foreignpolicy--2020-08-10--Lebanon’s Government Has Resigned. That’s Not Nearly Enough.

Lebanon ’ s Government Has Resigned .
That ’ s Not Nearly Enough .
Sworn in in January to usher in reforms and save Lebanon , Prime Minister Hassan Diab resigned Monday as thousands of protesters returned to the streets to express their anger at last week ’ s port explosion .
The blast killed some 200 people and injured 6,000 more and was clearly due at least in part to the negligence of the state and its agencies .
The public is unlikely to be appeased by the resignation of Diab ’ s government , which was widely deemed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ controlled by Hezbollah and its allies .
The rest of the country ’ s political elites , the sectarian warlords of the civil war era and their descendents , clinging to positions of privilege , are still busy looking for scapegoats .
Ordinary Lebanese , meanwhile , say that if there ever was a doubt about Lebanon being a failed state , there isn ’ t anymore .
The anti-government protests that engulfed the country last October , only to mostly die down during the pandemic lockdown , are now back .
Tens @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the weekend near a large wooden frame with nooses hanging down .
The symbolism was clear : The crowd wanted not just to change the government but to get rid of the entire political class .
The protesters blamed Lebanon ’ s sectarian system of government for breeding corruption and inefficiency that manifested in the Beirut port blast .
Hundreds of thousands of homes were damaged as a warehouse stored with ammonium nitrate , a humble fertilizer that doubles as a lethal explosive used to make bombs , caught fire on Aug. 4 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ magnitude comparable to that of a small nuclear explosion .
It razed nearby buildings , flinging cars in the air and blasting out apartment doors and windows and smashing them against walls and anyone who came between .
And behind this chaos were the leaders who ignored warnings for years about the explosive material .
These leaders , Lebanese now demand , must hang .
“ Alekoo al-machanek , ” or hang the nooses , resonated at the protests , amid volleys of tear gas fired by security forces .
Later in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ absent as the protesters ransacked a few government offices , but they eventually cracked down .
Several activists and protesters were seen live on television , and on social media , being beaten by men in uniform .
Red Cross ambulances struggled in the traffic jams to cater to the wounded , and at a different spot , supporters of Hezbollah expressed loyalty to the group and chanted they were ready to do whatever their leader Hassan Nasrallah asked for .
But most protesters were undeterred .
Hundreds kept flowing to the protest @ @ @ @ @ @ @ vacated .
“ They can not push us back in our homes , because we don ’ t have a home .
Our homes have been damaged , ” said Ghassan , an anti-government protester , holding an L-shaped wooden stick with a noose dangling at the top .
Ali Ezzeddine had traveled from Tyre , in the Shiite-dominated and Hezbollah-controlled south of Lebanon .
“ We want them all to hang , but first among them should be Hezbollah , ” he said .
“ They are all shameless and will jail @ @ @ @ @ @ @ we don ’ t want that—we want an international investigation.
” It had previously been unusual for Lebanese to be willing to place such vehement remarks on the record .
Lebanese President Michel Aoun has ruled out an international investigation and alluded that a foreign hand may have been involved in causing the spark that led to the explosion .
“ There is a possibility of external interference through a rocket or bomb or other act , ” he told the local press .
Hezbollah ’ s Nasrallah has said the investigation must @ @ @ @ @ @ @ about being wrongfully accused of using the port as a weapons depot .
“ We have nothing in the port , ” he said in a televised address .
“ Not an arms depot nor a missile depot nor missiles nor rifles nor bombs nor bullets nor ammonium nitrate.
” But Lebanese are furious and are asking why 2,750 metric tons of ammonium nitrate—once described by officials as a “ floating bomb ” that would blow up the whole city unless safely removed—was ever stored in a warehouse near residential areas .
Why @ @ @ @ @ @ @ despite several warnings that it presented an imminent danger ?
A growing number of Lebanese are targeting their anger at Hezbollah , which is believed to have a dominant say on matters relating to the port .
Some suspect that the group may have been intent on saving the chemicals for future use ; ammonium nitrate has previously been the militia ’ s preferred chemical for making bombs .
There are also unanswered questions relating to how the explosives ended up at Beirut ’ s port in the first place .
In 2013 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ paid at least a million dollars upfront to transport the ammonium nitrate from Georgia to Mozambique , according to the captain of the ship , Boris Prokoshev .
Grechushkin asked the crew to make an unscheduled stop at Beirut to pick up some machinery , but the Lebanese port authorities were incensed because the crew would not pay the port fee and held four of the crew under detention while impounding the ship .
The captain told the Russian press that in his 11 months in detention in Lebanon no one from Mozambique @ @ @ @ @ @ @ interest in retrieving their expensive cargo .
Marianna Belenkaya , a Russian journalist who has been following the case , said she found that suspicious .
“ It is very hard to put this story together , but why did Mozambique not get in touch with Lebanon ’ s government to retrieve its ammonium nitrate ?
” she told me over the phone from Moscow .
“ Unless it did , and the Lebanese government is hiding that information .
If you pay a million dollars for something , you want it back.
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ was ever intended to go to Mozambique in the first place or whether that was only a cover story for a delivery intended all along for Lebanon .
Amid such ambiguities , and the obvious negligence of the Lebanese state and its agencies , Human Rights Watch has argued that the blasts must be investigated by an outside international panel .
Aya Majzoub , the Lebanon researcher at Human Rights Watch , told Foreign Policy that the organization has long observed corrupt connections between the political class and the judiciary , with the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by the law and giving in to political pressure .
A top diplomatic source told Foreign Policy that the United States has offered the FBI ’ s assistance to the Lebanese government to investigate the blasts and that the message has been passed on to Aoun .
Lebanon ’ s government still seems hesitant , however , to cooperate with any investigation by the U.N. secretary-general ’ s office or even a special rapporteur .
Meanwhile , ordinary Lebanese fear that the political elite will pin the blame on easily scapegoated officials in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Daher , the director-general of Lebanese Customs , who leaked a paper trail to local media establishing that the judiciary had been informed of the dangers presented by the stockpile of ammonium nitrate , has already been arrested , as have other port officials .
The question remains whether that will mark only the beginning of a far wider , and higher-reaching , wave of arrests .

