The fraud of the “left turn” in Canada’s NDP

Roger Jordan

Even many commentators in the corporate media noted the lacklustre character of the federal New Democratic Party (NDP) convention held in Ottawa last weekend. Amid deepening geopolitical rivalries that could trigger a major war on the Korean peninsula or in the Middle East, attacks on democratic and social rights, and the reemergence of working class struggle in Canada and internationally, the social democrats only mustered a few tepid criticisms of Liberal government policy—criticisms that three years ago could just as well have been made by the current prime minister, Justin Trudeau.

The centerpiece of the gathering was a keynote address by the NDP’s new federal leader Jagmeet Singh, a darling of the party’s right-wing establishment and former deputy-leader of the Ontario NDP. Singh’s vapid, Obama-style politics—epitomized in his “love and courage” motto—infused a 40-minute speech in which he made clear the continuity of his leadership with that of his right-wing predecessors, Thomas Mulcair and Jack Layton.

Singh criticized mounting social inequality and outlined a few tepid reform proposals, including a government-run pharmacare system, extra funding for housing, and increased taxation on the “ultra-rich,” causing the pseudo-left Fightback to gush that “the message” seems “finally have gotten through” that “reformism without reforms” is “not what people want “to hear.”

In reality, the NDP remains as subservient to big business, and as pliant a tool of the capitalist elite in dissipating and derailing social opposition, as ever. Anyone who claims otherwise either suffers from political amnesia or is out to deceive the population. Every single provincial NDP government that has held power in Canada during the last three decades, from Nova Scotia to British Columbia, has imposed social spending cuts, cuts in public sector workers’ real wages, and tax hikes for working people. This was true of Bob Rae’s Ontario NDP government in the early 1990s, as it is of the current Rachel Notley-led NDP government in Alberta, which collaborates closely with the province’s big oil corporations and has imposed austerity measures during the three years it has held office.

The NDP’s pro-war record

The true orientation of the NDP and its allies in the trade union bureaucracy was most strikingly demonstrated at last weekend’s convention by their shameful and complicit silence on Canadian imperialism’s major role in Washington’s military-strategic offensives around the world.

Since its release last June, Canada’s social democrats have maintained virtual radio silence on the Liberal government’s new national defence policy, which includes a pledge to hike military spending by 70 percent over the next decade. And that silence continued last weekend.

The biennial NDP convention was held just one month after Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland co-hosted a conference with Trump’s Secretary of State Rex Tillerson in Vancouver, which reassembled the US-led coalition that waged war on the Korean Peninsula from 1950-53. Yet the NDP did not see fit to criticize the Vancouver summit, nor Freeland’s and Trudeau’s repeated statements pledging solidarity with the US as it threatens to “annihilate” the North Korean people.

This is because the NDP is a pro-war, pro-imperialist party. Beginning with the NATO bombardment of Yugoslavia in 1999, it has endorsed Canada’s participation in an ever-lengthening list of US-led wars and interventions, including the Afghan war, the “regime change” war in Libya, and the 2004 ouster of Haiti’s elected president, Jean-Bertrand Aristide.

Given this record, it should come as no surprise that party officials resorted to anti-democratic maneuvers to suppress discussion on a number of resolutions deemed too controversial, including several criticizing Israel’s brutal oppression of the Palestinians.

Last weekend’s convention was the first since Mulcair was unceremoniously dumped as leader in April 2016, following the party’s disastrous performance in the 2015 federal election. When the election was called in August 2015, the NDP was poised, according to the polls, to become the largest party in parliament for the first time ever. But with the backing of the NDP and trade union top brass, Mulcair, a former Quebec Liberal government minister, waged a campaign that was even more right-wing than Trudeau’s. Mulcair pledged to balance the budget at all costs, spurn any tax increases even for the top 1 percent, further increase military spending, and join with the big business Liberals in a post-election coalition or alliance to form a “progressive” alternative government to Harper and his Conservatives.

There was no criticism of any of this from the rostrum of last weekend’s convention, only promises that the NDP will henceforth think and act “bolder.”

In some respects, Singh’s speech and the NDP convention marked a further shift right. The NDP made no issue of the Liberal government’s Bill C-59, which in the name of “reforming” Harper’s Bill C-51, enshrines the vast new powers the Conservatives gave Canada’s national security apparatus in 2015 in the name of fighting terrorism. In fact, Bill C-59 not only sanctions the Canadian Security Intelligence Service breaking of virtually any law to disrupt vaguely-defined “threats” to national security; it gives the Communications Security Establishment new offensive cyber-war powers.

In keeping with the NDP’s studious avoidance of most foreign policy issues, Singh had nothing to say about the Trudeau government’s efforts, notwithstanding tensions with Trump over the renegotiation of NAFTA, to deepen Canada’s military and strategic partnership with the US, including by “modernizing” NORAD. This underscores that Singh and the NDP establishment, like their bourgeois masters, support Ottawa’s continued close cooperation with US imperialism as the best way to advance Canadian big business’ predatory global interests.

The pseudo-left and the NDP

The Toronto Star’s Chantal Hebert aptly observed that the convention showed that the social democrats are struggling to differentiate themselves from the big business Liberals. Singh’s keynote speech, added Hebert, “fell well short of being a major departure from the party’s recent past.” “The notion,” she continued, “that the weekend’s deliberations have put the NDP on the path of a shift to the left mostly goes to prove that movement on the Canadian political spectrum is often in the eye of the beholder.”

The chief role in concealing this reality falls to the various middle class pseudo-left groups which operate within the NDP and on its periphery. Socialist Caucus (a faction within the NDP led by members of the Pabloite Socialist Action group), Fightback (which also functions as a loyal NDP faction and is the Canadian section of the misnamed International Marxist Tendency), and the International Socialists (who maintain formal organizational “independence” from the NDP) all continue to advance the absurd claim that this pro-war, pro-big business party can be pressured to the “left” and serve as an instrument of working people in fighting austerity and even for socialism.

In this, they are reprising the role played by their pseudo-left counterparts in Britain, who have hailed Jeremy Corbyn’s election as leader of the Labour Party. Corbyn won overwhelming support with his pledges to end austerity and the UK’s nuclear weapons program, but promptly junked them once he became leader in 2015 and has otherwise compromised with the Blairite party on every essential issue. Corbyn has instructed Labour-led local authorities to implement Tory austerity measures, allowed the party’s right wing to give the Conservatives the votes they needed to wage war in Syria, and has abandoned his opposition to the Trident nuclear weapons program.

