many were inclined to weigh the pros and cons, just like Richard and Susanne. They lacked trust in the vaccines or they felt they needn't bother with so many other people vaccinated.

"If you're worried about COVID, get vaccinated. But the chances of my getting infected are a lot lower now that so many other people are vaccinated," says Susanne.
Distorted images in the media?

Richard and Susanne also feel the media has exaggerated the risks of COVID-19.

"It's always the same experts and always the same opinions," says Richard.

Many COVID patients in India have had an accompanying fungal infection called Black Fungus

"Naturally, the images out of India were shocking, but can we really compare our situation with theirs? Just look at the hygiene standards there and the terrible state of their hospitals! I bet almost every disease turns into a catastrophe there. But that's not the case here," he says.

And Susanne picks up the lead: "Take all that wrangling about AstraZeneca. There were conflicting statements. Or mix-and-match vaccinations. The STIKO (Ed.: Germany's Standing Committee on Vaccination at the Robert Koch Institute) was totally against mixing vaccines at first. Now, it's okay. And vaccines for kids. In America, they tried it on a few hundred kids and based on that the FDA (Ed.: US Food and Drug Administration) decided it was okay to vaccinate all kids and young people. Some European countries see it like the US, but the STIKO thinks it's too risky. And that's 'based on science' is it?"

The two of them seem pretty wound up as they bat the arguments back and forth. You can tell that they have often had to deal with prejudices and critique.

"We've definitely spent more time thinking about the issues than someone who's naively taken the jab," says Susanne.


To date, the German government has said it it does not plan to introduce mandatory vaccination, or "Impfpflicht," for COVID-19
Vaccination as a job requirement

The researchers behind the COSMO study say vaccination programs in workplaces or in the education sector may improve access to vaccination. In their report, the experts write that that would make it easier to reach groups of people who are in contact with lots of other people.

When I suggest that some employers may even want to make vaccination mandatory, Susanne and Richard get pensive.

"That would be a problem," says Susanne, "because I could get vaccinated through my employer right now. Not everyone wants it, but it is conceivable that our employers might demand it. And if you refuse, they may see that as grounds to make you redundant or not extent your contract. They do that in Russia. It probably wouldn't be legal here, but it is possible."

After that, there's a moments' silence. We watch the other people in the park, who seem to be enjoying their reclaimed normal lives.
Parting words

"Stay healthy," I wish the two as we part.

They nod, a little agonized: "You too," they say. "And please don't write us up as crazies. We just feel that everyone should be able to decide for themselves whether they want a vaccine or not. This is our decision, our risk, and everyone else should just accept it."

I leave the two sitting in the park and start to wonder whether I should have tried to persuade them to change their minds. And if so, how? I wonder whether their vaccine status is in any way my business or whether they really should be allowed to decide for themselves.

What I've learnt most through our conversation is that Susanne and Richard are annoyed about confusing information in the media and one-sided reports, and that that has made them feel anxious or insecure about the situation.

But I still don't understand a lot of their arguments. And my counter arguments don't seem to have moved them much, either. It leaves me confused, with a lasting feeling of incomprehension — probably on both sides.

#KASHMIR #INDIA'S #GAZA

Why is India deploying female soldiers to Kashmir?

Female soldiers were sent to the region for the first time in May, but critics say the military still has a long way to go on gender equality.


Military officials say female soldiers can 'break the ice' during search operations that involve local women

India deployed female soldiers to the restive Indian-administered Kashmir for the first time, in a bid to improve local relations and promote gender equality within the ranks of its paramilitary.

However, the efforts have drawn widespread criticism and questions over how effective the move is, both in strengthening ties with local women and improving gender equality within the armed forces.

In May, India's Federal Home Ministry quietly shifted an armed battalion of Assam Rifles (a paramilitary force) comprising several women from the northeastern state of Manipur to Kashmir. The 34th battalion was stationed at Ganderbal, about 38 kilometers (23.6 miles) north of Srinagar city, the summer capital of Indian-administered Kashmir.

The female paramilitary troops were deployed at several motor vehicle checkpoints in Ganderbal, the route leading to the sensitive Ladakh region.