Sworn in in January to usher in reforms and save Lebanon, Prime Minister Hassan Diab resigned Monday as thousands of protesters returned to the streets to express their anger at last week’s port explosion. The blast killed some 200 people and injured 6,000 more and was clearly due at least in part to the negligence of the state and its agencies. The public is unlikely to be appeased by the resignation of Diab’s government, which was widely deemed to be a puppet whose strings were controlled by Hezbollah and its allies. The rest of the country’s political elites, the sectarian warlords of the civil war era and their descendents, clinging to positions of privilege, are still busy looking for scapegoats.
Sworn in in January to usher in reforms and save Lebanon, Prime Minister Hassan Diab resigned Monday as thousands of protesters returned to the streets to express their anger at last week’s port explosion. The blast killed some 200 people and injured 6,000 more and was clearly due at least in part to the negligence of the state and its agencies. The public is unlikely to be appeased by the resignation of Diab’s government, which was widely deemed to be a puppet whose strings were controlled by Hezbollah and its allies. The rest of the country’s political elites, the sectarian warlords of the civil war era and their descendents, clinging to positions of privilege, are still busy looking for scapegoats.
Ordinary Lebanese, meanwhile, say that if there ever was a doubt about Lebanon being a failed state, there isn’t anymore. The anti-government protests that engulfed the country last October, only to mostly die down during the pandemic lockdown, are now back. Tens of thousands of people returned downtown over the weekend near a large wooden frame with nooses hanging down. The symbolism was clear: The crowd wanted not just to change the government but to get rid of the entire political class.
The protesters blamed Lebanon’s sectarian system of government for breeding corruption and inefficiency that manifested in the Beirut port blast. Hundreds of thousands of homes were damaged as a warehouse stored with ammonium nitrate, a humble fertilizer that doubles as a lethal explosive used to make bombs, caught fire on Aug. 4, causing massive twin blasts with a magnitude comparable to that of a small nuclear explosion. It razed nearby buildings, flinging cars in the air and blasting out apartment doors and windows and smashing them against walls and anyone who came between. And behind this chaos were the leaders who ignored warnings for years about the explosive material.
These leaders, Lebanese now demand, must hang. “Alekoo al-machanek,” or hang the nooses, resonated at the protests, amid volleys of tear gas fired by security forces. Later in the evening on Saturday, police were initially absent as the protesters ransacked a few government offices, but they eventually cracked down. Several activists and protesters were seen live on television, and on social media, being beaten by men in uniform. Red Cross ambulances struggled in the traffic jams to cater to the wounded, and at a different spot, supporters of Hezbollah expressed loyalty to the group and chanted they were ready to do whatever their leader Hassan Nasrallah asked for.
But most protesters were undeterred. Hundreds kept flowing to the protest site even as others were being violently vacated. “They cannot push us back in our homes, because we don’t have a home. Our homes have been damaged,” said Ghassan, an anti-government protester, holding an L-shaped wooden stick with a noose dangling at the top. Ali Ezzeddine had traveled from Tyre, in the Shiite-dominated and Hezbollah-controlled south of Lebanon. “We want them all to hang, but first among them should be Hezbollah,” he said. “They are all shameless and will jail low-ranking officials to protect themselves. But we don’t want that—we want an international investigation.” It had previously been unusual for Lebanese to be willing to place such vehement remarks on the record.
Lebanese President Michel Aoun has ruled out an international investigation and alluded that a foreign hand may have been involved in causing the spark that led to the explosion. “There is a possibility of external interference through a rocket or bomb or other act,” he told the local press. Hezbollah’s Nasrallah has said the investigation must be conducted by the military and complained about being wrongfully accused of using the port as a weapons depot. “We have nothing in the port,” he said in a televised address. “Not an arms depot nor a missile depot nor missiles nor rifles nor bombs nor bullets nor ammonium nitrate.”
But Lebanese are furious and are asking why 2,750 metric tons of ammonium nitrate—once described by officials as a “floating bomb” that would blow up the whole city unless safely removed—was ever stored in a warehouse near residential areas. Why was it not disposed of or reexported despite several warnings that it presented an imminent danger?
A growing number of Lebanese are targeting their anger at Hezbollah, which is believed to have a dominant say on matters relating to the port. Some suspect that the group may have been intent on saving the chemicals for future use; ammonium nitrate has previously been the militia’s preferred chemical for making bombs.
There are also unanswered questions relating to how the explosives ended up at Beirut’s port in the first place. In 2013, a Russian named Igor Grechushkin was paid at least a million dollars upfront to transport the ammonium nitrate from Georgia to Mozambique, according to the captain of the ship, Boris Prokoshev. Grechushkin asked the crew to make an unscheduled stop at Beirut to pick up some machinery, but the Lebanese port authorities were incensed because the crew would not pay the port fee and held four of the crew under detention while impounding the ship. The captain told the Russian press that in his 11 months in detention in Lebanon no one from Mozambique seemed to have inquired about or shown interest in retrieving their expensive cargo.
Marianna Belenkaya, a Russian journalist who has been following the case, said she found that suspicious. “It is very hard to put this story together, but why did Mozambique not get in touch with Lebanon’s government to retrieve its ammonium nitrate?” she told me over the phone from Moscow. “Unless it did, and the Lebanese government is hiding that information. If you pay a million dollars for something, you want it back.” The question is whether the cargo was ever intended to go to Mozambique in the first place or whether that was only a cover story for a delivery intended all along for Lebanon.
Amid such ambiguities, and the obvious negligence of the Lebanese state and its agencies, Human Rights Watch has argued that the blasts must be investigated by an outside international panel. Aya Majzoub, the Lebanon researcher at Human Rights Watch, told Foreign Policy that the organization has long observed corrupt connections between the political class and the judiciary, with the latter often facing accusations of not abiding by the law and giving in to political pressure. A top diplomatic source told Foreign Policy that the United States has offered the FBI’s assistance to the Lebanese government to investigate the blasts and that the message has been passed on to Aoun. Lebanon’s government still seems hesitant, however, to cooperate with any investigation by the U.N. secretary-general’s office or even a special rapporteur.
Meanwhile, ordinary Lebanese fear that the political elite will pin the blame on easily scapegoated officials in hopes of quickly moving on. Badri Daher, the director-general of Lebanese Customs, who leaked a paper trail to local media establishing that the judiciary had been informed of the dangers presented by the stockpile of ammonium nitrate, has already been arrested, as have other port officials. The question remains whether that will mark only the beginning of a far wider, and higher-reaching, wave of arrests.


foreignpolicy--2020-08-10--South Korea Needs to Contend With Sexual Violence

South Korea Needs to Contend With Sexual Violence In early July , Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon died by suicide amid a former assistant ’ s public accusations against him of yearslong sexual assault and harassment .
But Park ’ s death overshadows a darker , and more telling , development from days earlier .
On July 6 , South Korea denied the United States ’ request to extradite Son Jong-woo , the longtime operator of the world ’ s largest darknet child pornography website , after his completion of a slap-on-the-wrist term of 18 months in prison .
Far from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ South Korea ’ s turning of a blind eye to a culture of sexual abuse , crimes against women and children , and worse .
It ’ s the mayor ’ s suicide , to the extent it represents any sort of reckoning with the subject at all , that is the aberration .
Making sense of the South Korean judicial system ’ s laxity toward perpetrators of sexual abuse requires an understanding of gender relations in a deeply patriarchal country .
To start , South Korean women confront harsher economic realities and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ their male peers .
The World Economic Forum ’ s 2020 Global Gender Gap Index ranks South Korea 127 out of 153 countries when it comes to economic participation and opportunity , making it the largest gap among advanced economies .
South Korean women struggle to find high-paying employment—less than 4 percent of top executives are women—and are subject to rampant workplace discrimination .
Sadly , Park ’ s former assistant does not appear to be an anomaly in this respect .
A 2015 government survey found that 8 out of 10 respondents @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of sexual harassment in the workplace .
When it comes to gender-based violence , Korean women fare no better .
According to South Korean police , in 2019 women accounted for 98 percent of victims in the nearly 10,000 cases of crimes against intimate partners , and the Korea Women ’ s Hotline estimated that a woman was killed or nearly killed every 1.8 days that year .
Korean women account for more than half of all homicide victims , making it one of the highest rates of female murder in the world @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Korea Women ’ s Hotline , nearly 90 percent of female respondents said they had experienced physical or emotional abuse from a romantic partner .
Workplace harassment and discrimination , domestic violence , rape—none of these is legal .
But clearly , the laws themselves do not provide sufficient deterrence for perpetrators of sexual- or gender-based violence .
Even still , how is it that someone who profited to the tune of hundreds of thousands of dollars hosting a child pornography website over three years was sentenced to a year and a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that ’ s the pattern : South Korean courts are notoriously lenient when it comes to sex crimes .
It wasn ’ t until this year that the age of consent was raised from 13 to 16 , and it wasn ’ t until 2013 that the Supreme Court upheld the country ’ s first conviction of spousal rape .
Historically speaking in South Korea , the courts and public alike have considered problems related to sexual assault or domestic violence “ private matters ” to be resolved among the involved parties themselves @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 30 percent of judges and less than 4 percent of police officers are women , which has clear ramifications for how crimes of this nature are treated in the Korean legal system .
Even when prosecutors obtain a successfully conviction of a sex crime , the assailant is often handed a suspended sentence .
( This year , the former chairman of the major multinational DB Group received a suspended 30-month prison sentence after being convicted of raping his maid and sexually assaulting his assistant . )
And proving rape and other sex @ @ @ @ @ @ @ under the country ’ s narrow legal definitions .
To make matters worse , defendants could previously cite drunkenness as a legal defense for rape , and some have even exploited South Korea ’ s tough defamation laws to sue their alleged victims .
Back to Son Jong-woo .
In this legal environment , Son ’ s light sentence is less surprising .
But still , Son ’ s website , which the U.S. Justice Department describes as the “ first of its kind to monetize child exploitation videos using bitcoin , ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ department indicted Son on nine counts including producing , advertising , and distributing child pornography as well as conspiracy and money laundering ( though , due to issues of double jeopardy , only the final charge was considered in the extradition petition ) .
It is difficult to quantify the horror of Son ’ s website , but we can try .
In a joint operation by the United States , the United Kingdom , and South Korea , agents uncovered 8 terabytes of child pornography and catalogued more than 250,000 unique videos @ @ @ @ @ @ @ which were previously unknown ) .
What began as an investigation into illicit transactions on the dark web led agents to the 23-year-old ’ s operation and its 337 global users .
Investigators also rescued 23 children from the United States , Spain , and the U.K. who were being actively abused by users of the site .
Given the severity of Son ’ s crimes , it would be reasonable to assume that the South Korean court had a credible reason for rejecting Washington ’ s extradition request .
Instead , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the grounds of Son ’ s South Korean citizenship ( despite having extradited a South Korean national to the United States already this year ) , adding that extraditing him to the United States would “ hamper South Korea ’ s investigation into sexually exploitative content.
” ( It is unclear whether such an investigation is underway . )
Son ’ s website wasn ’ t just a Korean enterprise but an international one uniting pedophiles across the globe and involving child victims of various nationalities , some of whom were from the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Seoul ’ s historic record on cases involving “ sexually exploitative content ” is spotty at best .
This March heralded the fallout of the infamous “ Nth Room , ” a series of encrypted chats featuring sexually exploitative videos ( including child pornography ) .
While authorities continue to track down the hundreds of participants , some have already received astoundingly light sentences .
In April , courts handed down a one-year sentence to one of the chat ’ s ringleaders .
Other Nth Room accomplices have been given similarly light sentences @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
And don ’ t forget the website Soranet , which housed thousands of illegally filmed spycam porn videos for millions of viewers and whose leader squeaked away with a four-year sentence .
Importantly , official South Korea ’ s apathy in the face of sexual abuse is hardly reflected in public sentiment .
Several Change.org petitions calling for Son ’ s extradition have garnered tens of thousands of signatures from outraged netizens around the world .
The overseas website Digital Prison also released the identities of Son ( whose face has been @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the judges who rejected the United States ’ extradition request .
A government petition in South Korea calling for the disqualification of one of the presiding judges of Son ’ s case from his Supreme Court justice nomination has more than 500,000 signatures , making it one of the largest petitions currently on the Blue House site .
Protests and petitions are perhaps signs of genuine desire to overhaul the way South Korea handles crimes of this nature , but deep and persistent gender divides combined with a lack of female representation in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ significant obstacles in effecting systemic change .
In this case , will public outrage translate into a more serious policy on sexual exploitation ?
So far , at least as far as the Seoul government and the nation ’ s judiciary are concerned , the answer seems to be no .

