Monthly Archives: June 2021

On 16-17 June 2021, the 52nd Informal Meeting of the Ministers of the member countries of the OECD Development Assistance Committee took place. The meeting bears the name Tidewater, which is the name of the town in the USA where the first meeting of the development cooperation ministers took place in 1968. This year's meeting was convened jointly by the Irish Overseas Development Cooperation Minister Colm Brophy, and the Committee Chair Susanna Moorehead. The Slovak Republic was represented at the meeting by the State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic, Ingrid Brockov.

The theme of this year's Tidewater meeting was a green and fair recovery in the developing world after the ongoing crisis. The meeting addressed two key current framework challenges in international development: socio-economic recovery through development cooperation and the fight against the undesirable causes and consequences of climate change in order to protect the environment and biodiversity. The participants also recalled that with regard to modern international development cooperation, which is coordinated by the OECD Development Assistance Committee, we are commemorating the 60th anniversary of the organisation during this period.

As Ingrid Brockov stated: 'We are aware that the pandemic crisis in the world is not yet over and our developing partner countries are at risk of economic, social and health care collapse. From the viewpoint of development aid providers, it is crucial to give serious weight to all opportunities for international political, health and economic solidarity.' State Secretary Brockov also provided information about the scale of humanitarian aid which the Slovak Republic has provided during the COVID-19 pandemic.

State Secretary Brockov also expressed her appreciation for the importance of joint donor efforts at the European Union level in the framework of the Team Europe initiatives, as well as the importance of strong multilateral development organizations for otherwise remote regions of the world, especially in Africa. She also highlighted the key role of non-governmental development organizations and other civil society organizations not only in managing the COVID-19 pandemic but especially in building sustainable development: 'The private sector is, primarily, a key source of innovations, investments and economic sustainability in development cooperation.'

The second part of the event focused on the use of development cooperation to improve the climate and environmental sustainability in developing countries. The COVID-19 pandemic clearly demonstrates that the prosperity and security of nations is to a large extent also conditioned by foreign influences. Despite its small share in public finances, development diplomacy plays an important role in mitigating the consequences of crisis situations.

Disclaimer

Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic published this content on 17 June 2021 and is solely responsible for the information contained therein. Distributed by Public, unedited and unaltered, on 19 June 2021 19:48:02 UTC.

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Ingrid Brockov at the Tidewater Meeting of Ministers for International Cooperation: The private sector is a key source of innovations, investments and...

Binghamton is a sleepy place at 3 a.m. Diren Valayden is usually among the folks catching zs at that hour. But occasionally, the assistant professor of human development is awake, in front of his computer screen at home and plugged into a conference in India, where its early afternoon.

Diren Valayden, assistant professor of human development, attends virtual conferences. Image Credit: Jonathan Cohen.

Conferences have gone virtual and are happening all over the world, Valayden says. With the global time difference, you might be at a conference in the middle of the night. Its unfortunate that we dont have the whole range of interactions we used to have. A lot of research ideas come from conferences and networking in person.

Its one of the many adjustments College of Community and Public Affairs (CCPA) faculty have made since the emergence of COVID-19. Research and teaching have been upended, requiring a positive outlook, flexibility and creative solutions to getting work done. In March 2020, when the University announced the suspension of in-person classes and a transition to fully remote instruction, the change was abrupt. Yet Valayden didnt find it difficult from a technical standpoint. Im an immigrant so Ive used Skype for a long time to communicate with family and friends, Valayden says. I was accustomed to using video technology to interact with people, but not for teaching.

The tough part, for Valayden, was missing the thrill of performing on the figurative stage and feeding off the energy of the students in his human development capstone class and his courses on theorizing social change and human rights. When youre physically present, there is eye contact and you know if people are paying attention or not, Valayden says. On the screen, its hard to know whats landing and gauge the response to what you are delivering. Valaydens colleague in human development, Ren Rojas, feels the same. Rojas says the end of spring semester 2020 wasnt hard because he was teaching a masters level course that was moving into student-led workshops. The struggle was real though when he tried teaching a graduate course in the fall using a hybrid model with some students in the classroom and others simultaneously online. Rojas found that excelling as a teacher in person and online were mutually exclusive so by mid-October, he decided going full remote focusing on one modality would be best for everyone. Im the kind of instructor who moves around a lot, the assistant professor says. I had to be careful under COVID-19 conditions that I wasnt moving close to the students, but I had the full front of the seminar room to myself. That gets my energy going. But, I was moving in and out of the camera shot, so students at home couldnt see me or hear my voice as clearly.

