This tenth edition of Doing Business sheds light on how easy or difficult it is for a local entrepreneur to open and run a small to medium-size business when complying with relevant regulations. It measures and tracks changes in regulations affecting eleven areas in the life cycle of a business: starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, registering property, getting credit, protecting investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts, resolving insolvency and employing workers. Doing Business presents quantitative indicators on business regulations and the protection of property rights that can be compared across 185 economies, from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe, over time. The indicators are used to analyze economic outcomes and identify what reforms have worked, where and why. This economy profile presents the Doing Business indicators for Luxembourg. To allow useful comparison, it also provides data for other selected economies (comparator economies) for each indicator. The data in this report are current as of June 1, 2012 (except for the paying taxes indicators, which cover the period January - December 2011).
This tenth edition of Doing Business sheds light on how easy or difficult it is for a local entrepreneur to open and run a small to medium-size business when complying with relevant regulations. It measures and tracks changes in regulations affecting eleven areas in the life cycle of a business: starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, registering property, getting credit, protecting investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts, resolving insolvency and employing workers. Doing Business presents quantitative indicators on business regulations and the protection of property rights that can be compared across 185 economies, from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe, over time. The indicators are used to analyze economic outcomes and identify what reforms have worked, where and why. This economy profile presents the Doing Business indicators for Nigeria. To allow useful comparison, it also provides data for other selected economies (comparator economies) for each indicator. The data in this report are current as of June 1, 2012 (except for the paying taxes indicators, which cover the period January - December 2011).
Doing business sheds light on how easy or difficult it is for a local entrepreneur to open and run a small to medium-size business when complying with relevant regulations. It measures and tracks changes in regulations affecting 10 areas in the life cycle of a business: starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, registering property, getting credit, protecting investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts and resolving insolvency. In a series of annual reports doing business presents quantitative indicators on business regulations and the protection of property rights that can be compared across 183 economies, from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe, over time. This economy profile presents the doing business indicators for Zimbabwe. To allow useful comparison, it also provides data for other selected economies (comparator economies) for each indicator. The data in this report are current as of June 1, 2011 (except for the paying taxes indicators, which cover the period January-December 2010).
Doing business sheds light on how easy or difficult it is for a local entrepreneur to open and run a small to medium-size business when complying with relevant regulations. It measures and tracks changes in regulations affecting 10 areas in the life cycle of a business: starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, registering property, getting credit, protecting investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts and resolving insolvency. In a series of annual reports doing business presents quantitative indicators on business regulations and the protection of property rights that can be compared across 183 economies, from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe, over time. This economy profile presents the doing business indicators for Hungary. To allow useful comparison, it also provides data for other selected economies (comparator economies) for each indicator. The data in this report are current as of June 1, 2011 (except for the paying taxes indicators, which cover the period January December 2010).
Yes, it's already time to be worried — very worried. As the wars in Ukraine and Gaza have shown, the earliest drone equivalents of "killer robots" have made it onto the battlefield and proved to be devastating weapons. But at least they remain largely under human control. Imagine, for a moment, a world of war in which those aerial drones (or their ground and sea equivalents) controlled us, rather than vice-versa. Then we would be on a destructively different planet in a fashion that might seem almost unimaginable today. Sadly, though, it's anything but unimaginable, given the work on artificial intelligence (AI) and robot weaponry that the major powers have already begun. Now, let me take you into that arcane world and try to envision what the future of warfare might mean for the rest of us.By combining AI with advanced robotics, the U.S. military and those of other advanced powers are already hard at work creating an array of self-guided "autonomous" weapons systems — combat drones that can employ lethal force independently of any human officers meant to command them. Called "killer robots" by critics, such devices include a variety of uncrewed or "unmanned" planes, tanks, ships, and submarines capable of autonomous operation. The U.S. Air Force, for example, is developing its "collaborative combat aircraft," an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) intended to join piloted aircraft on high-risk missions. The Army is similarly testing a variety of autonomous unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs), while the Navy is experimenting with both unmanned surface vessels (USVs) and unmanned undersea vessels (UUVs, or drone submarines). China, Russia, Australia, and Israel are also working on such weaponry for the battlefields of the future.The imminent appearance of those killing machines has generated concern and controversy globally, with some countries already seeking a total ban on them and others, including the U.S., planning to authorize their use only under human-supervised conditions. In Geneva, a group of states has even sought to prohibit the deployment and use of fully autonomous weapons, citing a 1980 U.N. treaty, the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons, that aims to curb or outlaw non-nuclear munitions believed to be especially harmful to civilians. Meanwhile, in New York, the U.N. General Assembly held its first discussion of autonomous weapons last October and is planning a full-scale review of the topic this coming fall.For the most part, debate over the battlefield use of such devices hinges on whether they will be empowered to take human lives without human oversight. Many religious and civil society organizations argue that such systems will be unable to distinguish between combatants and civilians on the battlefield and so should be banned in order to protect noncombatants from death or injury, as is required by international humanitarian law. American officials, on the other hand, contend that such weaponry can be designed to operate perfectly well within legal constraints.However, neither side in this debate has addressed the most potentially unnerving aspect of using them in battle: the likelihood that, sooner or later, they'll be able to communicate with each other without human intervention and, being "intelligent," will be able to come up with their own unscripted tactics for defeating an enemy — or something else entirely. Such computer-driven groupthink, labeled "emergent behavior" by computer scientists, opens up a host of dangers not yet being considered by officials in Geneva, Washington, or at the U.N.For the time being, most of the autonomous weaponry being developed by the American military will be unmanned (or, as they sometimes say, "uninhabited") versions of existing combat platforms and will be designed to operate in conjunction with their crewed counterparts. While they might also have some capacity to communicate with each other, they'll be part of a "networked" combat team whose mission will be dictated and overseen by human commanders. The Collaborative Combat Aircraft, for instance, is expected to serve as a "loyal wingman" for the manned F-35 stealth fighter, while conducting high-risk missions in contested airspace. The Army and Navy have largely followed a similar trajectory in their approach to the development of autonomous weaponry.The Appeal of Robot "Swarms"However, some American strategists have championed an alternative approach to the use of autonomous weapons on future battlefields in which they would serve not as junior colleagues in human-led teams but as coequal members of self-directed robot swarms. Such formations would consist of scores or even hundreds of AI-enabled UAVs, USVs, or UGVs — all able to communicate with one another, share data on changing battlefield conditions, and collectively alter their combat