In early July, Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon died by suicide amid a former assistant’s public accusations against him of yearslong sexual assault and harassment. But Park’s death overshadows a darker, and more telling, development from days earlier. On July 6, South Korea denied the United States’ request to extradite Son Jong-woo, the longtime operator of the world’s largest darknet child pornography website, after his completion of a slap-on-the-wrist term of 18 months in prison.
In early July, Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon died by suicide amid a former assistant’s public accusations against him of yearslong sexual assault and harassment. But Park’s death overshadows a darker, and more telling, development from days earlier. On July 6, South Korea denied the United States’ request to extradite Son Jong-woo, the longtime operator of the world’s largest darknet child pornography website, after his completion of a slap-on-the-wrist term of 18 months in prison.
Far from an anomaly, the decision underscores official South Korea’s turning of a blind eye to a culture of sexual abuse, crimes against women and children, and worse. It’s the mayor’s suicide, to the extent it represents any sort of reckoning with the subject at all, that is the aberration.
Making sense of the South Korean judicial system’s laxity toward perpetrators of sexual abuse requires an understanding of gender relations in a deeply patriarchal country. To start, South Korean women confront harsher economic realities and wield far less political power than do their male peers. The World Economic Forum’s 2020 Global Gender Gap Index ranks South Korea 127 out of 153 countries when it comes to economic participation and opportunity, making it the largest gap among advanced economies. South Korean women struggle to find high-paying employment—less than 4 percent of top executives are women—and are subject to rampant workplace discrimination. Sadly, Park’s former assistant does not appear to be an anomaly in this respect. A 2015 government survey found that 8 out of 10 respondents reported that they had experienced some form of sexual harassment in the workplace.
When it comes to gender-based violence, Korean women fare no better. According to South Korean police, in 2019 women accounted for 98 percent of victims in the nearly 10,000 cases of crimes against intimate partners, and the Korea Women’s Hotline estimated that a woman was killed or nearly killed every 1.8 days that year. Korean women account for more than half of all homicide victims, making it one of the highest rates of female murder in the world. According to a 2014 study by the Korea Women’s Hotline, nearly 90 percent of female respondents said they had experienced physical or emotional abuse from a romantic partner. Workplace harassment and discrimination, domestic violence, rape—none of these is legal. But clearly, the laws themselves do not provide sufficient deterrence for perpetrators of sexual- or gender-based violence.
Even still, how is it that someone who profited to the tune of hundreds of thousands of dollars hosting a child pornography website over three years was sentenced to a year and a half in prison? Simply put, that’s the pattern: South Korean courts are notoriously lenient when it comes to sex crimes. It wasn’t until this year that the age of consent was raised from 13 to 16, and it wasn’t until 2013 that the Supreme Court upheld the country’s first conviction of spousal rape. Historically speaking in South Korea, the courts and public alike have considered problems related to sexual assault or domestic violence “private matters” to be resolved among the involved parties themselves. What’s more, only 30 percent of judges and less than 4 percent of police officers are women, which has clear ramifications for how crimes of this nature are treated in the Korean legal system.
Even when prosecutors obtain a successfully conviction of a sex crime, the assailant is often handed a suspended sentence. (This year, the former chairman of the major multinational DB Group received a suspended 30-month prison sentence after being convicted of raping his maid and sexually assaulting his assistant.) And proving rape and other sex crimes in South Korea is still difficult under the country’s narrow legal definitions. To make matters worse, defendants could previously cite drunkenness as a legal defense for rape, and some have even exploited South Korea’s tough defamation laws to sue their alleged victims.
Back to Son Jong-woo. In this legal environment, Son’s light sentence is less surprising. But still, Son’s website, which the U.S. Justice Department describes as the “first of its kind to monetize child exploitation videos using bitcoin,” was a particularly heinous operation. The department indicted Son on nine counts including producing, advertising, and distributing child pornography as well as conspiracy and money laundering (though, due to issues of double jeopardy, only the final charge was considered in the extradition petition).
It is difficult to quantify the horror of Son’s website, but we can try. In a joint operation by the United States, the United Kingdom, and South Korea, agents uncovered 8 terabytes of child pornography and catalogued more than 250,000 unique videos on the site (45 percent of which were previously unknown). What began as an investigation into illicit transactions on the dark web led agents to the 23-year-old’s operation and its 337 global users. Investigators also rescued 23 children from the United States, Spain, and the U.K. who were being actively abused by users of the site.
Given the severity of Son’s crimes, it would be reasonable to assume that the South Korean court had a credible reason for rejecting Washington’s extradition request. Instead, the Seoul High Court denied the extradition on the grounds of Son’s South Korean citizenship (despite having extradited a South Korean national to the United States already this year), adding that extraditing him to the United States would “hamper South Korea’s investigation into sexually exploitative content.” (It is unclear whether such an investigation is underway.) Son’s website wasn’t just a Korean enterprise but an international one uniting pedophiles across the globe and involving child victims of various nationalities, some of whom were from the United States.
More troubling still, Seoul’s historic record on cases involving “sexually exploitative content” is spotty at best. This March heralded the fallout of the infamous “Nth Room,” a series of encrypted chats featuring sexually exploitative videos (including child pornography). While authorities continue to track down the hundreds of participants, some have already received astoundingly light sentences. In April, courts handed down a one-year sentence to one of the chat’s ringleaders. Other Nth Room accomplices have been given similarly light sentences, despite possessing and distributing child pornography. And don’t forget the website Soranet, which housed thousands of illegally filmed spycam porn videos for millions of viewers and whose leader squeaked away with a four-year sentence.
Importantly, official South Korea’s apathy in the face of sexual abuse is hardly reflected in public sentiment. Several Change.org petitions calling for Son’s extradition have garnered tens of thousands of signatures from outraged netizens around the world. The overseas website Digital Prison also released the identities of Son (whose face has been barely concealed in the media) and the judges who rejected the United States’ extradition request. A government petition in South Korea calling for the disqualification of one of the presiding judges of Son’s case from his Supreme Court justice nomination has more than 500,000 signatures, making it one of the largest petitions currently on the Blue House site.
Protests and petitions are perhaps signs of genuine desire to overhaul the way South Korea handles crimes of this nature, but deep and persistent gender divides combined with a lack of female representation in the judicial system may prove to be significant obstacles in effecting systemic change. In this case, will public outrage translate into a more serious policy on sexual exploitation? So far, at least as far as the Seoul government and the nation’s judiciary are concerned, the answer seems to be no.


foreignpolicy--2020-08-10--Rafale Jets Won’t Save India’s Air Force

The first five of India ’ s new Rafale fighter aircraft touched down in country on July 29 .
According to the terms of a 2016 contract with the French manufacturer Dassault , 31 more will follow .
They will go some way toward filling India ’ s larger requirement of 126 such jets .
The Indian Air Force has long needed refurbishing , but it has been perennially delayed both by New Delhi ’ s infamous bureaucratic red tape and by budgetary issues .
Now , the arrival of the new fighters—the first in over 20 years—in the middle @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , will be a boost for Indian military capability as well as morale .
But it won ’ t do much to change the hard reality that , as an air power , India is falling far behind .
The Indian Air Force has historically been one of the best-equipped air forces in the region , but it has seen its advantage , both qualitative and quantitative , against China and Pakistan narrow dramatically over the past two decades .
Even worse , it now faces the challenge of mustering enough aircraft to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and Chinese air forces .
Related to tensions in Ladakh , China seems to be activating air platforms in its Tibetan airfields .
And along the border with Pakistan , the Pakistan Air Force recently conducted an air exercise out of the Skardu base in Gilgit-Baltistan .
Taken together , those are tough challenges for an underequipped air force to take on .
The Rafale may help somewhat .
After decades of fielding upgraded legacy fighters and struggling to develop contemporary jets , the Rafale finally provides the Indian Air Force with a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ further tinkering .
Unlike any previous procurements , the Rafale fighters ’ capabilities are already up to par , and small enhancements will be relatively easy and cheap via the so-called India-specific enhancements .
These India-specific changes are being carried out under a concurrent design , modification , testing , and certification program carried out by Dassault .
The modifications involve a mix of hardware and software changes , including an improved infrared search-and-track capability , the addition of an Israeli helmet-mounted display and sight system , changes to the electronically scanned radar @ @ @ @ @ @ @ radio frequencies , integration of an Israeli-created decoy system , an upgraded radar altimeter , expanded navigation aids , and a more robust cold start system for the engines to make them suitable for winter operations from the Air Force ’ s Himalayan bases .
Once all changes are tested and certified in 2021 , the entire Indian Rafale fleet will be updated .
This allows Dassault to keep producing fighters at an economical rate and the Air Force to induct jets and train personnel in an organized manner , while still ensuring @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on the original capability requirements .
Technical merits aside , India ’ s order for only 36 Rafale jets was clearly a bow to fiscal realities .
And , on its own , the fleet will not fix India ’ s comparatively diminished air capabilities .
Against a government-approved strength of 42 fighter squadrons , the Indian Air Force currently operates only 31 .
By 2024 , the force will shed the last of its MiG-21 squadrons and add only two or three replacement squadrons over the same period , taking the Air @ @ @ @ @ @ @ approaches the quarter mark of this century .
Yet the length of India ’ s restive borders has not changed , nor has the scale of the military challenge posed by Pakistan and China .
No matter how advanced the Rafale or how effective its long-range weaponry , the addition of 36 jets will not dramatically alter the balance of power in the region .
After all , China ’ s Western Theater Command that directly faces India comprises some 200 fighter aircraft , a mix of legacy and modern types .
While @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hampered by the limited number of usable bases close to the border with India , the flexibility inherent to all air power means that a large portion of the rest of the People ’ s Liberation Army Air Force could be brought to bear against Indian forces in short order should the need arise .
The Pakistan Air Force , similarly comprising a mix of older and newer aircraft , has around 350 fighters it can put up against India .
Unlike China , Pakistan has few operating restrictions relating to bases and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ all worst-case Indian military planning scenarios do , the Pakistani and Chinese air forces far outnumber India ’ s and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future .
More crucially , both these air forces operate a greater number of airborne tankers and early-warning surveillance aircraft than the Air Force .
These so-called force multipliers dramatically increase the combat effectiveness of tactical fighters by extending their range or endurance and improving situational awareness in the aerial battlespace .
The Indian Air Force has repeatedly sought to invest in its own force @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by funding issues or procurement rules .
While budgetary pressures are unavoidable , particularly in recent years as Indian economic growth has slowed , the Air Force has been bereft of comprehensive and sustainable recapitalization efforts for the better part of 20 years .
A troop level-focused , army-centric approach to national defense has denied the air and maritime branches not only financial support but also the political attention key to pushing through reforms and procurements that would address long-standing capability issues .
As China moves toward a leaner , more technology-centric military @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to force through changes in its own military to keep pace .
If not , Ladakh might be the first of many confrontations where New Delhi is forced to cede ground to Beijing .

