September 2022 — Page 2 of 16 — Human Rights & Charity

World ‘must engage’ or risk Afghanistan’s collapse, Security Council hears

Despite some positive developments over the past few months, the Deputy Special Representative for Afghanistan said they have been “too few and too slow and they are outweighed by the negatives”.

Women’s rights

He drew attention to the ongoing ban on girls’ secondary education and growing restrictions on women’s rights, as “signals that the Taliban are indifferent to more than 50 per cent of the population” and are willing to risk international isolation.

“The relegation of women and girls to the home not only deprives them of their rights, but Afghanistan as a whole is denied the benefit of the significant contributions that women and girls have to offer,” he detailed.

Terrorism concerns ‘dismissed’

Meanwhile, from armed clashes to deadly terrorist attacks, the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) has monitored a steady rise in security incidents by terrorist groups and others.

“Our earlier warnings about the capabilities of Islamic State Khorosan Province (ISKP) were dismissed by the Taliban”, he told ambassadors.

“But ISKP has demonstrated in the last few months alone that it can carry out assassinations of figures close to the Taliban, attacks against foreign embassies, as well as fire rockets across Afghanistan’s border to attack its neighbours – all while maintaining its long-standing sectarian campaign against Shia Muslims and ethnic minorities,” said Mr. Potzel.

Provincial rights violations

And armed clashes are continuing between Taliban security forces and armed opposition groups in the Panjshir, Baghlan, Kapisa, Takhar, and Badakhshan provinces, the UN envoy continued.

“There are disturbing reports, as well as videos and photos, indicating possible serious human rights violations committed in Panjshir,” he said, calling for an investigation into allegations of extra-judicial killings there.

The mission will continue to carefully monitor these and other reports of serious human rights violations, he added.

UN bolstering cash economy

As per capita income has collapsed to 2007 levels – erasing 15 years of economic growth – the country’s economic situation “remains tenuous” (with little detail forthcoming from the Taliban) due in part to Afghanistan’s isolation from the international banking system.

“Liquidity remains heavily dependent on the cash that the UN continues to bring in for humanitarian operations – cash, I must stress, that supports the needs of the Afghan people and does not directly reach the de facto authorities,” said Mr. Potzel.

But even the funding is uncertain as the 2022 Humanitarian Response Plan has only received $1.9 billion out of a $4.4 billion requirement.

No representation

Humanitarian and economic measures will not meet the Afghan people’s longer-term needs, and the emergency aid cannot replace essential service delivery systems, such as health and water, or hold off an economic collapse, he warned.

Moreover, a continued lack of political inclusivity and transparency in decision-making leave most Afghans without any government representation.

“There are no consistent mechanisms for citizens to provide feedback to the authorities and little indication that the Taliban wish to even hear any,” the UN envoy said.

‘We have to engage’

While the Taliban’s self-identified emirate has not been recognized by any State, the international community also does not want to see the country collapse, Mr. Potzel stressed.

“If the Taliban do not respond to the needs of all elements of Afghan society and constructively engage within the very limited window of opportunity with the international community, it is unclear what would come next,” said the Deputy Special Representative.

“Further fragmentation, isolation, poverty, and internal conflict are among the likely scenarios, leading to potential mass migration and a domestic environment conducive to terrorist organizations, as well as greater misery for the Afghan population.

“That’s why we have to engage”, he declared, adding that “continued qualified engagement” was the most realistic way of helping the Afghan people.

DPRK lashes out against international system governed by ‘exclusive Western values’

“The present reality urgently calls for the UN to promote more than ever before cooperation and reconciliation, and unity and solidarity among its Member States, and to discharge its righteous missions and role,” Ambassador Kim Song said.

Security Council reform

He said the UN Security Council is not “fully discharging” its mandate to safeguard international peace, because of the “unjust and double-dealing acts” of the United States and other States following in its footsteps.

The Council “does not say even a word about the high-handedness and arbitrariness, reckless arms build-up and war crimes of the US, but picks a quarrel with his country at every chance in its righteous efforts to bolster national self-defence capabilities”.

Mr. Song argued that the 15-nation body has lost international confidence and is in urgent need of reform.