tactics as the group-mind deems necessary."Emerging robotic technologies will allow tomorrow's forces to fight as a swarm, with greater mass, coordination, intelligence and speed than today's networked forces," predicted Paul Scharre, an early enthusiast of the concept, in a 2014 report for the Center for a New American Security (CNAS). "Networked, cooperative autonomous systems," he wrote then, "will be capable of true swarming — cooperative behavior among distributed elements that gives rise to a coherent, intelligent whole."As Scharre made clear in his prophetic report, any full realization of the swarm concept would require the development of advanced algorithms that would enable autonomous combat systems to communicate with each other and "vote" on preferred modes of attack. This, he noted, would involve creating software capable of mimicking ants, bees, wolves, and other creatures that exhibit "swarm" behavior in nature. As Scharre put it, "Just like wolves in a pack present their enemy with an ever-shifting blur of threats from all directions, uninhabited vehicles that can coordinate maneuver and attack could be significantly more effective than uncoordinated systems operating en masse."In 2014, however, the technology needed to make such machine behavior possible was still in its infancy. To address that critical deficiency, the Department of Defense proceeded to fund research in the AI and robotics field, even as it also acquired such technology from private firms like Google and Microsoft. A key figure in that drive was Robert Work, a former colleague of Paul Scharre's at CNAS and an early enthusiast of swarm warfare. Work served from 2014 to 2017 as deputy secretary of defense, a position that enabled him to steer ever-increasing sums of money to the development of high-tech weaponry, especially unmanned and autonomous systems.From Mosaic to ReplicatorMuch of this effort was delegated to the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the Pentagon's in-house high-tech research organization. As part of a drive to develop AI for such collaborative swarm operations, DARPA initiated its "Mosaic" program, a series of projects intended to perfect the algorithms and other technologies needed to coordinate the activities of manned and unmanned combat systems in future high-intensity combat with Russia and/or China."Applying the great flexibility of the mosaic concept to warfare," explained Dan Patt, deputy director of DARPA's Strategic Technology Office, "lower-cost, less complex systems may be linked together in a vast number of ways to create desired, interwoven effects tailored to any scenario. The individual parts of a mosaic are attritable [dispensable], but together are invaluable for how they contribute to the whole."This concept of warfare apparently undergirds the new "Replicator" strategy announced by Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks just last summer. "Replicator is meant to help us overcome [China's] biggest advantage, which is mass. More ships. More missiles. More people," she told arms industry officials last August. By deploying thousands of autonomous UAVs, USVs, UUVs, and UGVs, she suggested, the U.S. military would be able to outwit, outmaneuver, and overpower China's military, the People's Liberation Army (PLA). "To stay ahead, we're going to create a new state of the art… We'll counter the PLA's mass with mass of our own, but ours will be harder to plan for, harder to hit, harder to beat."To obtain both the hardware and software needed to implement such an ambitious program, the Department of Defense is now seeking proposals from traditional defense contractors like Boeing and Raytheon as well as AI startups like Anduril and Shield AI. While large-scale devices like the Air Force's Collaborative Combat Aircraft and the Navy's Orca Extra-Large UUV may be included in this drive, the emphasis is on the rapid production of smaller, less complex systems like AeroVironment's Switchblade attack drone, now used by Ukrainian troops to take out Russian tanks and armored vehicles behind enemy lines.At the same time, the Pentagon is already calling on tech startups to develop the necessary software to facilitate communication and coordination among such disparate robotic units and their associated manned platforms. To facilitate this, the Air Force asked Congress for $50 million in its fiscal year 2024 budget to underwrite what it ominously enough calls Project VENOM, or "Viper Experimentation and Next-generation Operations Model." Under VENOM, the Air Force will convert existing fighter aircraft into AI-governed UAVs and use them to test advanced autonomous software in multi-drone operations. The Army and Navy are testing similar systems.When Swarms Choose Their Own PathIn other words, it's only a matter of time before the U.S. military (and presumably China's, Russia's, and perhaps those of a few other powers) will be able to deploy swarms of autonomous weapons systems equipped with algorithms that allow them to communicate with each other and jointly choose novel, unpredictable combat maneuvers while in motion. Any participating robotic member of such swarms would be given a mission objective ("seek out and destroy all enemy radars and anti-aircraft missile batteries located within these [specified] geographical coordinates") but not be given precise instructions on how to do so. That would allow them to select their own battle tactics in consultation with one another. If the limited test data we have is anything to go by, this could mean employing highly unconventional tactics never conceived for (and impossible to replicate by) human pilots and commanders.The propensity for such interconnected AI systems to engage in novel, unplanned outcomes is what computer experts call "emergent behavior." As ScienceDirect, a digest of scientific journals, explains it, "An emergent behavior can be described as a process whereby larger patterns arise through interactions among smaller or simpler entities that themselves do not exhibit such properties." In military terms, this means that a swarm of autonomous weapons might jointly elect to adopt combat tactics none of the individual devices were programmed to perform — possibly achieving astounding results on the battlefield, but also conceivably engaging in escalatory acts unintended and unforeseen by their human commanders, including the destruction of critical civilian infrastructure or communications facilities used for nuclear as well as conventional operations.At this point, of course, it's almost impossible to predict what an alien group-mind might choose to do if armed with multiple weapons and cut off from human oversight. Supposedly, such systems would be outfitted with failsafe mechanisms requiring that they return to base if communications with their human supervisors were lost, whether due to enemy jamming or for any other reason. Who knows, however, how such thinking machines would function in demanding real-world conditions or if, in fact, the group-mind would prove capable of overriding such directives and striking out on its own.What then? Might they choose to keep fighting beyond their preprogrammed limits, provoking unintended escalation — even, conceivably, of a nuclear kind? Or would they choose to stop their attacks on enemy forces and instead interfere with the operations of friendly ones, perhaps firing on and devastating them (as Skynet does in the classic science fiction Terminator movie series)? Or might they engage in behaviors that, for better or infinitely worse, are entirely beyond our imagination?Top U.S. military and diplomatic officials insist that AI can indeed be used without incurring such future risks and that this country will only employ devices that incorporate thoroughly adequate safeguards against any future dangerous misbehavior. That is, in fact, the essential point made in the "Political Declaration on Responsible Military Use of Artificial Intelligence and Autonomy" issued by the State Department in February 2023. Many prominent security and technology officials are, however, all too aware of the potential risks of emergent behavior in future robotic weaponry and continue to issue warnings against the rapid utilization of AI in warfare.Of particular note is the final report that the National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence issued in February 2021. Co-chaired by Robert Work (back at CNAS after his stint at the Pentagon) and Eric Schmidt, former CEO of Google, the commission recommended the rapid utilization of AI by the U.S. military to ensure victory in any future conflict with China and/or Russia. However, it also voiced concern about the potential dangers of robot-saturated battlefields."The unchecked global use of such systems potentially risks unintended conflict escalation and crisis instability," the report noted. This could occur for a number of reasons, including "because of challenging and untested complexities of interaction between AI-enabled and autonomous weapon systems [that is, emergent behaviors] on the battlefield." Given that danger, it concluded, "countries must take actions which focus on reducing risks associated with AI-enabled and autonomous weapon systems."When the leading advocates of autonomous weaponry tell us to be concerned about the unintended dangers posed by their use in battle, the rest of us should be worried indeed. Even if we lack the mathematical skills to understand emergent behavior in AI, it should be obvious that humanity could face a significant risk to its existence, should killing machines acquire the ability to think on their own. Perhaps they would surprise everyone and decide to take on the role of international peacekeepers, but given that they're being designed to fight and kill, it's far more probable that they might simply choose to carry out those instructions in an independent and extreme fashion.If so, there could be no one around to put an R.I.P. on humanity's gravestone.This article was republished with permission from Tom Dispatch