Ren Rojas, assistant professor of human development, shifted his research focus. Image Credit: Jonathan Cohen.

As the mode of instruction changed, content had to be adjusted as well. Instead of group presentations, Valayden had students do more individual work and leveraged online discussion boards to increase interaction. Rojas used Zoom tools such as polls and breakout rooms to keep students in his Oppression, Dignity and Social Change course engaged with the material and each other.

We had just come off a summer of mass mobilization and protests on the streets, Rojas says. The election took place in the midst of the semester, and I knew most of my students were following it, so I constantly drew on what was happening in the country to make sure engagement stayed high.

Just being able to participate in coursework at all wasnt something to take for granted. Socio-economic gaps between students became more obvious during the pandemic. Many students who used the Universitys computers and internet didnt have these resources at home and struggled to have the same experiences as students with easy access to laptops, Wi-Fi and webcams.

The pandemic had a differential impact in terms of online learning, Valayden says. People have always had different levels of access to digital tools, and now were seeing new forms of inequalities that might not be readily grasped through a more traditional way of seeing things. When we design coursework, [we should] think about access to online learning.

As is true for other areas of life, the pandemic hasnt been all negative. Sometimes, you give up Plan A only to find a Plan B can satisfy. Rojas was disappointed when he couldnt travel to continue his research into coordinated labor markets in post-collapse Argentina; this was the basis for his dissertation at New York University, which he completed in 2017. Obtaining material for a book manuscript wouldve required lengthy face-to-face interviews and Zoom isnt a viable solution the richness of the in-person interaction is lost so that project is on hold.

In its place, he worked with secondary sources to produce papers on the impact of neo-liberal changes and market reforms on labor and social movements in Latin America. Hes also studying determinants of far-right attitudes in local American populations.

This is such a fascinating time in the U.S., Rojas says. There is so much social change and so many developments politically. My thinking is that Id turn this difficult circumstance into an opportunity. [The pandemic] is not a total loss. Ive managed to keep my research going in my primary vein of scholarship and open another area as well.

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Rethinking teaching and research | Binghamton News - Binghamton University

Addis Abeba, June 16, 2021 It is an established historical fact that contemporary Ethiopia is the result of a forceful annexation of nations and nationalities in the late 19th century. Ever since the conquest of Oromia and the greater South by the Abyssinian forces, the country has been undergoing an unfinished project of state building. The overriding expression of this project is the recurrent endeavor to build a unitary nation-state against the demands of nations and nationalities for self-determination. With a varying level of atrocities, Ethiopia has long been under authoritarian rules and a perpetual political culture of denial. The political culture of denial is characterized by denial of histories of atrocities, state violence and demands and rights of nations and nationalities, while reversely subscribing to a unitarist and selective history of the state. The consistent resistance of the nations and nationalities challenged the central Ethiopian regime. The recent popular Oromo youth uprising that had culminated in the dictatorial regime of EPRDF in 2018 has been a continuation of a century old resistance.

The hoped-for transition to democracy and the prospect for peace and development that glimmered in 2018, following the social movement ignited by the Oromo youth dubbed the #OromoProtests, is stalled and an authoritarian rule has taken hold. Since the advent of the current leadership, contradictory political and economic aspirations have increasingly become evident. Rooted in contradictory historical representations and future aspirations, contestation is underway on the possibilities and implications of constitutional reform pertaining to the existing federal dispensation. Nations and nationalities of the country, who fought for their collective rights for over half a century to gain a semblance of structural recognition, are following the ongoing situation with a sense of imminent danger and existential threat.

