WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Pentagon has approved the sale of more than 15,000 Raytheon Co anti-tank missiles to Saudi Arabia under two separate deals valued at nearly $1.1 billion.READ more……
Posted by African Press International on December 7, 2013
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Pentagon has approved the sale of more than 15,000 Raytheon Co anti-tank missiles to Saudi Arabia under two separate deals valued at nearly $1.1 billion.READ more……
Posted in AA > News and News analysis | Tagged: $1.1 billion, Chuck Hagel, Defense Security Cooperation Agency, Middle East, Pentagon, Raytheon, Reuters, Saudi Arabia | Leave a Comment »
Posted by African Press International on November 8, 2013
Porsche Middle East and Africa FZE eyes Africa expansion
DUBAI, UAE, November 7, 2013/African Press Organization (APO)/ – In line with the brand’s global 2018 development strategy, Porsche Middle East and Africa FZE (http://www.porsche.com/middle-east), a wholly owned subsidiary of Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, Stuttgart, is planning to expand its presence across the region, with a particular focus on sub-Saharan Africa. Looking currently after 19 markets across the Middle East, Levant, Africa (excluding the Maghreb states) and India, the regional office in Dubai is eyeing to establish facilities in currently untapped markets, following the creation of a new Network Development department.
Porsche eyes Africa expansion
Photo: http://www.photos.apo-opa.com/index.php?level=picture&id=717
(Porsche eyes Africa expansion)
The announcement comes together with the launch of a new dedicated investor communication platform which marks a key development in the brand’s regional growth strategy. Potential investors are invited to express their interest in becoming a Porsche importer in the above mentioned region by completing an online application. The selection process continues after the pre-selection screening, with interviews and visits to proposed building sites. As well as identifying dealerships with the ability to meet Porsche’s exacting sales and customer service standards, Porsche Middle East and Africa will support future business partners in a healthy investment structure with a view to creating a sustainable and mutually beneficial partnership.
Christer Ekberg, Managing Director at Porsche Middle East and Africa FZE, commented: “With the implementation of the investor communication platform, we have made substantial progress towards our 2018 growth target. Porsche is looking for investors that are as passionate about the brand as we are, and with the local market expertise to help us deliver an unparalleled experience and unrivalled service to customers.”
A successful finish of the third quarter in 2013 saw Porsche Middle East and Africa deliveries increase 38 per cent compared to the same period in 2012. The new-generation Porsche Panamera – including Porsche’s first plug-in hybrid drive in the luxury class, the Panamera S E-Hybrid – has just arrived. The remainder of the year will also see a focus on the 50th anniversary of the legendary 911, with the regional debut of three new 911 models: the 911 GT3, 911 Turbo and Turbo S, in addition to the exclusive 911 50th Anniversary Limited Edition.
The company also celebrated the world premiere of the production version of the first ever plug-in hybrid super sports car, 918 Spyder, at this year’s Frankfurt Motor Show; first units are scheduled to be delivered to Middle Eastern customers next year. Preparations for the launch of the all-new Porsche Macan, a sporty SUV in the premium segment set to arrive in 2014, are also under way.
SOURCE
Porsche Middle East & Africa FZE
Posted in AA > News and News analysis | Tagged: Africa, DUBAI, Maghreb, Middle East, Porsche, Porsche Macan, Porsche Panamera, Turbo | Leave a Comment »
Posted by African Press International on October 19, 2013
“Norway condemns the bomb attacks in Iraq over the past few days, which appear to have killed more than 60 people. I am concerned by the recent surge in violence in Iraq. The situation in the rest of the region is serious, but we must not forget the tensions in Iraq,” said Minister of Foreign Affairs Børge Brende.
Over the course of the past few days alone, some 11 car bomb attacks have killed at least 60 people in several cities in Iraq, including Baghdad and cities in northern Iraq. No particular groups have claimed responsibility for the attacks, but there are deep divisions between the various political and religious groups in the country.
According to UN estimates, more than 6 000 people have been killed as a result of armed violence in Iraq over the past six months, and close to 15 000 have been injured. The security situation in Iraq has deteriorated steadily since the beginning of the year, and the level of violence is now at its highest since 2008.
“I am concerned about the humanitarian situation in Iraq and about the civilian population, who are affected by the increasing violence. Norway supports the UN’s appeals for an end to the violence,” Mr Brende said.