Soon after their arrival, the soldiers were seen frisking local women at checkpoints and trekking to different places to interact with local women and schoolgirls. They also held interactive sessions, in which the soldiers demonstrated their combat skills, and exchanged views on social issues. The female soldiers, who work together with their male counterparts, say they have an edge over male soldiers when it comes to interacting with women in the region.

"We are trying to give a sense of confidence to local women," said 24-year-old riflewoman Rupali Dhangar from the central Indian state of Maharashtra. "The aim is to encourage them to move out of their routine household work."
Addressing harassment complaints

Military officials said the introduction of female soldiers is likely to make the Indian government's anti-militancy operations in strife-torn Kashmir more effective, especially when dealing with local women during searches in residential areas.

Watch video 09:43 India-Pakistan conflict: A ticking time bomb

India's all-male force received several complaints about sexual harassment of local women in Kashmir.

"Our primary task is to ensure that women don't face any inconvenience or difficulty during the anti-militancy operations. We will try to make them feel comfortable during search operations," said riflewoman Rekha Kumari, 27, from West Bengal.

However, it remains to be seen whether the womens' involvement during the night raids and other anti-militancy operations is effective in allaying local women's fears.

Ghazala Wahab, the executive editor of Force magazine, believes that the military deployed women to the region "to address the allegations of sexual violence."

Human rights activists say the Indian military has received complaints of male soldiers making sexually lewd remarks or gestures, inappropriate groping, and even rape during the search operations in Kashmir.

"The involvement of Indian armed forces in these crimes was alarming in the 1990s, but now there has been a decrease [in such crimes] due to pressure from rights bodies," said Sabia Dar, an activist with the Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons (APDP).

Dar told DW that the deployment of riflewomen is an attempt to showcase Indian armed forces as sensitive towards the rights of Kashmiri women.

During a visit to Kashmir in September 2019, women's advocacy network Women Against Sexual Violence and State Repression found that "school-going girls have to walk past army camps and are sexually harassed by the men in uniform. Often, security forces stand at the roadside with their pants unzipped and make lewd comments and gestures."

With the controversial Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) in place in Kashmir, armed personnel involved in any crime cannot be prosecuted without the Indian government's consent.

Women 'help break the ice'

The female soldiers could help "to break the ice" during search operations, said Commanding Officer of the 34 Assam Rifles, Colonel RS Karakoti.

"It is easier for us when riflewomen are part of the search operations. They help us to break the ice so that the searches go unhampered," Karakoti told DW.

Watch video 02:43 Will Kashmir's young politicians bring hope to the region?

However, the military drew widespread criticism when images of female soldiers frisking local women went viral on social media.

Athar Zia, a political anthropologist with the University of Northern Colorado, said the introduction of female soldiers is akin to the "gender-washing of war crimes in Kashmir," and selling "genocide as gender justice."

"What is the riflewoman to the female political prisoners languishing in jails, to women who face grave human rights abuses and rape as a weapon of war, to women surveilled 24/7 along with their communities?" he asked.

Riflewoman Kumari, however, said the soldiers were not subjecting women to any inconveniences during the search operations. "We ensure that their rights are not violated and their feelings are not hurt," she said.

Discriminatory policies within the army

The female soldiers said that local girls now want to join them, although women are often the subject of discriminatory policies within the armed forces.

"They are giving us a good response and are eager to meet us again. Many of them want to join the Indian army," said Kumari, who joined the Assam Rifles in 2017.

Riflewoman Dhangar believes, however, that there is still a long way to go in terms of gender equality in the military.

"Gender equality is still a far-fetched dream in the Indian army, and to deal with it, we have made ourselves mentally strong," she said.

Female officers have been denied senior commanding positions, along with lifelong job and retirement security, unlike their male counterparts.

In March, the Indian Supreme Court ruled that the army's evaluation criteria for granting the benefits to women was systematically discriminatory.

Hong Kong journalist union says press freedoms 'in tatters'

Issued on: 15/07/2021 - 

The HKJA said there were 'knives hanging over journalists' heads' in Hong Kong Anthony WALLACE AFP

Hong Kong (AFP)

Hong Kong's press freedoms are "in tatters" as China remoulds the once outspoken business hub in its own authoritarian image, the city's main journalist union said Thursday, adding it feared "fake news" laws were on their way.