Currently, Ethiopia is facing multidimensional and intersectional crises of geo-political, security, and socio-economic characteristics. Gross violations of human rights are perpetrated by government forces and persistent demands for accountability have fallen on deaf ears. Impunity is so rampant that it has become the rule of the Ethiopian state. These crises are rooted in the political history of the country and are reflections of contradictory visions for the future of the country. The country is facing a heightened contradiction on state structure. The prospect of the countrys continuity hinges on whether and how this contradiction gets settled. The question is whether they will be settled in a way that rectifies historical injustices and usher in the prospect of peaceful co-existence, or will they culminate in disintegration of the country? The alliance of forces and the continued struggle for justice, freedom, and democracy is informed by the critical situation of the country. The situation calls for unprecedented determination to end these crises devastating the country and greatly endangering the stability of the Horn of Africa. In this paper, we attempt to address the current situation in Ethiopia, with a focus on the prevailing contradictions on state structure and associated crises. We will take a brief retrospective look into the past and reimagine the prospect of the Oromo struggle in the context that is unfolding.

Ethiopia is a country of many contradictions and contestations. From the birth of the modern empire in the late 19th century, continuation of historically asymmetric relations and ruptures that sustained the empire have cemented deep-rooted antagonism between diverse nations and nationalities. The empire that was forged through brutal war of conquest during the European colonial aggression in other parts of Africa perpetuated a form of internal colonialism manifested in terms of economic exploitation, political oppression, cultural marginalization, and imposition of the language, religion and culture of one ethnic group over others.

Since the 1960s, resistance against the assimilationist, exploitative, and oppressive imperial system has given birth to national liberation movements notably with nationalities question as a defining feature of the movements. Questions of land to the tillers, political representation, cultural rights and, broadly speaking, the right to self-determination became the mobilizing factors for national liberation movements and other political parties and brought the demise of the feudal system in 1974. Nevertheless, despite its radical measures on land policy that responded to popular demands, the military regime (1974-1991) continued the homogenizing narrative of state-building project that suppressed the autonomy and identity of nations and nationalities and their rights to self-administration.

The fall of the military junta in 1991 through a coordinated force of TPLF (EPRDF), EPLF, OLF and ONLF opened the way for institutionalization of a multinational federal system that ushered in a new rupture in Ethiopias political order. Precisely, the adoption of the 1995 FDRE Constitution marked a breakaway from Ethiopias imperialist past and signaled the birth of a state structure that recognizes the autonomy, and socio-economic, civil, and political rights of groups as well as individuals. However, TPLF (EPRDF) controlled the government and pushed away all other organizations that helped to establish the federal system. Rather than harnessing the multinational federal order for economic empowerment and political representation of nations and nationalities, the TPLF dominated EPRDF regime consolidated its power through democratic centralism and continued land appropriation under the vague developmental state political economy. Despite the TPLF/EPRDF governments misappropriation of the system in establishing economic oligarchies and authoritarian political systems, the multinational federal system has at least laid an architecture for a system of shared rule and self-rule through which a democratic system could be strengthened.

From 2014-2018, massive youth protests, first ignited by the Oromo youth and later joined by other groups have prompted the regime to undertake some reforms leading to the coming to power of Abiy Ahmed. Abiys ascendance to power was followed by the restructuring of the incumbent party towards a unitary-like party, named Prosperity Party, in which every structure (branch) of the party is accountable to the Prime Minister. As the establishing documents and public statements of officials suggest, the newly reorganized party aspires towards building a unitary state through a constitutional amendment. In doing so, the party seeks to achieve at least three things: a state in which individual rights are given primacy over group rights, led by presidential government system, and reversal of the ethno-lingual multinational federal structure to geography-based state structure. These aspirations were among the major factors that resulted in the exit of the TPLF party from the coalition and growing suspicion of pro multinational forces against Abiys government. This marks a moment in Ethiopias history where the contradiction in Ethiopias state formation and structure became crystal clear. Furthermore, the contradiction continues translating into and getting manifestations in the form of unfolding contemporary socio-economic, political, and security crises in Ethiopia and the region. We present a highlight of these crises as follows.

