communications, Author at Franciscans International

Multinational corporations continue to perpetrate human rights and environmental abuses through their activities in the countries where they operate, and communities affected by their activities struggle to defend their rights and to obtain justice and reparation.

FI will be actively participating in the UN’s second Inter-Governmental Working Group (IGWG) on Business and Human Rights, taking place October 24-28, 2016. We are advocating for a legally binding instrument to keep businesses accountable to their human rights obligations, and to ensure access to justice for victims of these abuses.

Five of our partners from around the world will be speaking at events and lobbying decision-makers throughout the week, giving their accounts on how mining has violated several rights of the communities in which they live and work. They include Mr. Henri Muhiya, from the Episcopal Commission on Natural Resources in the Democratic Republic of the Congo; Mr. Jaybee Garganera, from Alyansa Tigil Mina (ATM) in the Philippines; Mr. Pablo Sanchez, from GRUFIDES in Peru, and Mr. Rodrigo Peret from SINFRAJUPE / Churches and Mining in Brazil.

You can read the Treaty Alliance’s statement here.
All written submissions about the need for a Treaty can be found on the IGWG website here.
All side events taking place inside the UN can also be found on the IGWG website.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo finds itself at an important crossroads: President Joseph Kabila’s second term is coming to an end on 19 December 2016, and the country’s Constitution prevents him from taking on a third term. The Government should be preparing the ground for credible and democratic elections – but instead, it has deliberately stalled the organisation of these elections, and Kabila has not yet pronounced his intention to step down. Those loyal to the President have been seeking to silence and repress those calling for timely elections and a peaceful transition of power. At least 17 people people (the opposition claims it is closer to 50) were killed on September 19 and 20, 2016, in two days of street clashes between security forces and protesters against a delayed presidential election. Several opposition party buildings were also burned.

Along with EurAc, Human Rights Watch, FIDH, Amnesty International, Caritas Internationalis, Dominicans for Justice and Peace, and many other civil society NGOs, Franciscans International co-hosted a debate that featured various perspectives from both the field and the international community. Ida Sawyer, Senior Researcher for Human Rights Watch, and Ambassador Carl Hallergard, Deputy Head of the EU Delegation to the UN and other international organisations in Geneva, detailed the situation, mentioning the atmosphere of repression and the silencing of dissident voices. Msgr. Fridolin Ambongo Besungu, vice-president of the National Episcopal Conference and Bishop of the Bokungu-Ikela Diosece; Micheline Mwendike and Fred Bauma from la LUCHA, a grassroots movement of young people striving for non-violent change, shared the stories of their work in such a difficult context, of creative ways forward, and of their hope that peaceful and credible elections are still possible. Fred Bauma also shared his experience of prison, where he was detained for 17 months for having spoken against the government’s violent actions, and taken part in peaceful protests.

The panellists warned of the danger of impending dictatorship and increasing violence and human rights abuses, calling on the UN Human Rights Council and the international community to apply strong and concrete sanctions against specific officials and security forces responsible for violations and violence against dissidents in this pre-electoral context.

On September 30th, the UN Human Rights Council adopted a Resolution, calling the government to create “without delay the necessary conditions for the holding of free, transparent, inclusive and peaceful elections.” The Human Rights Council will continue to monitor the situation, with special attention to violations against liberty, free speech, and basic citizen rights.

The event was broadcast live – you can watch it on our Facebook page.

The adoption of the Philippines Mining Act in 1995 opened up the proliferation of mining permits handed to foreign corporations. The Act facilitates the extraction of mining resources by foreign investors, but has very little value added for the local economy. The mining sector represents less than 2% of the Gross Domestic Product of the Philippines and employs less than 0.4 % of the labor force. And yet mining activities have serious negative impacts on the environment, particularly on the ancestral domains of Indigenous Peoples.