The first five of India’s new Rafale fighter aircraft touched down in country on July 29 . According to the terms of a 2016 contract with the French manufacturer Dassault, 31 more will follow. They will go some way toward filling India’s larger requirement of 126 such jets. The Indian Air Force has long needed refurbishing, but it has been perennially delayed both by New Delhi’s infamous bureaucratic red tape and by budgetary issues. Now, the arrival of the new fighters—the first in over 20 years—in the middle of an unprecedented border face-off against China , will be a boost for Indian military capability as well as morale. But it won’t do much to change the hard reality that, as an air power, India is falling far behind.
The first five of India’s new Rafale fighter aircraft touched down in country on July 29. According to the terms of a 2016 contract with the French manufacturer Dassault, 31 more will follow. They will go some way toward filling India’s larger requirement of 126 such jets. The Indian Air Force has long needed refurbishing, but it has been perennially delayed both by New Delhi’s infamous bureaucratic red tape and by budgetary issues. Now, the arrival of the new fighters—the first in over 20 years—in the middle of an unprecedented border face-off against China, will be a boost for Indian military capability as well as morale. But it won’t do much to change the hard reality that, as an air power, India is falling far behind.
The Indian Air Force has historically been one of the best-equipped air forces in the region, but it has seen its advantage, both qualitative and quantitative, against China and Pakistan narrow dramatically over the past two decades. Even worse, it now faces the challenge of mustering enough aircraft to tackle any possible collusion between the Pakistani and Chinese air forces. Related to tensions in Ladakh, China seems to be activating air platforms in its Tibetan airfields. And along the border with Pakistan, the Pakistan Air Force recently conducted an air exercise out of the Skardu base in Gilgit-Baltistan. Taken together, those are tough challenges for an underequipped air force to take on.
The Rafale may help somewhat. After decades of fielding upgraded legacy fighters and struggling to develop contemporary jets, the Rafale finally provides the Indian Air Force with a comprehensive combat craft that requires very little further tinkering. Unlike any previous procurements, the Rafale fighters’ capabilities are already up to par, and small enhancements will be relatively easy and cheap via the so-called India-specific enhancements.
These India-specific changes are being carried out under a concurrent design, modification, testing, and certification program carried out by Dassault. The modifications involve a mix of hardware and software changes, including an improved infrared search-and-track capability, the addition of an Israeli helmet-mounted display and sight system, changes to the electronically scanned radar, a new device for jamming low-band radio frequencies, integration of an Israeli-created decoy system, an upgraded radar altimeter, expanded navigation aids, and a more robust cold start system for the engines to make them suitable for winter operations from the Air Force’s Himalayan bases. Once all changes are tested and certified in 2021, the entire Indian Rafale fleet will be updated. This allows Dassault to keep producing fighters at an economical rate and the Air Force to induct jets and train personnel in an organized manner, while still ensuring that the final aircraft does not compromise on the original capability requirements.
Technical merits aside, India’s order for only 36 Rafale jets was clearly a bow to fiscal realities. And, on its own, the fleet will not fix India’s comparatively diminished air capabilities. Against a government-approved strength of 42 fighter squadrons, the Indian Air Force currently operates only 31. By 2024, the force will shed the last of its MiG-21 squadrons and add only two or three replacement squadrons over the same period, taking the Air Force down to 30 squadrons as it approaches the quarter mark of this century. Yet the length of India’s restive borders has not changed, nor has the scale of the military challenge posed by Pakistan and China. No matter how advanced the Rafale or how effective its long-range weaponry, the addition of 36 jets will not dramatically alter the balance of power in the region.
After all, China’s Western Theater Command that directly faces India comprises some 200 fighter aircraft, a mix of legacy and modern types. While not a large number, and certainly hampered by the limited number of usable bases close to the border with India, the flexibility inherent to all air power means that a large portion of the rest of the People’s Liberation Army Air Force could be brought to bear against Indian forces in short order should the need arise. The Pakistan Air Force, similarly comprising a mix of older and newer aircraft, has around 350 fighters it can put up against India. Unlike China, Pakistan has few operating restrictions relating to bases and aircraft performance. Taken together, as all worst-case Indian military planning scenarios do, the Pakistani and Chinese air forces far outnumber India’s and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. More crucially, both these air forces operate a greater number of airborne tankers and early-warning surveillance aircraft than the Air Force. These so-called force multipliers dramatically increase the combat effectiveness of tactical fighters by extending their range or endurance and improving situational awareness in the aerial battlespace.
The Indian Air Force has repeatedly sought to invest in its own force multipliers but has always ended up stymied by funding issues or procurement rules. While budgetary pressures are unavoidable, particularly in recent years as Indian economic growth has slowed, the Air Force has been bereft of comprehensive and sustainable recapitalization efforts for the better part of 20 years. A troop level-focused, army-centric approach to national defense has denied the air and maritime branches not only financial support but also the political attention key to pushing through reforms and procurements that would address long-standing capability issues. As China moves toward a leaner, more technology-centric military, India will have no choice but to force through changes in its own military to keep pace. If not, Ladakh might be the first of many confrontations where New Delhi is forced to cede ground to Beijing.


foreignpolicy--2020-08-10--Afghan Women Should Be the Centerpiece of the Peace Process