Political crisis:

The deep-seated contradiction on Ethiopias state formation and state structure inform and underlay the current political divide between political parties. The incumbent Prosperity Party and some other unitarist political parties that are in control of the economy, bureaucracy, and military power are exploiting their leverage that went to an extent of pushing out widely accepted federalist political parties such as the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) and Oromo Federalist Congress (OFC). This is evident from the data on electoral candidates recently published by the National Electoral Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) in which 2432 are from the Prosperity Party, 1385 candidates from Ethiopian Citizens for Social Justice (also known as EZEMA) and 491 candidates from NAMA and the less known Enat Party prepares 573 candidates while Oromia the populous and largest region appears to be represented by one barely known opposition political party Oromo Liberation Movement, which is represented only by 4 candidates. Moreover, the upcoming election will be undertaken with the exclusion of one of the constituting members of the federation Tigray regional state. This squarely points to the problem of election without representation, which has a considerable potential of resulting in pre-and post-election crises. Furthermore, as its multiple procedural and substantive practices suggest, the institutional integrity and independence of the National Electoral Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) itself is questionable.

Security crisis:

Contradiction over state structure, which is directly tied to the right to self-determination and shared rule, underlies the power struggle that culminated with devastating war between the federal government and the Tigray regional state. With varying magnitude, limited media reporting, and involvement of external powers, a prolonged conflict between government forces and rebel groups in different parts of Oromia has been ongoing since 2018. This too is directly linked with the question of the Oromo peoples right to self-determination over their own resources and region. Security crisis is taking hold in different parts of the country. There is credible evidence that the Amhara regional government has been deploying its special forces to bolster conflicts in different areas, such as the Benishangul-Gumuz region and western Oromia. The increasing security crisis exhibits features of scramble for resource and political power, and it is mostly perpetrated by the centralizing tendency of the state and reactionary forces.

Socio-economic crises:

The political and security crises that emanate from deep contradictions on state structure have implications on socio-economic conditions and prospects. Economically, Ethiopia is experiencing one of the highest inflation rates in its recent history; irregular sectors and black market are increasingly in use; foreign currency shortage is crippling the already declining economy of the country; the rising gap in living standard is a testament for expansive irregular sectors, lack of good governance, and corruption. The economic crisis in turn translates into social crises such as a climbing unemployment rate that exposes most youth to irregular migration and human trafficking that risks their lives. Moreover, internal displacements, raising rural-urban mobility, and increasing risks of organized robbery and theft are manifestations of socio-economic crises.

Augmented by the deep-seated contradiction on state structure and mismanaged transition, Ethiopia is currently facing both internal and external threats of unprecedented scale. Among the most pressing internal and external threats are the following.

Internal threats

Given the growing tension in many regions of the country, notably in Oromia, Tigray, Benishangul-Gumuz, Afar, Somali, and Amhara regions, the likelihood of pre-election and post-election violence is very high. This is compounded by systematic and violent exclusion of contending political parties promoting pluralistic vision of state structure and policy alternatives. Among others, the exclusion of the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) and the Oromo Federalist Congress (OFC), the Oromo people are left without representation in this election. This seems to be related to Abiys government intention and effort to consolidate power by winning the election without meaningful competition.

The political parties currently campaigning for the election, including the ruling Prosperity Party (PP), largely represent similar political views that could be classified as anti-multinational federal arrangement, while those excluded are largely in favor of democratizing and perfecting the multinational federation. Thus, the election will likely result in reversal of existing federal system, and to the promulgation of policies that enhance the return to imperial Ethiopia and its unitarist visions.

The necessary conditions for free, fair, and competitive election are not in place. If the election takes place as scheduled, there will be an illegitimate government that must deal with its own illegitimacy and face the consequences of conducting a sham election, the outcome of which was known well before the election. The government to be formed will be in no position or shape to solve prevailing crises; it will rather exacerbate the already fragile condition. Instead of solving longstanding problems and contradictions that left the country wanting for democracy, peace, and development, the election will complicate and heighten existing contradictions.

After the election, we anticipate that the government that will be formed will embark on reversing the gains of nations and nationalities that have been struggling for a democratic multinational federation. The composition of political parties participating in the election and the tone of their campaign in relation to the rights of nations and nationalities signifies this likely trend. It is highly likely that the excluded mass will launch strong resistance to the reversal of the multinational federal dispensation and other fledgling signs of cultural recognition and political representation by the forthcoming government. As the imperial ambitions meet formidable resistance, it will not take too long before Ethiopia is engulfed by protracted wars. The country is already on the verge of a full-scale civil war.

