European Union aviation regulator has cleared Boeing 737 MAX to return to service

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30 January 2021

Fair Finance: How can the global inequality gap be narrowed?

UN Special Envoy Hiro Mizuno. Hiro Mizuno

Before his appointment as Special Envoy, on 30 December 2020, Mr. Mizuno, of Japan, served as Chief Investment Officer of the Japan Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF). He serves on the board of the Principles for Responsible Investment Association (PRI, an UN-backed body that aims to create sustainable markets that contribute to a more prosperous world for all), and has taken part in UN discussions on promoting the Sustainable Development Goals.

Hiro Mizuno: My journey started with a charity dinner around seven years ago, when I found myself sat next to former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan. I was a partner at a private equity firm at the time, and Mr. Annan asked me why Japanese investors were not interested in ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance investing, otherwise known as sustainable investing). I couldn’t answer, because this was the first time that I’d heard of ESG! When he explained, my first reaction was that, in fact, this sounded very much like a natural fit with Japanese corporate philosophy.

I’ve been working in the financial sector throughout my professional life. However, up until I became the Chief Investment Officer of the Japanese Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF), I had always struggled with the concept at the heart of the investment industry; that, to win, you have to beat the market by outsmarting everyone else. I questioned whether the industry was adding any added value to society.

Then, when I joined the GPIF, which holds more than $100 trillion in assets, I realised that we effectively were the market. This is when I came up with the idea of universal ownership: as universal owners, it made more sense for us to contribute, by making the system better for everyone.

We soon started to get questions from the big portfolio managers, asking us what we were trying to achieve, and how they should respond. We started to use the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a convenient way to explain our strategy to corporate executives.

UN News: How can the financial sector address the growing gap between rich and poor?

Hiro Mizuno: The famous French economist Thomas Piketty, writes that the returns on investment outperform the economic growth rate. This means that those who hold financial assets become wealthier than the general workforce, who earn money from a salary. His conclusion was that, as a result, the gap between rich and poor continues to widen.

When I was at the Japanese Government Pension Investment Fund, my aim was to reduce that gap. We handled huge financial assets and, by growing the fund, we could use pensions to allow ordinary people to benefit from the returns.

As CIO, inequality was always on my mind, all kinds of inequality, including between men and women, and between the Global North and Global South. If you look at the 17 SDGs, you can classify them as being about either sustainability, or inclusiveness.

Achieving inclusiveness is, of course, a way of reducing inequality, but so is sustainability: if we fail to deal with the climate crisis, we will be creating a sustainability gap between past and future generations, one that is unfair on those who will be left to deal with a world that is in a worse state than at present.

Table of Contents

UN News: Should the financial system be completely overhauled?

Hiro Mizuno: One of the problems with the financial system is that it’s largely based on an investment theory that is at least thirty years old. Redesigning a system takes a long time. It may, eventually, work much better, but expending the effort may mean doing nothing else for too long.

We only have 10 years to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals, and that is not enough time to change the whole system. What we can do is try to address technical hurdles. If we do that, we’ll get less pushback from investment professionals.

It’s true that many of those who work in finance feel constrained by the system, but things are changing: 10 years ago, investment professionals felt awkward about putting the word “sustainable” in their portfolio, but now that is seen as being acceptable.

What we need, I think, is much more innovation. There are so many technically smart people in this industry and, if we can address technical issues, there will be a domino effect that will lead to real, systemic change.

UN News: What can you achieve as Special Envoy?

Hiro Mizuno: I’ve only been in this role for a short time, and I’m still trying to figure out what leverage I will have, but what the UN certainly has, is the power to bring decision-makers together to solve some of the world’s greatest problems. I’m very excited to work with the different parts of the UN System, as well as with the Secretary-General, to see how we can achieve change.

My goal is to use the financial sector to speed up the transition to a more equitable world. At a more practical level, I want to make investments more compatible with the Sustainable Development Goals.

As we head towards to UN climate conference in November (COP26, due to be held in Glasgow in November), I want to see us create momentum, and get businesses aligned between themselves, as well as with our social and environmental goals. One thing I’ve learned throughout my career is that, when everyone is aligned, everything accelerates.