This guidance report is a product of activity 4.1 under work package 4 "Best practices in chemicals management in the industry" of the HAZBREF-project. This report addresses the chemical industry and its two sub-sectors: manufacture of large volume inorganic chemicals (with the focus on production of fertilizers) and polymers. The other case sectors are textile industry and surface treatment of metals and plastics which are addressed in separate reports. Aims, areas of interest, methodology and structure This sector-specific report provides guidance to key actors at national level (chemical industries and competent authorities) on how to improve chemical management at installation level. In this respect, it takes reference to relevant requirements such as the Industrial Emission Directive (IED) and the sectoral Best Available Techniques Reference Documents (BREFs). The findings of the guidance, especially concerning BAT candidates in chapter 5, will also feed into the anticipated forthcoming revision of the BREFs for the Chemical industry sectors (LVIC and possibly others). They are further used for HELCOM recommendations on how to reduce the discharge of hazardous substances into the Baltic Sea. The document summarises key findings of interviews and discussions with HAZBREF experts, representatives from chemical industry and relevant authorities as well as insights from case studies in Finland, Estonia and Sweden. In addition to that two polymer installations in Poland were selected for analysing circular economy issues. The report focuses on prevalent practices and challenges related to the IED permitting process, with special reference to hazardous chemicals for polymer and fertilizer installations. The report also reflects findings of other Work packages under HAZBREF and refers to recommendations published under the European Union Network for the Implementation and Enforcement of Environmental Law (IMPEL). The first chapter of the report provides a short introduction to the scope of this report. The second chapter provides an introduction to the chemical sector, focusing on Europe and the production of fertilizers and polymers. The third chapter describes relevant hazardous chemicals related to the production of fertilizers and polymers, regulatory framework for the hazardous chemicals and both regulatory and non-regulatory chemical reference lists. The section also describes how identification of relevant substances in the polymer and fertilizer industry can be done. The fourth chapter describes legal obligations laid down in IED, REACH, CLP, WFD and other relevant legislation as well as recommendations from HELCOM. It also contains information about using and producing safety data sheets and exposure scenarios. Furthermore, it describes how chemical inventories can be developed and how substance flow analysis (SFA) and material flow analysis (MFA) can be used. It also contains a short description of how to use an interactive scheme, developed in HAZBREF, for the identification of relevant hazardous substances. Best practice in chemical management and identification of BAT candidates are described in the fifth section. The section also contains guidance on chemical management system (CMS), chemical and raw material inventories, chemical storage and transportation, optimization of process integrated recycling, substitution, process mapping of hazardous substances, management of hazardous waste and waste water treatment. The section contains both generally applicable practices and recommendations on BAT candidates. Most of the BAT candidates are applicable to all installations. All the BAT candidates are described in detail in Annex 1. The sixth section explains the different steps of the IED permitting procedure and provides guidance and good practices and recommendations to both operators and permitting authorities on how to carry out the respective steps with particularly focusing on good chemicals management. Circular economy issues in the polymer sector and findings from the case studies are described in the seventh section. Main findings and proposals Chemical industry covers many types of different processes and installations. There are many laws regarding the installation, and this leads to challenges in chemical management for both operators and authorities. The requirements from authorities are based on law but often the companies have their own programs and rules which are stricter than the requirements based on current law. The authorities need a lot of knowledge on chemical issues, but this information is not always readily available. Proposal for improvement of chemical management system A Chemical Management System (CMS) provides a systematic way of managing chemicals. The CMS can be integrated with the Environmental Management System (EMS). The purpose of the CMS is to control the chemicals and hazardous substances at the site, increase knowledge of the characteristics, risks and impact and improve the processes to reduce emissions of hazardous substances. The HAZBREF project recommends the use of a CMS following the principles described as BAT candidate 1 in Annex 1. HAZBREF also recommends that a requirement to establish and maintain a CMS at installations is included to the revised BREFs. Proposal for development of inventories and databases In order to know which hazardous substances are used or generated at the site, a chemical inventory is needed. It is important to list all types of chemicals and raw materials used in all processes and activities at the site in a database. The chemical list or database is a key part of chemical management allowing for systematic risk assessment, management of chemicals flows and their storage. It is also useful in the permitting processes as it provides easy access to data for chemicals used in the installations. The information in the chemical list/database must be searchable and the list should be updated regularly. Most of the information needed is available in the safety data sheets (SDS). If some information is missing from the SDS, the supplier should be asked to provide this. The HAZBREF project recommends the development and use of a chemical and raw material inventory following the principles described as BAT candidate 2 in Annex 1. HAZBREF also recommends that such a requirement to perform inventories at installations is included to the revised BREFs. Proposal for quality and use of safety data sheets To allow for efficient chemicals management, it must be assured that all SDS keep a good quality level. If a chemical supplier fails to provide SDS with good quality, it is the duty of both the operator and the competent authority to demand the missing information from the chemical supplier. Better SDSs, including improved data on environmental hazards, and exposure scenarios would make risk assessment of individual chemicals in specific process easier for the installations. This would lead to more efficient monitoring and help to focus more on most the problematic substances. The SDSs of raw materials should contain more information on impurities. Also, the chemical inventory could be improved if detailed data about the impurities or intentionally added constituents would be available in SDS. Exposure Scenarios are not usually directly usable for the operators. Sector specific environmental release categories (SPERCs), based on measurements and info about the typical environmental fate of substances in the sites could help but they have not yet been developed for many industrial uses. Proposal for process mapping of hazardous substances In order to be able to take measures to reduce emissions of hazardous substances, good knowledge of the production processes is needed. One way to do this is to use process mapping of hazardous substances. The purpose of the method is to identify the mass flows and release routes of the substances. The purpose is also to optimise monitoring and identify cost efficient ways to reduce emissions. The process mapping is a tool which supports the chemical inventory. The HAZBREF project recommends mapping of hazardous substances following the principles described as BAT candidate 3 in Annex 1. Proposal for substitution Substitution is an important measure to minimise chemical risks at the installation. A successful substitution work can be performed in four stages; Identification of hazardous substances - Screening for possible alternatives - Evaluation and choice of alternatives and Development of new alternatives. Regrettable substitution should be avoided. Proposal for the permitting process The permit process