State Of Emergency Research Articles

ЗАСТОСУВАННЯ В УМОВАХ ВЕДЕННЯ НАДЗВИЧАЙНИХ АДМІНІСТРАТИВНО-ПРАВОВИХ РЕЖИМІВ МЕХАНІЗМУ ДЕРОГАЦІЇ ЩОДО ОБМЕЖЕННЯ ПРАВ ГРОМАДЯН НА ІНФОРМАЦІЮ В ІНТЕРЕСАХ ЗАБЕЗПЕЧЕННЯ НАЦІОНАЛЬНОЇ БЕЗПЕКИ

The article states that due to the fact that Ukraine is waging a hybrid war with the RussianFederation, the state is taking administrative and legal measures to restrict the rights of citizensto information in the interests of national security. Such a restriction must take place in a clearlydefined form and meet the requirements of national and international law, ie we can say that thereis an international legal mechanism for restricting human rights. It must, firstly, have a regulatorycomponent (norms of international and national law on the basis of which the mechanismoperates), and secondly, the organizational component (procedure, conditions and procedure forimplementation). The normative-legal component includes international normative-legal acts,which establish the rights and freedoms of man and citizen, including the procedure, groundsand conditions for their restriction. The organizational and legal component of the internationallegal mechanism for restricting human rights in the interests of national security consists of suchelements as: 1) material conditions (exceptional threat to the life of the nation; proportionality;principle of non-discrimination; inadmissibility state of emergency (martial law; respect for otherobligations under international law.); 2) procedural conditions (official declaration of state ofemergency; notification of the Secretary General of the United Nations or the Secretary Generalof the Council of Europe; parliamentary control). Derogation is defined as a situation in whicha law, ordinance, or decision is partially repealed.In acts relating to European Union law, the term "derogation" is used in cases where a Member State decides not to apply a special provisionof a particular agreement or law, in cases such as emergencies and force majeure. In Ukraine,these may include, in particular, special administrative and legal regimes. Derogations are mostpronounced in the introduction of special legal regimes that threaten national security, suchas state of emergency and martial law. It is then that deviations from international obligationsand restrictions on the right to information are most significant. It has been determined thatscholars-administrators speak about the emergence of "hybrid" or "mixed" administrative-legalregimes, which combine the features of special and other special administrative-legal regimes.The derogation in such "hybrid" or "mixed" administrative-legal regimes is partial and cannotbe used in full. In the period of "hybrid" administrative and legal regimes, derogations applyadditional administrative and legal measures in the information sphere, such as, for example,provided for in the Law of Ukraine "On Sanctions". It is concluded that the threat to the Ukrainiannation from the Russian Federation forced the leadership of our state to apply the internationallegal mechanism of restriction of human rights, including in the information sphere.

The Covid-19 Epidemic in Serbia – the Challenges of Finding an Appropriate Basis for Responding to a Health Crisis

Abstract The World Health Organization declared the Covid-19 pandemic on 11 March, 2020. Serbia declared a State of Emergency (SoE) on 15 March, just days after the country’s first official case, part of an unprecedented global wave of emergency responses, with states reacting differently to the threat of the virus. Decision makers in Serbia opted to declare a SoE, followed by a series of governmental decrees and ministerial orders. This paper examines the Serbian government’s initial response. The legislation in force in March 2020 is analysed to explore what possibilities and instruments could have been used, with particular focus on legislation regarding infectious diseases and disaster responses, which allowed for the declaration of an emergency situation, and the introduction of legitimate restrictions to fight the outbreak. The paper concludes that the full potential of all available measures and instruments was not exhausted, especially regarding legislation relating to an emergency situation.

Japan

After a difficult 2020, the economy should return to growth in 2021. While the arrival of a coronavirus vaccine bodes well for the services sector, the near term now appears increasingly challenging after a sharp rise in Covid‐19 cases prompted another state of emergency (SOE) declaration for Tokyo and other major prefectures, initially for a one‐month period from 8 January. We forecast GDP to rise 2.7% in 2021 and 2.4% in 2022 (from 2.5% and 3.1% previously). The possibility of an extension of the SOE poses a downside risk for our 2021 forecast whereas a faster decline in infections and an effective rollout of the vaccine pose an upside risk.