Afghan Women Should Be the Centerpiece of the Peace Process Afghanistan has been seeking peace for decades .
Perhaps it is time to embrace the fresh perspective that women can bring .
Afghans have already seen the benefit of having all of society , both men and women , contribute to Afghanistan ’ s progress .
Women ’ s economic , social , and political contributions are strengthening Afghanistan daily by enriching the country ’ s societal fabric and helping to build a more stable society .
Women now constitute 21 percent of the labor force .
From parliament to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ teams , women are on the national stage more than ever before .
The question then is whether women ’ s contributions to peace processes are valuable .
The evidence clearly says yes .
This has been proved in the Philippines , Liberia , Northern Ireland , and many other regions where women have had a substantive voice in a peace process .
Women ’ s inclusion in Afghanistan would be similarly impactful , since peace talks that substantively include women have been shown to be more likely to both succeed and last @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in peace talks a national security issue .
Peace can not be established by an agreement just between those who hold the guns .
Women are sidelined because they are less often perpetrators of violence .
However , women can not just be an issue in the negotiations ; they must be a party to them .
Fortunately , women ’ s participation is a priority for the Afghan government .
Their participation is reflective of the republic ’ s values and is being passionately pursued by the government and women alike.Peace talks @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to be more likely to both succeed and last .
Afghan women are claiming a prominent place in the public sector , and a large number of women have entered leadership positions in politics .
After gaining equal political rights in 1964 , women ’ s participation in parliament remained low , with a mere six women elected in 1965 , making up only 2.2 percent of the parliament .
Women now make up 28 percent of the Afghan legislative body—higher than the global average .
Afghan public approval of a woman ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ record high of 89.3 percent .
Women are in high-level , decision-making government positions to an extent that is historically unprecedented .
Afghanistan has a female deputy minister of defense and deputy minister of the interior , and there are around 6,000 women in Afghanistan ’ s national security forces .
Women ’ s inclusion in national security dramatically increases intelligence capabilities , because women have access to populations and situations that men are often excluded from .
They offer a unique perspective to security operations , and the information they provide makes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ This progress has extended beyond Kabul .
Since 2001 , more than 150,000 Afghan women in rural areas have been elected to serve as their communities ’ representatives on community development councils .
Women ’ s participation in government ensures a more accurate representation of society , and their presence has been shown to restore trust in government .
They are also able to increase the government ’ s focus on issues such as social welfare , legal protections , and government transparency , all of which contribute to state stability .
Women @ @ @ @ @ @ @ level and strengthening civil society .
They have historically played a key role in reintegrating ex-combatants into communities around the world .
In Afghanistan , women have successfully encouraged local insurgents to participate in peace talks , coordinated with the wives of insurgents to facilitate several hostage releases , and worked in schools and civil-society organizations to counter extremism .
Similarly , women ’ s participation has a positive influence at every phase : peacemaking ( making a deal ) , peace building ( crafting mechanisms to implement the deal ) , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ When making peace , there is a positive relationship between the strength of women ’ s influence and the likelihood of agreements being both reached and implemented .
This is in part due to women ’ s skill in moving decision-making processes forward through their ability to promote consensus , prioritize inclusivity , and increase society-wide support .
Last year , 15,000 Afghan women from across all 34 provinces participated in a peace jirga , a traditional consultative assembly .
This radical inclusivity led to a powerful statement from all the women of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ peace.There is a positive relationship between the strength of women ’ s influence and the likelihood of agreements being both reached and implemented .
While building peace , women ’ s commitment to inclusivity and open dialogue allows them to build more broad-based public support .
They are more likely to include rural areas that are often isolated from the process and ensure the participation of marginalized groups .
Women are also more likely to focus on social and humanitarian issues when implementing peace deals .
The inherent value of addressing these issues @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to stability in the long term .
Finally , women increase the success of peace management .
Women have been shown to push for more concrete , fundamental reforms for post-conflict reconstruction efforts , such as establishing commissions that monitor the implementation of the peace agreement .
Women ’ s efforts to ease tensions after a peace agreement are so central to reintegration that women are most frequently cited by ex-combatants as influential figures in their reintegration .
Additionally , peace processes that include women are 35 percent more likely to last for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a quantitative analysis of 182 peace deals signed between 1989 and 2011 .
Women also have a role in shaping the future of the country by fostering a culture of peace at the nucleus of society : the home .
With 64 percent of the Afghan population under the age of 25 , the power of mothers should not be underestimated .
A consistent correlation is found between childhood exposure to abuse and later violent behavior .
A recent study indicated a strong relationship between women ’ s disempowerment at the household level @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a precedent of terrorizing women in the household sets a precedent for terrorist violence in adulthood as well .
The relationship between women ’ s security and state security is clear .
The physical security of women has been shown to be the strongest predictor of a secure , peaceful state .
A 2008 study at Harvard University showed that if a single variable had to be selected to estimate state security and peacefulness , women ’ s physical security is a more accurate predictor than levels of democracy , wealth , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ correlation between gender inequality and both intrastate and interstate warfare , and between women ’ s empowerment and the number of Islamic State foreign fighters that a country produces .
When there is a war raging in the home and sexist oppression is normalized , a culture of violence , oppression , and war will also be perpetuated .
Afghanistan has been stuck in a culture of war for too long , and women can play a major role in fostering a culture of peace .
The omnipresence of war and insecurity keeps @ @ @ @ @ @ @ resources now , rather than how to multiply them in the long term .
In a culture of war there is no faith in the future and everything is a matter of urgency , so the collective good is disregarded .
This exacerbates corruption , and pessimism and skepticism become the default mode of the population .
In order to move forward , a culture of peace needs to be fostered in Afghanistan .
The country has already made enormous progress in this regard .
Once women regained their agency and mobility in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ into society as equal citizens , helping to shoulder the responsibility of shaping a better future .
Female literacy has nearly doubled since 2011 , enabling women to contribute more substantively to Afghanistan ’ s progress .
Furthermore , Afghanistan ’ s gross domestic product has nearly quintupled in the past 19 years , in part because of women ’ s participation in the economy .
Women are now working as artists , athletes , and musicians .
They are enriching Afghan culture , and their presence in these fields serves as a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of peace.The physical security of women has been shown to be the strongest predictor of a secure , peaceful state .
In order to be truly sustainable , peace must be inclusive , broad-based , and reflective of the needs and aspirations of all of society .
Therefore , women need unambiguous constitutional protections of their rights to avoid regression .
Both Afghanistan ’ s 1964 and 2004 constitutions explicitly protect against sex discrimination .
In fact , in what is essentially a bill of rights in the 2004 constitution , gender equality @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Article 22 , articulated before even the right to life or liberty .
In Article 149 , the Afghan Constitution says amendments can not affect “ the tenets of … Islamic Republicanism ” and that “ amending fundamental rights of the people shall be permitted only to improve them.
” Peace negotiations must occur within this constitutional framework and can not entail negotiating away fundamental rights .
A democracy and rigid constitution are the best way to ensure women ’ s equality is explicitly protected .
If the goal of negotiations is not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ build a lasting peace , then it is important for women to be substantively involved at every level .
President Ashraf Ghani has already ensured that the government ’ s negotiation team is inclusive of women .
Four of 21 team members—about 20 percent—are women .
A quota system is helpful , but does not in itself guarantee a desirable outcome for women .
What is most important is that women are empowered and men are convinced to influence the process positively in order to achieve an outcome that both reflects and secures @ @ @ @ @ @ @ In order to achieve this , supportive mechanisms need to be put in place .
Firstly , the preservation of the republic system and equal rights for women needs to be nonnegotiable in the peace talks and remain enshrined in the constitution .
Additionally , women could be given veto power during the peace talks on issues that would impact them .
International allies should continue to hold Afghanistan to high standards in order for aid to be continued .
Global funds should be explicitly conditioned on the preservation of the progress women @ @ @ @ @ @ @ broadly .
Regardless of how the protection of women ’ s rights is achieved , one thing is clear : Women ’ s involvement is crucial .
Women are the centerpiece of peace .