should be streamlined with more communication during the application phase between the applicant and permitting authorities and communication with WWTP operators should be ensured in case of indirect emissions. More co-operation between chemical, environmental and occupational health authorities is suggested to achieve smooth information flow and reduce double work. More exchange of information and good experiences between Member States would in the long run also contribute to more harmonised and better practices on European level. The format for a chemical inventory should be standardised. An appropriate approach is given in Annex 5. It is the duty of the operator to provide information in a way that it can be quickly assessed and that conclusions in the form of permit requirements, stipulations and conditions can be more easily drawn. ; Denna vägledningsrapport har tagits fram inom aktivitet 4.1 i arbetspaket 4 "Bästa praxis för kemikaliehantering i branschen" i HAZBREF-projektet. Rapporten behandlar den kemiska industrin och dess två delsektorer: produktion av oorganiska högvolymkemikalier (med fokus på produktion av gödselmedel) och polymerer. Textilindustrin och ytbehandling av metaller och plast behandlas i separata rapporter. Mål, intresseområden, metodik och struktur Denna sektorsspecifika rapport ger vägledning till nyckelaktörer på nationell nivå (kemiska industrier och behöriga myndigheter) om hur man kan förbättra kemikaliehanteringen på anläggningsnivå. I detta avseende hänvisas till relevanta krav, såsom industriutsläppsdirektivet (IED) och referensdokumenten för bästa tillgängliga teknik (BREF). De resultat som redovisas i vägledningen, särskilt beträffande BAT-kandidater i kapitel 5, kommer också att ingå i kommande revision av BREF-dokument för kemisk industri (LVIC och eventuellt andra). De används vidare för HELCOM-rekommendationer om hur man kan minska utsläppen av farliga ämnen i Östersjön. Rapporten sammanfattar viktiga resultat från intervjuer och diskussioner med HAZBREF-experter, representanter från kemisk industri och relevanta myndigheter samt från genomförda fallstudier i Finland, Estland och Sverige. Även två polymerverksamheter i Polen har analyserats med avseende på cirkulär ekonomi. Rapporten fokuserar på tillämpningar och utmaningar relaterade till IEDtillståndsprocessen, och speciellt på användningen av farliga kemikalier i polymeroch gödselmedeltillverkning. Rapporten återspeglar också slutsatserna från andra arbetspaket i HAZBREF-projektet och hänvisar till rekommendationer som publicerats av Europeiska unionens nätverk för genomförande och efterlevnad av miljölagstiftningen (IMPEL). Det första kapitlet i rapporten ger en kort introduktion av tillämpningsområdet. Det andra kapitlet ger en introduktion till den kemiska sektorn med fokus på Europa och produktion av gödselmedel och polymerer. Det tredje kapitlet beskriver relevanta farliga kemikalier relaterade till produktion av gödselmedel och polymerer, regelverk för de farliga kemikalierna och både reglerande och icke-reglerande kemiska referenslistor. Kapitlet beskriver också hur identifiering av relevanta ämnen i polymer- och gödselmedelsindustrin kan göras. Det fjärde kapitlet beskriver krav enligt IED, REACH, CLP, WFD och annan relevant lagstiftning samt rekommendationer från HELCOM. Det innehåller också information om användning och framtagande av säkerhetsdatablad och exponeringsscenarier. Vidare beskrivs hur kemikalieinventeringar kan utvecklas och hur substansflödesanalys och materialflödesanalys kan användas. Den innehåller också en kort beskrivning av hur man använder ett interaktivt verktyg, utvecklat i HAZBREF, för identifiering av relevanta farliga ämnen. Bästa praxis för kemikaliehantering samt identifiering av BAT-kandidater beskrivs i det femte kapitlet. Kapitlet innehåller också vägledning om kemikaliehanteringssystem, kemikalie- och råvaruinventeringar, lagring och transport av kemikalier, optimering av processintegrerad återvinning, substitution, processkartläggning av farliga ämnen, hantering av farligt avfall och avloppsvattenbehandling. Kapitlet innehåller både allmänt tillämplig praxis och rekommendationer om BATkandidater. De flesta av BAT-kandidaterna är allmänt tillämpliga. Alla BATkandidater beskrivs i detalj i bilaga 1. Det sjätte kapitlet förklarar de olika stegen i tillståndsförfarandet enligt IED och ger vägledning, goda exempel och rekommendationer till både verksamhetsutövare och tillståndsmyndigheter om hur man utför respektive steg med särskilt fokus på bra kemikaliehantering. Frågor om cirkulär ekonomi inom polymersektorn och resultat från fallstudier beskrivs i det sjunde kapitlet. Huvudsakliga resultat och förslag Kemisk industri omfattar många olika typer av processer och verksamheter. Det finns många lagar som gäller för verksamheterna, och detta leder till utmaningar i kemikaliehantering för både operatörer och myndigheter. Kraven från myndigheter är lagbaserade men ofta har företagen egna program och regler som är strängare än kraven enligt gällande lag. Myndigheterna behöver mycket information om kemikaliefrågor, men denna information är inte alltid lättillgänglig. Förslag till förbättring av kemikaliehanteringssystem För att veta vilka farliga ämnen som används eller uppkommer i verksamheten krävs en kemikalieinventering. Det är viktigt att lista alla typer av kemikalier och råvaror som används i verksamheten i en databas. Kemikalielistan eller databasen är en viktig del av kemikaliehanteringen och möjliggör systematisk riskbedömning, hantering av kemikalieflöden och kemikalielagring. Det är också användbart i tillståndsprocesserna eftersom det ger enkel åtkomst till data för de kemikalier som används i verksamheterna. Informationen i kemikalielistan/databasen måste vara sökbar och listan bör uppdateras regelbundet. Merparten av den information som behövs finns i säkerhetsdatabladen. Om viss information saknas i säkerhetsdatabladet bör leverantören uppmanas att lämna denna. HAZBREF-projektet rekommenderar framtagande och användning av en kemikalie- och råvaruinventering enligt principerna som beskrivs som BAT-kandidat 2 i bilaga 1. HAZBREF rekommenderar också att framtagande och användning av kemikalie- och råvaruinventeringar förs in som krav i de reviderade BREF-dokumenten. Förslag rörande kvalitet och användning av säkerhetsdatablad För att möjliggöra effektiv kemikaliehantering måste det säkerställas att alla säkerhetsdatablad håller en god kvalitetsnivå. Om en kemikalieleverantör inte tillhandahåller säkerhetsdatablad av god kvalitet, är det både operatörens och den behöriga myndighetens skyldighet att kräva den saknade informationen från kemikalieleverantören. Bättre säkerhetsdatablad, inklusive förbättrad data om risker för miljön, och exponeringsscenarier skulle göra riskbedömning av enskilda kemikalier i specifika processer enklare för verksamheterna. Detta skulle leda till effektivare övervakning och bidra till att fokusera på de mest problematiska ämnena. Säkerhetsdatablad för råvaror bör innehålla mer information om ingående föroreningar. Kemikalieinventeringen skulle också kunna förbättras om detaljerade data om föroreningar eller avsiktligt tillsatta beståndsdelar skulle finnas tillgängliga i säkerhetsdatabladen. Exponeringsscenarier är vanligtvis inte direkt användbara för operatörerna. Sektorsspecifika miljöutsläppskategorier (SPERC), baserade på mätningar och information om ämnens karakteristik och typiska rörelsemönster på anläggningen kan hjälpa, men de har ännu inte utvecklats för många industriella användningar. Förslag till processkartläggning av farliga ämnen För att kunna vidta åtgärder för att minska utsläppen av farliga ämnen behövs god kunskap om produktionsprocesserna. Ett sätt att få det är att göra processkartläggningar av farliga ämnen. Syftet med metoden är att identifiera ämnets massflöde och läckagevägar. Syftet är också att optimera övervakningen och identifiera kostnadseffektiva sätt att minska utsläppen. Processkartläggningen är ett verktyg som stöder kemikalieinventeringen. HAZBREF-projektet rekommenderar kartläggning av farliga ämnen enligt principerna som beskrivs som BAT-kandidat 3 i bilaga 1. Förslag till substitution Substitution är en viktig åtgärd för att minimera kemiska risker vid verksamheten. Ett framgångsrikt substitutionsarbete kan utföras i fyra steg; Identifiering av farliga ämnen - Screening efter möjliga alternativ - Utvärdering och val av alternativ och Utveckling av nya alternativ. Substitution som senare kan komma att ångras bör undvikas. Förslag till förbättring av tillståndsprocessen Tillståndsprocessen bör effektiviseras genom mer kommunikation under ansökningsfasen mellan den sökande och tillståndsmyndigheterna och även med reningsverkets operatörer vid indirekta utsläpp. Mer samarbete mellan kemikalie-, miljö- och arbetsmiljömyndigheter föreslås för att uppnå ett smidigt informationsflöde och minska dubbelarbete. Mer utbyte av information och goda erfarenheter mellan medlemsstaterna skulle på sikt också bidra till mer harmoniserad och bättre praxis på europeisk nivå. Hur en kemikalieinventering ska vara utformad bör standardiseras. En lämplig metod ges i bilaga 5. Det är operatörens skyldighet att tillhandahålla information så att den lätt kan bedömas och att slutsatser i form av tillståndskrav och villkor lättare kan dras.