Corbyn’s aim was never to return the Labour Party to “socialism,” but to ensure that radicalized young people and workers remain confined within the straightjacket of Labour, which for a century has been one of the two principal parties of British imperialism. Corbyn’s close collaborator and Shadow Chancellor, John McDonnell, summed up their goal when he told a Labour activists’ meeting last October that they have to “save capitalism.”

During last year’s NDP leadership contest, the pseudo-left desperately sought to find a candidate to “Corbynize” the NDP. Fightback plumped for Niki Ashton, who twice voted for Canada’s involvement in the bombardment of Libya in 2011, declaring her to be Canada’s Corbyn. When the WSWS exposed Ashton’s war-mongering record, Fightback was outraged.

The campaign to “Corbynize” the NDP continued last week with an event entitled “Courage to Leap,” held on the sidelines of the convention and promoted by the International Socialists. It was organized by a group calling itself “Courage” and by supporters of the Leap Manifesto. The latter is a nationalist document advocating “social justice” and the transition to a “green” economy within the confines of capitalism and the nation-state system. Its principal authors and champions are Naomi Klein and her husband, the filmmaker and scion of the NDP’s “first family,” Avi Lewis.

The goal of the “Courage to Leap” meeting was to convince the approximately 300 in attendance that the NDP could be transformed into a fighting organization for working people. It was addressed by Emma Rees and Adam Klug, two leading Corbyn campaigners in the UK, and by Becky Bond, a political adviser to Bernie Sanders—the “independent” US Senator who used socialist rhetoric to trap leftward-moving workers and youth within the big business Democratic Party and the Hillary Clinton campaign for US president.

Nobody cared to address the fact that Klein’s and Lewis’ Leap Manifesto is an explicitly pro-capitalist document that was even circulated among Liberal Party politicians when it was first released in the fall of 2015. This was summed up perfectly by Lewis, when he wrote in the Globe and Mail that Leap is a “Marshall Plan for employment,” a reference to Washington’s plan to revive capitalism in western Europe after World War II, so as to forestall social revolution, provide markets for US goods, and create a stronger base for waging the Cold War.

Brazilian army general tapped to take over law enforcement in Rio de Janeiro

Gabriel Lemos

Last Friday, February 16, Brazilian president Michel Temer (MDB) decreed a federal intervention in the law enforcement system of Rio de Janeiro, expected to last until the end of this year. Tapped to lead the intervention is Army General Walter Souza Braga Netto, who has been given absolute powers over the state’s civil (investigations) and military (patrolling) police forces and prison system, empowered to overrule any decisions by elected officials, including the governor and mayors, and even to change law enforcement agencies’ internal regulations.

Gen. Braga Netto is the commander of the Eastern military division in Brazil, which includes Rio, and was responsible for the military operations in Rio de Janeiro during the Summer Olympics in 2016. With the military intervention, Rio de Janeiro’s law enforcement secretary, Roberto Sá, resigned on the same day. It is the first time since the promulgation of the 1988 Constitution that such an ostensibly legal federal intervention has been triggered and the first time since the end of the Brazilian military dictatorship in 1985 that an Army General has assumed a civil position.

The immediate pretext for the military intervention was a combination of armed conflicts between the drug trafficking factions and the police and the wave of robberies and assaults on tourists and residents of the city of Rio de Janeiro during the world-famous Carnival, a period in which the city receives more than 1 million tourists and street parties are estimated to attract 6 million.

Moreover, Folha de São Paulo estimated on February 17 that violent crime in Rio was back at the level that existed before the high-profile military and police operations that followed the victory of the city’s bid to host the 2016 games back in 2008. This is largely due to the deepening of the economic crisis in Brazil and in Rio de Janeiro in particular, the first state to both decree financial collapse in 2016 and to adhere to a federal recovery plan in 2017. The number of deaths per 100,000 inhabitants increased from 29 in 2012 to 40 in 2017.

The number of conflicts between drug traffic gangs and the police and between each other has also increased since the deepening of the economic crisis in the state. In January of this year, the Cidade de Deus and Rocinha favelas[shantytowns] had 41 and 32 armed conflicts between the police and the drug traffic respectively, closing schools, blocking streets and leading to deaths of drug “soldiers,” as well as local residents struck by stray bullets.

The fact is, however, that Carnival violence was 35 percent lower than was reported in 2016. Nonetheless, partly in an attempt to change the subject from some of the most politicized parades since the 1980s, the corporate media, particularly Rede Globo, the largest media group in Brazil, sought to whip up public fear over the violence in Rio de Janeiro, which they covered extensively.

While Rio’s Carnival contest vice-champions, Paraíso do Tuiuti, made harsh criticism of Temer’s government, comparing the reforms to the legalization of slave labor, and featuring as one of its main parade components an actor dressed as Dracula wearing Brazil’s presidential sash, depicting Temer as a “neoliberal vampire,” Globo worked to create an atmosphere of hysteria that was used to justify the military intervention, without any concern for the mortal threat to democratic rights it represents.

Gang violence in Rio is being used as a pretext for an increasing presence of the military in Brazilian political life, in anticipation of a massive reemergence of class struggle. Operations are effectively following the strategy laid out by far-right Army Gen. Hemilton Mourão in a September address to supporters last September, according to which the presence of the military should increase through “successive approximations.” The address was marked by the chilling warning that “if the judiciary does not remove individuals involved in corruption from public life, we will have to impose it,” an explicit reference to the charges of corruption against Temer rejected by the national congress last year.

Gen. Mourão’s words prepared the way for an article in Brazil’s oldest daily, Estado de São Paulo, by reserve Gen. Luiz Eduardo Rocha Paiva last October, in which he openly defended a military intervention, “even without legal basis, in case the deepening of the moral, social, economic and political crises result in the breakdown of the federal powers.”

The intervention is, accordingly, only the latest step in a protracted process. Last May, 1,000 troops from the Workers Party-created Gendarmerie (Força Nacional de Segurança) and the Federal Highway Corps were sent to the state as part of a new national security plan, in which Rio de Janeiro was designated as its “laboratory.”

Then in July of last year, the federal government issued a “Guaranty of Law and Order” decree, which allowed Rio de Janeiro to be policed by 8,500 Army and Navy troops deployed along with armored cars and tanks.