Afghanistan has been seeking peace for decades. Perhaps it is time to embrace the fresh perspective that women can bring. Afghans have already seen the benefit of having all of society, both men and women, contribute to Afghanistan’s progress. Women’s economic, social, and political contributions are strengthening Afghanistan daily by enriching the country’s societal fabric and helping to build a more stable society. Women now constitute 21 percent of the labor force. From parliament to orchestras, civil-society organizations, and sports teams, women are on the national stage more than ever before.
Afghanistan has been seeking peace for decades. Perhaps it is time to embrace the fresh perspective that women can bring. Afghans have already seen the benefit of having all of society, both men and women, contribute to Afghanistan’s progress. Women’s economic, social, and political contributions are strengthening Afghanistan daily by enriching the country’s societal fabric and helping to build a more stable society. Women now constitute 21 percent of the labor force. From parliament to orchestras, civil-society organizations, and sports teams, women are on the national stage more than ever before.
The question then is whether women’s contributions to peace processes are valuable. The evidence clearly says yes. This has been proved in the Philippines, Liberia, Northern Ireland, and many other regions where women have had a substantive voice in a peace process. Women’s inclusion in Afghanistan would be similarly impactful, since peace talks that substantively include women have been shown to be more likely to both succeed and last. This makes women’s participation in peace talks a national security issue.
Peace cannot be established by an agreement just between those who hold the guns. Women are sidelined because they are less often perpetrators of violence. However, women cannot just be an issue in the negotiations; they must be a party to them. Fortunately, women’s participation is a priority for the Afghan government. Their participation is reflective of the republic’s values and is being passionately pursued by the government and women alike.Peace talks that substantively include women have been shown to be more likely to both succeed and last.
Afghan women are claiming a prominent place in the public sector, and a large number of women have entered leadership positions in politics. After gaining equal political rights in 1964, women’s participation in parliament remained low, with a mere six women elected in 1965, making up only 2.2 percent of the parliament. Women now make up 28 percent of the Afghan legislative body—higher than the global average. Afghan public approval of a woman’s right to vote is at a record high of 89.3 percent.
Women are in high-level, decision-making government positions to an extent that is historically unprecedented. Afghanistan has a female deputy minister of defense and deputy minister of the interior, and there are around 6,000 women in Afghanistan’s national security forces. Women’s inclusion in national security dramatically increases intelligence capabilities, because women have access to populations and situations that men are often excluded from. They offer a unique perspective to security operations, and the information they provide makes both Afghanistan and its allies safer.
This progress has extended beyond Kabul. Since 2001, more than 150,000 Afghan women in rural areas have been elected to serve as their communities’ representatives on community development councils. Women’s participation in government ensures a more accurate representation of society, and their presence has been shown to restore trust in government. They are also able to increase the government’s focus on issues such as social welfare, legal protections, and government transparency, all of which contribute to state stability.
Women are skilled at engaging at the community level and strengthening civil society. They have historically played a key role in reintegrating ex-combatants into communities around the world. In Afghanistan, women have successfully encouraged local insurgents to participate in peace talks, coordinated with the wives of insurgents to facilitate several hostage releases, and worked in schools and civil-society organizations to counter extremism.
Similarly, women’s participation has a positive influence at every phase: peacemaking (making a deal), peace building (crafting mechanisms to implement the deal), and peace management (maintaining peace).
When making peace, there is a positive relationship between the strength of women’s influence and the likelihood of agreements being both reached and implemented. This is in part due to women’s skill in moving decision-making processes forward through their ability to promote consensus, prioritize inclusivity, and increase society-wide support. Last year, 15,000 Afghan women from across all 34 provinces participated in a peace jirga, a traditional consultative assembly. This radical inclusivity led to a powerful statement from all the women of Afghanistan on their demands and vision for peace.There is a positive relationship between the strength of women’s influence and the likelihood of agreements being both reached and implemented.
While building peace, women’s commitment to inclusivity and open dialogue allows them to build more broad-based public support. They are more likely to include rural areas that are often isolated from the process and ensure the participation of marginalized groups. Women are also more likely to focus on social and humanitarian issues when implementing peace deals. The inherent value of addressing these issues is clear, but they also contribute to stability in the long term.
Finally, women increase the success of peace management. Women have been shown to push for more concrete, fundamental reforms for post-conflict reconstruction efforts, such as establishing commissions that monitor the implementation of the peace agreement. Women’s efforts to ease tensions after a peace agreement are so central to reintegration that women are most frequently cited by ex-combatants as influential figures in their reintegration. Additionally, peace processes that include women are 35 percent more likely to last for at least 15 years, according to a quantitative analysis of 182 peace deals signed between 1989 and 2011.
Women also have a role in shaping the future of the country by fostering a culture of peace at the nucleus of society: the home. With 64 percent of the Afghan population under the age of 25, the power of mothers should not be underestimated. A consistent correlation is found between childhood exposure to abuse and later violent behavior. A recent study indicated a strong relationship between women’s disempowerment at the household level and national levels of terrorism. Setting a precedent of terrorizing women in the household sets a precedent for terrorist violence in adulthood as well.
The relationship between women’s security and state security is clear. The physical security of women has been shown to be the strongest predictor of a secure, peaceful state. A 2008 study at Harvard University showed that if a single variable had to be selected to estimate state security and peacefulness, women’s physical security is a more accurate predictor than levels of democracy, wealth, and faith. There is also a strong correlation between gender inequality and both intrastate and interstate warfare, and between women’s empowerment and the number of Islamic State foreign fighters that a country produces. When there is a war raging in the home and sexist oppression is normalized, a culture of violence, oppression, and war will also be perpetuated.
Afghanistan has been stuck in a culture of war for too long, and women can play a major role in fostering a culture of peace. The omnipresence of war and insecurity keeps citizens focusing more on how to divide resources now, rather than how to multiply them in the long term. In a culture of war there is no faith in the future and everything is a matter of urgency, so the collective good is disregarded. This exacerbates corruption, and pessimism and skepticism become the default mode of the population.
In order to move forward, a culture of peace needs to be fostered in Afghanistan. The country has already made enormous progress in this regard. Once women regained their agency and mobility in 2001, they slowly but steadily reintegrated into society as equal citizens, helping to shoulder the responsibility of shaping a better future. Female literacy has nearly doubled since 2011, enabling women to contribute more substantively to Afghanistan’s progress. Furthermore, Afghanistan’s gross domestic product has nearly quintupled in the past 19 years, in part because of women’s participation in the economy. Women are now working as artists, athletes, and musicians. They are enriching Afghan culture, and their presence in these fields serves as a symbol of security and a budding culture of peace.The physical security of women has been shown to be the strongest predictor of a secure, peaceful state.
In order to be truly sustainable, peace must be inclusive, broad-based, and reflective of the needs and aspirations of all of society. Therefore, women need unambiguous constitutional protections of their rights to avoid regression. Both Afghanistan’s 1964 and 2004 constitutions explicitly protect against sex discrimination. In fact, in what is essentially a bill of rights in the 2004 constitution, gender equality is the very first right outlined in Article 22, articulated before even the right to life or liberty. In Article 149, the Afghan Constitution says amendments cannot affect “the tenets of … Islamic Republicanism” and that “amending fundamental rights of the people shall be permitted only to improve them.” Peace negotiations must occur within this constitutional framework and cannot entail negotiating away fundamental rights. A democracy and rigid constitution are the best way to ensure women’s equality is explicitly protected.
If the goal of negotiations is not to reduce violence temporarily but actually to build a lasting peace, then it is important for women to be substantively involved at every level. President Ashraf Ghani has already ensured that the government’s negotiation team is inclusive of women. Four of 21 team members—about 20 percent—are women. A quota system is helpful, but does not in itself guarantee a desirable outcome for women. What is most important is that women are empowered and men are convinced to influence the process positively in order to achieve an outcome that both reflects and secures all of society’s interests.
In order to achieve this, supportive mechanisms need to be put in place. Firstly, the preservation of the republic system and equal rights for women needs to be nonnegotiable in the peace talks and remain enshrined in the constitution. Additionally, women could be given veto power during the peace talks on issues that would impact them. International allies should continue to hold Afghanistan to high standards in order for aid to be continued. Global funds should be explicitly conditioned on the preservation of the progress women have made and on human rights more broadly.
Regardless of how the protection of women’s rights is achieved, one thing is clear: Women’s involvement is crucial. Women are the centerpiece of peace.


foreignpolicy--2020-08-10--As the Global Economy Melts Down, Human Trafficking Is Booming

As the Global Economy Melts Down , Human Trafficking Is Booming The COVID-19 pandemic is making the world worse in lots of ways .
One of the more unexpected ways is that the already difficult task of ending modern slavery is even more challenging .
With the pandemic expected to drive at least 70 million people into extreme poverty , according to a recent World Bank estimate , desperate workers will be more likely to accept risky job offers or high-interest loans to survive , only to end up trapped in exploitative situations .
Companies , anxious to ramp up @ @ @ @ @ @ @ may be more willing to hire the cheapest labor available , including from unethical recruiters , and to skip labor inspections and other oversight measures—thereby enabling human traffickers to thrive .
The pandemic-related global economic meltdown should be no excuse to look the other way .
Beyond being rightfully condemned as a grave affront to human rights and dignity , human trafficking also weakens economies and threatens global security .
Forced labor affects 25 million people and produces an estimated $ 150 billion annually , making it one of the world ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ criminal organizations , supports terrorist and armed groups , enables abusive regimes , and undermines stability .
Where trafficking flourishes , our collective safety and prosperity flounder .
As countries scramble to mitigate the extensive harm caused by the COVID-19 pandemic , leaders should ensure the most vulnerable in their societies do not fall prey to exploitation .
Attention should be paid first to trafficking survivors—72 percent of whom are women and girls .
In recent months , domestic workers—many living in slavery-like conditions—have experienced increased physical and sexual violence , decreased wages @ @ @ @ @ @ @ In parts of the Middle East , for example , exploiters withhold victims ’ documentation , preventing them from returning to their home countries .
Where border closures are blocking travel , survivors who escape their traffickers find themselves stranded .
In the Ivory Coast , for example , the Fuller Project ’ s Shola Lawal and Corinne Redfern reported on a group of Nigerian women who fled the brothel where they were held captive and are now trapped in a shelter , as Nigeria ’ s travel restrictions prevent their return home @ @ @ @ @ @ @ toll on the social services that support—and help identify—people who have survived trafficking : A recent UN survey of organizations working in 102 countries found that many fear that the diversion of funding and attention away from anti-trafficking responses will force them to close their shelters , without which survivors risk homelessness and further exploitation .
For children around the world , meanwhile , global school closures increase their risk of exploitation .
Children are spending more time on the internet for school work and social interaction , and traffickers are increasingly targeting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was a 200 percent spike in posts on child sex abuse forums between February and March , combined with a nearly 90 percent drop in the amount of child abuse material removed from the internet , as investigators struggled to keep pace due to reduced staff capacity and the closure of hotlines used to report abuse .
Out-of-school children are at further risk of forced labor due to their families ’ economic stress .
The United Nations predicts that the combination of stay-at-home orders , economic vulnerability , and disrupted prevention programs will @ @ @ @ @ @ @ around the world ( a form of modern slavery ) , as families force adolescent girls to marry early as an economic safety net .
For migrant workers—already vulnerable to trafficking and exploitation—the COVID-19 pandemic is only compounding their risk .
As mass layoffs cost migrant workers their essential daily income , those already on the edge of poverty are left with little ability to buy food and scant or no access to health care and social services .
Their debts continue to accumulate , and their families at home , reliant on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , become more desperate .
Together , these factors increase the likelihood that migrant workers will accept potentially fraudulent job offers to survive .
Already , one in four victims of forced labor was a migrant worker before the pandemic ; now , many more are potentially vulnerable to trafficking and exploitation .
Indeed , as economies reopen and production ramps back up , companies and policymakers can anticipate—and should plan for—an increased potential for forced labor .
Pressure to meet heightened demand will incentivize companies to take shortcuts and save costs that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has already been documented to match the skyrocketing demand for personal protective equipment , or PPE .
How leaders address the pandemic ’ s effects on those at greatest risk for exploitation and human trafficking will shape the future of our economies and societies .
As the private sector rehires workers and labor migration rises to pre-pandemic levels , businesses have an opportunity to modernize labor recruitment to increase safety , transparency , and efficiency— checking corruption and reducing the risks of forced labor .
It is likewise essential that governments strengthen and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ recruitment ( in addition to broader regulations to prevent trafficking , such as those that protect domestic workers and address online exploitation ) .
To hold traffickers accountable and block their profits , law enforcement should partner with the financial sector to identify and interrupt the illicit financial transactions of traffickers .
National efforts to strengthen social safety nets to assist communities affected by COVID-19 can simultaneously prevent workers and families in economic distress from accepting exploitative situations , for themselves or their children .
To realize this benefit , governments should ensure @ @ @ @ @ @ @ services , from healthcare and cash transfers to credit and low interest rates , regardless of their recent employment history or legal status .
And to protect survivors of trafficking , governments should guarantee the availability of hotlines and safe accommodation that allow for physical distancing during the pandemic—in addition to longer-term support for survivors ’ reintegration in society .
Human trafficking thrives on poverty and vulnerability , both of which are growing exponentially during the COVID-19 crisis .
But as the pandemic wreaks havoc on society , it also creates an opportunity @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” —to make their countries safer and more equitable for all , and in so doing , finally end modern slavery .

