communications, Author at Franciscans International

Monseigneur Fridolin Ambongo Besungu challenged the international community to consider natural resource extraction in the DRC as the underlying cause of numerous and interrelated human rights violations at a UN debate on September 16th.

“The problem around natural resource extraction in the DRC needs to be redefined. It is not a question of economics or trade, it is a question of dignity and human rights,” affirmed Monseigneur Fridolin Ambongo Besungu, representing FI at a debate organised on September 16th at the UN by Franciscans International, in collaboration with the World Council of Churches, the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, and International Federation for Human Rights; partners committed to keeping the volatile situation in the DRC on the Human Rights Council agenda.

As the country prepares for a new round of elections, civil society is looking for ways to protect those who defend human rights, who speak out against illicit exploitation and trade of natural resources, sexual violence, the uncontrolled flow of weapons, and against the climate of impunity that makes these violations possible. The debate sought to remind the international community not only about the gravity of the human rights situation in the DRC, but also that the Congolese civil society is counting on its political pressure and financial support for greater protection of human rights and human rights defenders.

Following speakers who highlighted important human rights violations and the complex context in which they occur, Monseigneur Fridolin argued that the underlying cause of the situation was the unchecked extraction of the DRC’s natural resources and the human rights violations this implies. Forced displacement, the uncontrolled flow of arms, the proliferation of armed groups, sexual violence, and the destruction of social life – all of these could be lessened, if not completely eradicated – by a Mining Code that would address the three phases of natural resource extraction: violations committed when land is grabbed, violations committed once companies have settled themselves in, and violations committed as companies ignore their obligations give way to corruption.

Ambongo stressed that it was the responsibility of politicians and governments to ensure that natural resources benefit local communities as well as investors. “The desire for enrichment has trumped justice,” he concluded. “This is behind all of the DRC’s problems.” A testimony from the floor, detailing how an organisation that encouraged youth to get involved into politics was harassed and forced into hiding, only strengthened the need for the international community to continue putting pressure on the DRC to address the situation through a human rights lens, and to ensure that dealing with natural resource extraction is an integral part of UN recommendations to the DRC.

In November 2014, a group of Afro-Colombian women walked the 600 kilometres from their villages in the department of Cauca, to Bogota, the Colombian capital, to protest the devastating impacts of mining and violence in their region: sexual violence, assassination of community leaders, contamination of water, loss of livelihood (artisanal gold mining), and forced displacement. Their signs, songs, and clear demands to the government were in the name of defending life and their ancestral territories.

Soon after the march, the Justice Peace, and Integrity of Creation Commission of the Franciscan Family of Colombia (FFC) started finding ways in which to act in solidarity with the movement, one of which was to carry out a consultation to assess the impact of extractive development policies on Afro-Colombian women and their communities. FI sponsored and supported this effort, convinced that the information collected could be presented at international level, during Colombia’s upcoming review by the UN Committee on Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) in August 2015.

Based on this information and in dialogue with the FFC and community leaders, FI drafted a report that was submitted jointly to the Committee underlining deficiencies in legal, institutional, and policy frameworks, and documents the discriminatory impacts of policies that promote and allow illegal mining: the reality of unconstitutional and illegal mining, the impacts on the collective human rights of communities, especially in terms of water, forced displacement, and the situation of Afro-Colombian women; the right to prior consultation; and the situation of human rights defenders. The findings corroborate those of the UN expert on minority issues in Colombia: “The map of high-density Afro-Colombian populations overlaps almost completely with the map of areas of extreme poverty.1”

Two representatives – the coordinator of the FFC JPIC Commission and a representative of ACONC – travelled to Geneva in August, to raise awareness about the situation in North Cauca, and participate in Colombia’s review by the UN CERD. The report and comments made by the two representatives were picked up by the Committee on various fronts. The Committee raised issues that were consistent with the report, including how continuing armed conflict disproportionately affects indigenous and Afro-Colombian populations. It stated that Afro-Colombian men and women face “persistent structural discrimination and invisibility, (…) which manifests in itself in the inequality and gap in terms of Afro-Colombian’s exercise of economic, social, and cultural rights in relation to the rest of the population,” and directly mentioned the threats and violence that keep Afro-Colombians from exercising their rights over territorial lands. In parallel to what was stated in the joint FF, FI, & ACONC report, the Committee specifically called out the state for not having consulted the National Development Plan with the Afro-Colombian communities because some officials had publicly cited prior consultation as an obstacle for development.