Last September, 1,000 Army and Navy troops and 10 tanks blocked the main accesses to Rocinha, laying siege to the favela as the state police went in looking for drug trafficking leaders. Army troops were seen with their faces covered by skull-painted masks along with the Army’s Police Corps, the trademark repressive force of the country’s last military dictatorship (1964-1985).

The next step taken by Temer’s government was revealed on Monday, February 19, by defense minister Raul Jungmann, who said that the military operations in Rio de Janeiro will require the issuance of collective search and seizure warrants--a pseudo-legal cover for arbitrary mass detentions and house-to-house searches. This measure, along with a law issued last October that gives exclusive power to military courts to judge crimes committed by members of the military against civilians during emergency operations, amounts to a “carte blanche” for wholesale military repression.

The corporate media, for its part, is asking for more: a day after the intervention was unveiled, Merval Pereira, one of Globo’s most prominent pundits, approvingly quoted comparisons made by army officials between the situation in Rio and that which the Brazilian Army faced in Haiti, where it led a United Nations peacekeeping mission for 13 years, committing or covering up widespread, colonial-style abuse against the local population.

Workers must have a clear understanding that, under the pretext of fighting gang violence, nothing less than a path to dictatorship is being opened up. House Speaker Rodrigo Maia has withdrawn the government’s most important project, the arch-reactionary “Pension Reform,” from consideration for a vote by the federal legislature because it is understood that a constitutional amendment cannot be voted on under conditions of a suspension of civil rights. The question that inevitably arises is, with the intervention set to last at least until December, what about an even more important vote, the October general elections? Are they going to be canceled as well?

As with the “Russian interference” in the United States, the “terror threat” in France, and “immigrant violence” in Germany—and the “MeToo” hysteria more broadly—unsubstantiated allegations regarding “gang influence” will be increasingly used to condition public opinion to the drive toward dictatorship.

Since September 2016, during the mayoral elections, the Electoral Court’s then-president and Supreme Court Justice Gilmar Mendes has made “gang influence” a central issue in the 2018 elections. On January 11, BBC’s Brazilian edition ran an interview with former Drug Control Secretary Walter Maierovitch, highlighting his claim that “PCC [Brazil’s largest gang] finances churches and may influence elections,” quoting similar claims by Temer’s Intelligence chief, the far-right General Sérgio Westphalen Etchegoyen. Once more such declarations beg the question: what would stop mass warrantless searches from massively targeting political opposition?

Against such a backdrop, the attitude of the Workers Party (PT) and its pseudo-left satellites is nothing less than politically criminal. The intervention and the subsequent cancellation of the Pension Reform vote in the Lower House of Congress presented the opportunity to demobilize whatever passed for “preparation” by the union apparatus for a supposed “day of struggle” set for February 19.

Accordingly, the first reaction of the PT’s mouthpiece CartaCapital was to highlight “technical” issues—such as arguments that, “The army is not prepared to deal with urban crime”—and and to counsel caution by the government with pieces like one entitled, “Intervention causes ‘discomfort’ among police ranks, says former commander-general.”

The pseudo-left, for its part, treats the intervention as “inefficient” and “populist,” in the lowest bourgeois political terms, even to the right of the bourgeois pundits.

In a typical pro-repression statement on January 17, the PSOL (Socialism and Liberty Party, a parliamentary split-off from the PT in which both Pabloite and Morenoite tendencies are active) blamed “the federal government, which fails in its constitutional duty to patrol the borders,” and called for “more integration between security agencies,” “investment in technical police (partnering with universities)” and “the fulfillment by the federal government of its obligations in curbing the international drugs and arms traffic.”

UNICEF: Social inequality costs the lives of 7,000 newborns daily

Shelley Connor

A report released by the United Nations International Childhood Emergency Fund (UNICEF) reveals that worldwide, 7,000 newborns die each day. While most of the countries that ranked poorly for newborn mortality are impoverished, fragile states, extreme income inequality in a number of wealthy countries costs the lives of thousands of children each year.

Released on Tuesday, UNICEF’s “Every Child Alive: The Urgent Need to End Newborn Deaths” opens by pointing out that 2.6 million babies yearly die before they turn one month old. Of that number, 1 million die on the same day they are born and an additional 2.6 million infants are stillborn every year. While child mortality rates overall have fallen, the UNICEF report asserts, “newborn deaths now account for a greater, and growing, share of all deaths among children younger than 5.”

The report ranks the newborn mortality rates of the world’s nations based on statistics from 2016. Pakistan, where one in 22 infants dies before turning one month old, had the highest newborn mortality rate. Japan had the lowest infant mortality rate, with only one death per 1,111 births.

Predictably, the countries with the highest newborn mortality rates were those plagued by poverty, war, and lack of sanitation. After Pakistan, the countries with the poorest outcomes for newborns were the Central African Republic, Afghanistan, Somalia, Lesotho, Guinea-Bissau, South Sudan, Cote D’Ivoire, Mali, and Chad. Eight of those countries—Somalia, Central African Republic, Afghanistan, South Sudan, Pakistan, Cote D’Ivoire, Guinea-Bissau, and Mali—are designated as fragile states, characterized by instability, crisis, social inequality, and human flight.

The countries with the lowest newborn mortality rates in 2016 were Japan, Iceland, Singapore, Finland, Slovenia, Estonia, Cyprus, Republic of Korea (South Korea), Norway and Luxembourg.

That a baby born in Pakistan is almost 50 times more likely to die before reaching one month of age than his or her Japanese counterpart is hardly surprising. A mother in rural Pakistan, after all, faces obstacles to prenatal care, nutrition, and safe, sanitary spaces that mothers in Japan do not. There are also fewer qualified health care providers in poorer countries. In Somalia for instance, there is only one skilled health professional per 1,000 people, while in Norway, there are 218.

Greater wealth, however, does not necessarily translate to lower newborn mortality rates. The average newborn mortality rate in wealthy countries is about 3 deaths per 1,000 births; yet in a high-income developing country such as Trinidad and Tobago, the rate is 13, comparable to that of low income countries.

The United States and Kuwait both had newborn mortality rates of 4; in these high-income countries, newborns fare only marginally better than newborns in the low-to-middle income countries of Ukraine and Sri Lanka, which both had a rate of 5. The United States and the United Kingdom both had higher death rates than Cuba and South Korea. Equatorial Guinea, an upper-middle-income nation, placed among the 20 countries with the highest newborn mortality rates with 32 out 1,000 babies dying before they are one month old.