In my postgraduate formation during the last years of the 80's, we had close to thirty hospital beds in a pavilion called "sépticas" (1). In Colombia, where abortion was completely penalized, the pavilion was mostly filled with women with insecure, complicated abortions. The focus we received was technical: management of intensive care; performance of hysterectomies, colostomies, bowel resection, etc. In those times, some nurses were nuns and limited themselves to interrogating the patients to get them to "confess" what they had done to themselves in order to abort. It always disturbed me that the women who left alive, left without any advice or contraceptive method. Having asked a professor of mine, he responded with disdain: "This is a third level hospital, those things are done by nurses of the first level". Seeing so much pain and death, I decided to talk to patients, and I began to understand their decision. I still remember so many deaths with sadness, but one case in particular pains me: it was a woman close to being fifty who arrived with a uterine perforation in a state of advanced sepsis. Despite the surgery and the intensive care, she passed away. I had talked to her, and she told me she was a widow, had two adult kids and had aborted because of "embarrassment towards them" because they were going to find out that she had an active sexual life. A few days after her passing, the pathology professor called me, surprised, to tell me that the uterus we had sent for pathological examination showed no pregnancy. She was a woman in a perimenopausal state with a pregnancy exam that gave a false positive due to the high levels of FSH/LH typical of her age. SHE WAS NOT PREGNANT!!! She didn't have menstruation because she was premenopausal and a false positive led her to an unsafe abortion. Of course, the injuries caused in the attempted abortion caused the fatal conclusion, but the real underlying cause was the social taboo in respect to sexuality. I had to watch many adolescents and young women leave the hospital alive, but without a uterus, sometime without ovaries and with colostomies, to be looked down on by a society that blamed them for deciding to not be mothers. I had to see situation of women that arrived with their intestines protruding from their vaginas because of unsafe abortions. I saw women, who in their despair, self-inflicted injuries attempting to abort with elements such as stick, branches, onion wedges, alum bars and clothing hooks among others. Among so many deaths, it was hard not having at least one woman per day in the morgue due to an unsafe abortion. During those time, healthcare was not handled from the biopsychosocial, but only from the technical (2); nonetheless, in the academic evaluations that were performed, when asked about the definition of health, we had to recite the text from the International Organization of Health that included these three aspects. How contradictory! To give response to the health need of women and guarantee their right when I was already a professor, I began an obstetric contraceptive service in that third level hospital. There was resistance from the directors, but fortunately I was able to acquire international donations for the institution, which facilitated its acceptance. I decided to undertake a teaching career with the hope of being able to sensitize health professionals towards an integral focus of health and illness. When the International Conference of Population and Development (ICPD) was held in Cairo in 1994, I had already spent various years in teaching, and when I read their Action Program, I found a name for what I was working on: Sexual and Reproductive Rights. I began to incorporate the tools given by this document into my professional and teaching life. I was able to sensitize people at my countries Health Ministry, and we worked together moving it to an approach of human rights in areas of sexual and reproductive health (SRH). This new viewpoint, in addition to being integral, sought to give answers to old problems like maternal mortality, adolescent pregnancy, low contraceptive prevalence, unplanned or unwanted pregnancy or violence against women. With other sensitized people, we began with these SRH issues to permeate the Colombian Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology, some universities, and university hospitals. We are still fighting in a country that despite many difficulties has improved its indicators of SRH. With the experience of having labored in all sphere of these topics, we manage to create, with a handful of colleagues and friend at the Universidad El Bosque, a Master's Program in Sexual and Reproductive Health, open to all professions, in which we broke several paradigms. A program was initiated in which the qualitative and quantitative investigation had the same weight, and some alumni of the program are now in positions of leadership in governmental and international institutions, replicating integral models. In the Latin American Federation of Obstetrics and Gynecology (FLASOG, English acronym) and in the International Federation of Obstetrics and Gynecology (FIGO), I was able to apply my experience for many years in the SRH committees of these association to benefit women and girls in the regional and global environments. When I think of who has inspired me in these fights, I should highlight the great feminist who have taught me and been with me in so many fights. I cannot mention them all, but I have admired the story of the life of Margaret Sanger with her persistence and visionary outlook. She fought throughout her whole life to help the women of the 20th century to be able to obtain the right to decide when and whether or not they wanted to have children (3). Of current feminist, I have had the privilege of sharing experiences with Carmen Barroso, Giselle Carino, Debora Diniz and Alejandra Meglioli, leaders of the International Planned Parenthood Federation – Western Hemisphere Region (IPPF-RHO). From my country, I want to mention my countrywoman Florence Thomas, psychologist, columnist, writer and Colombo-French feminist. She is one of the most influential and important voices in the movement for women rights in Colombia and the region. She arrived from France in the 1960's, in the years of counterculture, the Beatles, hippies, Simone de Beauvoir, and Jean-Paul Sartre, a time in which capitalism and consumer culture began to be criticized (4). It was then when they began to talk about the female body, female sexuality and when the contraceptive pill arrived like a total revolution for women. Upon its arrival in 1967, she experimented a shock because she had just assisted in a revolution and only found a country of mothers, not women (5). That was the only destiny for a woman, to be quiet and submissive. Then she realized that this could not continue, speaking of "revolutionary vanguards" in such a patriarchal environment. In 1986 with the North American and European feminism waves and with her academic team, they created the group "Mujer y Sociedad de la Universidad Nacional de Colombia", incubator of great initiatives and achievements for the country (6). She has led great changes with her courage, the strength of her arguments, and a simultaneously passionate and agreeable discourse. Among her multiple books, I highlight "Conversaciones con Violeta" (7), motivated by the disdain towards feminism of some young women. She writes it as a dialogue with an imaginary daughter in which, in an intimate manner, she reconstructs the history of women throughout the centuries and gives new light of the fundamental role of feminism in the life of modern women. Another book that shows her bravery is "Había que decirlo" (8), in which she narrates the experience of her own abortion at age twenty-two in sixty's France. My work experience in the IPPF-RHO has allowed me to meet leaders of all ages in diverse countries of the region, who with great mysticism and dedication, voluntarily, work to achieve a more equal and just society. I have been particularly impressed by the appropriation of the concept of sexual and reproductive rights by young people, and this has given me great hope for the future of the planet. We continue to have an incomplete agenda of the action plan of the ICPD of Cairo but seeing how the youth bravely confront the challenges motivates me to continue ahead and give my years of experience in an intergenerational work. In their policies and programs, the IPPF-RHO evidences great commitment for the rights and the SRH of adolescent, that are consistent with what the organization promotes, for example, 20% of the places for decision making are in hands of the young. Member organizations, that base their labor on volunteers, are true incubators of youth that will make that unassailable and necessary change of generations. In contrast to what many of us experienced, working in this complicated agenda of sexual and reproductive health without theoretical bases, today we see committed people with a solid formation to replace us. In the college of medicine at the Universidad Nacional de Colombia and the College of Nursing at the Universidad El Bosque, the new generations are more motivated and empowered, with great desire to change the strict underlying structures. Our great worry is the onslaught of the ultra-right, a lot of times better organized than us who do support rights, that supports anti-rights group and are truly pro-life (9). Faced with this scenario, we should