communications, Author at Franciscans International

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)