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Posted in AA > News and News analysis | Tagged: Baghdad, Børge Brende, Car bomb, Iraq, Middle East, Norway, Shia Islam, United Nations | Leave a Comment »
Posted by African Press International on September 19, 2013
DAMASCUS, – The writer is a recent graduate of the University of Damascus from a well-to-do family belonging to a Syrian minority. For security reasons he prefers to stay anonymous. In this diary entry, he describes being arrested and his subsequent departure from Syria.
My decision to leave Syria came in a hurry, prompted by the sight of my mother after I was released from two weeks of detention.
I had been politically active for some time, but because I belong to one of Syria’s many religious minorities, I was left alone, aside from a few inquiries by the authorities. They contacted my grandfather, a high-ranking regime party member, and asked him to “put me in line”.
That was the extent of it – until one day in July 2012. I was arrested at a demonstration in the Rukn el-Deen neighbourhood of the capital, where singing and chanting protesters were dispersed with live ammunition. I spent two weeks in solitary confinement in a basement, immune to the maltreatment others have suffered because of my minority status. Still, my stint at the department of state security’s branch in Kafar Souseh ended with a clear warning. “I know you want to go to Spain to study,” one officer told me. “I suggest you go now.”
I didn’t care much for what he said until I got home and saw my mother. She was not the elegant mid-40s woman I knew. After two weeks of not knowing where I was or how long they would keep me, she was barely alive. Her lips were cracked, her eyes swollen from crying, her already thin frame 15kg lighter. I knew she would not survive another bout of her only son in prison, or worse, killed.
I decided then and there to pack my bags. But I wasn’t psychologically prepared to leave so much history behind with little time to say goodbye. I was overwhelmed with emotion as friends streamed through a café to wish me off. So many friendships, built over years, were about to come to an end.
I spent my last hours in Damascus with a friend and my sister, visiting the sites one last time. First stop was the spice market in the old city of Damascus. At night, it is a magical place, its scent a breeze of paradise. You can stand there for hours without saying a word, just taking it in. Then we watched the sun rise from the Omayyad Mosque, also a unique Damascus experience.
I packed my bags with clothes, books and a few souvenirs, then sat down for a last morning coffee with my parents, telling jokes to try to make them laugh.
My mother tried to stay resolute, but because she and I do not have a convention mother-son relationship – instead we are good friends – I could sense her deep feelings of injustice. She felt I was being kicked out of my country. But she did not say a word. Instead, she wished me luck, told me to take care of myself, instructed me to come back as soon as possible, and insisted I not worry about anything else.
I resisted getting into the cab that would take me to Lebanon. My departure was now more real than ever. Within the hour, I would be out of Syria.
It amazes me how much taxi drivers can yap. It upset me at first. I needed a little peace to brood as I took one last look at Damascus. But by the time we crossed the Damascus-Beirut Highway, I found myself grateful for his distracting conversation.
It took us a long time to cross the border because there were so many people there, entire families that had packed all they could carry and delved into the unknown completely unprepared. I saw one woman wearing shoes that did not match. She must have left in an even bigger hurry than I had. I was about to enter a life of refuge.
Source http://www.irinnews.org
Posted in AA > News and News analysis | Tagged: Beirut, Damascus, IRIN, Lebanon, Middle East, Spain, Syria, Umayyad Mosque | Leave a Comment »
Posted by African Press International on September 17, 2013
JOHANNESBURG, – Although people migrate for a range of reasons and some are forced to leave their country by conflict, persecution or natural disasters, those who leave willingly usually do so because they are seeking a better life. How many of them find it is a question that few studies on migration have sought to answer.
The 2013 World Migration Report, released on 13 September by the International Organization for Migration (IOM), is an attempt to fill that gap. Drawing on data collected by the Gallup World Poll between 2009 and 2011 from 25,000 first-generation migrants and over 440,000 native-born individuals in more than 150 countries, it provides a global snapshot of migrant well-being.
“There’s been a lot of research on the impact of migration on society, on employment, whether it depresses wages or improves them in countries of destination, but relatively little attention has been given to the impact of migration on the lives of the migrants,” said Gervais Appave, Special Advisor to IOM’s General Director and one of the authors of the global report IOM releases every two years.
The findings reveal that whether or not migrants fare better or worse than host populations, or their counterparts back home, depends to a large extent on where they come from and where they end up.