"The past year is definitely the worst year so far for press freedom," Ronson Chan, chairman of the Hong Kong Journalists Association (HKJA), said as the union published its annual report.

The report referenced a cascade of events impacting the press since China imposed a sweeping national security law on Hong Kong last summer to stamp out dissent after huge and often violent democracy protests the year before.

Authors pointed to the jailing of pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai and the freezing of his Apple Daily newspaper's assets -- a move which led to the Beijing-critical tabloid's closure.

More than 700 journalists their jobs while Lai and multiple Apple Daily executives are currently behind bars, charged with trying to undermine China's national security with the contents of the paper's reporting.

HKJA's report also accused authorities of turning the city's public broadcaster RTHK into "a government propaganda apparatus" by sacking critical staff and cancelling current affairs shows.

Accessing public databases was also becoming harder, the report warned, highlighting how one RTHK journalist was convicted for using vehicle license plates for an investigation into a violent attack on pro-democracy supporters by government loyalists.

The government has also sought to restrict journalists from accessing the identities of company owners on the city's registry, a move criticised by financial transparency groups.

"Suppression from the authorities is felt across different forms of media," the report warned. "Freedoms have seriously deteriorated under a repressive government."

Chan said he feared further legislation was now in the works to restrict the media.

Top officials and pro-Beijing lawmakers in Hong Kong have called for "fake news" laws, something activists fear will be used against coverage authorities dislike.

"There are already many knives hanging over journalists' heads like laws against sedition and incitement so we do not need one more named a fake news law," Chan said.

Hong Kong has plunged down an annual press freedom ranking by Reporters Without Borders, from 18th place in 2002 to 80th this year.

Mainland China languishes at 177th out of 180, above only Turkmenistan, North Korea and Eritrea.

Multiple international media companies have regional headquarters in Hong Kong, attracted to the business-friendly regulations and free speech provisions written into the city's mini-constitution.

But many local and international outlets are questioning whether they have a future there.

© 2021 AFP

Cuba: Government tries to placate protesters with concessions

Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel took some blame for the protests and the government announced easing customs measures after demonstrations rocked the country.


President Miguel Diaz-Canel addressed the nation in a televised speech

The Cuban government on Wednesday has shown signs of concession to the unprecedented protests.

Cubans had taken to the streets to demonstrate against economic hardship marked by shortages of food, electricity and other essentials.

The government had only blamed social media and the United States for inciting the protests. But President Miguel Diaz-Canel admitted on Wednesday that failings by his government played a role in the unrest.

Shortly before the president spoke on television, Cuban Prime Minister Manuel Marrero announced relaxing some customs measures and made new promises to protesters.

Watch video02:01 Crisis-stricken Cuba sees largest protets in decades

What did Diaz-Canel say?

While the Cuban president reiterated his accusations against the United States, he also offered some self-criticism for the first time.

"We have to gain experience from the riots," he said. "We also have to carry out a critical analysis of our problems in order to act and overcome, and avoid their repetition.

"Our society is not a society that generates hatred and those people acted with hatred," Diaz-Canel said, calling for "peace, harmony among Cubans and respect."

Diaz-Canel added that Cubans must "overcome our disagreements between all of us. What we have to promote, even though we have different points of view on certain issues, is between all of us to try to find solutions."

President Miguel Diaz-Canel was on the street when thousands of Cubans protested over the weekend

What measures did Cuba announce?

Cuban citizens who go on foreign trips can bring home toiletries, food and medicine — some of the hardest products to find in Cuba — without paying customs, Marrero said.

Under Cuban law, travelers arriving here can bring up to 10 kilograms (22 pounds) of medicine tax-free. They can also bring in limited amounts of food and personal hygiene gear but must pay customs duties.

But starting Monday and until the end of 2021, the limits and duties are lifted, Marrero said.

The prime minister also said the government was working on improving the national electricity system.

Officials will also seek to improve the supply of medicines, Marrero said.