Most newborn deaths are attributable to birth complications, prematurity, infection, and malnourishment—almost all of which are preventable. Yet as UNICEF states, a nation’s wealth makes little difference if there is no “political will” to confront the social issues underlying infant mortality. This is a resounding indictment of countries such as the United States, which consistently has higher child mortality rates than nations of comparable wealth.

“Keeping Every Child Alive” highlights the vast social inequalities, not only between poor countries and wealthy ones, but also between the poor and the rich in the world’s wealthiest nations. The report states that “Babies born to the poorest families are more than 40 per cent more likely to die during the newborn period than those born to the least poor.”

“If we consider the root causes, these babies are not dying from medical causes such as prematurity or pneumonia. They are dying because their families are too poor or marginalized to access the care they need,” the report notes.

Two of the hallmarks of a fragile state are economic inequality and deterioration of social services. The United States is marked by both; year after year, increasing social inequality and decreased spending on social services serve to underwrite ever expanding military operations and preparations for even larger wars. Seen from this perspective, the US’ relatively poor newborn mortality rates are of a piece with the shocking rates of newborn deaths in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Somalia, countries that have been targeted by the imperialist war machine.

The report concludes: “When we talk in the cold language of statistics—of rates, averages, percentages, indicators—it is easy to forget that we are talking about the lives and deaths of real babies —babies who deserve to survive, to grow up healthy and contribute to their societies. This report shines a light on the fact that millions of newborn babies are denied this opportunity, dying too soon from causes that are almost all preventable.”

UNICEF outlines concrete steps that would lower newborn mortality rates; yet without confronting the capitalist system, which is the crux of the global social crisis the report outlines, the world’s most vulnerable children remain endangered.

Syrian conflict further escalates as pro-Syrian forces enter Afrin

Halil Celik

With the entry of a convoy of militias backing the government of President Bashar al-Assad into the Syrian canton of Afrin on Tuesday and Turkish troops responding with heavy artillery bombardment, the danger of a direct military confrontation between Turkish and Syrian troops has increased.

It opens the door to a further escalation in the civil war in Syria, where Turkish and Syrian armies, Iran-linked militias backing the Damascus government, Russian and US troops, and several proxy forces, including Kurdish nationalists and several Islamic groups, are present.

According to Reuters, the pro-government forces were welcomed by the Kurdish People Protection Units (YPG), which have set up three autonomous cantons in northern Syria, including Afrin, since the onset of the Syrian conflict in 2011. Ankara regards this as a threat because of the links of the YPG to the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which has been engaged in a guerilla war inside Turkey for three decades.

On January 20, Turkey launched its Operation Olive Branch to clear YPG militants from Afrin. According to Turkish officials, this operation has cost the lives of 1,651 Kurdish fighters and 32 Turkish troops, while 7 Turkish civilians were killed and 125 wounded in cross-border attacks launched by the YPG. With its operation Euphrates Shield, the Turkish army began direct intervention in northern Syria in August 2016 to stop the YPG linking Afrin along the Turkish-Syrian border to other largely Kurdish-populated territories in northeastern Syria.

Speaking to the parliamentary group of his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) earlier on Tuesday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that Ankara had worked with Russia to prevent any deployment by pro-Syrian government forces. “Preparations in the field take some time. In the coming days we will lay siege to Afrin city. It’s very important that every place we go remains secure,” he said. “Thanks to the siege, the YPG will have no room to bargain with the Syrian regime.”

In an attempt to belittle the growing danger of escalation, Erdogan stated later in the day that the issue of the entrance of the pro-Damascus militia in Afrin was “closed for now.” At a press conference with his Macedonian counterpart Gjorge Ivanov, he said: “Yesterday, we agreed on these issues in talks with Putin and Rouhani. Unfortunately, you know, these kinds of terrorist organisations have taken the wrong step with the decision.” On Monday, Erdogan had discussed the issue with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani in separate telephone conversations.

In a parliamentary group meeting on Tuesday, Devlet Bahceli, the leader of the fascistic Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), the main ally of Erdogan, warned Syrian President Bashar al-Assad about the consequences of a possible support to Kurdish forces. He said: “If he enters Afrin and stands with the PKK/PYD/YPG, he will suffer the consequences.” On February 6, Bahceli declared before his parliamentary group that “Afrin should be destroyed and the terrorists should be set on fire.”

On Monday, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said in an interview with Kanal 24, a private broadcaster, “It is obvious that they [the regime] did not enter [Afrin] yet, but more terrorists are coming to the region especially from the East.” Emphasising that “it does not pose any problem for Turkey, if Syrian regime forces enter Afrin to fight the terrorist group,” he added: “But if the regime enters there to support and protect YPG/PKK-Daesh [Arabic abbreviation for the ISIS], no one can stop the Turkish army.”

Cavusoglu was answering a question about a report by Syria’s state-run news agency SANA, that the pro-government militia “Popular Forces” would enter Afrin soon. SANA’s report, however, left no doubt that the “popular forces are to arrive in the Afrin area soon to support locals against the aggression launched by the Turkish regime on the area since January 20.”

According to SANA, “The Turkish regime has been waging a barbaric aggression on Afrin area for almost a month, using various types of weapons and shells including the internationally prohibited chlorine gas, killing and injuring hundreds of civilians and destroying infrastructure, properties, and historical landmarks.”

Meanwhile, Turkish Deputy Prime Minister and government spokesman Bekir Bozdag has called SANA’s report unrealistic, saying “Although Syrian official news agency SANA reported that some forces linked to the Syrian regime will enter Afrin, this news has not been confirmed by the official authorities. It is unrealistic, not related to the fact.”

The Turkish Presidential spokesman İbrahim Kalin dismissed an agreement between the YPG and Syrian government as propaganda on his official Twitter account. He wrote: “It is clear that the reports about a deal between the regime and the PYD/YPG have the purpose of propaganda. But that does not mean there has not been a set of dirty and secret negotiations.”

These comments came after Badran Jia Kurd, an adviser to the Kurdish-led autonomous administration in northern Syria, told Reuters on Sunday that a deal had been struck for the Syrian army to go into Afrin soon to help fight the Turkish assault.

But YPG spokesperson Nouri Mahmoud denied on Monday that such an agreement with the Damascus government had been reached, adding that pressure from Russia had prevented the deal from going ahead so far. Mahmoud said that there was only “a call from us for the Syrian army to come in and protect the borders.”