To put an end to the arrogance of specific countries including the US and restore confidence, he advised that “urgent priority should be given to the expansion and strengthening of the representation of developing countries, which account for the absolute majority of the UN membership”.

Korean peninsula security

Turning to regional security, the Ambassador maintained that the Korean peninsula is caught in “a vicious cycle of tension and confrontation due to the increasing hostility of the US” and its forces against the North.

Noting that “it is heading into a much more dangerous phase,” he drew attention to US President Joe Biden’s address to the Assembly in which “he picked on us saying that despite their ‘efforts to begin serious and sustained diplomacy,’ the DPRK continues to blatantly violate UN ‘sanctions’”.

“To put it clearly, we have never recognized such ‘resolutions’ of the UN that impose pressure because we do not abide by its ‘rules’ made by the US unilaterally,” said the Ambassador, stressing that his country never would.

He observed that even though several countries in the world possess nuclear weapons, only the DPRK has been “subjected to the most brigandish and brutal” sanctions resolutions.

“This is because the UN connived at and allowed the high-handedness and arbitrariness of the US antagonizing the independent DPRK with an absurd reason that it differs in its ideas and systems and opposes its unjust policy,” said Mr. Song.

Against the backdrop that the US is planning to conduct joint military exercises in the region, he described it as “an extremely dangerous act of igniting the fuse to drive the situation on the Korean peninsula to the brink of war”.

“The United States should clearly understand that its heinous and hostile policy against the DPRK over the past 30 years had just brought about today’s reality and ask and answer itself and ponder over how far it would prolong this situation in the future,” he added.

Foreign policy stand

In closing, the Ambassador upheld the DPRK’s foreign policy stance to maintain independence, peace and friendship.

He pledged broad cooperation with all countries and nations that “oppose and reject aggression and interference, domination and subordination” and to develop “multifaceted exchanges and cooperation even with the capitalist countries that respect our country and take friendly attitude to it”.

“The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea sets great store by sovereign equality and international justice…and it will fulfil its responsibilities and role in ensuring peace and security on the Korean peninsula”.

Russia school shooting: Guterres ‘deeply saddened’ by attack which left 15 dead

According to news reports, the gunman who was known to authorities and was a former pupil at the school Number 88, was wearing a Nazi swastika on his T-shirt during the attack, and Russian authorities are investigating the perpetrator’s suspected neo-Nazi links.

In a statement issued by his Deputy-Spokesperson, UN Secretary-General António Guterres, strongly condemned the “act of violence, and expresses his deepest condolences to the families of the victims, as well as to the Government and people of the Russian Federation. He wishes those injured a speedy and full recovery.”

News reports said that the attacker, who was in his early 30s, killed two security guards at the school then opened fire on students and teachers. All but two of those wounded were children. He had been armed with two pistols and a large supply of ammunition.

The school is located in western Russia, some 600 miles (965 kilometres) east of Moscow. Izvesk is the capital of the Udmurt Republic.

‘Make schools safe’

The head of UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, UNESCO, Audrey Azoulay, tweeted that she was deeply shocked by the shooting of children and their teachers at the school.

“I strongly condemn this horrendous attack. Deepest condolences to (the) families of victims and the Russian people. We need immediate action to stop this senseless violence, and make schools safe.”

UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) chief, Catherine Russell, tweeted later on Monday that “every child has the right to be safe in school, wherever they are and whatever their circumstances.”

The attacker had reportedly been registered with a local psychiatric facility.

There have been several school shootings in Russia in recent years including in the provincial capital of Kazan, in May 2021, when nine people were killed by a gunman – seven students and two employees – and last September, when six were killed and 47 injured, on a university campus, in the city of Perm.

In response to those incidents, the Russian Government reportedly tightened gun ownership laws.

In a world of new challenges, ‘we need to build on what unites us’, Assembly President tells UN Member States

“This year, we heard from 190 speakers, including 76 Heads of State, 50 Heads of Government, four Vice-Presidents, five Deputy Prime Ministers, 48 Ministers and seven Heads of Delegations,” said General Assembly President Csaba Kőrösi as he summed up the first in-person General Debate since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

While only 23 speakers were women, he echoed the words of former New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark, who moderated this year’s first General Assembly Platform of Women Leaders, in saying that they “pack a punch”.