organize ourselves better, giving battle to guarantee the rights of women in the local, regional, and global level, aggregating the efforts of all pro-right organizations. We are now committed to the Objectives of Sustainable Development (10), understood as those that satisfy the necessities of the current generation without jeopardizing the capacity of future generations to satisfy their own necessities. This new agenda is based on: - The unfinished work of the Millennium Development Goals - Pending commitments (international environmental conventions) - The emergent topics of the three dimensions of sustainable development: social, economic, and environmental. We now have 17 objectives of sustainable development and 169 goals (11). These goals mention "universal access to reproductive health" many times. In objective 3 of this list is included guaranteeing, before the year 2030, "universal access to sexual and reproductive health services, including those of family planning, information, and education." Likewise, objective 5, "obtain gender equality and empower all women and girls", establishes the goal of "assuring the universal access to sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights in conformity with the action program of the International Conference on Population and Development, the Action Platform of Beijing". It cannot be forgotten that the term universal access to sexual and reproductive health includes universal access to abortion and contraception. Currently, 830 women die every day through preventable maternal causes; of these deaths, 99% occur in developing countries, more than half in fragile environments and in humanitarian contexts (12). 216 million women cannot access modern contraception methods and the majority live in the nine poorest countries in the world and in a cultural environment proper to the decades of the seventies (13). This number only includes women from 15 to 49 years in any marital state, that is to say, the number that takes all women into account is much greater. Achieving the proposed objectives would entail preventing 67 million unwanted pregnancies and reducing maternal deaths by two thirds. We currently have a high, unsatisfied demand for modern contraceptives, with extremely low use of reversible, long term methods (intrauterine devices and subdermal implants) which are the most effect ones with best adherence (14). There is not a single objective among the 17 Objectives of Sustainable Development where contraception does not have a prominent role: from the first one that refers to ending poverty, going through the fifth one about gender equality, the tenth of inequality reduction among countries and within the same country, until the sixteenth related with peace and justice. If we want to change the world, we should procure universal access to contraception without myths or barriers. We have the moral obligation of achieving the irradiation of extreme poverty and advancing the construction of more equal, just, and happy societies. In emergency contraception (EC), we are very far from reaching expectations. If in reversible, long-term methods we have low prevalence, in EC the situation gets worse. Not all faculties in the region look at this topic, and where it is looked at, there is no homogeneity in content, not even within the same country. There are still myths about their real action mechanisms. There are countries, like Honduras, where it is prohibited and there is no specific medicine, the same case as in Haiti. Where it is available, access is dismal, particularly among girls, adolescents, youth, migrants, afro-descendent, and indigenous. The multiple barriers for the effective use of emergency contraceptives must be knocked down, and to work toward that we have to destroy myths and erroneous perceptions, taboos and cultural norms; achieve changes in laws and restrictive rules within countries, achieve access without barriers to the EC; work in union with other sectors; train health personnel and the community. It is necessary to transform the attitude of health personal to a service above personal opinion. Reflecting on what has occurred after the ICPD in Cairo, their Action Program changed how we look at the dynamics of population from an emphasis on demographics to a focus on the people and human rights. The governments agreed that, in this new focus, success was the empowerment of women and the possibility of choice through expanded access to education, health, services, and employment among others. Nonetheless, there have been unequal advances and inequality persists in our region, all the goals were not met, the sexual and reproductive goals continue beyond the reach of many women (15). There is a long road ahead until women and girls of the world can claim their rights and liberty of deciding. Globally, maternal deaths have been reduced, there is more qualified assistance of births, more contraception prevalence, integral sexuality education, and access to SRH services for adolescents are now recognized rights with great advances, and additionally there have been concrete gains in terms of more favorable legal frameworks, particularly in our region; nonetheless, although it's true that the access condition have improved, the restrictive laws of the region expose the most vulnerable women to insecure abortions. There are great challenges for governments to recognize SRH and the DSR as integral parts of health systems, there is an ample agenda against women. In that sense, access to SRH is threatened and oppressed, it requires multi-sector mobilization and litigation strategies, investigation and support for the support of women's rights as a multi-sector agenda. Looking forward, we must make an effort to work more with youth to advance not only the Action Program of the ICPD, but also all social movements. They are one of the most vulnerable groups, and the biggest catalyzers for change. The young population still faces many challenges, especially women and girls; young girls are in particularly high risk due to lack of friendly and confidential services related with sexual and reproductive health, gender violence, and lack of access to services. In addition, access to abortion must be improved; it is the responsibility of states to guarantee the quality and security of this access. In our region there still exist countries with completely restrictive frameworks. New technologies facilitate self-care (16), which will allow expansion of universal access, but governments cannot detach themselves from their responsibility. Self-care is expanding in the world and can be strategic for reaching the most vulnerable populations. There are new challenges for the same problems, that require a re-interpretation of the measures necessary to guaranty the DSR of all people, in particular women, girls, and in general, marginalized and vulnerable populations. It is necessary to take into account migrations, climate change, the impact of digital media, the resurgence of hate discourse, oppression, violence, xenophobia, homo/transphobia, and other emergent problems, as SRH should be seen within a framework of justice, not isolated. We should demand accountability of the 179 governments that participate in the ICPD 25 years ago and the 193 countries that signed the Sustainable Development Objectives. They should reaffirm their commitments and expand their agenda to topics not considered at that time. Our region has given the world an example with the Agreement of Montevideo, that becomes a blueprint for achieving the action plan of the CIPD and we should not allow retreat. This agreement puts people at the center, especially women, and includes the topic of abortion, inviting the state to consider the possibility of legalizing it, which opens the doors for all governments of the world to recognize that women have the right to choose on maternity. This agreement is much more inclusive: Considering that the gaps in health continue to abound in the region and the average statistics hide the high levels of maternal mortality, of sexually transmitted diseases, of infection by HIV/AIDS, and the unsatisfied demand for contraception in the population that lives in poverty and rural areas, among indigenous communities, and afro-descendants and groups in conditions of vulnerability like women, adolescents and incapacitated people, it is agreed: 33- To promote, protect, and guarantee the health and the sexual and reproductive rights that contribute to the complete fulfillment of people and social justice in a society free of any form of discrimination and violence. 37- Guarantee universal access to quality sexual and reproductive health services, taking into consideration the specific needs of men and women, adolescents and young, LGBT people, older people and people with incapacity, paying particular attention to people in a condition of vulnerability and people who live in rural and remote zone, promoting citizen participation in the completing of these commitments. 42- To guarantee, in cases in which abortion is legal or decriminalized in the national legislation, the existence of safe and quality abortion for non-desired or non-accepted pregnancies and instigate the other States to consider the possibility of modifying public laws, norms, strategies, and public policy on the voluntary interruption of pregnancy to save the life and health of pregnant adolescent women, improving their quality of life and decreasing the number of abortions (17).
