Media Coverage December 9, 2005

• WTO should Stay Out of Agriculture
• Sustainable Development Conference
• Steps Urged to Protect Children’s Rights
• Developed Countries should be asked to Open Services Sector
• WTO, Gender Issues discussed at SDPI Conference
• Experts not pinning much hope on Hong Kong Moot

WTO should Stay Out of Agriculture
Business Recorder, Islamabad
December 09, 2005

The speakers cautioned at a conference on 'Sustainable Development' that the WTO regime cannot deliver goods to the world until and unless it is based on a just and equitable system. Azra Talat Sayeed, an expert on WTO, talked about the onslaught of globalisation and the resultant trade liberalisation and WTO-related policies in the agricultural sector, and stressed that the WTO should stay out of agriculture. She recommended people's ownership over means of production as the only viable solution to the problem.

Zia Awan while making linkages between violence against women and trafficking talked about socio customary-practices where women are treated as objects and commodities. Rubina Saigol of Action Aid suggested that trafficking should also be linked to the phenomenon of globalisation. Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) Executive Director Saba Gul Khattak recommended that all Afghans staying back in Pakistan and not repatriating to Afghanistan should be registered so that they have a legal status that qualifies them for all civil rights.

Abu Eusuf from Bangladesh, in his paper on trade liberalisation and poverty, said that large and medium-scale enterprises had gained form the competition from the opening up of trade, however, unskilled labour and small-scale businesses have suffered. He was of the view all gains made in the new regime were inequitable in nature.

Dr Abid Suleri from SDPI, in his presentation, argued in favour of greater policy coherence so that the benefits of trade are fully exploited. He suggested the use of pro-poor growth policies rather than simple growth policies.

Shandana Gulzar from the National Institute of the WTO, presenting a paper by Akhtar Mehmood, pointed out gaps in the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper. In order to increase the competitiveness of Pak agricultural products as trade barriers are removed under the WTO, she proposed the development of rural markets and the development of export markets for agricultural products in Pakistan. Dismissing trade as the only answer to poverty reduction, she emphasised the need for greater access to an improved justice system and governance reforms. She also stressed the need for checks on inflation and external shock-absorbing mechanisms, saying that domestic reforms needed to be undertaken side by side with policy reforms to properly reap the benefits of trade liberalisation.

The conference organised by Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) has brought together renowned experts from around the world enriching the discourse on different aspects of sustainable development.

Dr Salman Shah had inaugurated the conference the other day. Dr Saba Gul Khattak raised certain burning questions in her address. She questioned that how the poor countries can assure their citizens' economic and social security and what could be the best way and mechanism to ensure that a just for equal social and economic uplift could be put in place. She wanted to know that what could the social sector do for women who have nowhere to go due to the process of death and destruction in which they have no contribution. She raised many other questions such as was there a good globalisation from below and a bad globalization from above and can it be resisted especially from below and truly be termed as good globalization.

The conference revolves around six themes instead of one overarching central one discussing women's and gendered issues in several contexts trying to make sense of the international system, the opportunities and challenges presented by WTO, poverty and child labour, livelihoods and security as well as people's rights and issues of peace at the national, regional and international levels, she said. She also launched SDPI's book based on the proceedings of their previous annual conference on sustainable development in 2004 titled, Troubled Times: Sustainable Development and Governance in the Age of Extremes, jointly published by SDPI and SAMA books.

The Chairman of SDPI's Board of Governors, Shamsul Mulk, gave an overview of the Institute's work and a brief historical background of the conference series.

Sustainable Development Conference
Daily Times, Islamabad
December 09, 2005
By Zahid Hameed

On the second day of the 8th Sustainable Development Conference on Thursday, speakers identified socio-economic conditions and lack of education as the main causes of child labour in Pakistan.

Discussing the issues and challenges being faced by Palestinian children, speaker Dr Mahmmod A Khawaja, representing the Primary Health Care Department, Palestine, said the continued violence and political unrest in Palestine had not only increased child mortality, but had also posed new threats to their survival and health, He said from September 2000 to December 2003, nearly 15,000 children had been injured; 30 percent of whom were permanently disabled. He stressed the need for implementation of international laws to protect children's health.

Dr Rita Pandey, from the National Institute of Public Finance and Policy, India, said that children were more vulnerable to diseases than adults due to their higher breathing and metabolism rate, which resulted in increased absorption of pollutants in proportion to their body weight.

