EU Parliament, protecting women in the Balkans The European Parliament “Considers that women play an essential role in stabilisation and conflict resolution, which is crucial to reconciliation in the [Balkan] region as a whole”. The resolution equally “underlines the importance of access to justice for women victims of wartime crimes, in particular rape”. The resolution on the rights of women in the Balkan region drawn up by MEP Marije Cornelissen, up for debate in the EU Assembly Plenary of May 20-23 underlines the crucial role played by women for the progress of these countries and notes with concern that individual and social rights of the female populations fail to be respected nationwide. The document delves into women’s condition across all Balkan states, identifying proposals of legislation that needs to be adopted at national level. It highlights “with concern that the population in most countries is not fully aware of the existing legislation and policies to promote gender equality and women’s rights”; “Underlines the importance of awareness-raising campaigns in the fight against stereotypes, discrimination (gender-based, cultural, religion-based) and domestic violence”. The EP Resolution “notes with concern that women remain under-represented in the labour market as well as in economic and political decision making; “notes with concern that, in some states in this region, women entrepreneurs are frequently discriminated against when trying to secure loans or credit for their businesses” and that that 30 % of the victims of cross-border trafficking in human beings in the EU are nationals of Balkan countries, whereas women and girls comprise the bulk of the victims detected”. The document stresses the ongoing domestic violence and discrimination of Roma women. The issues highlighted in the resolution will be taken into due account in the negotiations for process of rapprochement of all Balkan Countries (Croatia, nearing adhesion, Serbia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Montenegro, Albania, Kosovo, Macedonia) to the European Union.Soil Atlas of Africa, stop the degradation”The soils of Africa have a crucial role in climate change adaptation and mitigation polices and they are the basis for sustainable development and food security. Land productivity is fundamental to reaching many of the Millennium Development Goals”. With these words, European Commissioner for Climate Action Connie Hedegaard, shared some of the reasons underlying the EU’s decision to support the publication of the first Soil Atlas of Africa, “highlighting a vital natural resource which provides food, fodder, fuel wood, reduces flood risk and protects water supplies”. With full colour maps and illustrations, the atlas explains in a simple and clear manner the diversity of soil across the African continent and emphasizes the importance of this non-renewable resource”. An internationally renowned group of soil scientists from Africa and Europe has contributed to this Atlas coordinated by the European Commission’s in-house science service, the JRC. According to the scholars, “deserts and drylands comprise 60% of the land surface of the African continent, populated by over one billion people. Much of the remaining land shows old, highly weathered soils which require special attention to be of use for agriculture”. “Population growth and urbanisation, coupled with conflicting economic challenges (cultivation of cash crops for export, biofuel production, biodiversity conservation, mineral extraction, carbon sequestration)”, increase the already heavy pressure on the land. Fertile and productive soils are key to tackling hunger and are a particular challenge in Africa, where, in many parts, soils are losing nutrients faster than fertilisers can be added”. A pan-African Conference for the assessment on the state of soil resources will take place in Kenya in October 2013. The key figures collected in the Atlas show that “98% of all calories consumed in Africa originate from the soil resources of Africa”; “Africa’s soils store about 200 gigatonnes of organic carbon – 2.5 times more than contained in the continent’s plants. Further information on the Soil Atlas can be found by loggin on: http://eusoils.jrc.ec.europa.eu/library/maps/africa_atlas/index.html.