External threats

Geo-political manifestations of emerging threats will likely aggravate regional instability far beyond the borders of Ethiopia. The new development following the War on Tigray has already unraveled geopolitical tensions. There is a fast deterioration of relations and border dispute with Sudan, which may escalate to full-scale war. The Ethiopia-Egypt relation, which is tied to the longstanding Nile politics, is facing a deadlock with regards to the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD). Even the Ethiopia-Kenya relations are not as smooth as before. The involvement of the Eritrean forces in the wars in Tigray and Oromia has severely complicated matters and worsened internal tensions.

While the immediate effect will be felt in the Horn of Africa and Eastern Africa more broadly, the implications of potential mass displacement and refugee crises will be far-reaching. The Western world, including Europe and North America, will certainly feel the heat.

Potential consequences

The emerging threats further reinforce existing crises, including social, economic, and security crises. Humanitarian catastrophe and population displacement of unprecedented scale may be unfolding if the current path persists. We believe that the cumulative impact of all these is an impending state collapse that will unravel not only the Ethiopian state but also the entire Horn of Africa and beyond.

Existing pockets of peace will dissipate and there will likely be a nightmare where people will face difficulty in engaging in productive activities. In a country where over 80 percent of the population are farmers, farming will become impossible under current security crises, and so will livelihood activities. As supply shrinks to an unprecedented level, the existing inflation will worsen even further. It should be underlined that international organizations are warning of large-scale famine in Tigray, where over 90 percent of the population needs emergency aid. We fear that this will spill over to other regions, further complicating the situation.

We anticipate that law-enforcement institutions will collapse and give way to informal and armed groups, leading to further deterioration of security. Armed and unarmed groups may engage in informal economic activities which may fuel further violence. Existing investments are likely to be stalled and new investments will become unthinkable under growing conditions of security crises and precarity. This will lead to the worsening of the already unstable foreign currency flow and reinforce economic stagnation that is experiencing near-zero growth.

It is highly appreciated that the international community, particularly the UN, USA, EU, and NATO have given attention to the deteriorating humanitarian and political crises in Ethiopia. However, Abiys government and its unitarist allies are neither willing for peaceful resolution of ongoing conflicts nor are they ready for inclusive dialogue on the future of the country. Unilateral framing of problems and an exclusive approach to seeking solutions has long been the tradition of consecutive regimes of the Ethiopian state. The country must seek internal reconciliation over the past and consensus for the future. If genuinely implemented before it is too late, a solution of great potential is an all-inclusive dialogue. For successful dialogue, all stakeholders shall be included and welcomed to contribute with due commitment. The ruling party and the governments share of responsibility are very high in making the dialogue a success.

All-inclusive dialogue is a dialogue that involves political organizations, civic organizations, religious leaders, indigenous institutions, and notable individuals and elders from all corners of the country. If there is political will for an all-inclusive dialogue, the procedural and technical matters can be handled by an independent commission constituted with the consensus of all stakeholders. Such a dialogue should be understood as a means of making sure all voices are heard and demands addressed to the satisfaction of the majority. Ultimately, it should be up to the Ethiopian people to decide the countrys future.

While a detailed and comprehensive way forward must be set based on the consensus of all stakeholders, issues for the dialogue should include the nature of the state structure going forward and a collective agreement on how to seek solutions for the crises engulfing the country. The international community should put pressure on all parties, especially the government, as a matter of urgency. There are many preconditions to be undertaken for a meaningful dialogue. These include:

Editors Note: The above viewpoint was submitted to Addis Standard by Oromo Action Council (OAC). The Oromo Action Council (OAC) is a non-partisan, pan-Oromo organization established in 2020 to serve as a voice for the Oromo people and other marginalized groups in Ethiopia. OAC can be reached through oromoactioncouncil@gmail.com or Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/oromoactioncouncil

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Viewpoint: The Current Crises in Ethiopia, Security Threats in the Horn and the way out - addisstandard.com

There are also many countries presumed to be on top of the pandemic that are now facing new flare-ups. China is a case in point, with the recent outbreak of the Delta strain in Guangzhou, a city of more than 18 million and capital of the southern Guangdong province.