Meanwhile, Economy Minister Alejandro Gil announced that the government would institute long-promised rules for business owners to set up small- and medium-sized enterprises.

Watch video 04:11 Monica Rivero Cabrera: No single cause for unrest in Cuba

What is the situation in Cuba?

On Sunday, anti-government protests erupted over shortages of food and medicine and electricity outages.

Some protesters demanded a faster pace of the COVID vaccination rollout, and some called for political change in Cuba, where the Communist Party has ruled for six decades.

Security forces arrested dozens of protesters as officials accused demonstrators of looting and vandalism.

Local rights groups said more than 5,000 people, including 120 activists and journalists, have been arrested, according to reports compiled by online news site 14ymedio.

Internet outages, restrictions on social media and messaging platforms were also reported.

The COVID-19 pandemic, inefficiencies in the state-run economy and the tightening of US sanctions on the island have pushed Cuba into its worst crisis in years.

Cuba restores internet access after protests, but not social media

Issued on: 14/07/2021
Protests that broke out in Cuba on Sunday were the largest since the revolution of the 1950s and come as the country endures its worst economic crisis in 30 years

 ADALBERTO ROQUE AFP/File

Havana (AFP)

Cuban authorities restored internet access on Wednesday following three days of interruptions after unprecedented protests erupted over the weekend, AFP journalists said.

Access to social media and messaging apps such as Facebook, WhatsApp and Twitter remained blocked on 3G and 4G, however.

Social media is the only way Cubans can access independent media, while messaging apps are their main means of communicating amongst themselves.

One person has died and more than 100 were arrested, including independent journalists and opposition activists, since the anti-government protests broke out in the communist-ruled island over the worst economic crisis in decades.

Web monitoring group NetBlocks reported disruptions from Monday in Cuba on major social media and communications platforms.

Cuba was quick to blame a half-century of US economic pressure for the crisis, but the downturn also comes amid strict measures against Covid-19 and an uptick in cases.

Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez on Tuesday said the United States had incited social unrest through a Twitter campaign using the hashtag #SOSCuba.

"It's true that we don't have mobile internet, but we're also lacking medicines," Rodriguez said.

"I have to tell you, Cuba will not renounce its right to self-defense."

The US on Tuesday urged Cuba to end the internet restrictions and demonstrate "respect for the voice of the people by opening all means of communication, both online and offline."

Streets in the capital Havana were calm on Wednesday, but there was a visibly larger security presence, particularly around the parliament building, where protesters shouting "Down with the dictatorship," "Freedom" and "We're hungry" gathered on Sunday.

New calls went out on social media on Tuesday for a protest outside the parliament building, which was surrounded by police vehicles.

NetBlocks said some Cubans have been able to get around the internet restrictions by using virtual private networks, or VPNs.

Reviving Scotland's 'disappearing' marine life with no-take zones

Dredging had devastated the once rich waters around the Scottish isle of Arran. But a small protected area has created a flourishing pocket of marine life and campaigners want to establish similar areas around Scotland.

A community initiative on the Scottish isle of Arran has helped boost lobster numbers in the surrounding waters


It was the pace of change that made Howard Wood realize something was going badly wrong. In the 1970s, when he started scuba diving in the crystal-clear seas off the Scottish isle of Arran, the seabed was a mass of colorful fish, shellfish and plants.

"By the late 80s you were seeing species disappear year on year — you realize that this isn't a long slow evolution of change, this is rapid," said Wood, a diver and co-founder of the Community of Arran Seabed Trust (COAST).

He was witnessing the impact of a new type of dredger that could be used to scrape up scallops — a prized shellfish — on seabeds previously unfishable this way. And then, in 1984, the UK scrapped laws, dating to the 19th century, that had banned most trawling within 3 miles (5 kilometers) of Scotland's shores.
From barren to abundant

By the early 1990s the seabed was becoming an underwater desert, Wood remembers. So, in 1995 he and a few friends started pushing for the establishment of a no-take zone (NTZ) — an area set aside by the government where no extractive activity is allowed — on the island's coast.