‘New era’ of humanity

Unable to boil down 190 statements into a few phrases, Mr. Kőrösi instead focused on some of the common themes, beginning a growing awareness that “humanity has entered a new era”.

Facing complex challenges and multi-layer crises, he said that significant transformations are underway, pointing out that “basic conditions” of global cooperation have changed, leaving “a world of new challenges, changing priorities, changing roles, and changing ways”.

“Fresh pages of history are being written, with new divisions and new alliances, new grievances, and new successes on them,” said the Assembly President.

Spotlight on Ukraine

Next, he said the Hall reverberated in accord that the war in Ukraine should end.

He recapped Member States’ concern over shortages, inflation, refugees, nuclear safety and the “dangers of misinformation and propaganda”.

“Yet, be it the largest and the most acute, the war in Ukraine is one of nearly 30 armed conflicts worldwide,” said the senior UN official, adding, “and none of them is improving”.

Climate change

The third topic resonating throughout the speeches highlighted the dangers of climate change.

Discussions ensued about countries simultaneously experiencing droughts and flooding; unsustainable patterns of production and consumption; and plastic pollution filling oceans and killing fish, “even as waves of rising seas drown shorelines,” he continued.

Yet, despite calls to achieve global net-zero and for climate justice, some still seem unconvinced that “growing our economies can be balanced with limiting emissions and preserving biodiversity,” said Mr. Kőrösi.

Human rights

Calls were also heard for improving human rights and meeting the needs of those most vulnerable to exploitation.

“There is a cost to speaking out about human rights violations,” he acknowledged, “but the freedom of speaking out is strongly supported”.

The Assembly President recalled addresses affirming diversity as “a strength, not a liability,” and drew attention to the high-level event on minorities marking 30 years since an historic Declaration on the rights of persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities.

Revitalization and reform

He also noted the support to revitalize the General Assembly to respond better to interlocking global crises and reform the Security Council to reflect the realities of this century.

The senior UN official then pointed to the goal of a peaceful post-COVID world with increased trust, where together we can work to mitigate and adapt to climate change. He reminded that his vision statement for “solutions through solidarity, sustainability and science” is a step in that direction.

“We need to build on what unites us,” and frame “the most burning challenges” in terms of crisis management and transformation, he said.

“To deepen solidarity, we must build trust”.

Next steps

With the aim of strengthening universally accepted and owned actions, the Assembly president plans to launch a series of consultations, including with the scientific community.

He said that he is also looking ahead to preparations for the UN Water Conference, the Sendai Midterm review and the SDG Summit.

“When I addressed you a week ago, I said that things…go wrong when we fail to seize the opportunities before us,” said Mr. Kőrösi. “Our opportunity is here and now. Let us act”.

Before concluding, he thanked everyone who made the High-Level Week a success.

ILO welcomes first global agreement on professional footballers’ rights

“Free, independent, strong and representative employers’ and workers’ organizations, together with trust, commitment and respect by the governments for the autonomy of the social partners are key conditions for effective social dialogue in football,” said Guy Ryder, head of the International Labour Organization (ILO), at the signing ceremony at the agency’s headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland.

Standing united

The agreement creates a new international bargaining framework between the World Leagues Forum (WLF) – representing 44 national professional football leagues comprising some 1,100 clubs – and FIFPRO, the global footballers’ union – representing more than 60,000 professional football players as employees in the international football industry, through 66 national player unions in Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe, and Oceania.

Employer and employee representatives signed the Global Labour Agreement (GLA) for professional footballers (the sport is referred to as soccer in the United States), agreeing to take greater responsibility in finding collective solutions to the challenges facing the industry.

The pact acknowledges that collectively agreed upon standards, will improve labour relations in the professional game, and improve the multi-billion dollar sport’s viability and growth.

Setting ground rules

The agreement will provide a platform for discussing rules for protecting players’ health and safety along with a commitment to improve the representation and involvement of domestic leagues, their member clubs and players’ unions.

Moreover, it recognizes the need for greater representation and consideration for women’s football – including issues related to domestic competitions, clubs, and players.

Negotiations may also include issues such as employment standards, concussion management, measures to tackle discrimination and racism – including on social media – and other forms of abuse.