Improper disposal of face masks during COVID-19: unheeded public health threat.

Ethiopia confirmed its first case of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in March 2020. As a means to tackle the spread of the virus, the government opened a campaign for the public to exercise hygiene measures such as washing hands frequently and physical distancing. A few weeks later, a five-month State of Emergency (SOE) was declared, and several businesses, schools and theatre halls were closed. People were advised to work from home, including permitting telecommuting for many government officials. However, mainly due to fear of economic crisis, the government was forced to release the lockdown and mass wearing of face masks has become a requirement. As health professionals and the government insist that people make use of facemasks, it is also equally important to give guidance on how to dispose of them safely because face masks that are disposed improperly have the potential in spreading SARS-CoV-2. The urgency of this comes in people's violations of rules when it comes to disposing of masks they used. Providing awareness creation programs about the negative impact of contaminated face masks on the health of individuals and introducing laws that can prohibit improper disposal of used personal protective equipment (PPEs) are among the solutions discussed in this manuscript that could help reduce the problem.

Exploring the real-world effect of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic on the molecular diagnostics for cancer patients and high-risk individuals

ABSTRACT Background: The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic introduced a global distraction effect in cancer patients’ care. The aim of this study was to explore the effect of the pandemic on the largest molecular diagnostics center for cancer patients and high-risk individuals in Serbia. Research design and methods: EGFR, KRAS/NRAS, BRAF, and BRCA1/2 mutation testing were performed by qPCR and NGS. NGS was used for panel testing of hereditary breast/ovarian cancer and cancers associated with Lynch syndrome. The analytical output during the state of emergency (SoE) was compared to the period before and after the outbreak using one-way ANOVA. Statistical significance was set at p < 0.05. Results: A 38% reduction in the number of analysis was detected during the SoE. After the SoE, a 19% reduction was noted compared to SoE and 50% compared to the period before the SoE (p = 0.038). Three of the 48 scheduled appointments for pretest genetic counseling were carried out during the SoE, but the number of NGS tests increased by 50%. Conclusions: The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic had a profound negative effect on the diagnostic output of our centralized molecular diagnostics center. The only positive effect was shortening of waiting lists for hereditary cancer patients and high-risk individuals.

Emergency Powers in Response to COVID-19: Policy Diffusion, Democracy, and Preparedness

ABSTRACT During the COVID-19 pandemic many states have resorted to proclaiming a state of emergency (SOE), expanding executive powers and curtailing civil liberties. Why have some states have declared SOEs when others have not? Our legal analysis suggests that although international law provides states with the option of declaring an SOE and derogating from human rights obligations to ensure the life of the nation, other ways to handle the pandemic without declaring an SOE do exist. Our theoretical analysis leads to three main propositions centred on the impact of regional diffusion, democratic institutions, and pandemic preparedness. Our empirical analysis combines a range of quantitative data sources to analyse the SOE decisions of 180 states during the first half of 2020. The results suggest that states’ declarations of SOEs are driven by both external and internal factors. A permissive regional environment, characterised by many simultaneously declared SOEs, may reduce the reputational and political costs of emergency powers, making their employment more palatable. At the same time, internal characteristics, specifically democratic institutions and pandemic preparedness, have shaped governments’ decisions. Weak democracies with poor preparedness have been considerably more likely to opt for an SOE than dictatorships and robust democracies with higher preparedness.

Literature and the Right to Be Human

In memory of my beloved mother, Charity Gakure, 1935-2019. Thaayũ. Wherever something stands, something else will stand beside it. Nothing is absolute. —Igbo Proverb I accept Brecht's thesis that in settled periods of history, culture—and literature which is its part, with criticism as its partner—can reflect reality. But that in traumatic times like ours, when reality itself is so distorted as to have become impossible and abnormal, it is the function of all culture, partaking of this abnormality, to be aware of its own sickness. To be aware of the unreality of the unauthenticity of the so called real, is to reinterpret this reality. To reinterpret this reality is to commit oneself to a constant revolutionary assault against it. —Sylvia Wynter, “We Must Learn to Sit Together and Talk about a Little Culture” As I was preparing this address, I struggled with the problem of what Edward Said called beginnings and the complex set of circumstances that they entail: “What must one do to begin? What is special about beginning as an activity or a moment or a place? Can one begin whenever one pleases?” (xv). This challenge can be exacerbated by one's relationship to institutions and their history—in my case, the joy and pain of being both an insider and an outsider, a scholar of Euro-American culture from its margins. And so tonight I find myself in a situation that calls for celebration, but also in a place of uncertainty. I, Simon Gikandi, born in a colonial state of emergency, have had the luck to serve as the 129th president of the Modern Language Association of America. My sense of good fortune is, however, tempered by the reality that the state of emergency that characterized most of the twentieth century, including the circumstances of my own beginnings, has not gone away, as many of us had hoped, but has instead become permanent. Everywhere I go around the world, I keep on hearing echoes of Walter Benjamin's prediction that the state of emergency is “not the exception but the rule” and of his injunction that we must “attain a conception of history that is in keeping with this insight” (257). I find myself in a world where achievement and precarity go hand in hand.