The COVID-19 pandemic is making the world worse in lots of ways. One of the more unexpected ways is that the already difficult task of ending modern slavery is even more challenging. With the pandemic expected to drive at least 70 million people into extreme poverty, according to a recent World Bank estimate , desperate workers will be more likely to accept risky job offers or high-interest loans to survive, only to end up trapped in exploitative situations. Companies, anxious to ramp up production after months of lost income, may be more willing to hire the cheapest labor available, including from unethical recruiters , and to skip labor inspections and other oversight measures—thereby enabling human traffickers to thrive.
The COVID-19 pandemic is making the world worse in lots of ways. One of the more unexpected ways is that the already difficult task of ending modern slavery is even more challenging. With the pandemic expected to drive at least 70 million people into extreme poverty, according to a recent World Bank estimate, desperate workers will be more likely to accept risky job offers or high-interest loans to survive, only to end up trapped in exploitative situations. Companies, anxious to ramp up production after months of lost income, may be more willing to hire the cheapest labor available, including from unethical recruiters, and to skip labor inspections and other oversight measures—thereby enabling human traffickers to thrive.
The pandemic-related global economic meltdown should be no excuse to look the other way. Beyond being rightfully condemned as a grave affront to human rights and dignity, human trafficking also weakens economies and threatens global security. Forced labor affects 25 million people and produces an estimated $150 billion annually, making it one of the world’s most profitable crimes. This practice bankrolls criminal organizations, supports terrorist and armed groups, enables abusive regimes, and undermines stability. Where trafficking flourishes, our collective safety and prosperity flounder.
As countries scramble to mitigate the extensive harm caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, leaders should ensure the most vulnerable in their societies do not fall prey to exploitation. Attention should be paid first to trafficking survivors—72 percent of whom are women and girls. In recent months, domestic workers—many living in slavery-like conditions—have experienced increased physical and sexual violence, decreased wages, and confinement in the home. In parts of the Middle East, for example, exploiters withhold victims’ documentation, preventing them from returning to their home countries. Where border closures are blocking travel, survivors who escape their traffickers find themselves stranded. In the Ivory Coast, for example, the Fuller Project’s Shola Lawal and Corinne Redfern reported on a group of Nigerian women who fled the brothel where they were held captive and are now trapped in a shelter, as Nigeria’s travel restrictions prevent their return home. The pandemic is also taking a toll on the social services that support—and help identify—people who have survived trafficking: A recent OSCE and UN survey of organizations working in 102 countries found that many fear that the diversion of funding and attention away from anti-trafficking responses will force them to close their shelters, without which survivors risk homelessness and further exploitation.
For children around the world, meanwhile, global school closures increase their risk of exploitation. Children are spending more time on the internet for school work and social interaction, and traffickers are increasingly targeting them for sexual exploitation online. There was a 200 percent spike in posts on child sex abuse forums between February and March, combined with a nearly 90 percent drop in the amount of child abuse material removed from the internet, as investigators struggled to keep pace due to reduced staff capacity and the closure of hotlines used to report abuse.
Out-of-school children are at further risk of forced labor due to their families’ economic stress. The United Nations predicts that the combination of stay-at-home orders, economic vulnerability, and disrupted prevention programs will contribute to 13 million more child marriages around the world (a form of modern slavery), as families force adolescent girls to marry early as an economic safety net.
For migrant workers—already vulnerable to trafficking and exploitation—the COVID-19 pandemic is only compounding their risk. As mass layoffs cost migrant workers their essential daily income, those already on the edge of poverty are left with little ability to buy food and scant or no access to health care and social services. Their debts continue to accumulate, and their families at home, reliant on wages they are no longer sending back, become more desperate. Together, these factors increase the likelihood that migrant workers will accept potentially fraudulent job offers to survive. Already, one in four victims of forced labor was a migrant worker before the pandemic; now, many more are potentially vulnerable to trafficking and exploitation.
Indeed, as economies reopen and production ramps back up, companies and policymakers can anticipate—and should plan for—an increased potential for forced labor. Pressure to meet heightened demand will incentivize companies to take shortcuts and save costs that risk exacerbating modern slavery. Labor abuse has already been documented to match the skyrocketing demand for personal protective equipment, or PPE.
How leaders address the pandemic’s effects on those at greatest risk for exploitation and human trafficking will shape the future of our economies and societies. As the private sector rehires workers and labor migration rises to pre-pandemic levels, businesses have an opportunity to modernize labor recruitment to increase safety, transparency, and efficiency— checking corruption and reducing the risks of forced labor. It is likewise essential that governments strengthen and enforce regulations for labor migration and ethical recruitment (in addition to broader regulations to prevent trafficking, such as those that protect domestic workers and address online exploitation). To hold traffickers accountable and block their profits, law enforcement should partner with the financial sector to identify and interrupt the illicit financial transactions of traffickers.
National efforts to strengthen social safety nets to assist communities affected by COVID-19 can simultaneously prevent workers and families in economic distress from accepting exploitative situations, for themselves or their children. To realize this benefit, governments should ensure that at-risk communities have access to basic services, from healthcare and cash transfers to credit and low interest rates, regardless of their recent employment history or legal status. And to protect survivors of trafficking, governments should guarantee the availability of hotlines and safe accommodation that allow for physical distancing during the pandemic—in addition to longer-term support for survivors’ reintegration in society.
Human trafficking thrives on poverty and vulnerability, both of which are growing exponentially during the COVID-19 crisis. But as the pandemic wreaks havoc on society, it also creates an opportunity for leaders to “build back better”—to make their countries safer and more equitable for all, and in so doing, finally end modern slavery.


foreignpolicy--2020-08-11--Lebanese Government Resigns Under Mounting Pressure

Here is today ’ s Foreign Policy brief : The Lebanese government resigns in the wake of deadly blasts in Beirut , protests against Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko continue , and Germany ’ s Social Democrats nominate their choice to succeed Chancellor Angela Merkel .
We welcome your feedback at morningbrief @ foreignpolicy.com .
The entire Lebanese government resigned on Monday in the face of mounting pressure from protesters over its failure to prevent last week ’ s deadly explosions in the capital of Beirut .
Prime Minister Hassan Diab announced the move on Monday , saying in an address @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the people in their demand to hold accountable those responsible for the disaster … and their desire for real change.
” The government started showing cracks on Sunday after two top-ranking officials , Information Minister Manal Abdel Samad and Environment Minister Damianos Kattar , quit the government within hours .
This was accompanied by nine resignations from the country ’ s Parliament , putting increasing pressure on the rest of the government to follow suit .
Seething discontent .
Public anger flared last week after details emerged showing that authorities stored a seized @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the city ’ s port , which contributed to the intensity of the blast .
Officials were warned repeatedly that the consignment posed a significant danger to residents , but chose not to safely remove or dispose of it .
The revelation of these details brought thousands of protesters onto the streets , reigniting anti-government protests from late last year that nearly brought the government down then .
On the brink .
Monday ’ s announcement pushes Lebanon closer to the edge of political collapse .
For many protesters , it isn ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ go—they want an overhaul of the entire sectarian political system that has ruled the country since the end of the civil war , as Hanin Ghaddar argues in Foreign Policy .
Critics say it ’ s that system ’ s entrenched system of privileges and transactions that corrupts and paralyzes the government and makes it unresponsive to the needs of the public .
While the resignation of the current government is a welcome development for protesters , for many , there is a fear that the political elite is simply scapegoating a few @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as Anchal Vohra writes for FP .
Protests flare in Belarus .
Protests against longtime Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko continue to rage in Minsk , Belarus ’ s capital , as police intensify their crackdown on protesters .
Reuters reported that more than 30 people were arrested , and others were seen being dragged out of crowds and beaten with batons .
Svetlana Tikhanovskaya , Lukashenko ’ s main opposition challenger who attracted some of the largest crowds of the post-Cold War era , accused authorities of rigging the election and demanded that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ myself the winner of this election , ” she said .
The protests erupted on Sunday after official exit polls claimed Lukashenko had won a landslide victory , despite facing his stiffest opposition in years .
In the final weeks of the campaign , police cracked down on the opposition , arresting several high-profile figures—eventually forcing the hugely popular Tikhanovskaya into hiding on the eve of the vote .
In our latest FP Guide , Amy Mackinnon rounds up Foreign Policy ’ s recent coverage on Belarus .
China hits back .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sanctions on 11 U.S. citizens after a decision last week by the Trump administration to sanction Hong Kong chief executive Carrie Lam and other officials over Beijing ’ s treatment of Hong Kong .
Included in the list are high-profile Sens .
Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio , as well as Sens .
Tom Cotton , Josh Hawley , Pat Toomey , and Rep. Chris Smith .
Individuals from non-profit organizations and rights groups were also included .
“ I want to reiterate that Hong Kong is China ’ s Hong Kong and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ internal affairs that no external forces can interfere in , ” said China ’ s foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian in a statement .
Violence in Congo .
Nineteen people were killed in a series of attacks on three villages in the Democratic Republic of the Congo ’ s eastern province of Ituri , according to Innocent Madukadala , a local chief .
Madukadala blamed the Cooperative for the Development of Congo—a paramilitary group that has been accused of carrying out similar attacks in the past .
The region has been a hotspot @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Lendu people regularly clashing with the herding Hema over land usage .
Tensions boiled over into full-scale ethnic conflict in 1999 , which was brought under control only after the EU deployed a French-led peacekeeping mission to the region .
Tensions between the two groups have recently surged .
Since December 2017 , violence in the Ituri area has left almost 1,000 people dead and displaced around 500,000 others .
At least 636 people have died since the beginning of this year alone .
German Social Democrats eye the chancellorship .
Germany ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ partner in the country ’ s Christian Democrat-led governing coalition , have nominated former Hamburg Mayor Olaf Scholz to stand in next year ’ s election to succeed longtime Chancellor Angela Merkel .
Scholz , whose stoic demeanor and bureaucratic style of governing invites comparisons to Merkel herself , has been a popular figure across Germany since taking over the finance ministry in 2018 , especially since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic .
Next year ’ s federal election marks the first time since World War II that an incumbent chancellor is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Social Democrats have good reason to hope that an open field will be advantageous for Scholz .
The election is scheduled for Oct. 24 , 2021 .
Oil spill in Mauritius .
A sunken cargo ship leaking oil near the island nation of Mauritius could “ break in two , ” the country ’ s prime minister warned as residents rush to make preparations for a disaster .
The MV Wakashio , an oil tanker traveling from China to Brazil , ran aground on a coral reef near the island in the Indian @ @ @ @ @ @ @ estimated 1,000 of its 4,000 ton oil cargo into the surrounding area .
France and Japan rushed to provide assistance , but heavy winds have put a temporary stop to all cleanup efforts .
Mauritius ’ s coral reefs contain some of the most diverse ecosystems on earth , and they are a major attraction for tourists from around the world .
Environmentalists warn that the oil spill could severely damage the region ’ s biodiversity , and the damage to the coral reef could have a lasting impact on Mauritius ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s Zaatari camp have found an innovative solution to the extreme conditions that make the camp unsuitable for agriculture .
Working with the UNHCR , refugees have developed a form of hydroponic farming that uses old mattresses and recycled cups to grow potted vegetables .
UNHCR said the method uses up to 80 percent less water than traditional farming methods .
Use of this technique is still relatively localized , however , with only around 1,500 of the camp ’ s 80,000 residents using it to grow their own produce .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ those numbers could grow .
For more from FP , visit foreignpolicy.com , subscribe here , or sign up for our other newsletters .
Send your tips , comments , questions , or corrections to morningbrief @ foreignpolicy.com .