Kenya's textile and apparel sector has the potential to play a key role in anchoring the country's deeper movement into middle income status and in serving as a source of gainful employment for its fast growing, young population. As a manufactured good, it offers opportunities for increased value capture and streamlined trade logistics and for the building of skills and experience from the factory floor to management level. Based on these foundations, it therefore serves as a potential gateway to other manufactured goods, offering opportunities for Kenya to capture an increasing share of global trade and to advance economic diversification. The report is structured as follows: chapter two describes global and regional market trends in textile and apparel. Chapter three reviews the evolution, growth, and performance of the apparel sector in Kenya and then analyzes the sector in terms of markets, products, and stakeholders. Chapter four focuses on Kenya's performance in terms of relevant macro indicators and highlights the critical constraints faced by apparel manufacturers and exporters in Kenya. Chapter five concludes with recommendations. Where possible, chapters end with a summary of key points and conclusions.
With this Cameroon economic update, the World Bank is pursuing a program of short, crisp and frequent country economic reports. These economic updates provide an analysis of the trends and constraints in Cameroon's economic development. Each issue, produced bi-annually, provides an update of recent economic developments as well as a special focus on a topical issue. The economic updates aim to share knowledge and stimulate debate among those interested in improving the economic management of Cameroon and unleashing its enormous potential. The notes thereby offer another voice on economic issues in Cameroon, and an additional platform for engagement, learning and change.
Colombia has the seventh highest Gini coefficient of income inequality in the world. The Santos Administration is aware of this challenge and has taken important steps to reduce disparities. The Government is also aspiring to join the OECD, which exhibits much lower income disparities, mainly as a result of effective policies of fiscal redistribution. In Colombia, meanwhile, direct taxes, indirect taxes, and monetary transfers hardly dent the high Gini coefficient. To reduce income inequality, Colombian policy makers could consider introducing a more progressive tax-transfer system. This paper ranks alternative inequality-reducing fiscal policy options based on their effectiveness. It argues that there are potentially important redistributive potential gains available from tax reforms if combined with good spending decisions. It presents an illustrative reform package that would be sufficient for Colombia to reach levels of inequality similar to Chile or Costa Rica in a fiscally neutral manner. Nonetheless, further analysis is needed to explore all available policy options and identify those that are best suited for Colombia.
These economic updates analyze the trends and constraints in Cameroon's economic development. Each issue, produced bi-annually, provides an update of recent economic developments as well as a special focus on a selected topical issue. The economic updates aim to share knowledge and stimulate debate among those interested in improving the economic management of Cameroon and unleashing its enormous potential. The notes thereby offer another voice on economic issues in Cameroon, and an additional platform for engagement, learning and change. The latest information confirms the expected recovery in economic activity in Cameroon. The upturn in the global economy and measures taken by the authorities to stimulate domestic production, real gross domestic product (GDP) growth in 2010 is estimated to have reached 3.2 percent (compared to 2 percent in 2009). As expected, most of this recovery was driven by the tertiary sector, which accounted for more than half of the estimated growth. The sector benefitted from a pick-up in timber-related transport and continued strong activities in mobile telephony stemming from a greater use of fiber optic, promotional campaigns during the Soccer World Cup, and the roll-out of new products. The recovery in the primary sector, with an estimated growth rate of about 4 percent in 2010, was led by a strong expansion in the timber sector, as well as in food crops. The non-oil secondary sector, meanwhile, is also estimated to have grown by about 4 percent, driven by a continued pick-up in construction activities and a rebound in food processing. Cameroon is a relatively small and mature oil producer, where oil production is declining. Depleting reserves, aging equipment, and more recently postponements of some development projects and investments because of the financial crisis explain this profile. The contribution of this sector to GDP growth has been mostly negative in recent years and oil production is estimated to have contracted by a further 12 percent in 2010 (to 23.2 million barrels).
Statement To The Security Council On Syria ; UNDER-SECRETARY-GENERAL FOR HUMANITARIAN AFFAIRS AND EMERGENCY RELIEF COORDINATOR, STEPHEN O'BRIEN Statement to the Security Council on Syria New York, 24 February 2016 As delivered Mr. President, Next month, we will mark a grim anniversary: the brutal conflict will have torn Syria apart for five long years. It has been a relentless period of violence and destruction. The Syrian people have seen their country reduced to rubble, loved ones killed or injured, and millions of people displaced, either inside the country or in the region and beyond. They have suffered far too much and for far too long. The international community watched on as Syria became one of the largest and most destructive crises of our times, with the majority of the population – some 13.5 million people – in dire need of protection and humanitarian assistance. The announcement by the chairs of the International Syria Support Group, the United States and the Russian Federation, of a nationwide cessation of hostilities scheduled to come into effect this weekend is a welcome development and a long-awaited signal of hope to the Syrian people. I echo the call of the Secretary-General for the parties to abide by the terms of the agreement to bring about an immediate reduction in violence as a first step towards a more durable ceasefire and to create the conditions necessary for an increase in humanitarian aid. Mr. President, I would like to take this opportunity to update the Council in detail on the most up to date information on humanitarian access. As of 17 February, United Nations and Syrian Arab Red Crescent convoys have reached the following towns as part of the Four Towns agreement: o Madaya: 62 trucks reaching 40,000 beneficiaries o Zabadani: three trucks reaching 1,000 beneficiaries o Foah and Kefraya: 18 trucks reaching 20,000 beneficiaries The convoys have proceeded without any major security incident. Although there have been delays in delivery as parties disagree over the terms of the agreement. The second and last part of the deliveries is tentatively planned for 28th of February. The United Nations have supplies ready to be loaded and delivered. Facilitation by all parties – including the relevant letters from the Government of Syria – must be provided. As part of the agreements facilitated through discussions in Munich earlier this month, we have been able to deliver 62 trucks in Madimayet reaching 40,000 people. There is another convoy planned to Madimayet – this must happen this week. Again this requires facilitation by all parties, including the relevant letters from the Government. Despite these achievements, the process of delivery has not been straightforward. For example, the second Madimayet convoy left the warehouse on Sunday 21st February at 8pm local time. By Tuesday at 1am local time, we still had trucks waiting outside the checkpoint to enter the town. Brave and dedicated humanitarian workers slept in trucks, in adverse weather, waiting patiently to get help to the people that needed it. Eventually, supplies were delivered and the team worked through the night to unload the supplies. Their bravery and commitment is humbling and I salute them all. I would like to remind the Council that Madimayet is a mere 15-20 minute drive from central Damascus. There is no reason why this mission should take over 48 hours to reach the people that need help. It is a clear violation of the safe, unhindered, unimpeded access