Under the GLA, ILO may be asked to provide expert advice in areas where it has expertise, including implementation of the agreement.

“Football has the power to inspire and unite people of all nationalities and walks of life, irrespective of gender and ethnicity,” upheld the ILO chief, adding that the players “need to be protected by the fundamental principles and rights at work.”

More on the agreement

The GLA follows the fundamental principles and rights at work set out by ILO in the 1998 Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, which was amended in 2022.

It is also in line with the Points of Consensus of the ILO Global Dialogue Forum on Decent Work in the World of Sport (2020).

Specific reference is also made to the ILO Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87) and the ILO Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98) .

Central African Republic: Said trial opens at International Criminal Court

Mahamat Said Abdel Kani – a top-ranking leader of the mostly-Muslim Séléka militia – pleaded not guilty to all charges, which relate to atrocities carried out in 2013, in the Central African Republic capital, Bangui.

Much of the violence stemmed for clashes between Séléka and the mostly-Christian Anti-balaka faction.

Occupation

Before the crimes were committed, from late 2012 to early 2013, Séléka militia advanced towards the capital, attacking police stations, occupying military bases, capturing towns and regional capitals, and targeting suspected supporters of President François Bozizé.

They seized Bangui in March 2013 and with forces numbering up to 20,000, looted homes while searching for sympathisers of Mr. Bozize, shot those fleeing in the back or killed others in their homes.

“Women and girls were raped and gang-raped in front of their children or parents; some died as a result of their injuries,” the arrest warrant for Mr. Said stated.

Civilians targetted

“Part of the civilian population was targeted through multiple acts of murder, imprisonment, torture, rape, persecution on political, ethnic and religious grounds, and pillaging of houses belonging to non-Muslims and others perceived to be complicit with or supportive of the Bozizé government,” the warrant continued.

Mr. Kani’s charge sheet includes imprisonment, torture, persecution, enforced disappearance and other inhumane acts, committed in Bangui between approximately April and November 2013.

He saw “oversaw the day-to-day operations” of an infamous detention centre where men were taken after being arrested by Séléka members.

Appalling conditions

“Prisoners were held in small, dark, crowded cells with only a bucket as a toilet and little or no food, causing detainees to drink their own urine,” the ICC statement read.

Detainees were whipped with strips of rubber, beaten with rifle butts and told: “We’re going to kill you one by one”.

It was common for prisoners to spend several hours in a specific stress position so painful that some “would ask to be killed”. The position, known as “arbatacha”, involved tying a detainee’s hands and legs are tied behind their back, with their legs touching their elbows.

Extracting confessions

Mr. Said allegedly referred to the technique as “the most effective to obtain confessions”, the ICC warrant explained, while also noting that he was responsible for deciding which prisoners should be transferred to an underground cell located under his office.

At another detention centre known as CEDAD, where conditions were described as “inhumane”, the court maintained that Mr. Said was the “operations commander” and “kept a list of persons to be arrested” or ordered their arrest.

The trial continues.

South Sudan violence proliferating, warn independent rights experts

Women and girls continue to be gang-raped and survivors have been described as “zombies, physically and emotionally dead”, according to the UN Commission on Human Rights in the world’s youngest nation.

Police the peace

In an alert, Commission chairperson, Yasmin Sooka, said that it was critical for the international community to monitor the country’s peace agreement, along with other reforms – including of the armed forces and the constitution.

Transitional justice bodies are also urgently needed, as per an agreement made four years ago by the country’s Government, the Commission noted.

“Without these steps, we are likely to see millions more South Sudanese displaced or crossing borders, creating havoc for neighbouring countries and aid agencies,” Ms. Sooka said.

According to South Sudan’s 2018 peace agreement, elections have been postponed until late 2024.

Death threats

But conditions must be peaceful for a national poll to happen and South Sudanese people “who have questioned the government or exposed atrocities have received death threats, been detained or tortured”, the rights commission explained.

The panel noted that none of the three proposed transitional justice bodies agreed in 2018 have been created, namely the Commission on Truth, Reconciliation and Healing, the Hybrid Court or the Compensation and Reparation Authority.

The independent rights panel – which was established by the Human Rights Council in 2016 – said that “women raped by armed forces while collecting firewood are threatened with death if they report it”.