Impact of COVID-19 State of Emergency restrictions on presentations to two Victorian emergency departments.

To determine if COVID-19 State of Emergency (SOE) restrictions were associated with a reduction in presentations to two urban EDs in Melbourne, Victoria. This retrospective observational study included adult patients presenting to The Alfred and Sandringham Hospital EDs during the first month of stage 2 and 3 SOE restrictions (26 March-25 April 2020). Patients transferred from other hospitals or diagnosed with COVID-19 were excluded. The primary outcome was the average number of presentations per day. Secondary outcomes included the average daily number of presentations for pre-specified subgroups defined by triage category and diagnosis. The independent impact of SOE restrictions, adjusted for underlying trends in attendance, was determined using negative binomial regression and reported as an incident rate ratio (IRR) with a 95% confidence interval (CI). Average daily attendance during the exposure period was 174.7. In the absence of SOE restrictions, 278.8 presentations per day were predicted, a reduction of 37.3% (IRR 0.63, 95% CI 0.59-0.67). Attendance was lower than anticipated for all triage categories (especially category 5 [IRR 0.51, 95% CI 0.44-0.59]) and diagnostic groups (including circulatory problems [IRR 0.62, 95% CI 0.50-0.76] and injury [IRR 0.58, 95% CI 0.53-0.63]). There were fewer than predicted presentations for several sentinel diagnoses, including gastroenteritis (IRR 0.27, 95% CI 0.17-0.42) and renal colic (IRR 0.55, 95% CI 0.33-0.92). SOE restrictions were associated with a significant reduction in ED presentations across a range of triage categories and diagnoses. Public health messaging should emphasise the importance of timely ED attendance for acute illness and injury.

Is There an Impact of COVID-19 on Admission of Patients to the Emergency Department for Vascular Surgery?

BackgroundOn March 2020, the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus disease 2019 outbreak a pandemic. During this period, surgical activity and admission to the Emergency Department (ED) decreased globally. The aim of this article is to understand how the admission of a patient to the ED for vascular surgery changed in our center in Portugal and if this situation prevented urgent surgical procedures.MethodsThrough a retrospective study, we compared the volume of patients admitted to the ED during the emergency state (ES) in Portugal with the same period in 2019. In addition, we analyzed the urgent surgical activity during the ES and in the correspondent period of the previous 10 years, regarding limb acute ischemia, acute aortic pathology, and vascular trauma. Two groups of patients were formed—patients operated during the ES and during the non-ES, for control. Statistical analysis was performed using IBM SPSS® Statistics, version 25.ResultsIn the ES, 115 patients were observed at the ED and 179 in the 2019 corresponding period. During the ES, patients significantly recurred less to the ED directly from home (P < 0.001) and were less referred to the ED by primary care doctors (P < 0.001). Patients observed at the ED were significantly more urgent—required urgent surgery or were admitted to the department—than those in 2019 (40% vs. 24%). However, there were no differences when only considering urgent surgery (14% in ES vs. 10% in 2019). In the ES, 38% of patients observed at the ED were discharged with no follow-up related to vascular surgery against 60% in 2019, although this difference was not significant. Compared with the preceding 10 years, there are not significant differences in the number of patients who underwent urgent surgery in both ES and non-ES periods. In patients with acute limb ischemia, we did not find an increase in the time between onset of symptoms and ED admission, during the ES.ConclusionsFewer patients were admitted at the ED during the ES, and those admitted were significantly more urgent. We did not find a decrease in the number of urgent surgeries when compared with the preceding 10 years. Therefore, we cannot assume that coronavirus pandemic precluded urgent surgical procedures.