Empowering people affected by the negative impacts of mining was one of the main issues discussed at the Extreme Poverty and Human Rights workshop that took place in Quezon City, Philippines, from August 29 to 31. The workshop was coordinated by Franciscans International (FI) and the Franciscans Solidarity Movement of JPIC (Justice, Peace, and Integrity of Creation), in the context of implementing the Handbook “Making Human Rights Work for People Living in Extreme Poverty: A Handbook for Implementing the UN Guiding Principles on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights,” launched by FI and ATD Fourth World at the end of 2015.

Since the launch, FI has been promoting the Handbook and its rights-based approach both at the United Nations, and among its partners on the field, developing training material and workshops to ensure its implementation as widely as possible. The workshops stress hands-on action planning and the development of concrete advocacy strategies by the participants.

More than 50 participants from different regions in the Philippines, including partners working directly with affected populations living in extreme poverty, gathered for the workshop in Quezon City, with the aim to strengthen and develop advocacy strategies for a rights-based approach to corporate responsibility. The meeting was very timely, especially in the context of civil society’s current campaign to scrap the Mining Act of 1995 and to replace it with an Alternative Mining Management Bill (AMMB) that includes key accountability measures for mining corporations.

Participants committed to engaging in dialogue with government officials and agencies, to discuss policy reform towards poverty alleviation based on the UN Guiding Principles on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights, and to advocate for a human rights based approach in policies. They also highlighted the importance and their intent to raise awareness about the Guiding Principles at grassroots level, with teachers and parents in schools, and with sisters and brothers who work directly with affected communities.

Franciscans International and Romans VI (the Justice, Peace, and Integrity of Creation group of the Franciscan Family) are sending a team of 15 delegates to the World Social Forum in Montreal, Canada, that is taking place from August 9th to 14th, 2016.

The delegation will speak out and advocate for the most marginalised in three big areas: crimes committed by the mining industry, the rights of those living in extreme poverty, and ensuring that the rights of people and of the planet come before profit when it comes to the accountability of transnational corporations.

Partners and FI representatives will denounce and detail the environmental destruction caused by dam breaches in Brazil and Canada; they will explore how global networks can be used to resist mining transnational corporations, and look for collaborative ways to respond to wide-ranging human rights violations caused by these companies.

Delegates will argue for a human rights based strategy to question the current development model, in order to ensure that the rights of the most marginalised are respected in the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Delegation members will also participate in the Convergence Assembly that is bringing together groups and movements that battle against extractivism and work relentlessly for the respect of human and environmental rights of concerned communities.

Mukuru, Nairobi, is one of Kenya’s largest informal settlements. It counts over 100 000 residents and is characterised by poor drainage and sewage systems, poorly designed houses built near the road reserves and drainage system, and the grabbing of land meant for development of infrastructure. Infrastructural expansion has become a complex task due to land cartels and gangs who strongly oppose upgrading initiatives. Social amenities put up by NGOs have also been grabbed and are being managed by powerful individuals at the expense of the citizens for whom those facilities were designed. “I had a kiosk, given to me by a company, to help improve my life,” explains a disabled young man. ”But it was grabbed and never given back. The man who took it threatened to have me arrested.”

In September 2015, FI and ATD Fourth World released their Handbook “Making Human Rights Work For People Living in Extreme Poverty”, a practical tool that presents key elements for mobilising and empowering people and communities living in extreme poverty to advocate for policies that promote and advance their rights. Since the launch, FI has been promoting the Handbook and its rights-based approach both at the United Nations, and among its partners on the field, developing training material and workshops to ensure its implementation as widely as possible. The workshops stress hands-on action planning and the development of concrete advocacy strategies by the participants. FI coordinated the first of these workshops in Mukuru on June 29th and 30th 2016.

Community members who attended the workshop included a large number of young people, vocal and committed to seeing change in their community, and several women who contributed important detail and assured their continuing involvement and follow-up. When asked about the main issue they were facing in Mukuru, participants chose to focus on the right to adequate housing, connected closely to security of land tenure. Following guiding questions from the Handbook, they explained how the right to own land opens the road to bank loans, to opening small businesses, to constructing permanent homes. They noted the link between the outbreak and fast proliferation of diseases due to congested settlements, and the general insecurity that reigns as people fight for land after having been forcefully evicted. Following the discussion, workshop organisers and participants agreed that housing and settlement would be the main focus of ensuing action plans and advocacy strategies.