Wood had been inspired by his friend Don McNeish, who had witnessed the transformative effect of the Leigh no-take zone near Auckland, New Zealand. The area was one of the world's first such zones, where no fishing of any kind or extraction of any resources is allowed.

Lamlash Bay attracts recreational anglers and scuba divers

After 13 years of campaigning, in 2008 the Scottish government designated a no-take zone in 2.67 square kilometers (1.03 square miles) of the northern side of the island. The zone was established around Lamlash Bay — a picture-postcard slice of silver sea studded with the huge rock of Holy Island. It's now totally protected from all fishing and other extraction.

Studies over the first five years of the NTZ by government marine scientists found little change in scallop populations. One 2010 study led by two marine biologists from York University had described an "ecological meltdown" in The Firth of Clyde, where Lamlash Bay lies, as a result of overfishing. It stated some fish populations had fallen as much as 99%.

But the benefits of the Lamlash zone are now becoming apparent, according to marine ecologist Bryce Stewart from York University in England, who has been studying the area.

Howard Wood has lived on Arran for most of his life and started a grassroots initiative to save its underwater life

"We've seen a general increase in biodiversity compared to the areas just next to it," he said. "We've got nearly four times the density of king scallops in the NTZ than back in 2010, and they're also much bigger, much older and much more reproductively productive. We have also seen a big increase in the number of lobsters."

Lobsters are now four times more abundant in the no-take zone compared to the areas around it. Seaweeds, corals and other forms of life have blossomed as well, according to Wood.

Getting the community on board

The UK now has four no-take zones, and the idea is spreading further afield. Wood says COAST has been contacted for advice on setting up such zones from individuals and organizations across the world, including places like Spain and Mauritius.

His response to these requests is to "get the community on board and the politicians will slowly follow."

Wood noticed that the once abundant sea life had started to disappear

Raising awareness and educating people about life under the waves helps increase community support, according to Jenny Stark, who leads the organization's outreach program. COAST showed films to local community groups to help win initial support and continues to promote its message through films and educational displays at its visitor center in Lamlash Bay.

"By showing people these amazing things that some people think you'd only find in tropical seas, they realize there's stuff on our doorstep that needs to be protected," said Stark. "We can show the community the change. Underwater photography and footage are vital — a picture paints a thousand words."

The boost in marine life in waters around the no-take zone has helped win support from fishing communities too, Wood says. Some fishers were initially worried about losing a fishing ground and feared it could be the start of wider restrictions. Once the zone was established there were still some incursions by "pirate" operators, running with no lights on in the hope of avoiding detection, but these now seem to have stopped.

The Scottish Creel Fishermen's Federation hope no-take zones will protect their livelihoods

Alistair Sinclair from the Scottish Creel Fishermen's Federation (SCFC) — who catch lobsters, langoustines and crabs in steel-and-net traps — says his organization backs the idea of similar zones across Scotland because "everybody benefits," from the fishers to the local community and recreational anglers and divers.

"That's where we have to look ... for future generations of fishermen, their communities and the service industries that make their livelihoods from the fishing industry," said Sinclair.

A 2020 report by international ocean conservation organization Oceana showed that out of the 10 most economically important species in UK waters, only three were healthy and sustainably fished. Southern North Sea crab and North Sea cod were found to be critically overfished.

Scallop populations have increased in Lamlash Bay and other life is flourishing too

Creating savings for future generations

The SFCF, COAST and others are now campaigning for a new 3-mile limit to be introduced across Scotland. That would stop inshore trawling and dredging for shellfish. But many fishermenoppose it. .

The Scottish Fishermen's Federation says the limit won't help make fish populations sustainable and that instead of a blanket ban, individual marine areas or features should be given protected status where there is scientific evidence it's required.

But Sinclair, who is campaigning for the 3-mile limit, says people are complaining that fish are disappearing along the Scottish coast.

"That is due to trawl activity, and you can only take so much out the bank until there's nothing left in the bank," he added.

The hope is that with more protection measures, inspired by Howard Wood's work, Scotland can put something into the bank for future generations.