As our two visitors head back to Colombia after an important review of their country by the UN CERD, intending to report back to the community on how their voice was relayed, heard, and acted upon by top decision makers at the UN, FI continues to seek ways to bridge local movements working against injustice with international policy makers at the UN.

1. Report of the independent expert on minority issues, Gay McDougall, Mission to Colombia, UN Doc. A/HRC/16/45/Add.1 (25 January 2011), Par. 22

On Sunday, 2 August 2015, United Nations Member States unanimously agreed on the final text that will be adopted by Heads of State at the UN Summit to adopt the Post 2015 Development Agenda in late September.

FI, together with the NGO Mining Working Group and the Blue Planet Project celebrate the pledge made by Member States to “A world where we reaffirm our commitments regarding the human right to safe drinking water and sanitation […]” in paragraph 7 of the final text.

This recognition of the human right to water and sanitation in Post-2015 Development Agenda is the result of unrelenting efforts by civil society groups over the past two and a half years during the Open Working Group and Intergovernmental negotiation processes, including a global petition signed by 621 organizations worldwide to name this human right in the document. This call was also carried forward by key Member States who championed the cause within the intergovernmental discussions.

Read the entire press release here.

Uganda went through its first review by the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in June 2015. FI took the opportunity to highlight some serious human rights issues.

Uganda went through its first review by the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in June 2015. Although the Ugandan government has taken measures to address certain human rights abuses, the country still faces a multitude of issues.

Saving and Credit Cooperatives, initiated to contribute to poverty alleviation strategies, remain unsupervised, leading to the exploitation and deception of the people they were meant to help.

Oil exploration, as is widely occurring in the Albertine region in Uganda, comes with risks that undermine the full enjoyment of rights by women. Since the majority of women do not own land, they are excluded from negotiations, which is used to petition against the sale of their families’ land to oil agencies. Furthermore, as they often do not hold the titles to their land, these women do not benefit from the financial transaction and are often left landless.

Primary education in Northern Uganda, far from national and regional capitals, is underfunded, resulting in overcrowded classrooms and the lack of basic scholastic materials.

Early and forced marriages are still prevalent throughout the country, though more so in rural areas, and are often linked to female genital mutilation. Females are only considered adults and ready for marriage after they have undergone this procedure, which typically occurs when girls are between the ages of 12 and 16.

Child labour affects more than 30% of children aged between 6-13, especially in communities where poverty is rampant, alongside domestic violence, the prevalence of orphan and single parent situations, child neglect, school drop-out rates, and lucrative economic activities that include sugar cane growing/harvesting, fishing, and charcoal burning.

Finally, while the number of birth registrations has improved over the past few years, in 2013 UNICEF reported that five million children under the age of five still remain unregistered in Uganda. The birth registration process remains complicated in the country, with high fees and difficult access for rural areas.

FI had the opportunity to raise these concerns to the Committee, both through a written report, and through an oral statement. The Committee included the issues of women’s involvement in the management of natural resources, the right to education, early and forced marriages, child labour and birth registration in its Concluding Observations. FI will now focus on Uganda’s response to these observations, and work towards the successful follow-up of the CESCR review process, so that the communities affected can move towards the full enjoyment of their most basic rights.

See FI’s Oral Statement here.
See the detailed report submitted by FI here

Flickr photo by Brian Wolfe (CC BY-NC 2.0)

The Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace (PCJP) coordinated with the Churches and Mining group to arrange a meeting in Rome with representatives of communities affected by the mining industry.

The “Churches and Mining” network is a faith-based coalition of about seventy organizations united by a shared commitment to bring visibility to, address the priorities of, and walk in solidarity with grassroots communities affected by extractive development, mostly in Latin America. [watch video on Church and Mining]

Along with NGO Mining Working Group partner organizations Mercy’s Global Action at the UN and VIVAT International, Franciscans International has worked with the Churches and Mining network since 2013, aiming to connect member organizations with opportunities to do joint advocacy at and through the United Nations.