Solid action-plans came out of the sessions, with community leaders recognising how important it was to share information about land rights and raise awareness around the current cases of eviction and the responses from law enforcement. They listed their allies, primary and secondary advocacy targets, and started putting into place national and county-level lobbying processes. “This workshop on advocacy and human rights has made me understand how to better address human rights issues,” commented one of the participants. “Issues of forced eviction are rampant in Mukuru, and we hope the Handbook can help us address them efficiently.” Participants intend to meet and interact with concerned authorities and other relevant stakeholders in late August, through a second workshop planned in Nairobi.

FI’s next planned workshops around the Handbook on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights are set to take place in Argentina at the end of July, and in the Philippines in mid-August.

The Philippines have been suffering from the consequences of aggressive extractive industry and the numerous human rights violations that are linked to it. In the region of Tampakan in South Cotabato, Mindanao, in the Philippines, the Tampakan Coooper-Gold mine owned by Sagittarius Mines Incorporated (SMI) has been trying to operate since the 1990s. But the project will directly impact watersheds, vast areas of forest, and ancestral domains that are sacred for local populations.

An estimated 5000 people, mostly indigenous, will have to be re-settled when the project starts to operate. The mining activities will also endanger food and water sources, impacting living conditions. The risks of pollution, erosion, siltation, flash floods, landslides, and other seismic geo-hazards are very high.

For these reasons, the Bla’an indigenous communities are protesting against the mining project. In response to the strong opposition of local populations, military forces and paramilitary groups have been deployed to the area and are acting in defence of the investment. The militarization has resulted in the murder of anti-mining and indigenous leaders, and other violations of human rights. The company maintains that it respects and upholds the United Nations’ Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, but in practice, they use military force to maintain control of the mining area.

For several years, Franciscans International (FI) has been working with Filipino NGOs and affected communities in Tampakan, in order to highlight the case at the United Nations, and call the Government of the Philippines to effectively implement its Indigenous Peoples Rights Act (IPRA Law) to protect the rights of indigenous peoples on the lands coveted by mining companies. On June 20th 2016, during the UN Human Right Council, FI partnered with Fastenopfer to organise a discussion on the impact of development projects on the displacement of indigenous peoples, using the example of the Tampakan Cooper-Gold Mine Project.

The UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Dr. Chaloka Beyani, who visited Tampakan in July 2015 and presented his report to the Council, opened the discussion by giving an account of his visit to Tampakan, highlighting the human rights violations caused by the project, and including descriptions about the government’s complicit behaviour with the mining company.
Ms. Nora Polie Sukal, a representative of the Bla’an community, testified and shared her experience of how the mining company has wreaked havoc among her tribe, causing disunity and cultural loss, not to mention unpunished human rights violations and potential environmental damage. She called for truthful implementation of the IPRA Law that is meant to protect Indigenous Peoples, for the respect of the Principles of Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC), and for authentic consultation of indigenous people regarding the proposed project. Ms Sukal ended her intervention by expressing concern for her own security, fearing possible reprisal or pressure upon her return to Tampakan.

Finally, Ms Cécilia Jimenez gave an overview of the legal and policy frameworks surrounding the issue of indigenous peoples’ rights in the Philippines, explaining the need to continue putting pressure on the Filipino government to uphold its responsibilities towards its indigenous peoples.

Read the statement read by Ms Nora Polie Sukal to the Human Rights Council here.
Read Fastenhopfer’s article (in German) here and Cath.net’s article (in French) here.