It is often assumed that the majority of migrants move from the developing countries of the South to the developed countries of the North, but the Gallup data found that only 40 percent of migrants move from South to North. At least one-third of migrants move from one developing country to another (South to South) and 22 percent migrate from one developed country to another (North to North). A small but growing number of migrants (5 percent) move from North to South.
Top Migration Corridors |
South-South: Ukraine to the Russian Federation (3.7 million) |
South-North: Mexico to the United States (12.2 million) |
North-North: German to the United States (1.3 million) |
North-South: United States to Mexico (0.6 million) |
The Gallup Poll assessed well-being with questions about income level, health, housing and working conditions, as well as more subjective indicators like how satisfied individuals were with their careers, communities and social support structures. Migrants surveyed included short-timers (relatively recent arrivals) and long-timers (who have been in a host country for five or more years), and their answers were compared to those of native-born individuals and people who had remained in their countries of origin.
Overall, the study found that migrants who moved north gained the most, with North to North migrants faring the best, and South to North migrants also rating their lives as better than their counterparts back home. Migrants in the South fared similarly or worse than if they had not migrated, with long-time South to South migrants considering themselves worse off than both the native-born and their counterparts back home. More than a quarter of South to South migrants struggled to afford food and shelter, even after being in a host country for more than five years.
Among the migrant voices contributing to the report is that of Mustariya Mohamed, 19, an Ethiopian whose efforts to reach the Middle East ended in the Puntland State of Somalia over a year ago after she was held hostage and robbed of all her belongings by armed men. Despite her traumatic journey and virtual destitution in Somalia, she is still intent on reaching Yemen. “I know the problems; I know people die crossing the sea and many are deported, but I have been told Yemen will offer me a better life. I will do whatever it takes.”
Migration is usually a gamble, but Don Flynn, director of the UK-based Migrant Rights Network, likened the experience of the South to South migrant to walking into a casino. “Everyone dreams about putting money down on the right number and making a big killing, but far more people walk out of the casino probably considerably poorer than when they went in,” he told IRIN.
Migrant well-being depends to a large extent on the policies in place in sending, transit and destination countries. “When [migration] takes place in an orderly, predictable manner, and if there is good regulation, you can expect to see progress. Where that doesn’t exist, it looks like more of a casino. Even in the worst circumstances, people still rise to the top, but the proportion who do well is much smaller,” said Flynn.
The North-South Divide |
Migrants in the North… • rate their lives better than if they had not migrated • gain in health outcomes compared to those in origin countries • have less trouble affording basic needs than if they had not migrated |
Migrants in the South… • rate lives similarly or worse than if they had not migrated • have poorer health outcomes than if they had not migrated • find it harder to afford shelter than if they had not migrated |
The 2013 World Migration Report is expected to make a significant contribution to the High-Level Dialogueon International Migration and Development at the UN General Assembly in October, but Appave of IOM also hopes policy-makers will take the findings seriously. “We need policy makers to focus not only on the economic impact of migration, but equally on the human impact,” he said.
Getting policy-makers to pay attention may depend on a shift in the migration debate in countries like the UK, where the prevailing attitude is that policies should centre around the needs of the host population, while the needs of migrants are considered peripheral, said Flynn. “One politician told me it was a privilege to come to the UK and the government was entitled to say, ‘Take it or leave it’, and didn’t have to do any more than that.”
Flynn welcomed the new IOM report as a useful overview but emphasized the need for further research on migrant well-being in individual countries to identify good practices in employment, integration and social mobility that could be replicated elsewhere.
Appave noted that new questions could be added to the existing Gallup survey to learn more about particular countries or specific groups of migrants such as forced or undocumented migrants.
“We now have a methodology that would enable us to measure the well-being of migrants at regular intervals,” he said. “We really need something that’s a barometer of migrant well-being.”
ks/he source http://www.irinnews.org
Posted in AA > News and News analysis | Tagged: Don Flynn, Flynn, Gallup, International Organization for Migration, IRIN, Mexico, Middle East, United States | Leave a Comment »
Posted by African Press International on August 13, 2013
http://www.africanpress.me/ – Mr . Bizualem Beza – Ethiopian Human Rights Activist based in Norway
Ethiopia, officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is bordered by Eritrea to the north, Djibouti and Somalia to the east, Sudan and South Sudan to the west, and Kenya to the south. With over 91,000,000 inhabitants, Ethiopia is the most populous landlocked country in the world and the second-most populated nation on the African continent. It occupies a total area of 1,100,000 square kilometres (420,000 sq mi), and its capital and largest city is Addis Ababa.