Partly because of previous success in pandemic control, China has not been at the forefront of vaccination, but the sheer speed of its reaction in Guangzhou was astonishing, with nearly all the citizens tested within three days across the entire city, followed by the immediate and near-total lockdown of affected neighbourhoods.

And its not just China much of Asia has experienced reversals. Thailand, Taiwan and Australia were all considered to be success stories but have had to react to flare-ups, while hospitals in Myanmar are reported to be in a state of collapse. These examples lay bare the severe danger of allowing the virus to re-emerge in a more potent form (Delta) when vaccination levels are still low.

The core problem is that there is a persistent global viral pool, with the virus circulating in many different social, economic and ecological environments, giving myriad opportunities for mutation. The great majority of these variants are less dangerous than the norm but in the space of less than a year there have already been four of concern, Alpha through to Delta. The most recent, Delta, has proved to be the most worrying and easily spread given that it is more than 50% more transmissible and has some degree of resistance to vaccines.

Experienced epidemiologists are concerned about this rate of variant evolution because it is common sense that variants of concern will arise, and they may be more infectious, vaccine-resistant, or a combination of both, but this is not being taken into account in global strategy. Unless sustained global action is taken, then judging by present trends, we could be heading from a disaster into an utter catastrophe.

To avoid even more deaths on a large scale, global vaccination is urgently needed by the end of this year, and not the end of next year as planned. This must be combined with improved test and trace systems right across the world, far more effective border controls and improvements in countries health services wherever required. Of course, the logistics of such operations are gigantic with 15 billion doses of vaccine needed as are the costs.

Estimates for vaccine production and delivery vary but figures of $100bn worldwide are likely not far off the mark. And of course there are the extra costs of emergency aid to improve many countries health facilities, as well as yearly boosters and modified vaccines for new variants.

To be realistic, costs could easily run to $200bn over the first few months and $100bn a year in the years to come. Those figures sound out of this world, so its worth bringing in two bits of perspective here.

The first is that during the initial phase of the pandemic from April to July last year, the worlds 2,158 billionaires increased their collective wealth by more than $2.5trn, ten times what is required for global vaccination, and the 2021 edition of The Sunday Times Rich list showed that the pandemic spawned more billionaires in Britain than ever.

The second is that $200bn over 12 months, even if that is a ballpark figure, is still only 10% of global annual spending on military defence, to seemingly protect nations security. COVID-19 has killed about ten million people in a year and a half. If this virus is not a security threat of epic proportions, then what is?

If rapid action isnt taken soon, more lethal variants will arise and the ultimate death toll could surpass 30 million, causing long-term consequences for human health and the socio-economic wellbeing of many countries worldwide.

This is an opportunity for leaders to rethink what security actually means and learn the value of cooperation with other nations. If we can leave behind the inward-looking mentality that has caused the unravelling of Britains fight against COVID-19, and work together as a global community to really get on top of the pandemic, then we have some hope of responding to the even greater challenge of climate breakdown.

Correction, 19 June 2021: When this article was first published, it misstated the number of doses needed for global vaccination. This has now been corrected

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COVID-19 is a bigger threat than war. So why isn't it funded the same? - Open Democracy

In The News is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to kickstart your day. Here is what's on the radar of our editors for the morning of June 17 ...

What we are watching in Canada ...

The rush to get initial doses of COVID-19 vaccines appears to be slowing down in the Prairies, with the rate of the eligible population getting a first shot hovering around 70 per cent in the three provinces.

Canada's chief public health officer, Dr. Theresa Tam, is warning that the country has to up its vaccination game, so efforts are being made to persuade more people to roll up their sleeves.

"We're seeing sort of a saturation of first doses ... and that is a concerning phenomenon that we need to address," Dr. Philippe Lagace-Wiens, a medical microbiologist at St. Boniface Hospital in Winnipeg, said in an interview this week.

Timothy Caulfield, a Canada Research Chair in health law and policy at the University of Alberta, is seeing the same trend in Alberta. He is optimistic the province can surpass 80 per cent "if we really try."

"It's going to be tough. It's going to require that we use every tool at our disposal," Caulfield said.

Lagace-Wiens and Caulfield say people who have not yet been vaccinated include outright pandemic deniers, people who are hesitant and those who face mobility, cultural or socio-economic barriers.