UNESCO supports African Union’s launch of continent-wide digital platform to monitor attacks on journalists

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30 January 2021

The launch will be presided by Cyril Ramaphosa Chairperson of the African Union and President of the Republic of South Africa

Today, African media stakeholders, will launch the first digital online platform aimed at improving the protection of journalists, address threats and violence against them, foster early warning mechanisms and enhance response capacity within the continent.

The launch will be presided by Cyril Ramaphosa Chairperson of the African Union and President of the Republic of South Africa. Notable speakers expected to take part are Audrey Azoulay, Director-General of UNESCO, Jamesina King, Commissioner of the AU’s African Commission on Human and People’s Rights (AU-ACHPR) and Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression and Access to Information in Africa. A number of African heads of State are scheduled to take part, as are representatives of the media and civil society.

The journalists’ safety platform will facilitate real time response across Africa with a view to ending impunity for attacks against African journalists including harassment, arbitrary arrests, assault and killing. It will constitute a cooperative mechanism to keep track of attacks against journalists in the continent, and support reporting on attacks as well as follow-up actions to combat impunity. It will also help create synergies among African media stakeholders in holding the perpetrators of violence against journalists and media outlets to account.

The digital platform will notably monitor:

Threats to the physical integrity and security of journalists and other media actors (including bloggers, writers, human right defenders and other persons communicating in the public interest);
Impunity in the abovementioned cases;
Threats to the confidentiality of journalists’ sources or threat to their physical integrity and security relating to their collaboration with journalists, media or human right defenders or organizations;
Threats to journalists’ privacy;
Restrictions on media freedom such as judicial and political intimidation of journalists (including hate speech and incitement to violence against journalists).

The platform was inspired by the Council of Europe’s Platform for the Protection of Journalists and Safety of Journalists and has been developed by African stakeholders, with support from UNESCO via its Multi-donor Programme for Freedom of Expression and the Safety of Journalists (MDP). It will be sustained through a joint mobilization of partnering organizations, namely four organs of the African Union (Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression and Access to Information in Africa, of AU-ACHPR, the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM), the African Governance Architecture (AGA), the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights), Civil Society Organizations, media networks and development partners.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization

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PM expresses ‘grave concerns’ over EU…

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30 January 2021

PM expresses ‘grave concerns’ over EU...

Prime Minister Boris Johnson

Boris Johnson has expressed his “grave concerns” over the EU’s move to impose export controls on coronavirus vaccines and impinge on the post-Brexit deal on Northern Ireland.

The Prime Minister held a call with European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen on Friday evening as Downing Street warned the bloc not to disrupt the supply of jabs.

In an extraordinary move that blindsided both the UK and Ireland, the EU invoked Article 16 of the Northern Ireland Protocol to stop the unimpeded flow of jabs from the bloc into the region.

Northern Ireland’s First Minister Arlene Foster described Brussels’ move as an “incredible act of hostility” that places a “hard border” between the region and the Republic of Ireland.

Brussels took the surprise step that provoked condemnation from across the political spectrum while embroiled in a row with pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca over shortfalls in the delivery of jabs.

However, as EU Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier urged the bloc to step down from its deepening row over vaccine shortages, EU sources suggested the bloc may U-turn on the move.

A No 10 spokesman said: “The Prime Minister spoke to European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen this evening.

“He expressed his grave concerns about the potential impact which the steps the EU has taken today on vaccine exports could have.”

Mr Johnson earlier urged the EU to “urgently clarify its intentions” and detail how it will honour its commitments to the peace process, during a “constructive discussion” with Irish Premier Micheal Martin.

The Prime Minister “set out his concerns” over Brussels’ move in a discussion with his Irish counterpart and raised “what these actions may mean for the two communities in Northern Ireland”, No 10 said.

A Downing Street statement added: “The UK has legally-binding agreements with vaccine suppliers and it would not expect the EU, as a friend and ally, to do anything to disrupt the fulfilment of these contracts.”

Senior Cabinet minister Michael Gove spoke to his counterpart on the EU-UK Joint Committee, Maros Sefcovic, to “express the UK’s concern over a lack of notification from the EU about its actions in relation to the NI protocol” and warned Britain “would now be carefully considering next steps”.

European Commission vice-president Maros Sefcovic during a visit to London (Stefan Rousseau/PA)

The Taoiseach held multiple calls with Ms von der Leyen, and the PA news agency understands that Mr Martin was not given advance notice of Brussels’ decision to invoke the protocol.