The sudden death in August 2012 of Ethiopia’s long-serving and powerful prime minister, Meles Zenawi, provoked uncertainty over the country’s political transition, both domestically and among Ethiopia’s international partners. Ethiopia’s human rights record has sharply deteriorated, especially over the past few years, and although a new prime minister, Hailemariam Desalegn, took office in September, it remains to be seen whether the government under his leadership will undertake human rights reforms.
Ethiopian authorities continued to severely restrict basic rights of freedom of expression, association, and assembly in 2012. Thirty journalists and opposition members were convicted under the country’s vague Anti-Terrorism Proclamation of 2009.The security forces responded to protests by the Muslim community in Oromia and Addis Ababa, the capital, with arbitrary arrests, detentions, and beatings.
The Ethiopian government continues to implement its “villagization” program: the resettlement of 1.5 million rural villagers in five regions of Ethiopia ostensibly to increase their access to basic services. Many villagers in Gambella region have been forcibly displaced, causing considerable hardship. The government is also forcibly displacing indigenous pastoral communities in Ethiopia’s Lower Omo Valley to make way for state-run sugar plantations.
Since the promulgation in 2009 of the Charities and Societies Proclamation (CSO Law), which regulates nongovernmental organizations, and the Anti-Terrorism Proclamation, freedom of expression, assembly, and association have been increasingly restricted in Ethiopia. The effect of these two laws, coupled with the government’s widespread and persistent harassment, threats, and intimidation of civil society activists, journalists, and others who comment on sensitive issues or express views critical of government policy, has been severe.
INTERVIEW:
“One on One with Bizualem Beza, Human Rights Activist: Part 1 of 2″
“One on One with Bizualem Beza, Human Rights Activist: Part 2 of 2”
Ethiopia’s most important human rights groups have been compelled to dramatically scale-down operations or remove human rights activities from their mandates, and an unknown number of organizations have closed entirely. Several of the country’s most experienced and reputable human rights activists have fled the country due to threats. The environment is equally hostile for independent media: more journalists have fled Ethiopia than any other country in the world due to threats and intimidation in the last decade—at least 79, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).
The Anti-Terrorism Proclamation is being used to target perceived opponents, stifle dissent, and silence journalists. In 2012, 30 political activists, opposition party members, and journalists were convicted on vaguely defined terrorism offenses. Eleven journalists have been convicted under the law since 2011.
On January 26, a court in Addis Ababa sentenced both deputy editor Woubshet Taye and columnist Reeyot Alemu of the now-defunct weekly Awramaba Times to 14 years in prison. Reeyot’s sentence was later reduced to five years upon appeal and most of the charges were dropped.
On July 13, veteran journalist and blogger Eskinder Nega, who won the prestigious PEN America Freedom to Write Award in April, was sentenced to 18 years in prison along with other journalists, opposition party members, and political activists. Exiled journalists Abiye Teklemariam and Mesfin Negash were sentenced to eight years each in absentia under a provision of the Anti-Terrorism Law that has so far only been used against journalists. Andualem Arage, a member of the registered opposition party Unity for Democracy and Justice (UDJ), was sentenced to life for espionage, “disrupting the constitutional order,” and recruitment and training to commit terrorist acts.
Activists demand respect for human rightsin Ethiopia because the government is insensitive for good governance and allows corruption to be the order of the day. According to the U.S. Department of State‘s human rights report for 2004 and similar sources, the Ethiopian government’s human rights“remained poor; although there were improvements, serious problems remained.” The report listed numerous cases where police and security forces are said to have harassed, illegally detained, tortured, and/or killed individuals, who were members of opposition groups or accused of being insurgents. Thousands of suspects remained in detention without charge, and lengthy pretrial detention continued to be a problem. Prison conditions were poor. The government often ignores citizens’ privacy rights and laws regarding search warrants. Although fewer journalists have been arrested, detained, or punished in 2004 than in previous years, the government nevertheless continues to restrict freedom of the press. The government limits freedom of assembly, particularly for members of opposition groups, and security forces have used excessive force to break up demonstrations. Violence and discrimination against women continue to be problems. Female genital mutilation is widespread, although efforts to curb the practice have had some effect. The economic and sexual exploitation of children continues, as does human trafficking. Forced labor, particularly among children, is a persistent problem. Low-level government interference with labor unions continues. Although the government generally respected the free exercise of religion, local authorities at times interfere with religious practice. In order to improve Ethiopia’s image, they hired US agencies to improve Ethiopia’s image for 2.5$ million.