Long-Lasting State of Emergency: Use of (In)security for Consolidation of Power in Turkey

ABSTRACT The failed coup attempt in July 2016 initiated a two-year long state of emergency (SoE) in Turkey. While studies have revealed its effects of power concentration in the government’s hands, what lacks to this point is a holistic and contextual analysis of how the SoE made it possible for the AKP Government to expand its power and through which mechanisms. This article adopts the conceptions of Securitization and the Sociology of Power and argues that the 2016–18 SoE is the latest manifestation of a long tradition of practices of securitization as well as the implementation of exceptional states.

Air pollution in Ontario, Canada during the COVID-19 State of Emergency

In March of 2020, the province of Ontario declared a State of Emergency (SOE) to reduce the spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which causes the coronavirus disease (COVID-19). This disruption to the economy provided an opportunity to measure change in air pollution when the population spends more time at home with fewer trips. Hourly air pollution observations were obtained for fine particulate matter, nitrogen dioxide, nitrogen oxides and ozone from the Ontario air monitoring network for 2020 and the previous five years. The analysis is focused on a five-week period during the SOE with a previous five-week period used as a control. Fine particulate matter did not show any significant reductions during the SOE. Ozone concentrations at 12 of the 32 monitors were lower than any of the previous five-years; however, four locations were above average. Average ozone concentrations were 1 ppb lower during the SOE, but this ranged at individual monitors from 1.5 ppb above to 4.2 ppb below long-term conditions. Nitrogen dioxide and nitrogen oxides demonstrated a reduction across Ontario, and both pollutants displayed their lowest concentrations for 22 of 29 monitors. Individual monitors ranged from 1 ppb (nitrogen dioxide) and 5 ppb (nitrogen oxides) above average to 4.5 (nitrogen dioxide) and 7.1 ppb (nitrogen oxides) below average. Overall, both nitrogen dioxide and nitrogen oxides demonstrated a reduction across Ontario in response to the COVID-19 SOE, ozone concentrations suggested a possible reduction, and fine particulate matter has not varied from historic concentrations.

Insights on Ethiopia’s State of Emergency against Covid 19: A Descriptive Overview

Ethiopia confirmed its first Covid-19 case on March 13, 2020. At the moment of writing, (11 August 2020), over 24, 000 cases of Covid-19 are confirmed and the pandemic is rising in unprecedented rate. Ethiopia has started taking various legal and informal measures prior to its first confirmation announcement on March 13, 2020 and since then. Among others, Ethiopia set up the Ministerial Committee led by the PM on February 29 and the committee gave a press release on March 16 announcing a postponement of ‘large gatherings and meetings including sporting event, limiting religious institutions and places of worship to limit gatherings and closure of all public and private schools except higher learning (HI) and later on the HI was also totally closed to combat the crisis. The committee announced that security sector to enforce measures of ceasing large gatherings to maintain social distancing’ on 23 March. Similar measures were also taken by Amhara, Southern and Oromia regional states among the nine member states of Ethiopian federation though without legal gazette publication. On the top of that State of Tigray declared a State of Emergency (SoE) on March, 25, 2020. In similar vein, the federal government declared SoE by the Council of Minsters (CoM) on April 8, followed by the approval of the House of Peoples Representative (HPR) on April 13, 2020. Subsequently the Council of Ministers also adopted its implementation regulation. But the implications of these measures on human rights and freedoms, social, economic and political rights of the public was not strictly thought and studied. Thus, the main objective of this piece was to investigate implications of the above measures on human rights and rule of law principles. Accordingly, it shade some lights on substantive and procedural content of SoE in light of legality principle, proportionality and transparency, competence of government’s power at different level to mention the least in contrast to measures taken in various jurisdictions.

When Does Terror Induce a State of Emergency? And What Are the Effects?