Often, the police are too ill-equipped to do their job; “they cannot arrest a soldier who is better armed and protected the Commission said in a recent statement.

Justice denied

In a further illustration of the lack of justice for survivors, the rights investigators noted that in Unity State and rural parts of Western Equatoria, “there is no formal court to deal with serious crimes like murder and rape, only customary courts”.

During a visit this month to Western Equatoria, the Commission described seeing “very young girls with babies around military bases” and hearing “multiple accounts of soldiers from both government and opposition forces abducting women”.

Speaking at a Global Survivors Forum in New York at the weekend, hosted by Nobel Peace Prize winners Denis Mukwege and Nadia Murad, to examine best practice for reparations for sexual violence, inquiry Commissioner Andrew Clapham said: “Survivors in South Sudan, particularly those of repeated incidents of sexual violence, tell us again and again that criminal accountability is the only way to guarantee their safety and peace for the country. That’s why setting up the Hybrid Court is non-negotiable.”

Ukraine: UN and partners ramp up assistance to over 150,000 in Kharkiv region

The UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Ukraine, Denise Brown, was in Kharkiv on Monday, and aid workers had begun making life-saving deliveries to the thousands in need, just days after Russian troops withdrew following the surprise Ukrainian counter-attack to secure the region around the country’s second largest city.

Kharkiv is located in northeastern Ukraine, just a few miles from the Russian border. Ukrainian authorities said they had recaptured around 6,000 square kilometres of territory from Russia during their September counter-offensive.

Food for more than 73,000

A statement issued by the Spokesperson for UN humanitarian affairs coordination office (OCHA) on Monday, said that “in the past 10 days, aid workers distributed food to more than 73,000 people, nearly half of the people living in these areas which, until a short while ago, were out of our reach.”

“Our colleagues have also delivered hygiene kits to some 12,000 people, as well as kitchen sets, solar lamps, blankets and other critical household items to about 15,000”, OCHA’s Saviano Abreu continued.

Medical supplies

“Health centres have been stocked with enough medicine, surgical kits and emergency health kits to treat 10,000 patients in the coming weeks.”

Humanitarian Coordinator Ms. Brown met workers with local organizations and volunteers, and noted that there is “a dire humanitarian situation” across the region.

She visited some cities that since mid-September, are back under Government control, and saw the level of destruction of civilian infrastructure, including homes, schools, and hospitals.

Expanding aid effort

“The humanitarian community is working closely with national and local authorities, as well as with volunteer groups, to expand assistance even further and help people who have endured the horrors of seven months of war without adequate access to vital items”, Mr. Abreu concluded.

Security Council urged to act in face of ‘humanitarian catastrophe’ in Haiti

Meanwhile, political stakeholders are still struggling to find common ground and define a path to elections against this backdrop, she added.

Haitian-led solution critical

“An economic crisis, a gang crisis, and a political crisis have converged into a humanitarian catastrophe. We must not lose hope, but rather combine our efforts to find a pathway to a better tomorrow,” said UN Special Representative Helen La Lime, speaking from the capital Port-au-Prince.

“A Haitian-led political solution is the first necessary step to address the current crisis. To support Haitians in their effort towards a better future, this Council must take urgent action.”

Gang violence continues to disrupt daily life in Haiti, driving more than 20,000 people from their homes.

More than 1 million affected

The UN estimates that at least 1.5 million people in the Caribbean country have been directly impacted by recent unrest, with gender-based violence, and in particular rape, being used systematically.

The economic crisis has caused food prices to soar, while fuel is often available only on the black market.

Protests broke out in Haiti after the Prime Minister announced on 11 September that the Government will reduce some $400 million in fuel subsidies in efforts to increase revenue for social programmes.

By the following day, barricades had been erected throughout the country, prompting a nationwide shutdown, with the situation persisting in the capital for a full five days.

One of the largest gang alliances also blocked the main fuel terminal there on 12 September. The siege lasted for over a week, despite concerted operations by the police over the weekend.

Good offices role

On the political front, Ms. La Lime said she has maintained good relations with all sectors of society and has encouraged dialogue.