During the late 19th-century Scramble for Africa, Ethiopia was the only African country to defeat an European colonial power and retain its sovereignty as an independent country. It was the first independent African member of the 20th-century League of Nations and the UN. When other African nations gained their independence following World War II, many of them adopted the colors of Ethiopia’s flag. In 1974, at the end of Haile Selassie I‘s reign, Ethiopia became a federal republic ruled by a communist military junta known as the Derg, until it was defeated by the EPRDF, which has ruled since 1991.
Ethiopia is a multilingual society with around 80 ethnic groups, with the two largest being the Oromo and the Amhara. It is one of the founding members of the UN, the Non-Aligned Movement, G-77 and the Organisation of African Unity, with Addis Ababa serving as the headquarters of theAfrican Union, the Pan African Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the UNECA, theAfrican Standby Force and much of global NGOs focused on Africa. Despite being the main source of the Nile, the longest river on earth, Ethiopia underwent a series of famines in the 1980s, exacerbated by civil wars and adverse geopolitics. The country has begun to recover recently, and it now has the largest economy by GDP in East Africa and Central Africa
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Posted in AA > News and News analysis | Tagged: Abiye Teklemariam, Addis Ababa, Africa, Bizualem Beza, Eritrea, Eskinder Nega, Ethiopia, Ethiopian government, Hailemariam Desalegn, Horn of Africa, Kingdom of Aksum, Meles Zenawi, Mesfin Negash, Middle East, Muslim, SOMALIA, United States | 1 Comment »
Posted by African Press International on May 27, 2013
IRIN News is proud to announce the launch of a new film, A Life on Hold, which tells the story of Qasim and his family, who for the past three years have been living in a camp for internally displaced people (IDPs) in northwestern Yemen.
Years of conflict in the region between the Houthi tribe and government forces have led to the displacement of more than 300,000 civilians, who have to cope with a decline in health and educational services. Malnutrition is common in the IDPs camps, as well as in the apartments, mosques and schools where many have found shelter.
Authorities have tried to encourage the displaced to go back to their homes, but renewed clashes in 2012 actually increased the IDP numbers in the north. Extensive damage to houses and infrastructure, continuing insecurity, fear of reprisals and the lack of livelihood opportunities and basic services all serve as deterrents to return.
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Posted in AA > News and News analysis | Tagged: Houthi, IDP, Internally displaced person, IRIN, Middle East, Syria, United Nations, Yemen | Leave a Comment »
Posted by African Press International on May 25, 2013
Citadel Capital (CCAP.CA on the EGX), the leading investment company in Africa and the Middle East, establishes core platform company Mashreq Petroleum has signed a 25-year concession agreement with the East Port Said Port Authority. The agreement is extendable by up to five years based on a 90% achievement rate of operational targets and will allow Mashreq to build the first independent tank terminal in Egypt.
“Coming on the heels of Cabinet-level approval for the project, the concession agreement between Mashreq and the Port Said Port Authority clears the way for the fast-tracking of this critical project, which stands as a backup to Egypt’s national energy security,” said Mashreq Petroleum Chairman and Managing Director Dr. Tamer Abubakr.
Mashreq Petroleum is a core platform company of Citadel Capital established in 2004 to build and operate the first tank terminal and logistics hub of its kind in the region. The original contract for Mashreq was signed on December 10th, 2005 under law number 8 of 1997.The EGP 3 billion facility will have capacity for up to 800,000 metric tons of product, including liquid bulk (fuel oil, gasoil, naphtha and jet fuel) and bunker fuels. Mashreq will have an annual storage capacity of 10 million metric tons per year and an annual bunkering capacity of 2-3 million tons with three berths that will accommodate tankers up to 120,000 DWT and four berths for bunkering barges. The project will be completed in several phases.
The facility will primarily serve the liquid bulk market in the Far East, the Middle East and the broader Mediterranean region. Mashreq will also provide fuel bunkering services for ships transiting the Suez Canal, to capitalize on the unique location of the world’s busiest maritime route, with more than 20,000 vessels transiting annually. Total traffic through the Canal represents 10% of global maritime transport and approximately 22% of container trade worldwide.