The relationship between terrorist activities and states of emergency has never been explored in a cross-country perspective. This article is a first step to change that. Given that a terror act has been committed, what are the factors that lead governments to declare a state of emergency (SOE)—or refrain from declaring it? And given that a SOE has been declared, what are the effects thereof? On the basis of seventy-nine countries all having Western-style constitutions, we find that more terrorist incidents increase the likelihood of a SOE. Interestingly, emergencies are less likely to be declared in election years, supposedly because governments believe them to be unpopular. Once a SOE is declared, it generally leads to substantially more government repression. Finally, countries already under a SOE are more likely to suffer from additional terror attacks, challenging the effectiveness of states of emergency.

The constitutional and legal enshrinement of the right to information. The impact of states of emergency upon the right to information

Starting from the premise that information is the raw material of a democratic society, the present article aims to showcase the importance of the constitutional regulation of the right to information. Observing Article 31 of the Romanian Constitution and the infraconstitutional norms in the field of free access to information of public interest, which further develop the constitutional norm, this paper presents the content of the right to information and its limits. Moreover, some legal literature currents and the case law of the Constitutional Court of Romania are emphasized with regard to the restriction in the exercise of this right, under the conditions of Article 53 of the Constitution. Without detailing the complexity of the legal consequences that derive from declaring a state of emergency, there are identified the limits under which, in such cases, the restriction of some fundamental rights and liberties that can occur. In the current normative context, while insisting that exceptional measures must not find themselves outside the existing constitutional order, the present paper analyses the impact of Decree no. 195/2020 for declaring a state of emergency on the territory of Romania upon the right to information. The article emphasizes that the multiple social, economic and political consequences of such a crisis cannot be dissociated from their legal dimension, that the constitutional rigor of a correct information to the general public through media, both public and private, necessary irrespective of a state of emergency, is needed even more so under exceptional circumstances, where the fight against disinformation is by all accounts legitimate and required. At the same time, it is emphasized the requirement that a state of emergency isn’t used as a pretext for tighter governmental control over information release, for the amputation of the mechanism introduced by Law no. 544/2001 on the free access to information of public interest.

States of emergency in France and Israel – terrorism, “permanent emergencies”, and democracy

This article examines the consequences on democracy of “permanent emergencies” linked to terrorism, through the examples and a comparison of France and Israel’s states of emergency (SoE). France was under a SoE for two years. Israel has been under a SoE since its creation in 1948. In both cases, a new terrorism law was adopted which was intended to replace transition out of the SoE but which, in fact, enshrined a number of emergency measures into regular legislation. The article includes a comparative examination of the SoE regimes in France and Israel in their relationship with counterterrorism. It then focuses on three angles to provide an analysis of the consequences on rule of law principles of continued SoE adopted or used for counterterrorism purposes: The suspension of the principle of separation of powers, both in SoE regimes and in counterterrorism in general; the confusion between legal categories and the tendency to treat terrorism as an exceptional threat, which requires an exceptional response; and the tendency to focus on terrorism as an external threat, which leads to discriminatory measures.

Making Extraordinary Power Part of the Ordinary Discourse? The Case of Ethiopia's State of Emergency Declared on February 16

In this piece, I will examine the legality of and intent induced the State of Emergency (SoE) declared on Feb. 16, 2018, in Ethiopia. Throughout, I will utilise legal and public choice analytical models. To do so, I will start by giving an overview of SoE as a general practice and under the 1995 FDRE constitution. I will then employ functional analysis to highlight the functions of SoE – mainly reassurance and existential rationales. Tied to the functional review, I will discuss the possibility of abuse of function and alternatives to control an abuse through ex-ante and ex-post monitoring mechanisms. In the fourth section, I will turn to the examination of a motive element that may induce declaration of SoE with a focus on benevolent intent and as a power-maximizing tool. Against these theoretical backdrops, under the fifth section, I will diagnose the legality of and the rationale that induced the declaration of the current SoE. I would argue that SoE is an extraordinary power to be used in any but dire circumstances. The vaguer the condition for declaring an emergency and the weaker the check and balance of emergency process, the higher will be the risk of emergency power abuse. Further, its repeated reoccurrence sets a threat of normalization of SoE which is as much dangerous as the threat it is meant to mitigate.