Recent data compiled by the Manitoba government has attempted to lay out the size of each group.

The data, a compilation of opinion surveys and online feedback first released in March, estimated 69 per cent of Manitobans were "keeners" intent on getting doses as soon as they could.

It said another 12 per cent were likely to get the vaccine but were not in a rush, about nine per cent were skeptical and undecided, and fewer than 10 per cent were adamant that they would not get a shot.

The government released updated data this month that estimated the number of keeners had risen while all other categories had dropped.

Governments are trying carrots more than sticks to win over the hesitant. Manitoba and Alberta are offering lotteries with prizes totalling millions of dollars. There are ad campaigns urging people to get a vaccine to protect their loved ones, or to help move a province to the point where it can reopen concert venues, theatres and large sporting events.

Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe said this week his government will not hold a lottery.

"You get to protect your family, your friends, your loved ones and everyone around you from this COVID virus," Moe said Tuesday.

"If you like to gamble, then I would suggest to you dont get your shot. The prize is not what you think."

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Also this ...

Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International say Canada detains thousands of asylum seekers every year in often abusive conditions where people of colour appear to be held for longer periods.

The two leading human rights organizations documented in a joint report how people in immigration detention, including those fleeing persecution and seeking protection in Canada, are regularly handcuffed, shackled and held with little to no contact with the outside world.

The secretary-general of Amnesty International Canada says the countrys abusive immigration detention system is in stark contrast to the rich diversity and the values of equality and justice that Canada is known for.

Ketty Nivyabandi says there should be no place in Canada for racism, cruelty, and human rights violations against people coming to this country seeking safety and a better life.

The Canada Border Services Agency says on its website that individuals may be detained for a number of reasons, including if they have criminal convictions, if they lack "ties to the community" or if they may be a danger to the public or the security of Canada.

It says a national immigration detention framework introduced in 2016, with a five-year investment of $138 million, created a "better, fairer" system that supports the "humane and dignified treatment of individuals while protecting public safety."

Nivyabandi says Canada should sign and ratify the United Nations' Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture to further prevent violations and open detention sites for international inspection.

She adds Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch are calling on the Canadian authorities to end the inhumane treatment of people in the immigration and refugee protection system by gradually ending immigration detention in Canada.

The 100-page report says people can be held for months or years on immigration-related grounds. Detainees who are from communities of colour, particularly Black detainees, appear to be held for longer periods, often in provincial jails, it says.

The report says Canada locked up 8,825 people between the ages of 15 and 83, including 1,932 in provincial jails between April 2019 and March 2020.

During the same period, 136 children were put in detention to avoid separating them from their detained parents, including 73 children under age six.

Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International found that Canada has held more than 300 immigration detainees for longer than a year since 2016.

The report includes 90 interviews with former immigration detainees and their relatives, mental health experts, academics, lawyers, civil society representatives, and government officials.

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What we are watching in the U.S. ...

WASHINGTON The United States will soon have a new federal holiday commemorating the end of slavery in the nation.

The House passed a bill Wednesday that would make Juneteenth, or June 19th, a federal holiday. The House voted 415-14 to make Juneteenth the 12th federal holiday.

Juneteenth commemorates when the last enslaved African Americans learned they were free. Confederate soldiers surrendered in April 1865, but word didnt reach the last enslaved Black people until June 19, when Union soldiers brought the news of freedom to Galveston, Texas.

The bill now goes to President Joe Biden's desk for his signature.

Its the first new federal holiday since Martin Luther King Jr. Day was created in 1983.

"Our federal holidays are purposely few in number and recognize the most important milestones," said Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-NY. "I cannot think of a more important milestone to commemorate than the end of slavery in the United States."

The Senate passed the bill a day earlier under a unanimous consent agreement that expedites the process for considering legislation. It takes just one senators objection to block such agreements.

Some Republican lawmakers opposed the effort. Rep. Matt Rosendale, R-Mont., said creating the federal holiday was an effort to celebrate "identity politics."

"Since I believe in treating everyone equally, regardless of race, and that we should be focused on what unites us rather than our differences, I will vote no," he said in a news release.

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What we are watching in the rest of the world ...