The protocol, which is part of the Withdrawal Agreement, is designed to allow the free movement of goods from the EU into Northern Ireland, and prevent the need for a hard border on the island of Ireland.

But triggering Article 16 temporarily places export controls on the movement of vaccines, a move taken by the EU to prevent the region being used as a back door to move coronavirus vaccines from the bloc into the UK.

The European Commission’s new regulation states: “This is justified as a safeguard measure pursuant to Article 16 of that protocol in order to avert serious societal difficulties due to a lack of supply threatening to disturb the orderly implementation of the vaccination campaigns in the member states.”

In an interview with The Times, Mr Barnier called for a “spirit of co-operation” during the “extraordinarily serious crisis”.

“And I believe that we must face this crisis with responsibility, certainly not with the spirit of oneupmanship or unhealthy competition,” he added.

It was not immediately clear what steps the Government was considering, but culture minister Caroline Dinenage did not rule out the UK invoking Article 16 in retaliation, as called for by the DUP.

“The stakes are really high and everybody needs to keep their heads about them,” she said on BBC Radio 4’s Any Questions?, as she assured “we’re very confident in our supplies”.

The European Union was originally inspired by Christian social teaching – at the heart of which is solidarity.

Seeking to control the export of vaccines undercuts the EU’s basic ethics. They need to work together with others.

— Archbishop of Canterbury (@JustinWelby) January 29, 2021

Archbishop of Canterbury the Most Rev Justin Welby urged the EU to rethink its actions.

“Seeking to control the export of vaccines undercuts the EU’s basic ethics. They need to work together with others,” he tweeted.

Mrs Foster said: “At the first opportunity, the EU has placed a hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland over the supply chain of the coronavirus vaccine.”

Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis said the region receives its vaccines as part of UK procurement.

But preventing vaccines made with the EU from being exported could hinder the UK’s access to further supplies, particularly to the Belgian-made Pfizer jab.

Brussels has also demanded doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine manufactured in British plants in order to solve its supply shortage issues, as member states were forced to pause or delay their rollouts.

The EU’s “vaccine export transparency mechanism” will be used until the end of March to control vaccine shipments to nations outside the bloc.

It seeks to ensure that any exporting company based in the EU first submits its plans to national authorities.

European Commission executive vice-president Valdis Dombrovskis told a Brussels press conference: “Today the commission has adopted an implementing regulation making the export of certain products subject to an export authorisation.

“This regulation concerns the transparency and export of Covid-19 vaccines.”

The UK was not named among countries exempted from the new measures.

Meanwhile, AstraZeneca published a redacted version of its contract with the EU, which the bloc said was important for “accountability”.

The contract mentions that the firm would use “best reasonable efforts” to use European plants, including two in the UK, as production sites for vaccines destined for the EU.

The row intensified as the European Medicines Agency (EMA) authorised the AstraZeneca jab, which it developed with Oxford University, for all adults throughout the European Union.

RCPL received donation of books by children fighting serious illnesses

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Robesonian

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29 January 2021

Shown are Jonna Davis, left, and her son Carson Davis.

RCPL received donation of books by children fighting serious illnesses

Pictured are a dozen books donated recently to the Robeson County Public Library by grandparents of the late Carson Davis, who battled T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia and died in 2017. The books donated in his memory tell the stories of children with chronic illnesses.

Courtesy photo

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Shown are Jonna Davis, left, and her son Carson Davis.

Courtesy photo

EU must place social justice ‘at its core’ to lift people out of poverty

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29 January 2021

EU must place social justice ‘at its core’ to lift people out of poverty

Speaking at the end of an official visit to assess how EU institutions are operating, Olivier De Schutter, Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, warned the States that make up the 27-member bloc “should not fall into complacency”.

“Since the EU has experienced steady economic and employment growth until very recently, the only explanation for this failure is that the benefits have not been evenly distributed”, he said.

Table of Contents

Living on the fringe

In 2019, one-in-five people risked poverty or social exclusion, according to the UN’s human rights agency, OHCHR.

Across Europe, some 19.4 million children live in poverty while 20.4 million workers are in effect, living on the edge of falling into poverty. And women, who lead 95 per cent of single-parent families, are disproportionately represented among the poor.