Solidaridad como categoría de legitimación jurídicopenal: El ejemplo del estado de necesidad agresivo justificante

The justifying «aggressive state of emergency» (section 34 of the German Criminal Code/StGB) is a challenge to liberal criminal legal Systems, as it imposes a legal obligation to tolerate an intrusion into his own legal sphere onto an innocent bystander. This obligation is traditionally based on the notion of «weighing of interests», which is, however, not convincing due to the utilitaristic structure of this idea. More recently, the topos of «solidarity» has replaced the traditional approach as a basis of legitimation, but this topos is not more than a mere catchphrase, as long as it lacks a reasonable justification. To close this justification gap, it is widespread to use prudential considerations. Accordingly, it is prudent for every citizen to agree on a rule along the lines of section 34 StGB with his fellow citizens, for the sake of minimizing his own risks of life. But this approach cannot convincingly answer the question regarding the reason for the obligation imposed by the «state of emergency» rules. Additionally, it falsifies the quality of legal wrong that a citizen commits by breaching his obligation during the state of emergency. Therefore, this essay suggests to see the «offender» who is justified by a state of emergency as representative of the State’s caring society (staatliche Solidargemeinschaft). The right to solidarity, that can be claimed by any citizen in a state of emergency, is directed against his fellow citizens as a whole, just as in all other cases of need through no fault of one’s own. The precise individual person the duty is actually imposed onto is merely a «transit station». Therefore, only such duties may be imposed onto him that can be compensated afterwards, and the community must also ensure that such compensation actually takes place.

Declaration of a state of emergency in Trinidad and Tobago: effect on the trauma admissions at the National Referral Trauma Centre.

To determine the effect of a State of Emergency (SOE) on penetrating injuries at the main trauma center in Trinidad and Tobago. Emergency room registers were accessed in order to identify all patients treated for penetrating injuries from July 1, 2010 through December 30, 2012. This study period was chosen to include injuries one year before and one year after the SOE that spanned from August 21, 2011 to December 5, 2011. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 19 and a P value<.05 was considered statistically significant. There were 1,067 patients treated for penetrating injuries. There were significantly more injuries from gunshots compared to stab wounds (64.7% vs 35.3%; P<.001), and this pattern was maintained during the SOE (54.7% vs 45.3%; P=.37). There was a significant fall in mean monthly admissions for penetrating trauma during the SOE when compared to the 12-month period before its imposition (17.7, SD=4.0 vs 38.9, SD=12.3; CI, 5.6-36.8; P=.0108). One year later, mean monthly admissions for penetrating trauma were similar to those during the SOE (22.7, SD=2.1 vs 17.6, SD=4.0; CI, -2.3-12.3; P=.1295). The incidence of gunshot wounds remained low and stab wounds increased. This study has demonstrated that there was a reduction in the incidence of penetrating trauma at the national trauma center after the SOE, with a shift from gunshot to stab wounds.

HENRI J. BARKEYAND GRAHAM E. FULLER, Turkey's Kurdish Question (Lanham, Md.: Rowman &amp; Littlefield Publishers, 1998). Pp. 258. $65.00 cloth, $22.95 paper.

The Kurdish question has remained one of the most destabilizing issues for modern Turkey. Despite decades of military campaigns in the southeast and the existence of a continuing state of emergency in that region of Turkey for more than a decade, various Turkish governments have yet to resolve their Kurdish dilemma in a satisfactory way. According to the Turkish Association for Human Rights, some 3 million Kurds have been driven from their villages by the Turkish army, and some 3,000 Kurdish villages have been evacuated (ethnically cleansed) over the past fourteen years. In addition to military campaigns in Turkey's southeast, disappearances, summary trials, and other forms of political repression have turned the region into a permanent war zone.

Individual Freedoms and State Security in the African Context: The Case of Zimbabwe

Emergency Powers & Individual Freedoms: An Overview - COnstitutional Dvelopment & the State of Emergency in Rhodesia: An Overview - The State of Emergency in Zimbabwe - Implementing Emergency Powers - Constitutional Safeguar ds of Individual Freedoms - Detention Wihtout Trial & the Right to Personal Liberty - Protecting the Rights of D etainees - Protection from Torture & Right to Life - P rotection of the Law - Freedom of Movement & Conscienc e - Economic & Political Rights - Protecting Individua l Freedoms: The Traditional Safeguards - Safeguarding Indi vidual Freedoms: National & International Institutions - Back to the Future: Some Rflections on the State of Eme rgency in Zimbabwe - Appendices