Here is today’s Foreign Policy brief: The Lebanese government resigns in the wake of deadly blasts in Beirut, protests against Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko continue, and Germany’s Social Democrats nominate their choice to succeed Chancellor Angela Merkel .
Here is today’s Foreign Policy brief: The Lebanese government resigns in the wake of deadly blasts in Beirut, protests against Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko continue, and Germany’s Social Democrats nominate their choice to succeed Chancellor Angela Merkel.
If you would like to receive Morning Brief in your inbox every weekday, please sign up here.
Protesters in Lebanon Bring the Government Down
The entire Lebanese government resigned on Monday in the face of mounting pressure from protesters over its failure to prevent last week’s deadly explosions in the capital of Beirut. Prime Minister Hassan Diab announced the move on Monday, saying in an address that “we follow the will of the people in their demand to hold accountable those responsible for the disaster … and their desire for real change.”
The government started showing cracks on Sunday after two top-ranking officials, Information Minister Manal Abdel Samad and Environment Minister Damianos Kattar, quit the government within hours. This was accompanied by nine resignations from the country’s Parliament, putting increasing pressure on the rest of the government to follow suit.
Seething discontent. Public anger flared last week after details emerged showing that authorities stored a seized consignment of ammonium nitrate—a highly explosive chemical—in the city’s port, which contributed to the intensity of the blast. Officials were warned repeatedly that the consignment posed a significant danger to residents, but chose not to safely remove or dispose of it. The revelation of these details brought thousands of protesters onto the streets, reigniting anti-government protests from late last year that nearly brought the government down then.
On the brink. Monday’s announcement pushes Lebanon closer to the edge of political collapse. For many protesters, it isn’t just the government that needs to go—they want an overhaul of the entire sectarian political system that has ruled the country since the end of the civil war, as Hanin Ghaddar argues in Foreign Policy. Critics say it’s that system’s entrenched system of privileges and transactions that corrupts and paralyzes the government and makes it unresponsive to the needs of the public.
While the resignation of the current government is a welcome development for protesters, for many, there is a fear that the political elite is simply scapegoating a few public faces to remain in power, as Anchal Vohra writes for FP.
What We’re Following Today
Protests flare in Belarus. Protests against longtime Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko continue to rage in Minsk, Belarus’s capital, as police intensify their crackdown on protesters. Reuters reported that more than 30 people were arrested, and others were seen being dragged out of crowds and beaten with batons. Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, Lukashenko’s main opposition challenger who attracted some of the largest crowds of the post-Cold War era, accused authorities of rigging the election and demanded that Lukashenko step down. “I consider myself the winner of this election,” she said.
The protests erupted on Sunday after official exit polls claimed Lukashenko had won a landslide victory, despite facing his stiffest opposition in years. In the final weeks of the campaign, police cracked down on the opposition, arresting several high-profile figures—eventually forcing the hugely popular Tikhanovskaya into hiding on the eve of the vote. In our latest FP Guide, Amy Mackinnon rounds up Foreign Policy’s recent coverage on Belarus.
China hits back. The Chinese government announced that it will slap sanctions on 11 U.S. citizens after a decision last week by the Trump administration to sanction Hong Kong chief executive Carrie Lam and other officials over Beijing’s treatment of Hong Kong. Included in the list are high-profile Sens. Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio, as well as Sens. Tom Cotton, Josh Hawley, Pat Toomey, and Rep. Chris Smith.
Individuals from non-profit organizations and rights groups were also included. “I want to reiterate that Hong Kong is China’s Hong Kong and Hong Kong affairs are China’s internal affairs that no external forces can interfere in,” said China’s foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian in a statement.
Violence in Congo. Nineteen people were killed in a series of attacks on three villages in the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s eastern province of Ituri, according to Innocent Madukadala, a local chief. Madukadala blamed the Cooperative for the Development of Congo—a paramilitary group that has been accused of carrying out similar attacks in the past.
The region has been a hotspot for ethnic tensions, with the farming Lendu people regularly clashing with the herding Hema over land usage. Tensions boiled over into full-scale ethnic conflict in 1999, which was brought under control only after the EU deployed a French-led peacekeeping mission to the region.
Tensions between the two groups have recently surged. Since December 2017, violence in the Ituri area has left almost 1,000 people dead and displaced around 500,000 others. At least 636 people have died since the beginning of this year alone.
Keep an Eye On
German Social Democrats eye the chancellorship. Germany’s Social Democratic Party, the junior partner in the country’s Christian Democrat-led governing coalition, have nominated former Hamburg Mayor Olaf Scholz to stand in next year’s election to succeed longtime Chancellor Angela Merkel. Scholz, whose stoic demeanor and bureaucratic style of governing invites comparisons to Merkel herself, has been a popular figure across Germany since taking over the finance ministry in 2018, especially since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic.
Next year’s federal election marks the first time since World War II that an incumbent chancellor is not up for reelection, so the Social Democrats have good reason to hope that an open field will be advantageous for Scholz. The election is scheduled for Oct. 24, 2021.
Oil spill in Mauritius. A sunken cargo ship leaking oil near the island nation of Mauritius could “break in two,” the country’s prime minister warned as residents rush to make preparations for a disaster. The MV Wakashio, an oil tanker traveling from China to Brazil, ran aground on a coral reef near the island in the Indian Ocean on July 25, leaking an estimated 1,000 of its 4,000 ton oil cargo into the surrounding area. France and Japan rushed to provide assistance, but heavy winds have put a temporary stop to all cleanup efforts.
Mauritius’s coral reefs contain some of the most diverse ecosystems on earth, and they are a major attraction for tourists from around the world. Environmentalists warn that the oil spill could severely damage the region’s biodiversity, and the damage to the coral reef could have a lasting impact on Mauritius’s tourist-based economy.
Odds and Ends
Syrian refugees in Jordan’s Zaatari camp have found an innovative solution to the extreme conditions that make the camp unsuitable for agriculture. Working with the UNHCR, refugees have developed a form of hydroponic farming that uses old mattresses and recycled cups to grow potted vegetables. UNHCR said the method uses up to 80 percent less water than traditional farming methods. Use of this technique is still relatively localized, however, with only around 1,500 of the camp’s 80,000 residents using it to grow their own produce. The positive initial results are an indication that those numbers could grow.
That’s it for today.
For more from FP, visit foreignpolicy.com, subscribe here, or sign up for our other newsletters. Send your tips, comments, questions, or corrections to morningbrief@foreignpolicy.com.