Moreover, the COVID-19 pandemic has affected many Europeans who had never confronted poverty before.

“I have spoken with people who have experienced hunger for the first time, who have been exposed because they are homeless, and who are maltreated and abused because of poverty”, Mr. De Schutter said, warning of a second wave as companies declare bankruptcy, “with higher unemployment as a result”.

Prioritize anti-poverty

The UN expert upheld that “the EU can play an important role in galvanizing member States’ anti-poverty efforts”, notably through its yearly recommendations.

But instead of prioritizing investments in healthcare, education and social protection, he attested that their recommendations have “often imposed budgetary cuts in the name of cost-efficiency”.

“Since 2009, Member States have only decreased their investments in these areas critical for poverty reduction”, said Mr. De Schutter.

Furthermore, he highlighted how the bloc’s members compete in a “race to the bottom” by lowering taxes, wages, and worker protections to attract investors and improve external cost competitiveness.

‘The missing piece’

Turning to the European Green Deal, which attempts to combine environmental and social objectives, the independent expert called the fight against poverty “the missing piece”.

“As long as this good intention is not translated into concrete actions, millions will continue to struggle for a decent standard of living in a society that leaves them behind”, he said.

Mr. De Schutter saw the current crisis as a chance for Europe to reinvent itself by placing social justice “at its core”, with adequate minimum income schemes and greater protections for every child at risk of poverty.

“A child born in poverty has imposed upon them a sentence for a crime that she or he has not committed, and it is a life-long sentence”, he said.

The UN expert said it was important to realize the European Commission’s Action Plan to implement the European Pillar of Social Rights, which should be unveiled in the coming weeks, to set poverty reduction targets across the whole bloc.

Special Rapporteurs are appointed by the Geneva-based UN Human Rights Council to examine and report back on a specific human rights theme or a country situation. The experts are not UN staff, nor are they paid for their work.

Follow the science: UN plans for a stronger pandemic recovery

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29 January 2021

Follow the science: UN plans for a stronger pandemic recovery

In her remarks to the event, Ms. Mohammed noted the far-reaching social, economic, and health impacts of the pandemic, the disproportionate effect that it has had on the most marginalized populations, and the 70 million extra people who have been pushed into poverty as a result of measures taken to curb the spread of the virus.

Table of Contents

A new future’

“COVID-19”, said the deputy UN chief, “has made it evident that we must build a new future through transformative changes that prioritize equity, resilience and sustainability”.

We must build a new future through transformative changes that prioritize equity, resilience and sustainability Amina Mohammed, Deputy Secretary-General

The Open Dialogue on Science for Development in the Context of COVID-19, billed as a first-of-its-kind event, was convened by the UN and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, to highlight the importance of science and global collaboration.

The discussions between the senior representatives of research institutions and senior UN officials were based on partnership strategies, including the UN Research Roadmap for the COVID-19 Recovery, released in November 2020.

With the virus exposing stark global inequities, the roadmap is designed to address the complex health, humanitarian and socio-economic consequences of COVID-19, while boosting speedy recovery efforts, and encouraging targeted research for data-driven responses that focus particularly on the needs of people being left behind. Many of the experts who contributed to the Roadmap also participated in the Open Dialogue.

Closer collaboration

The event served as a stepping-stone towards the UN’s aim of ramping up progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals, and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, through closer collaboration between researchers, funding agencies, governments and civil society organizations, as well as UN entities.

“To succeed, we need solutions and global action that is focused, coordinated and unified”, declared Ms. Mohammed. “It will require new and strengthened partnerships across the global research community and between researchers, research funding organizations and the United Nations”.

Germany expects limited EU approval f…

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29 January 2021

Germany expects limited EU approval f...

GermanyÃ¢ÂÂs health minister Jens Spahn

Germany’s health minister said he expects the European Union’s drug regulator to authorise a coronavirus vaccine made by AstraZeneca on Friday, but it may not be recommended for older adults because of insufficient data.

Jens Spahn said it was not clear whether the decision by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) would explicitly recommend against using the vaccine in people over 65, or whether it would merely note the lack of data for older people, meaning “no restrictions but caution in certain areas”.

Germany will adjust its own guidance once it sees the EMA’s decision.