According to a press statement from the Kremlin on the phone conversation between Putin and Erdogan, “In discussing the situation in Syria special attention was paid to ways of further enhancing cooperation in the Astana format [a reference to the deal reached in talks in Kazakhstan last year]. The readiness was confirmed for tight coordination of efforts by Russia, Turkey and Iran for the sake of achieving effective operation of the de-escalation zones and advancing the political process in line with the agreements achieved by the Syrian National Dialogue Congress in Sochi.”

Speaking Monday at the opening of the Valdai Discussion Club’s conference, dubbed “Russia in the Middle East: Playing on All Fields,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov expressed Russia’s concerns over Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, calling on Washington “not to play with fire in Syria.”

“We cannot but observe with concern attempts to disintegrate Syria. Such concerns arise after studying the plans which the US is starting to implement on soil, chiefly east of the Euphrates [the largely Kurdish-populated area controlled by the YPG]. ... I once again call on our American colleagues not to play with fire and measure their steps proceeding not from immediate needs of today’s political environment, but rather from long-term interests of the Syrian people and of all peoples of this region, including the Kurds, of course, be it Syria or Iraq or other countries of the region,” Lavrov said.

Referring to US support to the Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) and its YPG militia, Lavrov also accused the US of taking provocative steps in Syria, “which led to an escalation of tensions with Turkey,” adding, “and you know what is now going on in Afrin.”

Previously, Lavrov accused Washington of “seeking to isolate a vast part of the Syrian territory from the rest of the country in violation of Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.” In an interview with the Euronews television channel on Friday, February 16, the Russian foreign minister said: “A US taskforce and other units are illegally staying in Syria, without any invitation from Damascus (the legitimate government) or a United Nations Security Council mandate. … Obviously, the United States has some strategy, which, I think, is geared to keep its military presence in Syria forever. … They are seeking to do the same in Iraq and in Afghanistan, in spite of all their previous promises.”

Not only Moscow but also Tehran have reiterated the necessity of respecting Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. In a phone call with the Turkish president late on Monday, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said that “fighting terrorism, driving terrorists out of Syria and countering separatist moves in the region are among the common goals of Iran and Turkey,” As the Fars News Agency reported, Rouhani added, “Iran and Turkey are pursuing common goals in regional and international developments.”

In September of last year, Ankara and Tehran applied punitive measures against the Kurdish regional government in Iraq and launched military exercises on their borders in support of the Iraqi central government, as the KRG proceeded with an independence referendum. Faced with imminent sanctions and the prospect of a military intervention, however, the KRG had to retreat.

Russia, Turkey and Iran are currently in a tacit alliance that has sidelined the US in much of the diplomatic negotiations over Syria’s future, but they have distinct and not necessarily compatible interests in the region.

Having given its approval to Turkey’s push into northern Syria, providing that the operation remains within certain limits and does not confront Assad’s forces, Moscow was playing on the divisions between the two NATO allies, Ankara and Washington, to strengthen its hand in Syria against the US.

The Putin regime, however, has also the aim of moving the Syrian Kurdish nationalists away from the Pentagon, and retains close ties with them, in contrast to both Ankara and Tehran. Thus, the “Kurdish question” has once more become a factor bringing Iran, Turkey and Iraq closer together, not only as a historically unsolved common problem but also due to the US involvement that increases their fear of Kurdish separation. This may also include the Syrian government.

This development has revealed the reactionary character of Ankara’s invasion in Afrin as a reckless move that would exacerbate the conflicts raging across the Middle East and intensify the danger of war between the major powers, which can be prevented only through the building of a socialist and international anti-war movement in the working class.

Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung Youth4Policy Program for Young Leaders in Uganda 2018

Application Deadline: 2nd March 2018.

Eligible Countries: Uganda

About the Award: Youth4Policy is a joint initiative of the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung and the Centre for Development Alternatives targeting young leaders with a demonstrated motivation to shape the public policy discourse in Uganda and influence policy decision-makers.
The comprehensive program consists of multiple seminars, workshops as well as public policy dialogues over a 6 month period.
Each Youth4Policy Fellow will independently carry out research on a current Ugandan policy challenge according to their interests and expertise.
Fellows will then publish their research in the form of policy briefs as well as in formats such as blog articles and video clips.
Each Youth4Policy Fellow will receive mentoring from a selected expert in the fields of policy analysis and research. After successfully completing their training,
Youth4Policy Fellows become part of an alumni network of driven and strong young voices contributing to the public debates on Ugandan policy challenges.


Type: Fellowship (Professional)

Eligibility: 

• – Ugandan citizens
• – Under 35 years old
• – Strong undergraduate or graduate degree
• – Professional experience in academia, civil service, politics or related areas
• – Demonstrated interest in policy and research
• – Highly analytical research and lateral thinking skills
• – Strong oral and written communication skills
• – Ability to work independently and in small teams

Number of Awards: Not specified

Value of Award: Youth4Policy Fellows will be provided with necessary training, mentorship and facilitation to undertake policy research and develop policy positions from their perspectives as youth. The programme will then support participants with a framework for communication of their ideas among policy stakeholders and decision-makers within the state, civil society, and development partners.

How to Apply: Candidates must submit the following to youth4policyUG@gmail.com
to apply:

• – Completed application form (download here)
• – Curriculum Vitae
• – University degree(s) and transcripts and/or testimonials

Promising candidates will be invited for a personal interview in March 2018.
The application deadline is 02 March 2018.

Visit the Program Webpage for Details


Award Providers: Youth4Policy

UN Women Advocacy Internship Program 2018 – Cairo, Egypt

Application Deadline: 23rd February 2018

To Be Taken At (Country): Cairo, EGYPT

About the Award: UN Women, grounded in the vision of equality enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, works for the elimination of discrimination against women and girls, the empowerment of women, and the achievement of equality between women and men as partners and beneficiaries of development, human rights, humanitarian action and peace and security. Placing women’s rights at the center of all its efforts, UN Women leads and coordinates United Nations system efforts to ensure that commitments on gender equality and gender mainstreaming translate into action throughout the world.

Type: Internship

Eligibility: 
Qualifications and Experience:

• Excellent communication skills
• Experience in writing, editing and producing creative content.
• Fluency in English.
• Background in youth and gender issues or engagement of men and boys in gender equality.
• Background and experience in digital media production or graphics design is a plus.