WTO convenes trade ministers to net fisheries deal

Issued on: 15/07/2021

"The health of our oceans and our planet is at stake," if global fishing talks flounder, WTO chief Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said TANG CHHIN Sothy AFP/File


Geneva (AFP)

The World Trade Organization will host a ministerial meeting this week aimed at breathing life into drawn-out negotiations towards banning subsidies that favour overfishing, but numerous sticking points remain.

Before Thursday's meeting, WTO chief Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala voiced hope that trade ministers from the organisation's 164 member states could finally move towards clinching a "historic" agreement.

"The health of our oceans and our planet is at stake," she warned in a video address last week. "We simply cannot afford to miss this opportunity."

The talks aim to ban subsidies that contribute to illegal and unregulated fishing, as well as to overfishing, threatening the industry's sustainability.

While fishing should in theory be held in check by the environment, with low fish stocks pushing up costs, subsidies can keep unprofitable fleets at sea.

Global fisheries subsidies are estimated at between $14 billion and $54 billion a year, according to the WTO.

It is widely agreed that action is needed to protect a crucial resource that millions of people depend on for their livelihoods.

But 20 years of negotiations have failed to clinch a deal, with unresolved disagreements over a range of issues, including a UN demand that developing countries and the poorest nations receive special treatment.

After missing the last UN deadline to reach an agreement by December 2020, talks have intensified in recent months however.

- 'Historic' -

Okonjo-Iweala, who took the reins of the global trade body in March, has made clinching the long-awaited fisheries deal by the end of this year a priority.

Thursday's meeting, which will be closed to the media, will see trade ministers discuss a draft text presented in May by Colombian ambassador Santiago Wills.#photo1

Okonjo-Iweala voiced optimism that talks on the text, which according to Wills proposes "compromise language" in a range of areas, would succeed.

"After two decades of negotiations at the World Trade Organization and marathon discussions this year, we have before us a draft text of an agreement that will put into action the global ambition to end harmful fishery subsidies," she said.

"We are on the cusp of forging an agreement at the WTO that is historic in more ways than one," she said, stressing that a deal would also show that "members can come together and act on issues of the global commons."

Reaching any kind of an agreement at the WTO can be hard, because all decisions require a consensus among all member states.

- Special treatment? -

"It is my sincere hope that everyone approaches this revised text on the perspective of finding in it a possible compromise for a successful conclusion to the negotiations," Wills said last week.

But a number of sticking points remain and NGOs warn against rushing to the finish line at any cost.#photo2

"It's critical that WTO members do not sacrifice environmental outcomes for the sake of speed when negotiating a fisheries subsidies agreement," Isabel Jarrett of The Pew Charitable Trusts told AFP.

One of the main stumbling blocks has been a UN demand that developing countries and the poorest nations receive so-called special and differential treatment, or SDT.

While special treatment for the poorest countries is widely accepted, demands from some self-identified developing countries to be exempt from subsidy constraints has proved difficult to swallow.

Many of the major fishing nations are considered developing countries by WTO, including China, which has one of the world's biggest fishing fleets.

An EU official told reporters this week that a declaration from China that it was prepared to assume "full commitments without claiming SDT" would be "very helpful" to the talks.

There is also disagreement over how broad the fisheries deal should be.#photo3

There appears to be consensus around excluding fish-farming and continental fishing from subsidy constraints.

But some developing countries are calling for fuel subsidies, including through tax deduction schemes like those widely used in the EU, to be included in the deal -- something the bloc flatly rejects.

The text is also unlikely to satisfy countries like the United States, whose calls to include a ban on forced labour on fishing vessels have gone unheeded.

© 2021 AFP

Mexico announces new steps to protect near-extinct porpoise

Issued on: 15/07/2021 -
Conservationists believe there are only 10 vaquita porpoises left alive 

HO Sea Shepherd Conservation Society/AFP/File

Mexico City (AFP)

The Mexican government on Wednesday announced new measures aimed at saving the critically endangered vaquita porpoise, the world's rarest marine mammal.

The regulations aim to improve surveillance and supervision of fishing in the northern Gulf of California -- the only place in the world where the vaquita is found.

