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This week we’re covering a forgotten genocide in Sudan, G20 and Africa leaders talking investment, and the launch of a new flagship data tool from ONE. |
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Top newsForgotten genocide: Almost 30 years since Rwanda’s genocide was largely ignored by the international community it’s happening again — this time in Sudan. The UN, independent researchers, and charities have highlighted the conflict. It has left 9,000 people dead and 5.6 million displaced in the past seven months. Piles of bodies are reportedly visible from outer space. Investigators from the Centre for Information Resilience have used satellite imagery to track the devastation. The much-feared Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has been fighting Sudanese Armed Forces since 15 April in a power tussle between the leaders of the two sides. Former US President Barack Obama said it is time for world leaders “to stop the massacre … It’s a shame on humanity that this is still going on. There is a genocide going on in west Darfur.” But while the US played an active role in the region’s conflict in the 2000s, it is now distracted by Ukraine, Gaza, and other geopolitical hotspots. ***ONE DATA COMMONS***: Amassing more than 200,000 datasets, this week ONE published datacommons.one.org. In partnership with Google, the new platform presents datasets on everything from farm inventories in Nigerian states, to female employment in Tanzania. From lead poisoning and wet bulb temperatures, to extreme flooding events. We are putting all this data in your hands, allowing you to visualise and share it in seconds. Check out the latest on health, the economy, and the people of Africa. Colossal: Over a dozen African leaders descended on Berlin for the G20 Compact with Africa Summit. Launched in 2017, the Compact with Africa helps African countries attract foreign direct investment. This year’s summit focused on investment opportunities on the continent related to the green energy transition and the ability of those to create jobs and promote a socially just transition. The summit follows German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s trip to Ghana and Nigeria to strengthen economic ties with those countries in support of advancing Germany’s energy security. African Union Chair Azali Assoumani said the investment needs were "colossal." Hit the rocks: In a nod to the continent’s sovereign debt challenges, AU Chair Assoumani conceded that high demand for investment on the continent had led some governments to “take on debt in less than ideal conditions.” Assoumani asked his G20 counterparts to support Africa’s calls for reform of the global financial system. He also floated the idea of expanding the Compact with Africa to all African countries. Doing so could help revive FDI flows to Africa, which saw a 44% decrease, from US$81 billion in 2021 to just US$45 billion in 2022. Speaking of debt, Zambia’s debt deal with private bondholders hit the rocks as governments baulked at the terms of deal, which are highly preferential to the creditors. This could ultimately be good for Zambia — but it further delays progress in this case, which is paving the way (or not) for other countries that need debt relief. Reliable customers: Germany pledged €4 billion to develop green energy projects in Africa through 2030 to contribute to the Africa-Europe Green Energy Initiative. The German chancellor later tweeted about the pledge with a call for African countries to produce green hydrogen, trusting that they would have “reliable customers” in Europe. Faten Aggad of The Nelson Mandela School reminded the EU that it should see Africa as more than a commodity producer and also invest in value addition. African leaders, too, could do with such reminders as they negotiate mining rights and royalties over critical minerals, consider giving up land for carbon credit projects, and figure out green manufacturing on the continent. Good COP, bad COP: Progress on climate finance, adaptation solutions, and renewable energy investment are top priorities for African countries at this year's UN climate change summit. One seeming light on the horizon is news from the OECD that rich countries are likely to finally meet their promise of providing US$100 billion a year in climate finance to lower-income countries in 2022. But the news is based on preliminary and unverified data, so you'll just have to take the OECD's word for it. Taking rich countries at their word has become the status quo when reporting on international climate finance. But it needs challenging. Next week, ONE will publish explosive new findings on the complete mess that is climate finance data (hint: billions of dollars of climate finance is not going where it should). If you know anyone who wants to hear about it first, forward them this email and encourage them to sign up to Aftershocks. Deluge: Severe flooding across Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia has left close to 1 million people displaced over the past month. The extremes playing out in the Horn of Africa, which had previously experienced a long bout of severe drought, are a testament to the chaos that climate change wreaks on underprepared communities. Many African climate negotiators and activists feel that the issue of climate adaptation has taken a back seat to efforts to curb emissions and compensate countries for unavoidable loss and damage due to climate change. That sentiment is reflected in available climate finance data, which shows a decline in international adaptation finance between 2020 and 2021 and an increasing adaptation finance gap. Separately, TIME Magazine published its 100 Climate Leaders list. 4% are African. Collusion: South Africa’s ruling African National Congress said commercial lenders found to have manipulated the nation’s currency should be charged with economic sabotage. Global bank Standard Chartered Plc admitted this week to manipulating currency trading in South Africa and was fined US$2.3mn. In what sounds like the plot straight out of Hollywood, bank traders at 28 local and international banks are accused of a “single overarching conspiracy.” They allegedly used platforms such as the Reuters currency trading platform and the Bloomberg instant messaging system to coordinate their alleged collusive trading activities. Unaligned: Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni announced he would host the “non-aligned” movement and the G77 + China group of countries early next year. The two summits are set to run back-to-back from 15-23 January. The government is repairing potholes, building a state-of-the-art conference centre, and promising to set up a specialised police unit for the events. But Uganda’s anti-gay law risks overshadowing the events. West vs. rest: An African proposed UN Resolution calling for a UN Framework Convention on International Tax Cooperation passed with 125 votes in favour. The 48 countries voting against the proposal consisted of Europe, the US, and some of the world’s leading tax havens. Members of the OECD are keen to keep control of global tax rulemaking. Unsurprisingly, they tend to make the rules in their own favour — and those not at the table lose out. From the ONE Team
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What you should read, watch, and listen to:
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A LOOK AHEAD30 Nov - 12 Dec: UNFCCC COP28, the UN Climate Change Conference takes place in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. 30 Nov: Launch of The Climate Finance Files: ONE’s investigation into the wild west of climate finance. |
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The ONE Campaign’s data.one.org provides cutting edge data and analysis on the economic, political, and social changes impacting Africa. Check it out HERE. |
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