Steps Urged to Protect Children’s Rights
Dawn, Karachi and Islamabad
December 09, 2005

Speakers at a sustainable development conference here on Thursday stressed the need to take stringent measures for safeguarding children’s rights and protecting them against diseases. The Sustainable Development Policy Institute has organized the three-day conference.

Dr Rita Pandey from the National Institute of Public Finance and Policy, India, said children were more vulnerable to diseases than adults due to their higher breathing and metabolism rate, which resulted in increased absorption of pollutants in proportion to their body weight.

Discussing concerns and challenges to children’s health in Palestine, Dr Mahmood A. Khawaja of the Palestinian Primary Health Care Department, said the continued violence in his country had not only led to child mortality but also posed new threats to their survival and health. From September 2000 to December 2003, he said, 15,000 children had been injured, of whom 30 per cent were permanently disabled. He stressed the need for lobbying to implement international laws to protect children.

A documentary titled “Mother, sister, daughter: the violence they face” by Bandana Rana depicted the violation of women’s rights in Nepal. Sabiha Sumar’s Khamosh Pani highlighted the violence that took place during the partition of India.

Speaking on the occasion, Zahida Hina explained the role of the British Raj, Christian missionaries and East India Company in women’s education and emancipation in the subcontinent. She appreciated the contribution of Rashidul Khairi, Maulvi Mumtaz, Deputy Nazir Ahmad and Maulana Altaf Hussain Hali in promotion of women’s rights by producing magazines and opening schools. Syed Waqar Shah discussed the role of Bacha Khan and his Khudai Khidmatgar movement in encouraging local women to take part in politics.

Dr A. Karim Ahmed from USA stressed the need to identify and develop environmental health indicators and benchmarks, which provided a means to track the performance of regulatory government agencies with regard to achievement of national and international environmental standards. Prof Andrey K. Demin from Central Asia focused on the use of tobacco as a development hurdle in Russia and discussed the health consequences of tobacco use in children.

Anandi Mehmood from UK discussed the stories of harmony and memories of co-existence in pre-partition era. L.J. Saldana emphasized that the contributions of the Christian community in the pre- and post-partition history of Pakistan needed to be publicly acknowledged.

Atiq Ahmed discussed the vulnerabilities of the major livelihood groups in the coastal zones of Bangladesh and emphasized that the government should have specific policies addressing the diversity of the coastal areas of Bangladesh.

Babar Shahbaz from the University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, highlighted the institutional reforms in the highlands of the north-west Pakistan and called for participatory approaches to address their livelihood vulnerabilities. Aneela Babar spoke on post-tsunami relief work and how women's livelihoods were adversely affected not only by the initial devastation, but also at times by the governmental and nongovernmental rehabilitation policies.

Siva Parsad from the University of Hyderabad, India, presented a paper on tribal livelihoods in a limbo: changing tribe nature relationship in South Asia, and emphasized that for such communities traditional social and cultural responses were the only coping mechanisms.

Developed Countries should be asked to Open Services Sector
The Nation, Islamabad
December 09, 2005
By Haq Nawaz

Discussing the double standards of industrialized countries in the area of services liberalization, the participants in a conference called for pushing the highly developed countries to opening up their services sectors, such as banking, telecommunication and transport at the upcoming WTO ministerial meeting in Hong Kong.

The second day of the Sustainable Development Conference organized by the Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) generated lively debate focusing primarily on WTO, gender issues, cinema’s role in promoting people’s rights, child labour, health, livelihoods and minority issues.

In the panel on World Trade Organization-Way to Hong Kong, the participants demanded that it was high time for industrialized countries to reciprocate the steps towards trade liberalization that poor members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) have already undertaken. The Government of Pakistan strongly supports GATS visa, asserted Asad Hayauddin Deputy Secretary, Ministry of Commerce.

However, Pakistan’s services sector is opened up to a high degree and benchmarking is not feared either. The speakers stressed the importance of tariffs to encourage domestic industrial development. They (advanced countries) themselves are not ready to give access to service providers from developing countries in the negotiations of the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS).

In another panel, two films were shown which attracted a large audience. Sabiha Sumar from Pakistan and Bandana Rana from Nepal represented the panel on Cinematic Depiction of People’s Rights. ‘Mother, Sister, Daughter: The Violence They Face’ by Bandana Rana presented glimpses of various forms of violation of women’s rights in Nepal and attempted to provide an examination of the problems through depicting violence, interviews with survivors of violence, social activists, legal practitioners and the media. Sabiha Sumar’s ‘Khamosh Pani’ is based on actual events that took place when the Indian sub-continent was partitioned in 1947 into two new states-India and Pakistan.