“We don’t expect an unrestricted approval,” Mr Spahn told reporters in Berlin.

“The data available for older people, and that’s been the debate in recent days, isn’t sufficient for that.”

While the AstraZeneca vaccine has been authorised for all adults in other countries, only 12% of the participants in its research were over 55 and they were enrolled later, so there has not been enough time to get results.

A decision on whether to approve AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine for the European Union is due on Friday (Silvia Izquierdo/AP)

A recommendation that only people under 65 get the vaccine could complicate the rollout in many European countries that have focused on giving shots to older people first.

Whatever the recommendation, the three million doses Germany expects to receive from AstraZeneca next month would be used, but perhaps for younger people, Mr Spahn said.

On Thursday, a draft recommendation from Germany’s vaccination advisory committee said the AstraZeneca vaccine should only be given to people aged 18-64 for now.

Britain’s medicines regulatory agency also acknowledged the limited data in older people but still cleared the shot last month for all adults, with some caution for pregnant women.

A separate study testing the AstraZeneca vaccine in the US is still under way.

The AstraZeneca shot would be the third Covid-19 vaccine given the greenlight by the EMA, after ones made by Pfizer and Moderna. Those were authorised for all adults.

(PA Graphics)

The expected authorisation of the AstraZeneca vaccine comes amid a bitter dispute between the drugmaker and the 27-nation bloc over expected supply delays.

On Friday, the European Union made public a redacted version of the contract it agreed with AstraZeneca.

The EU’s executive branch, the European Commission, published the text of the advance purchasing agreement after consulting the British-Swedish company.

Earlier this week, the EU lashed out at the drugmaker after it said it would not be able to deliver the 80 million doses that it hoped to provide and could only supply 31 million.

The AstraZeneca vaccine has already been authorised in several countries, including Britain, India, Argentina and Mexico.

The World Health Organisation is also reviewing it; a recommendation from the UN health agency would allow its purchase and distribution to developing countries from a global programme known as COVAX.

Separately, the EMA said on Friday that no new side effects linked to the coronavirus vaccine made by Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech were identified in the regulator’s first safety update.

Its expert committee assessed reports of people who died after getting the vaccine and said their review “did not suggest a safety concern”.

Earlier this month, Norwegian officials amended their vaccination advice to say that doctors should assess frail and severely ill elderly people to decide if they should be immunised.

The EMA concluded that safety data collected on the Pfizer vaccine are “consistent with the known safety profile of the vaccine” and noted that severe allergic reactions are a known, rare side effect.

The EMA authorised the Pfizer vaccine on December 21 and granted it a conditional licence; Pfizer and BioNTech must submit safety reports every month in line with a heightened monitoring process.

The agency said “there are no recommended changes regarding the use of the vaccine”.

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) consults on changes to CRA supervisory fees

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29 January 2021

The consultation paper contains proposals which ensure that the supervisory fees charged to credit rating agencies (CRAs) reflect the costs of registration, certification and on-going supervision whilst remaining proportionate to CRAs’ turnover.

ESMA’s main proposals are to charge:

A single registration fee of €45,000;
Annual supervisory fees of €20,000 to registered CRAs with annual revenues of between €1 million and €10 million;
An annual endorsement fee of €20,000 to all CRAs endorsing credit ratings for use in the EU; and
Annual fees to all certified CRAs.

ESMA’s proposals are also intended to align the approach to collecting CRA supervisory fees with the approach taken under ESMA’s other supervisory mandates so that the fee collection process becomes easier to administer in future.

The aim of this consultation is to gather stakeholder views on the appropriateness of the proposals and their likely impact. These views will help ESMA prepare Technical Advice for the European Commission on changes to the Delegated Regulation on fees charged to CRAs.

ESMA seeks feedback on its proposals from CRAs and their auditors, firms considering registration as Credit Rating Agencies and firms applying for certification status. The consultation paper may also be of interest to trade associations representing CRAs and users of credit ratings.

Next steps

The public consultation is open until 15 March 2021. Responses should be submitted using the form available on ESMA’s website. The responses to the Consultation Paper will inform ESMA’s Technical Advice to the European Commission on the revision of the Delegated Regulation, by 31 June 2021.

EU tells Google, Facebook and Twitter to extend fake news watch, COVID-19 in focus

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29 January 2021