News, Newsletter

CID Weekly: Pacific workers coming to NZ, Cook Islands bubble, Ethiopian crisis.

Posted on 01 December 2020

+ 2000 fruit pickers allowed into NZ from Pacific

Two thousand workers from the Pacific will come to New Zealand early next year to pick fruit for the horticulture and wine industries, reports Derek Cheng in the NZ Herald.

Employers will have to pay the workers a living wage of $22.10 an hour, pay them 30 hours' a week while they're in managed isolation for 14 days, and cover their isolation costs - estimated at $4472 a worker.

Where the workers fly in from is still to be determined but, to qualify, the country needs an agreed plan to take back all of their RSE workers.

+ Islamic Law and International Humanitarian Law

Even wars have limits. They are defined by International Humanitarian Law which obliges protection of all people not taking part in the conflict, as well as limiting the means and methods of warfare.

The rules and laws of war are derived from elementary human values that are an integral part of all the world's philosophies and religions.

Islamic law:

  • Guarantees victims of armed conflict the right to protection, respect, and dignified humane treatment.
  • Calls for the protection of civilian facilities and property.
  • Limits the methods and means of warfare to the limits of military necessity.
This is in full compliance with the provisions of International Humanitarian Law. Thus, the similarities between IHL and Islamic law are not coincidental, but the evidence that there are universal values and an important part of most religious and other worldviews.

Similarities and differences between IHL and Islamic Law are the main topics of the publication titled Islamic Law and International Humanitarian Law

The book is a joint product of the longstanding cooperation between the International Committee of the Red Cross in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Faculty of Islamic Studies at the University of Sarajevo.


 

+ When will a vaccine be available in developing countries?

While there is no definite date for a vaccine in New Zealand, developing countries are asking when their vaccines will be available.

Widespread campaigns to distribute COVID-19 vaccines in Africa will likely only begin in the second quarter of next year because of challenges around accessing vaccines and preparing countries for their distribution, said John Nkengasong, Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention director.

The cold temperatures required for the storage and distribution of the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines would make them a challenge to distribute in Africa quickly, Nkengasong said. While the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine had lower interim efficacy results, it does offer the best possibility for distribution on the continent because the temperature required isn’t as low and manufacturers can produce it at a lower price, writes Sara Jerving in Devex. 

To achieve levels of herd immunity there is a need to vaccinate about 60% of the population, which will be challenging for many developing countries. 

With vaccines potentially available in early 2021 in the Pacific, governments should be making plans to secure their supplies and deliver these to their people, writes Policy Forum's Nicholas Thomson and Hugh McClure.

"Across the Pacific, some planning is underway, but more work remains to be done to ensure national and regional vaccination plans in the Pacific Islands are ready to deploy."

 



 

+ Cook Island bubble - 'Are we there yet?'

Tourism businesses in the Pacific are desperate for a vaccine.

There was excitement in the Cook Islands over a recent New Zealand government delegation to survey the country’s borders and discuss a potential travel bubble, reports  the Conversation.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern dampened hopes of a trans-Tasman bubble before Christmas due to different tolerances for community transmission in New Zealand and Australia.

It also begs the question - how much should tourism be revived in the Pacific given the vulnerability of the region to its dependence on the tourism sector?

New research  - Reimagining South Pacific Tourism post COVID - examines the development options for the Pacific post-COVID.


 

+ Crisis in Tigray Province, Ethiopia

Abiy Ahmed, the prime minister of Ethiopia has forcefully rejected efforts by international powers to bring hostilities in the north of the country to an end.

Abiy’s statement came last week, hours before a deadline for the surrender of the leadership of the restive region of Tigray expires, after which federal troops have been ordered to attack its capital, Mekelle. There are growing calls for mediation to halt a conflict that threatens to destabilise a swath of east-African countries. Hundreds, possibly thousands of people, have died so far, and many more forced to flee their homes.

As conflict rages in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region, a fast-growing refugee crisis is building in the eastern provinces of neighbouring Sudan: Almost 40,000 people have already sought safety over the past two weeks, and many more are expected in the days ahead.

 

+ Safeguarding webinar on recruitment

Getting the HR function right for safeguarding is vital. Not only in order to prevent people joining the organisation who are unsuitable to work with children and communities, but also to discipline staff or others who breach policies and codes of conduct.

This webinar will look at how recruitment can be strengthened through collaborations, with particular reference to smaller and less-resourced organisations.

Resource and Support Hub are hosting this webinar with global experts, Gareth Priuce-Jones and Sarah Maguire. It's an awful time difference, but if you keen register here.


 

+ NZ charities - 'State of the Sector'
 

Comvoices have just launched their survey looking at the state of New Zealand's charitable sector (domestic NGOs and some international). 

Download the Summary Report here and the Full report here
 
This 2020 State of the Sector Survey is the fourth biennial snapshot of the community and voluntary sector undertaken by ComVoices. Its findings reinforce those of previous surveys and other recent reports on the community and voluntary sector, says Ronja Levers.
 
'While still fragile, the community and voluntary sector is generally more stable and viable than it was two years ago.

'The survey of 129 community and voluntary organisations shows that the sector continues to deal with increased demands, increasing costs and has been significantly impacted by COVID-19.'
 

 

+ Afamasaga Jackie Curry appointed to lead PCF

We are thrilled to see that friend of CID, Jackie Curry has been appointed the new CEO of the Pacific Co-operation Foundation. 

PCF has also established a Wellington office - led by another talented colleague known to many of you, Laree  Taula, formally Fletcher Tabuteau's off-sider. 

A Wellington office will mean that PCF  can align more closely with the Government, the diplomatic corps, and other stakeholders like international NGOs based in the Capital.

The main office is in Auckland.

“Working for the PCF is an incredible opportunity and I believe the PCF is in a strong and unique position to connect people in New Zealand and the Pacific to enable a more prosperous and empowered Pacific region - which includes New Zealand - and I’m excited to be part of it,” said Afamasaga Jackie Curry.

+ 2021 Humanitarian Leadership Conference: Who are the Humanitarians?

The Centre for Humanitarian Leadership is holding its Humanitarian Leadership Conference on 28-29 April 2021.  The conference will work to determine where change is needed and what a reshaping of the humanitarian ecosystem might look like, from the actors involved and ways of working to the very definition of what constitutes a humanitarian crisis.

The Call for Abstracts and Expressions of Interest are now open. Submissions close 9 December 2020.

 

+ New Member Representatives for CID Code Committee

We would like to welcome on board Rosemary Fenton (Save the Children) and Kate Holgate (Habitat for Humanity) who are the new members of the CID Code Committee. This is for a 2 year tenure, running from 1st December 2020 until 30th November 2022. They are taking over the roles vacated by Jordana Dawson-Hayes (Fred Hollows) and Hamish Lindsay (UNICEF).

We have an exciting year ahead as we look to operationalise the Code Review recommendations, as well as move components of the compliance self-assessment process online. The next CID Code of Committee meeting is scheduled for Tues, 2nd February.

+ MFAT Hui/Zui - December 10th

MFAT’s Pacific and Development Group are hosting the annual NGO Hui/Zui – this year held virtually on Thursday 10 December, 1:00 - 4:30pm

There will be: 

 - MFAT Updates
 - Partnering for Impact sessions and updates on recent research and surveys
 - Localisation: Initial research findings
 
If you have not received an email with the agenda, please contact CID at office@cid.org.nz

Registration is open to NZ NGOs via the link here. All participants must register individually, after which you will be sent a login code and password.

 

 

 
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