Applicants should meet one of the following requirements:

• Be enrolled in a graduate school programme (second university degree or equivalent, or higher);
• Be enrolled in the final academic year of a first university degree programme (minimum Bachelor’s level or equivalent) or;
• Have graduated with a university degree and, if selected, must commence the internship within one year.

Number of Awards: Not specified

Value of Award: 

• UN Women internship programme does not provide a salary or remuneration for the internship;
• Interns are not financially remunerated by UN Women;
• All the expenses connected with the internship will be borne by the intern, sponsoring Government or institution;
• UN Women accepts no responsibility for costs arising from accidents and/or illness or death incurred during the internship;
• The intern is responsible for obtaining necessary visas and arranging travel to and from the duty station where the internship will be performed;
• Interns are not eligible to apply for, or be appointed to, any post in UN WOMEN during the period of the internship;

Duration of Program: Minimum is (2) months and maximum is (6) months

How to Apply: 

• Selected applicants must provide the internship application, two letters of recommendation, proof of health insurance and school enrolment, passport, National ID and visa (if applicable).
•  APPLY NOW

Visit the Program Webpage for Details


Award Providers: UN Women

CIDRZ HealthCorps Global Public Health Fellowship (Funded to Zambia) 2018/2019

Application Deadline: 20th March 2018

Eligible Countries: All

To be taken at (country): Zambia

About the Award: This fellowship provides valuable field experience for future public health leaders in the setting of a vibrant non-governmental health research organisation in Zambia.
CIDRZ HealthCorps targets public health, medical, nursing and management graduates who are passionate about global health and wish to gain exposure. Master’s degree preparation preferred, however graduates with a Bachelor’s degree and substantial experience are welcome to apply. Previous work experience is highly regarded, but not required.

Fields of Study: 

• HIV/AIDS PMTCT
• Enteric Diseases
• Tuberculosis
• Hepatitis
• Child Health
• Vaccine Research
• Lab Science
• Detailed Analysis
• Social Qualitative Research
• Primary Care & Health Systems Strengthening

Type: Fellowship

Eligibility: CIDRZ HealthCorps targets public health, medical, nursing and management graduates who are passionate about global health and wish to gain exposure. Master’s degree preparation preferred, however graduates with a Bachelor’s degree and substantial experience are welcome to apply. Previous work experience is highly regarded, but not required.

Number of Awardees: Not specified

Value of Fellowship: Modest monthly bursary to cover basic living expenses,local medical services membership, & emergency evacuation insurance

Duration of Fellowship: 10 – 12 months; starting early August 2018

How  to Apply

Visit Fellowship Webpage for details

Award Provider: CIDRZ

Federation of African Medical Students Association (FAMSA) International Campus Ambassadors for African Medical Students (Funded to attend GA in Ibadan, Nigeria) 2018

Application Deadline: 9th March 2018

Eligible Countries: African countries

To Be Taken At (Country): Ibadan, Nigeria

About the Award: The Federation of African Medical Students Association FAMSA will be holding her 32nd General Assembly and equally celebrate her 50 years of her existence in Ibadan, Nigeria this year.
To ensure active participation of all FAMSA members in the celebration, FAMSA uses the medium to call for International Campus Ambassadors from across Africa and outside Africa to join the FAMSA GA 2018 Organizing Committee and represent FAMSA in their respective campuses and help make this event more visible to Africa and beyond.
The Federation of African Medical Students Association (FAMSA) is the official single body for all Medical students in Africa. Established in 1968, FAMSA is a project – oriented medical student body recognized by the African Union, and the World Health Organization with her permanent headquarters board hosted by the University of Ibadan Medical Students association, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, Nigeria. FAMSA holds her annual General Assembly (GA) where topical health issues are discussed, with students and resource persons presenting papers regarding the theme of the GA.
International Campus Ambassadors (ICAs) are individuals from campuses who will serve as representatives of the Organizing Committee towards the 32nd GA of the Federation of African Medical Students Association, which happens to equally celebrate 50 years of her existence. They will be liaison officers, in their resident campuses promoting the GA and Scientific Conference and serving as the primary means of contact with prospective delegates from their respective campuses. As an ICA, you will be expected to utilize your campus networks through various students associations and connections, as well as engage in social media campaigns, campus workshop and so on to promote the General Assembly. You, as an ICA, will be the face of FAMSA GA and 50th Anniversary 2018 in your campus!

Type: Undergraduate, Conference


Eligibility: 

• Each prospective applicant must be an undergraduate student of Medicine
• Must be available to work from March to August, 2018.
• Must be an individual with great leadership skills and must be committed to work under the Organising Committee.
• Must be influential individuals with great organizational skills and active both on, and off campus environment.
• Must have strong communication skills, and be able to communicate in written and spoken English language.
• Must be Tech-Savvy, as communication and correspondence with be via online platforms.
• Must be an innovative individual ready to create platforms for publicity and promotion of the 32nd FAMSA GA and Scientific Conference.

Number of Awards: Not specified

Value of Award: 

• ICAs will attend the 32nd FAMSA GA, with conference registration, accommodation and feeding expenses catered for (this does not cover for any flight or transportation to and fro the conference).
• Profiles for each ICA will be put on the conference website recognizing their commitment towards the Organising Committee.
• Certificate of stewardship will be awarded to each ICA as part of the Organising Committee of the 32nd GA and 50^th
• ICAs will have the opportunity to build on their communication, leadership, and organizing skills as they network with other ICAs and conference participants.
• Performance based benefits amongst other incentives.

How to Apply: Interested individuals are invited to visit the link and complete the form before 9th March 2018.

Apply here

Visit the Program Webpage for Details


Award Providers: FAMSA

CREATE Program in Data Analytics and Visualization (CREATEDAV) Undergraduate Summer School for International Students (Fully-funded to York University, Canada) 2018

Application Deadline: 26th March 2018

Eligible Countries: International

To Be Taken At (Country): Canada

About the Award: The program includes talks by CREATE DAV faculty and industry experts on current research topics in big data science, as well as hands-on experience in York and OCAD U laboratories. The curriculum reflects the wide range of research areas at CREATE DAV, which includes research on machine learning, data mining, signal processing, computer vision, image processing, computer graphics, virtual human modeling, serious games, natural language processing, human perception & cognition, visualization & design.