GENEVA U.S. President Joe Biden and Russias Vladimir Putin have exchanged cordial words and plotted out modest next steps on arms control and diplomacy.

But the two leaders emerged from their much-anticipated Swiss summit Wednesday largely where they started with deep differences on human rights, cyberattacks, election interference and more.

They did reach an important, but hardly relationship-changing agreement to return their chief diplomats to Moscow and Washington after each was called home as the relationship deteriorated in recent months. And Biden and Putin agreed to start working on a plan to fortify their countries last remaining treaty limiting nuclear weapons.

But their three hours of talks on the shores of Lake Geneva left both men standing firmly in the same positions they had started in.

"Im not confident hell change his behaviour," Biden said at a post-summit news conference, when he was asked about what evidence he saw that former KGB agent Putin would adjust his ways and actions. "What will change his behaviour is the rest of the world reacts to them, and they diminish their standing in the world. Im not confident in anything."

Both the White House and Kremlin had set low expectations going into the summit. They issued an joint statement after the conclusion that said their meeting showed the "practical work our two countries can do to advance our mutual interests and also benefit the world."

Putin showed defiance at questions about Biden pressing him on human rights, but he also expressed respect for the U.S. president as an experienced political leader.

He noted that Biden repeated wise advice his mother had given him and that American president also spoke about his family messaging that Putin said might not have been entirely relevant to their summit but demonstrated Biden's "moral values."

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On this day in 1958 ...

The collapse of the half-finished Second Narrows bridge at Vancouver killed 18 workers and injured 20.

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In entertainment ...

TORONTO "Kim's Convenience" star Simu Liu says there's a lesson to be learned from the way the hit Korean-Canadian family comedy ended.

The Toronto-raised actor addressed the situation on the CBC series in a virtual chat with musician and actor Sook-Yin Lee at the Banff World Media Festival, following up on his Facebook post earlier this month that decried a lack of East Asian and female representation among writers for the show.

Liu said the show had an "overwhelmingly white" team of producers who shut out creative input from the cast of Asian Canadians.

Liu acknowledged creative differences can exist on any show but said he was upset about the way producers cancelled "Kim's Convenience" a show lauded for its cultural representation.

"To see such a Canadian success story snuffed out in such an anticlimactic and almost pathetic kind of way, it did not befit a show of that calibre and of that social reach and social quality," Liu told Lee in Wednesday's Banff chat.

"It really got me thinking about the importance of representation. And when I say representation, I mean so much more than what you see on the surface in front of the screen. I think it is so important to have voices in the decision-making process that are sensitive to the groups that your show or your production represents.

"In the case of 'Kim's Convenience,' that was Korean Canadians, that was East Asian Canadians, and we rightly felt like we didn't have that voice in the writers' room or at the creators' table."

A representative for the show said Wednesday "the producers don't have any further comments at this time."

The star of Marvel's upcoming film "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings" is among several cast members to speak publicly about being unhappy with the way producers ended the show after its fifth season because co-creators Ins Choi and Kevin White were moving on to pursue other projects.

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ICYMI ...

OTTAWA A Parliamentary committee says the rights of air travellers need to better protected, while airlines and airports should be in line for more financial help as the industry recovers from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

But the standing committee on transport, infrastructure and communities says any financial support from the government should be on the condition that airlines immediately refund Canadian travellers for pandemic related cancellations and that they restore regional routes in the country.

Airlines dropped multiple routes in regions, including Atlantic Canada, during the pandemic as passenger volume plummeted with COVID-19 restrictions.

The report acknowledges the air transport industry will need extended financial relief that outlasts existing government subsidies, and that programs like wage subsidies and rent relief must continue past the summer for airlines and airports.

Vance Badawey, A Liberal MP who is chair of the committee, said in a statement that the recommendations are "aimed at maintaining the sector's competitiveness, protecting jobs and ensuring the health and safety of workers, passengers and the Canadian public."

The committee report says any federal aid should be aimed at protecting existing jobs and rehiring workers. It also calls on the government to form a detailed aviation restart program, something that airlines and travel operators have been calling for to help the industries develop a clear plan for the coming months.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 17, 2021

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Vaccine hesitancy in the Prairies, abuse of asylum seekers : In The News for June 17 - Kamloops This Week