that this Council has continually called for through its resolutions and other statements. Finally, in Kafr Batna in Eastern Ghouta, 15 trucks delivered assistance to 10,000 people. Again, this was not without complications: My team received approval from the Government at 5.30pm on 21st February to deliver assistance to over 44,000 people in several towns in Eastern Ghouta. After extensive negotiations, the UN team finally departed in the afternoon on the 23 February. And was only actually able to deliver to one town: Kafr Batna. The date of the next convoy is yet to be approved. Again, I insist on immediate approval to allow these convoys to deliver. We need immediate approval to the next round of convoys which will deliver to Eastern Ghouta, Homs, Aleppo and southern Syria. Mr President, Health supplies for some 30,000 people have been denied for the convoys by the Ministry of Health. The Resident Coordinator will submit an official request to the Government for all medical items that were removed to be included in future convoys. The Resident Coordinator is also putting together a proposal to the Government of Syria to reduce the number of procedures and the length of time needed to have inter-agency convoys move. Humanitarian operations cannot continue to be bogged down by unnecessary and unacceptable restrictions, obstructions and deliberate delays that are costing people their lives. The number, scope and complexity of bureaucratic and other obstacles that are placed in the path of simple aid deliveries are staggering. To move a single truck, United Nations teams on the ground need to acquire multiple layers of approvals from officials at various different levels, necessitating repeated rounds of negotiations over everything from the target location, amount and type of aid supplies, date, time and the route to take. When approvals are forthcoming, they are often not respected or adequately implemented. In order for people in dire need to receive the assistance they so desperately require, the system must be urgently simplified. Mr President, The United Nations has also begun to use airdrops as a means of humanitarian delivery in Syria. Although there are a number of operational risks associated with airdrops, we recognise that there are benefits to this approach in some areas of Syria as a last resort. Earlier this morning, a WFP plane dropped the first cargo of 21 tonnes of items into Deir Ezzor. We have received initial reports from the SARC team on the ground that pallets have landed in the target area as planned. In summary, the United Nations and its partners have reached 110,000 people in besieged areas. We have approval to reach a further 230,000 people, including through the airdrops in Deir Ezzor. But we are still waiting for approval an additional 170,000. We expect those approvals to happen immediately. More broadly, the use of siege and starvation as a method of war must cease immediately. The main responsibility for doing so rests with parties maintaining the sieges, but it is shared by those that put civilians in harm's way by using them as shields for military activities in besieged areas. Mr President, I cannot emphasize enough how high the stakes are at this moment in the conflict. The Syrian people – who are rightly sceptical of the international community's desire and ability to bring about an end to this hideous war after years of inaction – need to see an immediate difference in their daily lives on the ground because, up till this point, it is they who continue to bear the brunt of this crisis as violence has become more widespread, systematic and extreme. Since the start of the year, thousands of civilians have been killed, injured or displaced as a result of airstrikes, barrel bombs, shelling, mortars, rockets, car bombs, improvised explosive devices, and suicide attacks day after day right across the country. This month alone, it is estimated that several hundred people have been killed and over 70,000 displaced due to intense aerial bombardment in Aleppo Governorate. Heavy fighting and aerial bombardment also continued in other parts of the country, including parts of Idlib, Homs, Rural Damascus and Dar'a. All too often this included attacks on civilian infrastructure and basic services – including medical facilities, schools, bakeries, places of worship and IDP camps, with a devastating impact on hundreds of thousands of civilians. On 15 February, on one single day, seven health care facilities were attacked in Idlib, Aleppo and Dar'a, reportedly by Government and allied forces. Numerous civilians, including medical staff, were killed and injured and the facilities largely destroyed. In Idlib alone, it is estimated that some 40,000 people will be left without access to medical services as a result. Designated terrorist groups have similarly continued their indiscriminate attacks on civilian-populated areas. A few days ago, car bomb attacks claimed by ISIL reportedly killed over 155 people in Damascus and Homs city. In January, similar attacks in the same locations killed dozens more. Meanwhile, non-state armed groups continued their shelling on populated-areas of Damascus, killing and injuring many civilians over the last weeks. Mr. President, It is hard to believe that this conflict can be resolved as long as there continues to be a complete absence of protection for civilians. The agreement on cessation of hostilities must finally and unequivocally produce what this Council's resolutions and the basic tenets and obligations under international law could not achieve so far: an immediate end to all targeted or indiscriminate attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure, and enhanced protection of civilians. Enough is enough. This brutality must be brought to an end. Mr. President, Despite the intensified fighting, the United Nations and its partners have continued to scale up assistance to people in need, albeit at great personal risk. Last month, the United Nations and its partners reached millions of people in need with assistance through all available routes. The World Food Programme, for example, delivered food for 3.6 million people; UNICEF provided water, sanitation and hygiene supplies for over 2 million people, and WHO delivered nearly 660,000 treatments. This month, significant amount of supplies were delivered through cross-border operations authorized by this Council. During the first three weeks of February, food assistance reached some 960,000 people, representing a 48 per cent increase compared to the same period in January. Health supplies were also delivered for some 300,000 people in February. Large multi-truck convoys are crossing the three border crossings of Bab al-Salam, Bab al- Hawa and Ar Ramtha on a nearly daily basis. We will continue to stay and deliver, but we do remain concerned about the impact of fighting and insecurity on humanitarian access and operational space, in particular to eastern Aleppo city. This fragile access to people in need must be safeguarded at all cost. Mr. President, Let me be frank. While the United Nations and its partners are ready to take advantage of any opportunity to reach people in need, granting access should never be dependent on political negotiations or ad hoc deals on the ground. Protecting civilians and facilitating humanitarian assistance are legal obligations that are incumbent on all parties to the conflict at all times and for all types of assistance. It is a fundamental and irrefutable tenet of international humanitarian law and it must be respected. In that regard, I once again call upon the Government of Syria to urgently approve the over 40 outstanding requests for inter-agency convoys to deliver assistance to hard-to-reach and besieged areas. I also call upon non-State armed groups and listed terrorist groups to fulfil their obligations. Mr. President, In the Syrian conflict, there are no winners; everyone is losing. But the highest price is paid by Syrian men, women and children who are witnessing their country, their homes and their families being torn apart. This war has to end. Much as we try, the delivery of humanitarian assistance can only address the symptoms, not the root causes. The international community and the parties to the conflict must seize the momentum created around the nationwide cessation of hostilities to bring a political solution to the crisis. I cannot stress enough that we must not let this opportunity pass. We cannot take away this glimmer of hope from the people that need it the most. Thank you.