Potential actions include the partial or total closure of a vaquita sanctuary in the Gulf to fishing boats for up to one month, the National Aquaculture and Fisheries Commission said.

The agriculture and environment ministries, together with the navy, will decide whether it is necessary to shut the refuge to fishing depending on vessel movements, it said in a statement.

The commission stressed the importance of respecting the sanctuary’s core area where all commercial fishing is banned.

Mexico has long faced pressure to do more to protect the vaquita, the world's smallest porpoise, known as the "panda of the sea" for the distinctive black circles around its eyes.

According to conservationists, there are believed to be only 10 vaquitas left.

The porpoise has been decimated by gillnets -- which are banned in the upper Gulf of California -- used to fish for another species, the endangered totoaba fish.

The totoaba's swim bladder is considered a delicacy in China, and can fetch tens of thousands of dollars on the black market.

Mexico's announcement came days after the UNESCO World Heritage Center expressed concern that the vaquita was in danger of disappearing forever unless "decisive action" is taken.

The Gulf of California's islands and protected areas became a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2005.

Their state of conservation is due to be reviewed later this month at the 44th session of the World Heritage Committee.

© 2021 AFP

Mexico abandons fishing-free zone for endangered porpoise


FILE - In this July 8, 2017 file photo, a young woman with the World Wildlife Fund carries a papier mache replica of the critically endangered porpoise known as the vaquita marina, during an event in front of the National Palace in Mexico City. The Mexican government announced Wednesday, July 14, 2021, that it is officially abandoned the policy of maintaining a fishing-free zone around the last 10 or so remaining vaquita marina. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell, File)

MEXICO CITY (AP) — The Mexican government officially abandoned the policy of maintaining a fishing-free zone around the last 10 or so remaining vaquita marina.

The measure announced Wednesday replaces the fishing-free “zero tolerance” zone in the upper Gulf of California with a sliding scale of punishments if more than 60 boats are seen in the area on multiple occasions.

Given that Mexico has been unable to enforce the current restrictions — which bans boats in the small area — the sliding-scale punishments also seem doomed to irrelevance.

Environmental experts say the move essentially abandons the world’s most endangered marine mammal to the gill nets that trap and drown them. The nets are set for totoaba, a fish whose swim bladder is a delicacy in China, and sells for thousands of dollars per pound (kilogram).

Alex Olivera, the Mexico representative for the Center for Biological Diversity, said the rules establish a sliding scale of responses to a situation that shouldn’t be allowed to occur in the first place. For example, the Agriculture and Fisheries Department says it will use 60% of its enforcement personnel if 20 fishing boats or less are seen in the restricted area.

“This is stupid. They are waiting to count boats in an area designated as ‘zero tolerance,’ where there shouldn’t be a single boat,” Olivera said. “They are letting in dozens of boats.”

“This is the end of the concept of zero tolerance,” Olivera said. “There is just going to be dissuasion.”

One conservation expert who is familiar with the case, but who cannot be quoted by name for fear of repercussions, said the new rules “imply not protecting the vaquita.”

“It appears that fisheries authorities want to drive the vaquita to extinction,” the expert said.

Two ships from the conservationist group Sea Shepherd have worked with Mexican marines to try to grab banned fishing nets from the area, but they are frequently outnumbered and attacked by fishermen, who have no fear at all of the marines.

In January, two fishermen rammed their small boat into a larger vessel used by Sea Shepherd to haul out nets. Sea Shepherd said its vessel, the Farley Mowat, was pulling illegal gill nets out of the waters of the gulf, also known as the Sea of Cortez, when people on a group of about a half dozen small, open fishing boats began tossing gasoline bombs at the vessel, setting the bow and another part of the ship afire.

The nets confiscated by Sea Shepherd vessels are expensive, so fishermen often harass the conservationists’ boats to try to get them back. The fishermen claim they have not received compensation from the Mexican government for lost fishing income. Groups representing fishermen were not immediately available to comment.

The upper Gulf of California is the only place the vaquita lives.

Mexico’s Environment Department had previously said the drop in the number of vaquitas and the area where they have been seen in recent years justified reducing the protection zone, which in theory once covered most of the upper Gulf.