Mashreq’s growth prospects in the storage market are based on both the fast-rising rate at which petroleum products are transiting the Suez Canal as well as the Middle East and Mediterranean regions’ status as deficit markets for diesel and gasoil. Transportation of petroleum products through the Canal reached an estimated 110 million tons in 2012, growing at a rate of around 19% annually over the previous eight years, while there remains a notable shortage in bunkering services in the region.The concession is based on a build-operate-transfer (BOT) system for 25 years, extendable by one year for every five years during which the project achieves at least 90% of its operational targets. In total this will result in a 30-year concession in addition to a three-year grace period for construction.
This strategically vital fuel bunkering and storage facility in Port Said Port supports the Suez Canal as the world’s leading maritime trade route for both commodities and petroleum products. The project is expected to help attract global companies and large shipping lines to operate at the port and simultaneously help ease the nation’s shortage of refined products by facilitating imports. In cooperation with EGPC, the facility will be linked to the national petroleum pipeline grid at a junction point located 17 kilometers south of the project.
Mashreq will also help stimulate the growth of additional sectors in East Port Said, including the planned establishment of new power generation facilities and an industrial zone.All necessary regulatory and governmental approvals have been obtained, including approved environmental impact assessment reports. Mashreq has also completed the design of its tank farm.Energy is one of Citadel Capital’s five core industries of focus alongside transportation, agrifoods, mining and cement. Citadel Capital holds a 25% ownership stake in Mashreq.
Ends.
Posted in AA > News and News analysis | Tagged: Africa, Egypt, Fuel oil, Kenya, Mashreq, Middle East, Port Said, Suez Canal | Leave a Comment »
Posted by African Press International on April 23, 2013
BAGHDAD/DUBAI, – Ten years after US forces took over Iraq, opinions on the progress made are as polarized as ever.
“Despite all the problems of the past decade, the overwhelming majority of Iraqis agree that we are better off today than under Saddam’s brutal dictatorship,” Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki wrote in a 9 April opinion piece in the Washington Post, marking 10 years after the fall of former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein.
Paul Wolfowitz, who served as the US Deputy Secretary of Defence between 2001 and 2005, wrote the same day in Asharq al-Awsat newspaper that given the hardships under Hussein, “it is remarkable that Iraq has done as well as it has thus far.”
Others are more circumspect in evaluating these gains, looking to the 1980s – under Hussein’s rule – as a time when Iraqi society was much further ahead.
“By all measures and standards, there has been a deterioration in the quality of life of Iraqis as compared to 25 years ago,” said Khalid Khalid, who tracks Iraq’s progress towards the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) at the UN Development Programme (UNDP). “The invasion comes on top of sanctions that came before it and the Iran-Iraq war. It’s one continuous chain of events that led to the situation Iraqis are facing now.”
Mixed blessings
In the early 1980s, Iraq was regarded by many as the most developed state in the Arab world. The Iran-Iraq war of the 1980s, the Gulf War of 1991 and subsequent years of sanctions took a heavy toll on developmental indicators, yet Iraq continued to have strong state institutions, even if they were used repressively to maintain Hussein’s power. For example, even after 10 years of an international embargo, the system of food ration distribution operated effectively.
The US invasion and subsequent civil conflict changed this, said Maria Fantappie, Iraq analyst at the International Crisis Group, as violence and de-Baathification drove away the human resources needed to run effective institutions. In many ways, the country has yet to recover.
“In 2003, that heritage of an efficient Iraqi state was completely lost,” Fantappie said. “We have the consequences of this until today… We are not yet at the level of state institutions that can deliver services equally to all citizens.”
Iraq is the only country in the Middle East where living standards have not improved compared to 25 years ago, the World Bank says. In areas such as secondary school enrolment and child immunization, Iraq now ranks lower than some of the poorest countries in the world.
“The war is just such a series of mixed blessings,” said Ned Parker, a former fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and long-time Iraq correspondent for the Los Angeles Times. “For every positive development, there’s a negative development that counters it.”
Looking at the data
IRIN has taken a look development and humanitarian indicators for Iraq, which show a decade of fits and starts, with progress in one area met by stagnation in another.