Zahida Hina speaking in a panel on Women, Education and Social Reforms explained the role of the British Raj, Christian missionaries and East India Company in women’s education and emancipation in the sub-continent. She further appreciated the untiring contribution of Rashid ul Khairi, Moulvi Mumtaz, Deputy Nazir Ahmad, and Maulana Altaf Hali for uplifting women’s concerns by producing magazines and opening schools while Sir Syed Ahmad Khan and his associates continued their resistance to women’s education till 1889.

Dr Syed Waqar Shah, Prof. of Quaid-e-Azam University looked into the role of Bacha Khan and Khudai Khidmat Gar Movement in encouraging local Pakhtun women to take part in politics. Another researcher, Aneela Babar, discussed the role of transnational religious networks like Al-Huda in the Pakistani overseas communities.

Discussing Concerns and Challenges to Children’s Environmental Health in Palestine, Dr. Mahmmod A. Khawaja on behalf of Dr Kamal Zaineh, Director of Primary Health Care Department, Palestine, said that the continued violence and political unrest in Palestine had not only led to child mortality, but also posed new threats to their survival and health. He shared that since September 2000 to December 2003, nearly 15,000 children had been injured; of whom 30 per cent were permanently disabled. He stressed the need for lobbying and advocacy to implement international laws to protect children’s declining health situation. Dr Rita Pandey from the National Institute of Public Finance and Policy, India, said that children are more vulnerable to diseases than adults due to their higher breathing and metabolism rate, which results in increased absorption of pollutants in proportion to their body weight.

Dr A. Karim Ahmed from NCSE, USA, stressed the need to identify and develop environmental health indicators and benchmarks, which provide a means to track the performance of regulatory government agencies with regard to achievement of national and international environmental standards.

Prof. Andrey K. Demin from Central Asia focused on the use of tobacco as a development hurdle in Russia and discussed the health consequences of tobacco use in children. He called for the development and implementation of an anti-tobacco national plan.

Willem van Schendel, Prof. of History at the Amsterdam University, Amsterdam, disclosed while presenting his paper in the panel. He said that Indian measures of border fencing, identification and deportation failed to control the phenomenon. He eluded upon the history of state formation in South Asia that has left definitions of citizenship and belonging wide open.

Shahbaz Bokhari from SDPI presented the findings of his research on bonded child labor in Pakistan. He informed the audience that the children of school going age are compelled to work to pay off the debt taken by their families.

WTO, Gender Issues discussed at SDPI Conference
Pakistan Observer, Islamabad
December 09, 2005
By Zubair Qureshi

The second day of the Sustainable Development Conference organised by the SDPI generated lively debate focussing primarily on WTO, gender issues, cinema's role in promoting people's rights, child labour, health, livelihoods and minority issues.

In the panel on "World Trade Organisation-Way to Hong Kong", the participants demanded that it was high time for industrialised countries to reciprocate the steps towards trade liberalisation that poor members of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) have already undertaken. The Government of Pakistan strongly supports GATS visa, asserted Asad Hayauddin Deputy Secretary, Ministry of Commerce. However, Pakistan's services sector is opened up to a high degree and benchmarking is not feared either. The speakers stressed the importance of tariffs to encourage domestic industrial development.

Discussing the double-standard of industrialised countries in the area of services liberalisation, the participants said that at the upcoming WTO ministerial meeting in Hong Kong, industrialised countries, in particular the USA, were expected to push for minimum commitments of other WTO members in opening up their services sectors. These sectors include such as banking, telecommunication and transport. However, they themselves are not ready to give access to service providers from developing countries in the negotiations of the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS).

The screening of two movies films attracted a large number of audience. The panel on Cinematic Depiction of People's Rights presented films by Sabiha Sumar from Pakistan and Bandana Rana from Nepal. 'Mother, Sister, Daughter: The Violence they Face' by Bandana Rana presents glimpses of various forms violation of women's rights in Nepal. Sabiha Sumar's 'Khamosh Pani' is based on actual events that took place when the Indian sub-continent was partitioned in 1947 into two new states-India and Pakistan. It was a time of intense violence.

Zahida Hina speaking on a panel on Women, Education and Social Reforms highlighted the role of the British Raj, Christian missionaries and East India Company in women's education and emancipation in the sub-continent. She further appreciated the untiring contribution of Rashid ul Khairi, Moulvi Mumtaz, Deputy Nazir Ahmad, and Moulana Altaf Hali for uplifting women's concerns by producing magazines and opening schools while Sir Syed Ahmad Khan and his associates continued their resistance to women's education till 1889. Syed Waqar Shah looked into the role of Bacha Khan and Khudai Khidmat Gar Movement in encouraging local Pakhtun women to take part in politics. Another researcher, Aneela Babar, discussed the role of transnational religious networks like Al-Huda in the Pakistani overseas communities.