Formally known as the vaquita “reserve,” that zone starts around the Colorado river delta and extends south past the fishing town of San Felipe and near Puerto Peñasco.

But as vaquita numbers dwindled to a few dozen, and then to less than a dozen, scientists and environmentalists decided to make a last-ditch stand in the ‘zero tolerance’ zone, a far smaller area where the last vaquita were seen.

Their numbers are confirmed by subaquatic listening devices that graph the squeaks and squeals the animals make, even as visual sighting become rare.

Foe to friend: Fishermen join fight to save endangered Pakistan dolphin


Issued on: 15/07/2021 -

Indus River dolphins once swam from the Himalayas

 to the Arabian sea Asif HASSAN AFP


Sukkur (Pakistan) (AFP)

Freshwater dolphins are flourishing in a stretch of Pakistan's main river after a helping hand from fishermen mobilised to defend a rare species driven to near-extinction.

Identifiable by their saw-like beaks, Indus River dolphins once swam from the Himalayas to the Arabian sea, but now mostly cluster in a 180-kilometre (110-mile) length of the waterway in southern Sindh province.

A glimpse of a dolphin cutting through muddy water to gasp for air is a regular sight along the mighty river, but most villagers nearby were unaware their neighbours were on the brink of extinction.

"We had to explain that it was a unique species only found in the Indus and nowhere else," Abdul Jabbar, who gave up fishing for a job on the dolphin rescue team, told AFP on the banks of Dadu Canal, which he patrols by motorbike.

Decades of uncontrolled fishing and habitat loss caused by pollution and man-made dams saw the dolphin population plummet to around 1,200 at the turn of the century.#photo1

They are classed as an endangered species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, which says their numbers have fallen by more than 50 percent since the 1940s.

- Dolphin hotline -

In a bid to turn around the fortunes of the mammals, Pakistani wildlife officials began a painstaking door-to-door awareness campaign with the local fishing community on the riverbanks and arterial canals.

They offered advice on dolphin-friendly nets and warned against harmful and illegal poison-fishing -- the practice of using chemicals to kill small fish used for poultry feed.#photo2

The World Wide Fund for Nature also offered up one million rupees ($6,300) worth of loans, encouraging fishermen to set up alternative businesses.

With the help of the provincial wildlife department, they established a dolphin monitoring network of 100 volunteers and a handful of paid staff, and a 24-hour phone helpline for villagers to call if they see a dolphin in distress.

Jabbar's commitment is now boundless.#photo3

He recently missed the birth of his child when a dolphin became trapped in one of the river's canals.

"The doctors were preparing for the caesarean and I needed to be with my wife. But when the call came, I rushed that night to rescue the dolphin," he told AFP.

The latest survey, from 2017, showed numbers had rebounded to about 1,800 and wildlife officials expect the population has increased further since.

- Diminishing territory -

Local legend has it that the first Indus River dolphin was once a woman, transformed by a curse from a holy man angry that she forgot to feed him one day.

Previous generations believed the dolphins -- known locally as bullen -- were cursed.

They have evolved to be functionally blind, allowing for a sharpened sense of sonar as they cut through the muddy waters of the river hunting for prey.#photo4

Harmful fishing practices are not the only hazards facing dolphins.

Every January, when water levels are at their lowest, the floodgates to canals are shut for cleaning, creating pools and lagoons that become death traps for stranded marine life.

Wildlife Department official Adnan Hamid Khan told AFP that the recent steady rise in dolphins had been a "success story".

"But with a larger population comes food shortages, decreased range of movement -- their breeding ground and territory has shrunk."

Indus River dolphins first came under threat during British colonial rule when dams were built to control the waterway's flow, and later from the discharge of hazardous chemicals when factories sprung up along its banks.

Untreated sewage from rapidly expanding cities and towns is also dumped into the water, Khan said.

But with fishermen on their side, there is some hope for the species.

"Now we save the dolphins with as much dedication as we would a human being," said Ghulam Akbar, another volunteer monitor who also turned to farm fishing in an attempt to limit his impact on the river.

"They breathe like we humans do. Every compassionate man should save them."

© 2021 AFP