The refugee crisis in Central America is serious: it is estimated that 400 000 people transit from Mexico to the United States annually. Mexico’s programme “Frontera Sur,” put into place in mid-2014 to respond to the crisis, is only exacerbating human rights violations throughout Central America, leaving migrants without protection and vulnerable to all sorts of crime, extortion, and violence perpetrated in complete impunity. Furthermore, a rapidly increasing number of unaccompanied minors and women and children have been arriving at shelters, desperate to escape from the violence experienced in their home countries. No protection mechanisms are accessible to these migrants, and the authorities that are supposed to protect them are showing increased violence towards them.

The Secretary General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-Moon, has noted that 2016 is proving particularly deadly for migrants and asylum seekers, and has called for the international community to address the root causes of such movements, protect people en route and at borders, prevent discrimination, and promote inclusion.

Franciscans International (FI) is dedicated to addressing the issues surrounding migrants and asylum seekers from a human rights perspective, focusing on the protection of migrants and their rights, and has been working with the Franciscan migrant shelter La 72 for over a year, to raise international awareness about the situation of migrants in Central America.

On June 15th, FI joined a large group of NGOs in hosting a discussion at the UN in Geneva, about issues surrounding Central American migration. FI arranged for Ramon Marquez, Director of La 72, to share his experience on a panel of experts. Along with Caritas’ National Director in El Salvador, Antonio Banos, Mr. Marquez pointed out the increase of crime and human rights violations surrounding migrants making their way North, through Mexico.

He noted that out of 10’000 migrants received at La 72, more than 1’000 confessed to have suffered human rights violations in Mexican territory; and that out of 150 reported cases of such violations, only 14 received protection. Calling the event a humanitarian crisis, the panellists called for the Mexican government to take clear measures to address migrants’ rights on their territory, to ensure better protection for them, and to enable access to effective justice. They noted how violence had become structural and generalised across the country, and plead for quick action.

The evening prior to the discussion at the UN, FI and partners screened the movie “Viacrucis Migrantes”, a documentary film about the men, women, and children fleeing Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala, and end up at La 72. The screening was held at Cinéma du Grütli, a popular Geneva movie-theatre, in the presence of director Hauke Lorenz and Ramon Marquez, and was followed by a lively discussion around the issues brought up by the film.

FI used the opportunity of Mr. Marquez’ visit to introduce him further to key NGO partners in Geneva. He also participated in UNHCR (UN High Commissioner for Refugees) and IOM (International Office for Migration) consultations about how to best face migration issues, and met with key staff of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Read the oral statement delivered by La72 and FI to the Human Rights Council on June 14th.

Human mobility and global migration have been gaining increasing attention and visibility, as we are faced with an unprecedented crisis surrounding the lives and security of forcefully displaced people. The Secretary General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-Moon, has noted that 2016 is proving particularly deadly for migrants and asylum seekers, and has called for the international community to address the root causes of such movements, protect people en route and at borders, prevent discrimination, and promote inclusion. In September 2016, the UN in New York will hold a high-level summit on addressing large movements of refugees and migrants. Member States will have the opportunity to discuss and exchange information about the challenges and commitments that these migration movements call for.

Franciscans International (FI) is dedicated to addressing the issues surrounding migrants and asylum seekers from a human rights perspective, focusing on the protection of migrants and their rights in several regions of the world. FI and partners have repeatedly been calling for governments to take stronger measures to ensure that asylum seekers and migrants in their territories are enjoying their most basic rights.

In this context, FI joined partners Destination Justice, Edmund Rice International, and ICJ in sponsoring the presentation of a new online database, developed by Global Detention Project, to track immigration data globally. The event took place at the United Nations in Geneva, on June 14th 2016, as a side event to the Human Rights Council.

Immigration detention is often a process which is far less transparent than the criminal detention system; it is obscured by the use of opaque terminology (‘removal centres’, ‘migration stations’, ‘border reception centres,’ etc.) and the legislation changes constantly. The database represents a great step forward in transparently documenting state practices towards the detention of migrants. It is a rich resource for policy-makers, civil society actors, and human rights institutions seeking information about the evolution of detention practices, and information on detention centres and other immigration control regimes per country. Several NGOs and civil-society actors present at the event shared their enthusiasm about the database and committed to using it to further their work in protecting the human rights of migrants, asylum seekers, and refugees.