The meeting, “United to God, We Hear a Cry” took place from July 17-19, 2015 with approximately 30 representatives from eighteen countries of the Americas, Africa, and Asia. There were also approximately 15 participants from Episcopal Conferences and religious congregations and organizations such the Franciscans, JPIC and Mining, Caritas, and CIDSE. In 2013 the PCJP had hosted a “day of reflection” with CEOs of the largest mining corporations and another conversation is scheduled for September of this year.

In his communication to the community representatives present, Pope Francis addressed the “cry of the many people, families and communities who suffer directly and indirectly as a result of the consequences, too often negative of mining activities.” He wrote, “The entire mining sector is undoubtedly required to effect a radical paradigm shift to improve the situation in many countries.”

In their Open Letter following the meeting, the community representatives in attendance reflected on the structural power imbalances that underpin violence, human rights violations, environmental degradation, and other systematic impacts of extractive development at the local level. They also highlighted their continued concern with the contradictions between corporations’ discussions at the highest levels and practices on the ground. The collective explicitly requested that in conversations with leaders of the mining industry, the Pontifical Council should act in solidarity and “add its unequivocal support to what many peoples and organizations around the world have been demanding: progress toward the design of the Binding Treaty on Business and Human Rights.”

See the Open Letter of the communities affected by mining operations received in Rome by the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace.

As negotiations begin at the UN in Geneva, for a legally-binding international treaty to hold transnational corporations accountable for the numerous human rights abuses they perpetrate, FI and other partner organisations are organising ways for affected communities to have their perspectives taken into consideration.

Today, a UN debate sponsored by FI, CIDSE, FIAN International, The Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF), The International Baby Food Action Network (IBFAN) and Friends of the Earth, featured six panelists from the grassroots who each presented the kinds of corporate abuses they’ve witnessed; from murder and rape to communities being displaced without notice; from water contamination to serious health issues, these human rights defenders told stories of how their communities have suffered from transnational companies’ activity without ever having any kind of access to justice or remedy. Their accounts continually highlighted the power of such companies over states and their judicial systems. “I have spent 10 years and all my economic resources,” admitted Yasmine Motarjemi, former Assistant Vice President in charge of food safety at a large transnational company, “but I have not gotten any justice.”

The need for a legally-binding treaty is undeniable; hearing from those directly affected made that obvious. But panelists challenged us to think further: how can we ensure that the Treaty is implemented and well-monitored? How can we address the asymmetry in power between corporations and States? How can profit, and the current development discourse be challenged, so that corporate culture itself changes?

The representative from CIDSE, speaking from the audience, encouraged all to make sure these concerns were taken into consideration in the official negotiations that were starting up again in the main hall at the close of the debate. Tomorrow, a second debate will take place at the UN in parallel to the treaty negotiations: grassroots representatives from different social movements will have the opportunity to give their perspective on the impact of transnational corporations. FI looks forward to continue hearing from and amplifiying the voices of those directly affected by transnational companies, to influence the current intergovernmental working group negotiations, in view of a robust and relevant treaty on business and human rights.

In Côte d’Ivoire at the end of June, FI gathered state representatives, civil society actors, NGOs, and human rights experts at a workshop to explore ideas on how to best follow-up on the UN’s recommendations to improve birth registration.

Despite state-lead efforts to modernise registration in the country, Côte d’Ivoire still counts a concerning 2.8 million unregistered children – children who have no legal existence, and therefore have no right to education or health, and who often fall prey to the worst forms of labour abuse and human trafficking.

FI facilitated a workshop in Côte d’Ivoire in June, during which participants were able not only to learn more about how to use UN-mechanisms to address low rates of birth registration, but also came together to suggest an action plan to better follow-up on the UN’s recommendations regarding birth registration. These suggestions included raising awareness in remote communities using local languages, encouraging midwives to register births, making birth registration legally obligatory, and establishing a national strategic plan on civil registration.

FI believes that through initiatives like this one, the open dialogue between state representatives, civil society, NGOs, and human rights experts continues to move countries forward in better follow-up on UN-recommendations so as to move forward in the eradication of serious human rights abuses in vulnerable and marginalised communities.

© Rogiro (CC BY-NC 2.0)