Of course, statistics in Iraq are often “wrong, simply not available or politically misused,” as one researcher put it. While a wealth of information and data exists, it comes from a multitude of sources using different methodologies, and much of it is based on relatively small sample sizes. The UN’s Information and Analysis Unit said in a 2008 report: “As is typical in volatile working environments, data reliability in some instances is questionable, contradictory figures exist, and geographic coverage of the indicators is often compromised for either security or political reasons.”
There are also huge discrepancies when national statistics are broken down by region, with the capital Baghdad and the autonomous Kurdish region in the north often the only governorates ranking above national average in measures of development. As Médecins sans Frontières wrote in a recent article in the Lancet journal, “Much more attention needs to be given to remote areas, where the reality for Iraqis has not substantially improved over the past 10 years.”
What is more, much of the progress is seen in indicators tracking inputs, like how many children enrol in school, rather than outcomes, such as how much they actually learn, said Sudipto Mukerjee, deputy head of UNDP in Iraq.
But even with these caveats, the best available data offer a complex portrait of a country that has seen improvement over the last decade, but is still largely struggling. For example, a recent overview of Iraq’s headway towards the Millennium Development Goals found great strides in the eradication of poverty over 1990 levels, but slower progress on primary education enrolment, which still lags behind 1990 levels.
A million Iraqis remain refugees, and over a million are internally displaced; sectarianism holds sway over political institutions; and healthcare is undermined by a lack of medical personnel, unreliable utilities and fragile national security. Women and girls, who once enjoyed more rights than other women in the region, now regularly find themselves excluded from school and work opportunities, though great progress has been made towards gender equality in recent years. While living conditions, clean water access, poverty rates and education levels are all disappointing compared to historical highs in the 1980s, they are greatly improved from the years Iraq spent under sanctions. And increased decentralization of power has offered some hope for the future.
No easy narrative can be accurately applied to the country’s experiences over the past 10 years, and in many ways, the direction the country has taken may only become clear over the decade to come.
Every day this week, we will bring you our findings on each of the following indicators. Check back regularly!
Water and Sanitation
Electricity
Displacement
Education
Poverty/Economic Growth
Health
Food Security/Malnutrition
Governance/Human Security
Gender
Aid work
In the process of our research, we’ve come across some interesting bits and pieces. For more, check out:
A recent Op-Ed by Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki, where he makes the case that Iraq has progressed
The case for why the US intervention was necessary and successful – by Paul Wolfowitz
An entire issue of the Middle East Research and Information Project dedicated to the 10-year mark of Hussein’s toppling
The Guardian newspaper also has a special section on its website dedicated to articles on Iraq 10 years on from the invasion
A pioneering project to track the costs of American wars in Iraq and Afghanistan: Costs of War
The National Democratic Institute has done a series of public opinion polls in Iraq since 2010. Here is the latest.
The UN’s Joint Analysis and Policy Unit for Iraq is a wealth of detailed, statistical information, including the Iraq Knowledge Network survey the UN helped conduct in 2011.
Over the years, a number of other household surveys have been conducted by the government in collaboration with various UN agencies, including the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS), supported by UNICEF; the Iraq Household Socio-Economic Survey (IHSES), supported by the World Bank; the Iraq Living Conditions Survey, supported by UNDP; and the Comprehensive Food Security and Vulnerability Analysis, supported by WFP.
The government Central Statistics Organization has assembled statistics on human development indicators from various sources, from 1990 onwards, which you can find here.
The World Bank also allows you to download full sets of comparative statistics and the World Health Organization keeps year-by-year statistics since 1999 on each of the health-related Millennium Development Goals.
If you want to crunch numbers, check out the UN Human Development Reports over the years.
The UN recently took stock of Iraq’s progress towards the Millennium Development Goals, with less than 1,000 days to go before the deadline.
IRIN has coverage many of these issues over the years. Our Iraq archives are here.
An interesting debate in Foreign Affairs magazine about whether Iraq is on track.
The US auditor on Iraq reconstruction’s latest and final report that says $60 billion invested in Iraq’s reconstruction had “limited positive effects”
And on that theme, check out this cynical, almost satirical, book (and subsequent blog) by Peter Van Buren: We Meant Well: How I Helped Lose the Battle for Hearts and Minds of the Iraqi People.
af/ha/rz
Posted in AA > News and News analysis | Tagged: International Crisis Group, Iraq, Iraqi, Lancet, Middle East, Millennium Development Goals, Saddam Hussein, United States | Leave a Comment »