Type: Undergraduate

Eligibility: 

• The program accepts undergraduate students who are interested in pursuing a career a career in the big data science.
• It is intended mainly for students who are planning to apply to graduate school in late 2018, and are interested in investigating interdisciplinary research  aspects of the big data science.
• Citizens of all countries are eligible.

Number of Awards: Not specified

Value of Award: The program covers all transportation costs, and provides on-campus accommodations and meals.

Duration of Program: July 3-6 2018

How to Apply: Apply Now

For further information, see the FAQ section or write to Irina Kapsh.

Visit the Program Webpage for Details

Award Providers: CREATE Program in Data Analytics and Visualization (CREATEDAV)

75 UNESCO/ People’s Republic of China (The Great Wall) Co-Sponsored Fellowship for Students from Developing Countries 2018/2019

Application Deadline: 25th March 2018

Offered annually? Yes

To be taken at (country): People’s Republic of China

About Scholarship: The Government of the People’s Republic of China has placed at the disposal of UNESCO for the academic year 2018-2019 seventy-five (75) fellowships for advanced studies at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. These fellowships are for the benefit of developing Member States in Africa, Asia–Pacific, Latin America, Europe and North America and Arab region.

Tenable at a selected number of Chinese universities, these fellowships are intended for scholars who plan to pursue advanced studies or undertake individual research with periodic guidance from the assigned supervisor in China for a duration of one year. Selected candidates will undertake their studies in the host universities as visiting scholars. Most of the study programmes will be conducted in English. Selected candidates will undertake their studies in the host universities as visiting scholars. In exceptional cases, candidates may be required to study Chinese language before taking up research or studying in their fields of interest.

Twenty (20) of the 75 fellowships are especially intended for candidatures from the Teacher Training Institutions supported by UNESCO-CFIT Project in the 10 African countries to pursue an Advanced Training Programme for Education Administrators and Teacher Educators at East China Normal University.

Field of Study: Any applicant can choose one academic program and three institutions as their preferences from the Chinese HEIs designated by MOE. Fellowships are for advanced studies at Undergraduate and postgraduate levels.

Type: Undergraduate, Postgraduate, Fellowship.

Eligibility: 

• Applicants applying for General Scholar programs must not be older than the age of forty-five (45) and have completed at least two years of undergraduate study; and those who applying for Senior Scholar programmes must be a master’s degree holder or an associate professor (or above) and not older than the age of fifty (50).
• English proficiency is required.
• Be in good health, both mentally and physically.

Number of Awards: 75


Value of Scholarship: The Program provides a full scholarship which covers tuition waiver, accommodation, stipend, and comprehensive medical insurance.

Duration of Scholarship: 1 year

Eligible Countries:

AFRICA – 46 Member States: Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo, Cote d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, Swaziland, Togo, Uganda, United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe

ASIA AND THE PACIFIC – 38 Member States: Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, Cook Islands, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Iran (Islamic Republic of), Kazakhstan, Kiribati, Kyrgyzstan, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Malaysia, Maldives, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nauru, Nepal, Niue, Palau, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Viet Nam

ARAB STATES – 13 Member States: Algeria, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Palestine, Sudan, Syrian Arab Republic, Tunisia, Yemen

LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBEAN – 26 Member States: Argentina, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Venezuela

EUROPE AND NORTH AMERICA – 12 Member States: Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Republic of Moldova, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro, Poland, Serbia, Ukraine

How to Apply: All applications should be endorsed by the relevant Government body (the National Commission or Permanent Delegation) and must be made in English with the following attachments listed in the Program Webpage (see Link below).
In order to be successful, You are advised to follow the steps (listed in the link below) involved in applying.

Visit Program Webpage for details

Sponsors: China Scholarship Council (CSC) and United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.

Important Notes: 

• As National Commission for UNESCO of the invited countries will select and transmit the applications of nominated candidates to UNESCO Paris Headquarter by 26 March 2018 at the latest, applicants are advised to submit their application to the National Commissions as early as possible.
• Hard copies of application documents are not required any more from this year and it is mandatory for each nominated candidate to submit his/her application in the online application system. Candidates should mention their serial number of online application when their applications are submitted to UNESCO. Any application without online registration will not be considered.

Commonwealth Shared Scholarship Scheme for Study in UK Universities 2018/2019

Application Deadline: 17th April 2018

The EAS will open for applications on 23rd February 2018.

Offered annually? Yes

Eligible Countries: Bangladesh, Cameroon, Ghana, Guyana, India, Kenya, Kiribati, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Nigeria, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Rwanda, Samoa, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, Swaziland, Tanzania, Tuvalu, Uganda, Vanuatu, Zambia.

To be taken at (country): Various UK Universities. Download CSS prospectus 2018 in Program Webpage Link below for full list of participating universities and respective deadlines.

Accepted Subject Areas: Commonwealth Shared Scholarship scheme is for taught Master’s courses only. All courses undertaken must be demonstrably relevant to the economic, social or technological development of the candidate’s home country. See full list of courses from the 2018 CSS prospectus

Offered Since: 1986


Eligibility: To apply for a Commonwealth Shared Scholarship scheme, candidates must:

• Be a citizen of or have been granted refugee status by an eligible Commonwealth country, or be a British Protected Person
• Be permanently resident in an eligible Commonwealth country
• Be available to start your academic studies in the UK by the start of the UK academic year in September/October 2018
• By October 2018, hold a first degree of at least upper second class (2:1) standard, or a second class degree and a relevant postgraduate qualification (usually a Master’s degree)
• Not have studied or worked for one (academic) year or more in a high income country
• Be unable to afford to study in the UK without this scholarship

The CSC aims to identify talented individuals who have the potential to make change. We are committed to a policy of equal opportunity and non-discrimination, and encourage applications from a diverse range of candidates.

Selection: Each participating UK university will conduct its own recruitment process to select a specified number of candidates to be awarded Commonwealth Shared Scholarships. Universities must put forward their selected candidates to the CSC by 17 May 2018. The CSC will then confirm that these candidates meet the eligibility criteria for this scheme. Universities will inform candidates of their results by July 2018.
Selection criteria include:

• Academic merit of the candidate
• Potential impact of the work on the development of the candidate’s home country

Number of Scholarships: Up to 227 scholarship positions

Scholarship value: The CSC funds the cost of tuition fees (at overseas rate), return airfares, and other allowances. Participating universities are required to support the student stipend for the award holder (at the rate set by the UK government).

Duration of scholarship: Awards are normally tenable for one-year taught postgraduate courses only.