“While so-far inconclusive efforts have led to a perceived stalemate, national stakeholders have begun to re-engage with a renewed sense of urgency. In the past weeks, Government representatives, political groups, and civil society organizations launched new consultations on ways to forge a wider consensus on a path to elections. But we’re not there yet,” she said.

Aid delivery hampered

The insecurity has also severely curtailed humanitarian access and made it “very difficult and dangerous” to deliver, according to Valerie N. Guarnieri, Deputy Executive Director at the World Food Programme (WFP).

“We expect food security to further deteriorate this year, surpassing the record high of 4.5 million people estimated to face crisis or worse levels of acute food insecurity, including 1.3 million people in emergency,” she said.

The gangs strangling the capitol are blocking access to fuel supplies and key logistics hubs, including ports and airports, as well as road access to other areas of the country.

Protesters have also ransacked and looted humanitarian warehouses, with WFP losing one-third of its food stocks in just one week. UN agencies and partners estimate they have lost some $6 million during such attacks, which come at the peak of the hurricane season.

Appeal for support

Ms. Guarnieri stressed that WFP and other aid agencies intend to stay and deliver in Haiti despite the challenges, but will need greater assistance.

“Simply put, we’re not in a position to support all of those that need our help due to the general lawlessness and operational environment,” she said.

“Therefore, we’re looking forward to increased support from the Member States, from you, to further facilitate humanitarian access as well as protection of humanitarian actors, personnel and assets.”

Fighting illicit trafficking

The armed groups not only compromise stability and security, they also hamper efforts towards peace and lasting development, said Ghada Fathi Waly, Executive Director of the UN Office on Drugs and Crimes (UNODC).

Haiti is particularly vulnerable to the illicit traffic in commodities, particularly drugs, firearms and ammunition. due to its 1,500 kilometres of coastline and land border with the Dominican Republic.

Ms. Waly said UNODC is supporting border management and is working to map out transnational criminal activities in Haiti, as well as their regional impact.

They are also assisting the authorities in building capacity to inspect containers at strategic points such as ports and border crossings.

“These efforts should ensure that customs revenue be effectively sent to activities to support border modernization and border management,” she said, speaking in French.

‘We need all hands on deck!’ The world’s ‘to-do list’ is long and time is short, UN deputy chief tells Global Citizen Festival

“Let’s tell it like it is: Our world is in big trouble. And we are facing crisis after crisis: People are hurting – and our planet is burning. Hunger is rising – and we are getting much more unequal. War is raging – and human rights are under attack,” the Deputy Secretary-General told the crowd gathered for the tenth year in New York’s iconic Central Park.

There is hope!

“But let me also tell you this: We are not hopeless… Are we?” she asked and rallied the festival attendees by noting some of the transformative objectives than can be achieved with united action: “A world of peace is not impossible. A world free of extreme hunger is not impossible. And deepening inequalities are not impossible.”

Global Citizen Festival is an annual music event where fans take actions toward ending extreme poverty in order to earn free tickets. It brings together artists, activists, world leaders, philanthropists, corporate leaders, and more. This year’s gathering was held in dual locations – New York City, and for the first time, the Ghanaian capital, Accra.

The festival is timed to coincide with the annual high-level opening of the UN General Assembly to leverage opportunities to get policy and financial commitments from government, corporate, and philanthropic leaders to defeat poverty, demand equity, and defend the planet.

‘Will you be the change we are waiting for?’

On Saturday night, Ms. Mohammed told the enthusiastic crowd that a truly peaceful world free of poverty and hunger “is the world we promised ourselves, through the 2030 Agenda of the United Nations and the Global Goals,” referring to the 17-point action plan to end poverty, protect the planet and improve the lives and prospects of everyone, everywhere.

But she warned that time is running out – fast. “Just look at Pakistan and the tragedy of an extreme climate event. And there will be another on tomorrow,” and declared: “We have a serious ‘To-Do list’ – it’s the 17 Global Goals – and we need all your hands on deck.

Telling the Global Citizens gathered in New York that they must hold world leaders to account and demand equitable climate action, gender equality, and social justice now.

“Your voices matter. Your actions do count. Turn your frustrations into positive change,” said Ms. Mohammed, and added: “We’re betting on you. I’m betting on you. And you can bet on the United Nations. My question to you is: Will you be the change that we are waiting for? Will you be the change we are waiting for? “