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	States duty to tackle tax evasion and mobilise resources for human rights by International Bar Association   The principal assertion of a new report by the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI) is that states have a legal obligation to mobilise all resources at their disposal, including those that could be collected through taxation, to satisfy minimum essential levels of human rights. It further asserts that, with capital flight depriving nations of vast amounts of tax revenue, states facilitating, or actively promoting, tax abuse at the domestic or cross-border level may be in violation of international human rights law.   The report, The Obligation to Mobilise Resources: Bridging Human Rights, Sustainable Development Goals, and Economic and Fiscal Policies, is published against the backdrop of increased awareness of the relationship between economic policies and human rights; greater scrutiny of inequality within, and between, countries; austerity measures implemented following the 2007–2008 global financial crisis; and insufficiently regulated financial flows.   In addition, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (the ‘Agenda’), adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in September 2015 by the heads of state and governments of 193 countries at a special UN summit, provides renewed emphasis on the question of the mobilisation of resources. The Agenda is explicitly anchored in human rights norms and principles, and recognises in paragraphs 18–20 that a rights-based approach should underpin all poverty reduction efforts.   As part of the Agenda, all 193 UN states have committed to ‘strengthen domestic resource mobilization, including through international support to developing countries, to improve domestic capacity for tax and other revenue collection’ (Sustainable Development Goal 17.1)and ‘significantly reduce illicit financial flows’ (Sustainable Development Goal 16.4).   IBAHRI Co-Chair Helena Kennedy QC stated: ‘When tax havens are allowed to continue to operate in a manner that starves developing countries of billions worth of potential income, this points to an unwillingness, rather than inability, by the international community to fulfil the particular UN Sustainable Development Goals to reduce inequality within and among countries. To maximise available resources in a non-discriminatory manner for the protection of human rights should be a moral goal for all.’   She added: ‘As the poorest and most vulnerable people around the world have felt the impacts of a global financial crisis, austerity policies, corruption and tax evasion, our new report demonstrates clearly that many states may have been side-stepping their obligation to maximise the resources available to protect the rights of all people.’   Based on a detailed examination of UN treaty bodies and the views of the UN Special Procedures, the purpose of the report is to ascertain the current interpretation of the scope and content of the obligation of states to mobilise resources for the realisation of human rights.   To this end, the assessments of the Special Procedures – independent human rights experts who report to, and advise, the UN on human rights issues – are essential to the debate addressing resource diversion and foregone tax revenues in compliance with human rights.   Topics such as the legal basis and guiding principles around the obligation to mobilise resources, as well as the opportunities and challenges in relation to that obligation, are covered in the report, which includes a number of recommendations, such as:   When addressing issues of resource mobilisation, special procedures and treaty bodies should ensure greater coordination among themselves, as well as the consistency and complementarity of their analyses.   Human rights monitoring bodies should consistently apply the legal developments related to resource mobilisation when reviewing states’ reports or undertaking country missions.   Special procedures and treaty bodies should:   Regularly request information from states on how they have adopted specific policy decisions: whether or not they have weighed costs and benefits of all policy choices and if policy trade-offs were explicitly addressed.   Provide more concrete, practical and detailed guidance to states about all aspects of the obligation to mobilise resources, including drawing attention to the prerequisite of the rule of law.   Consolidate, strengthen and further develop legal standards and methodologies to assess whether or not states have utilised all alternatives at their disposal for resource mobilisation.   Define the role and responsibilities of multinational corporations and other business enterprises in resource mobilisation for the realisation of human rights.   Develop a legal framework with which to assess tax lawyers, accounting and consulting firms’ responsibility for creating the mechanisms that companies and wealthy individuals use to avoid paying taxes.   Further, it is suggested that, when implementing austerity measures, states should not use the financial crisis to justify actions that amount to violations of human rights obligations, such as curtailing access to healthcare, education and other essential services, particularly for the most vulnerable in society.   IBAHRI Co-Chair Hans Corell commented: ‘Broad in scope, the report demonstrates that states must garner and use resources in a non-discriminatory manner to ensure access to basic services for all, because the issue of resource mobilisation is at the core of the realisation of civil, political, social, cultural and economic human rights.   To ensure the adequate functioning of crucial state institutions, including the judiciary, the police and legal aid services, without which there can be no efficient access to justice nor protection of human rights, states must ensure that all available resources are properly mobilised as a matter of priority.’   He added: ‘The report is relevant to all countries, particularly those criticised by the UN for austerity programmes seen as violating human rights. The international community needs to act swiftly to reduce economic, social and geographical disparities and provide wealth redistribution to redress systemic discrimination and spur progress towards substantive equality.’   To launch the report, the IBAHRI invited a panel of high profile speakers to discuss the obligation to mobilise resources. The panel was made up of the following speakers: Magdalena Sepúlveda Carmona, Former UN Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights; IBAHRI report Rapporteur; Professor Olivier de Schutter, Member of the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights; Muthoni Wanyeki, Africa Regional Director, Open Society Foundation; Matti Kohonen, Principal Adviser (Private Sector), Christian Aid; Moderator: Muluka Miti-Drummond, Senior Programme Lawyer, IBAHRI. You can watch the recording of the event, below. Visit the related web page