To access the Global Detention Project’s database, click here.

On June 14, on the side of the 35th session of the Human Rights Council, Franciscans International – represented by its Advocacy Deputy Director, Mr Budi Tjahjono-the Geneva Climate Change Consultation Group (GeCCco) and other organisations held an event discussing the impact of climate change on the rights of the child.

Within this context, Mr Benjamin Schachter, a Human Rights Officer with the Office of The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) presented a study focusing on the relationship between climate change and the enjoyment of the rights of the child.

The Analytical Study, commissioned by the Human Rights Council Resolution 32/33, found that “Children are disproportionately impacted by climate change due to their unique metabolism, physiology and developmental needs”. It also highlighted how “the negative impacts of climate change, including the increasing frequency and intensity of natural disasters, changing precipitation patterns, food and water shortages, and the increased transmission of communicable diseases, threaten the enjoyment by children of their rights to health, life, food, water and sanitation, education, housing, culture, and development, among others”.

As for other categories of people, climate change heightens existing social and economic inequalities especially for those more vulnerable-like young children, children on the move, alone, ill or with disabilities.

The study also put forward some recommendations. For example, it suggested to ensure that children’s rights considerations are integrated in climate, disaster risk reduction and development policies and actions, as well as to empower children to participate in climate policymaking. The recommendations also pointed out the need to collect disaggregated data on climate change and children’s rights, and to mobilise adequate resources to fund effective climate action and remedies that benefit children.

Ms Mirela Shuteriqi, Communications Specialist at UNICEF Office in Geneva, showed her support for the study and findings stressing the duty we have, as international community, to address this issue. She also highlighted several UNICEF projects, such as in Zambia, where youth engagement was effectively supported and 200 children acted as climate change ambassadors.

Mr Sébastien Duyck, Senior Attorney at the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL), also concurred with the findings highlighting the overall lack of discussion on the topic at the UNFCCC level and urged states to increase their ambition in terms of mitigation action.

Mr Yves Lador, representative of Earthjustice in Geneva, concluded the debate underscoring the importance of a truly holistic approach in dealing with climate-related issues.

Indigenous peoples and groups worldwide are experiencing violent human rights violations. They are being increasingly marginalised as land is being taken away from them and their access to basic rights such as health and education is shrinking. Many of them are being excluded from participating in policy decisions that affect them, thus deprived from their rights to free, prior and informed consent. At the core of these violations against indigenous peoples is the denial of self-determination, which has been acknowledged as essential to the exercise of all other human rights.

Every year, the United Nations holds the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, which offers indigenous peoples and groups the opportunity to voice their concerns with member states. This year’s forum, “Indigenous Peoples: Conflict, Peace, and Resolution,” held from May 9-20, addressed the participation of indigenous people representatives and institutions in UN meetings in which issues that affect them are being discussed.

On the second day of the Foum, May 10th, speakers gathered to take stock of progress made in the implementation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. In this context, Franciscans International, Vivat International, and Passionists International delivered an oral statement, noting that mining activities in Indonesia, Brazil and the Philippines had not only been destructive for the environment, but had also marginalized and excluded indigenous peoples from their territories. Furthermore, land-grabbing had allowed for the massive expansion of palm oil plantations in Borneo and West Papua, Indonesia, both by transnational and national corporations through concessions provided by national and local governments, in violation of the right to free, prior and informed consent. The statement also highlighted the violation of the human rights of activists, environmentalists and human rights defenders who had been targeted and subjected to intimidation.

Many other participants pointed to government and business actions that had resulted in the plundering and destruction of natural resources. Speakers urged the Forum to monitor and ensure the implementation of the Declaration and called on governments to repeal oppressive laws and practices that encroached on the fundamental rights of indigenous communities and peoples.