Bill & Melinda Gates, Asian Parliamentary Group, Win UN Population Award
UNITED NATIONS, March 9 -Bill and Melinda Gates and the Asian Forum of Parliamentarians on Population and Development have won this year's United Nations Population Award. The award is given annually to individuals and institutions for outstanding work in population and in improving the health of individuals.
Chaired by Malaysia's Ambassador to the United Nations, Hamidon Ali, the Award Committee chose the laureates from 28 international nominees. The committee consists of 10 UN member states, with the UN Population Fund, (UNFPA) as its secretariat. The award is to be presented on 3 June at a ceremony at the United Nations.
According to a press release, Bill and Melinda Gates, co-founders and co-chairs of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, have long been working on a "simple premise: all lives have equal value. Today, billions of people never have the chance to live a healthy and productive life," and they decided to help in correcting that situation, according to a nomination report presented to the Award Committee.
They have expressed their intention to give away most of their fortune over their lifetime, and have strongly expressed their conviction that "healthier families, freed from malaria and extreme poverty, would change their habits and have fewer children within half a generation." The Gates have long focused on problems of maternal health and family planning in developing countries, and on identifying the root causes of these problems in order to find innovative solutions. In its advocacy role, their foundation has championed the Millennium Development Goals.
The Asian Forum of Parliamentarians on Population and Development (AFPPD), created in 1981, comprises 25 national parliamentarian committees and has offices in 13 countries. Its main goal, according to a report to the Award Committee, is to inform, educate, motivate and involve parliamentarians on issues related to reproductive health, family planning, food security, ageing, urbanization, migration, HIV and AIDS and women's empowerment. AFPPD also helps prepare laws on the elimination of violence against women in Asian countries.
Some successful examples that illustrate AFPPD's efforts include: Cambodia, Indonesia, Philippines and Sri Lanka, which have adopted new laws on HIV and AIDS; Indonesia has approved the Domestic Violence Law and amended those on health and population; and the Philippines and Thailand adopted bills to eliminate violence against women. The United Nations Economic and Social Council elects countries to the Award Committee for three-year terms. Currently, these members are: Bangladesh, the Czech Republic, Egypt, Ghana, Guatemala, Jamaica, Malaysia, Nicaragua, Norway and the United Republic of Tanzania. The United Nations Secretary-General and the UNFPA Executive Director are ex-officio members.
U.S. Lifts Restrictions on Web Services
WASHINGTON, Mar 9 (IPS) - After U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's January address on the role of internet freedom in U.S. foreign policy, the Barack Obama administration appears to be taking the first steps to introduce specific legislation and policies to exploit the role of the internet in opening up those countries ruled by oppressive or authoritarian governments.
On Monday, the Obama administration announced the implementation of exceptions in the Iranian Transactions Regulations, Sudanese Sanctions Regulations, and Cuban Assets Control Regulations for the export of online and social networking tools - such as Facebook, photo sharing and chat tools. On Tuesday, Rep. Christopher Smith and Rep. David Wu announced the launch of the Global Internet Freedom Caucus, which aims to "promote peaceful free expression on the internet."
The announcement by the U.S. Treasury that it would relax restrictions on U.S. companies seeking to export internet services and software to Iran, Cuba and Sudan was welcomed by companies that have sought to export internet technology but have been restricted by the Treasury Departments limitations on trade with these countries. "As recent events in Iran have shown, personal Internet-based communications like email, instant messaging and social networking are powerful tools. This software will foster and support the free flow of information - a basic human right - for all Iranians," Deputy Treasury Secretary Neal Wolin told reporters on Monday.
"At the same time as we take these steps, the administration will continue aggressively to enforce existing sanctions and to work with our international partners to increase the pressure on the government of Iran to meet its international obligations," he said. The Treasury Department will issue a general license for the export of free personal Internet services - which would mainly include chat and social networking tools - thereby assisting U.S. based internet companies to bypass strict export restrictions.
The internet search giant Google has been at the forefront of the battle between censorship and U.S.-based internet companies after its January announcement that it would no longer cooperate with Chinese internet censorship of its search results. Bob Boorstin, director of policy communications of Google, told a Geneva human rights conference that the Treasury Department's policy change was a "great step".
"We are hopeful this will help people like yourselves in this room and activists all over the world take a small step down what is certainly a long road ahead," said Boorstin. Assistant Secretary of State Philip Crowley emphasised that the Treasury Department's decision fell in line with the internet freedom speech delivered by Clinton in January.