How to Apply

1. All applications must be made through your chosen university. You must check with your chosen university for their specific advice, admission requirements, and rules for applying. Some universities may require you to complete their own admissions application form as well, which may have a separate closing date. You must take the necessary steps to secure admission to your course at the same time as applying for a Shared Scholarship.
2. You must make your application using the CSC’s Electronic Application System (EAS), in addition to any other application that you are required to complete by your chosen university.
3. You can apply for more than one course and/or to more than one university, but you may only accept one offer of a Shared Scholarship.
4. All applications must be submitted by 23.59 (BST) on 17 April 2018 at the latest. Each university has its own closing date for applications, and most are before this date. Any applications submitted after a university closing date will not be considered; please ensure you apply via the EAS before your university closing date.
5. The CSC will not accept any applications that are not submitted via the EAS to your UK university, or any applications directly from individuals; such applications will not be acknowledged.

Visit Scholarship Webpage for Details

Sponsors: UK Department for International Development (DFID), as part of the UK international development programme to developing countries, and participating institutions in the UK. The scheme is administered by the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission (CSC).

About Scholarship: The Commonwealth Shared Scholarships, set up by the Department for International Development (DFID) in 1986, represent a unique partnership between the United Kingdom government and UK universities. To date, more than 3,500 students from developing Commonwealth countries have been awarded Shared Scholarships. Without these awards they would not otherwise have been able to benefit from UK higher education.
UK universities have offered to support the scholarships by contributing the stipend for the students from their own resources, or those which the university has been able to generate from elsewhere. See list of participating universities from the CSS prospective 2016 below.

International Summer School on the Regulation of Local Public Services 2018 (Scholarships for Participants from Developing Countries) – Torino, Italy

Application Deadline: 4th June 2018, h. 18:00 CET.
Admitted attendants will be contacted directly by email by the 16th June 2018.

To Be Taken At (Country): Torino, Italy

About the Award: The School is designed to offer two weeks “full immersion”  in user charges regulation of local public services (e.g. waste, water, public transport, district heating, sport facilities) and is mainly addressed to undergraduate students at their last year, graduate students and officials from the Public Administration (municipalities, counties, regional bodies) and regulatory agencies.
The programme is designed as an intensive workshop, combining theoretical and practical modules.
The course lasts two weeks and is articulated in three parts:
– theoretical module
– industry analysis
– case studies (with a virtual regulatory final report prepared by attendants)

Type: Short courses, Undergraduate

Selection Criteria: Curricula are evaluated on the basis of three main criteria:

1. relevance of applicant’s studies and professional experience / current job position to the topics of the Summer School programme
2. balanced geographical distribution of selected participants (OECD / non-OECD members; distribution per continent; inclusion of applicants from Countries non represented in the previous editions)
3. balanced distribution of educational background (e.g. economics; environmental engineering; law; public administration; …)

Moreover, in the case of curricula with similar score, also some attention is given to the selection of profiles with expertise in different sectors relevant to the domain of regulation of LPS (e.g. water cycle, waste, energy, …).

Number of Awards: Not specified

Value of Award:

• Registration and free accommodation are free for applicants from participating developing countries and new EU countries (Considering that the participation is free, a deposit is due (150 Euro with payment receipt returned by the date indicated on the admission letter); the deposit will be totally refunded to the attendant at the end of the Summer School (there is no deposit refund in case of cancellation)
• Travel expenses are not reimbursable in any case; furthermore the accommodation does not include breakfast and does not include any meal;

Duration of Program: 3rd-14th Sept 2018

How to Apply: Apply here

Visit the Program Webpage for Details

Award Providers: Turin School.

United Nations University Institute on Comparative Regional Integration Studies (UNU-CRIS) Internships for Undergraduate and Graduate International Students 2018 – Belgium

Application Deadlines: 

• 1st May 2018
• 1st November 2018

Offered Annually? Yes

Eligible Countries: International

To Be Taken At (Country): Belgium

Type: Internship, Undergraduate, Graduate (Masters, PhD)

Eligibility:  Traineeships and Internships are respectively intended for undergraduate and graduate students.
Undergraduate: Applicants must:

• Be enrolled in a Bachelor programme or holder of a Bachelor degree;
• Demonstrate a strong interest in the UN and regional integration studies and specifically in the aspects related to the Monitoring and Supervision of Regional Integration processes;
• Be eager to contribute to the research projects and activities of the Institute;
• Thrive under pressure and be able to act quickly and efficiently;
• Possess excellent English communicating and writing skills;
• Be proficient with the Microsoft Office Suite;
• Be available for a minimum duration of three months up to a maximum of six months.

Graduate: Applicants must:

• Be enrolled in a Master programme or holder of a Master degree;
• Demonstrate a strong interest in the UN and regional integration studies and specifically in one of the research programmes of the Institute, namely:
  1. The Role of Regions in Global Governance
  2. The United Nations and Regional Public Goods
  3. Changing Patterns of Regional and Global Governance

• Be eager to contribute to the research projects and activities of the Institute;
• Thrive under pressure and be able to act quickly and efficiently;
• Possess excellent English communicating and writing skills;
• Be proficient with the Microsoft Office Suite;
• Be available for a minimum duration of three months up to a maximum of six months.

Number of Awards: Not specified

Value of Award: 

• Office space, computer facilities and access to the libraries of UNU-CRIS, UNU, Ghent University, Vrije Universiteit Brussel and the College of Europe are provided. While traineeships and internship are non-remunerated, travel costs incurred by the attendance of UNU-CRIS related events are reimbursed.
• In addition, Bruges’ favourable location close to Brussels provides direct access to the seat of the European Union and other international organisations, as well as a number of universities and research centres based in the Belgian capital.
• Although admitted candidates are required to arrange their own travel, housing and health insurance, UNU-CRIS will provide advice and support to help facilitate the search process.

Duration of Program: UNU-CRIS launches calls for applications twice a year. The deadline for the first call is 1 May, the deadline for the second call is 1 November. Candidates are expected to start in July and January respectively at the earliest, beginning of October and April respectively at the latest. The exact start and end dates of the traineeship are negotiable.

How to Apply: 

• Bachelor students and holders of a Bachelor degree shall apply to the Traineeship Programme.
• Master students and holders of a Master degree shall apply to the Internship Programme.

Visit the Program Webpage for Details

Award Providers: United Nations University Institute on Comparative Regional Integration Studies (UNU-CRIS)