In the session Religious Minorities: 1947 Violence and Relief Work, Anandi Mehmood from UK, discussed the stories of harmony and memories of co-existence in pre-partition era along with the people's memories of communal violence that also had roots in economic conflicts and class relationships.

Aneela Babar conducted a gendered critique of post-tsunami relief work to elaborate how women's livelihoods are adversely affected not only by the initial devastation, but also at times by the governmental and non-governmental rehabilitation policies. One can find parallels in the recent policies in the wake of the October earthquake in Pakistan, she said. Siva Parsad from the University of Hyderabad, India presented his paper on Tribal Livelihoods in a Limbo: Changing Tribe-nature Relationship in South Asia, emphasized that for such communities traditional social and cultural responses are the only coping mechanisms vulnerabilities.

Experts not pinning much hope on Hong Kong Moot
The Post, Islamabad
December 09, 2005
By Mohsin Babbar

The national and foreign researchers and participants at the 8th International Sustainable Development Conference Wednesday said double standards of the US and other developed countries were pushing developing countries to promise maximum commitments and the same behaviour was most likely to be followed at the upcoming WTO ministerial meeting in Hong Kong on December 14.

They were speaking at a session on ‘World Trade Organisation (WTO): Way to Hong Kong’ at the three-day conference, organised by the Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) in Islamabad. The second day of the conference generated lively debate focusing primarily on WTO, gender issues, cinema’s role in promoting people’s rights, child labour, health, livelihoods and minority issues.

Experts were of the view that industrialised countries, the US in particular was not ready to give access to service providers from developing countries in the negotiations of the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) but expecting to push for minimum commitments of other WTO members in opening up their services sectors, such as banking, telecommunication and transport.

Asserting the government point of view, Asad Hayauddin, deputy secretary, Ministry of Commerce, said the government strongly supported GATS visa, however, Pakistan’s services sector was opened up to a high degree and benchmarking but was not feared either. He stressed the importance of tariffs to encourage domestic industrial development.

Discussing concerns and challenges to children’s environmental health in Palestine, speaker Dr Mahmood A Khawaja on behalf of Dr Kamal Zaineh, director of Primary Health Care Department, Palestine, said the continued violence and political unrest in Palestine had not only led to child mortality, but also posed new threats to their survival and health. He said since September 2000 to December 2003, nearly 15,000 children had been injured; of whom 30 per cent were permanently disabled. Dr Rita Pandey from the National Institute of Public Finance and Policy, India, said children were more vulnerable to diseases than adults due to their higher breathing and metabolism rate, which resulted in increased absorption of pollutants in proportion to their body weight.

Dr A Karim Ahmed from the US stressed the need to identify and develop environmental health indicators and benchmarks, which provided a means to track the performance of regulatory government agencies with regard to achievement of national and international environmental standards. Prof Andrey K Demin from Central Asia focused on the use of tobacco as a development hurdle in Russia and discussed the health consequences of tobacco use in children. He called for the development and implementation of an anti-tobacco national plan; ratification and implementation of highest standards of Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC); and ban on tobacco advertising and sponsorship.

Dr Zafar Iqbal, an anti-narcotics officer in the panel on pharmaceutical industry / drug pricing/ narcotics, identified the missing link between law enforcement agencies and said the link was too weak and that substantial steps were required to improve the situation. He said the use of precursors must be documented, and permits must only be granted to companies on a strict need basis. Dr Farnaz Malik from the Ministry of Health presented an overview of drug quality assurance systems in Pakistan and stressed the need for licensing manufacturers to ensure drug quality.

In the panel on South Asian Livelihood at Risk, Atiq Ahmed discussed the vulnerabilities of the major livelihood groups in the coastal zones of Bangladesh and emphasised that the government should have specific policies addressing the diversity of the coastal areas of Bangladesh. Babar Shahbaz from the University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, explored the institutional reforms in the highlands of the northwest Pakistan and called for participatory approaches to address their livelihood vulnerabilities.

Aneela Babar conducted a gendered critique of post-tsunami relief work to elaborate as to how women’s livelihoods were adversely affected not only by the initial devastation, but also at times by the governmental and non governmental rehabilitation policies. One could find parallels in the recent policies in the wake of the earthquake in Pakistan, she said.