	In the Middle East is a lost generation of unschooled children by Adel Abdel Ghafar, Fraus Masri Brookings Doha Center, AlJazeera, Education cannot Wait   Reaching 75 million children & youth living in crises. (Education Cannot Wait)   When conflict or crisis erupts, the educational needs of children and youth are often the last consideration – an afterthought following food, water, shelter and protection.   Right now, wars, natural disasters and other emergencies are multiplying throughout the world – more frequent, complex and disruptive than ever before. During these crises, children and youth frequently live in, or are displaced to contexts where governments cannot provide them with education services. In addition, education receives less than 2% of humanitarian aid, leaving an essential component of children’s future prospects underfunded and undervalued.   The result is that entire generations of children and youth are denied the right to an education.   More than 75 million children and young people (aged 3-18) are currently out of school in 35 crisis-affected countries. Girls are particularly disadvantaged, being 2.5 times more likely to be out of school than boys in countries affected by conflict.   This violates the rights of children and youth, increasing their risk of harm and leaving them exposed to threats of trafficking, child labour or child marriage. Fulfilling children’s right to be in school and learning helps to break the cycle of crises and delivers high economic and social returns. Education cannot wait – 75 million futures depend on it.   http://www.educationcannotwait.org/ http://www.unicef.org/media/media_91132.html http://nolostgeneration.org/   May 2016   In the Middle East is a lost generation of unschooled children, by Adel Abdel Ghafar, Fraus Masri. (Brookings Doha Center)   A catastrophic by-product of ongoing conflicts in the Middle East is a lost generation of unschooled children. These children find themselves, through no fault of their own, not only displaced but lacking the opportunity for proper schooling and thus, denied a chance to learn and develop the necessary skills to become fully functional members of society. This lost generation is the tragedy of our time.   According to a 2015 report by UNICEF, the United Nations children''s agency, conflict in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region has driven 13 million children out of schools.   Unschooled children are not only a moral challenge, but also one that has negative short-term and long-term consequences both for the refugees, but also for their societies.   Education provides children with the necessary skills to develop into productive members of society. Unfortunately, refugee children fleeing Syria, Iraq, Palestine, and Yemen struggle to find educational opportunities in the countries where they settle.   In the most extreme cases, refugee youth have not attended school in years. For these children, the possibility of finding gainful employment as an adult becomes increasingly challenging.   Besides providing an education, schools serve an important function by socialising children. Because of ongoing conflicts, children are denied the opportunity to develop the necessary social and mental development skills that facilitate growth.   In addition, children in conflict zones face severe trauma through the loss of family members to violence.   Humanitarian efforts tend to focus on physical needs such as food and shelter, but there is less emphasis on dealing with the long-term effects of psychological trauma on children.   The lack of education, coupled with a sense of despair and hopelessness creates the perfect conditions for the radicalisation of refugee children. Without education, refugee youth will not have the economic opportunities provided to children in areas not disturbed by conflict.   UNICEF reported an increasing trend of child recruitment to fight for parties to conflict, especially in Syria.   Children tired of working long hours in sweatshops for little pay tend to find the offer to fight at a salary of $400 a month particularly enticing.   Gordon Brown, the former British prime minister and current UN Special Envoy for Global Education, argues that: "Displaced children are more likely to become the youngest labourers in the factory, the youngest brides at the altar, and the youngest soldiers in the trench."   Before the outbreak of conflict in Syria, the country commanded a 99 percent enrolment in primary school education.   The conflict in Syria greatly diminished this number, but the possibility to enrol these children in neighbouring countries could rectify the problem.   Jordan and Turkey have absorbed an estimated 200,000 and 300,000 children respectively in their schooling system, which has put an incredible strain on their existing educational infrastructure.   In Turkey, most classes are taught in Turkish, which poses a problem for students coming from Arabic speaking countries.   Although countries hosting a large number of refugees are now receiving increased funding from donors, funding gaps totalling hundreds of millions of dollars still hinder efforts to adequately educate refugee children.   Increased funding could build temporary schools, revitalise the curriculum, and train more teachers to handle the influx of children.   UNICEF''s "No Lost Generation" initiative should be revived. Beginning in 2013, the initiative helped fund 600 "school clubs", which provided remedial education for children missing class for extended periods of time.   It also facilitated the enrolment of children in Jordan and Lebanon. By revitalising this programme, funding for educational programmes in countries steeped in conflict and their neighbours would receive priority - ensuring the education for a generation of students vulnerable to the problems created by conflict.   The international community should push for the de-politicization of schooling and attempt to get both sides of any conflict to agree that children''s education should continue.   In Syria, where a number of areas remain under siege, schoolchildren should receive protection from local forces to attend schools. Unfortunately, children are routinely barred from crossing into towns held by opposing forces - and apart from one particular case - to take exams.   Additionally, global efforts should strive to create safe spaces for learning, as proposed by the "No Lost Generation" initiative. Even if these conflicts in the MENA region persist, children should not continue to suffer because of opposing political values.   The UN''s "Education Cannot Wait" fund that is currently being launched is a solid step in that direction. The programme is understandably Syria-heavy.   While it also mentions South Sudan and Nepal among other countries - there is minimal mention of Yemen, Libya, or Iraq, whose children remain among those highly affected.   Unfortunately, many worthy programmes are launched, but lose steam due to political deadlock and funding issues.   The "Education Cannot Wait" fund should be embraced and expanded as part of a long-term concentrated strategy to deal with the issue of unschooled children in conflict zones. Time is already running out. With each passing year, the lost generation keeps growing.   * Adel Abdel Ghafar is a visiting fellow at the Brookings Doha Center. Fraus Masri is a research assistant at the Brookings Doha Center. Visit the related web page
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