Our Focus

Peace & Human Rights

Francis’ experience as a soldier and prisoner during the wars between Assisi and Perugia led him to undergo a profound transformation. His rejection of violence ultimately led him to seek out Sultan al-Kamil of Egypt to broker a peace during the fifth crusade – a meeting that is still held up as an example of dialogue and understanding.

People caught in situations of armed violence and conflict don’t cease to have their inherent human rights: on the contrary, they need heightened protection – especially women and children. Today, Franciscans are often among those who provide material, psychological and legal support to affected communities. It is not uncommon for sisters and brothers to be some of the last to remain in situations of conflict and be able to document and transfer information to the international community.

In various countries, Franciscans stand up against the systemic and widespread repression of peaceful protests and work to address past human rights violations in the context of transitional justice. At times, they themselves are victims of repression, violence, and conflict.

Our Goals

Expose human rights violations in situations of conflict and armed violence.

The international community is often unable or unwilling to conduct direct investigations when addressing situations of conflict and armed violence. Because of their deep roots in affected communities, Franciscans are in a unique position to share reliable information with the United Nations. Together, we contribute to fighting impunity in highly sensitive and repressive contexts.

Promote the role of human rights in the prevention of conflict and demand increased accountability for policies that fuel strife and violence.

FI contributes to global debates and initiatives that foster the increased integration of human rights into UN work on conflict prevention, peacebuilding, and peacekeeping. We explore new ways to make more systematic and coordinated use of the different existing UN mechanisms in New York and Geneva. We also engage with States in debates that aim to include equal dignity and environmental justice into peace and security policies, including in the framework of the UN Security Council.

Environmental Justice

The preservation of our common home – the planet we all share – is central to the teachings of Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of ecology. During his own lifetime, he was concerned with the impact of human activities on nature around him.

Today, our world is engulfed in a triple planetary crisis of climate disruption, biodiversity loss, and waste and pollution. These crises affect all human rights. Too often, people who have contributed least to their causes are already among those who suffer the greatest consequences – and most likely to be excluded from policies to mitigate the damage.

Franciscans have taken a decisive stand for environmental justice, following a tradition that is reflected in the choice of Laudato Si’ as the title of Pope Francis’ 2015 encyclical, in which he urges the world to take swift and unified action. Their work ranges from campaigns to inspire individual changes to supporting institutional reforms that protect the environment.

Our Goals

Strengthen the practical integration of human rights into environmental debates and actions at the local, national, and global levels.

The impacts of these environmental crises are already a daily reality for people around the world. Using the concrete experiences and cases raised by Franciscans, we explicitly link human rights and the environment in our work with United Nations mechanisms.

FI has played an active role as part of a global coalition working toward the international recognition of the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment by the Human Rights Council in October 2021 and the General Assembly in July 2022. We now aim to further mainstream this right as a tool to claim environmental justice.

Strengthen the protection of the rights to water and sanitation.

Supporting the efforts of Franciscans and their communities at the grassroots we have developed a strong expertise on the rights to water and sanitation, notably by dealing with cases of pollution and toxic wastes. FI works to ensure that these rights are considered within the UN system in all their dimensions – not just economic and social, but also environmental, cultural, and spiritual.

Where We Work

Franciscans International currently has four regional programs that cover Africa, the Americas, Asia-Pacific, and Europe.

Our focus is based on the needs of Franciscans working on human rights issues at the regional and country levels.

Through our partnerships, we can engage together directly with United Nations mechanisms and raise local issues to gain international attention.

We work together over years to transform this international attention into concrete changes at the grassroots.

This is why we choose to work in a number of focus countries where we develop long-term partnerships to implement a sustained strategy.

Our joint work consists of providing Franciscans and other partners with the necessary advice and tools to engage in human rights advocacy, building networks to give weight to local action, and providing access to advocacy opportunities at the UN.

In a successful partnership, these three elements are fully exploited by the same partners on a long-term basis.

Africa

Africa was the first region to be covered by a dedicated program at Franciscans International.

Throughout the continent, different political and environmental crises pose a threat to human rights. We support sisters and brothers who work toward positive and sustainable change for marginalized groups and people living in extreme poverty.

In Benin, for example, Franciscans have set up a successful long-term initiative that combines international advocacy and local awareness campaigns to combat the ritual infanticide of children accused of witchcraft. This program was hailed as a best practice by UNICEF in 2019. Building on this expertise, we are now also developing new advocacy partnerships in Uganda focusing on the rights of children and women’s rights.

The extraction of natural resources has a long history of fueling human rights abuses throughout Africa. Franciscans and the wider Catholic Church have documented and denounced cases of exploitation, displacement, and environmental harm in, among others, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Mozambique.

Climate change and environmental degradation are also heavily impacting the continent. This is the case in southern Madagascar, where Franciscans seek to help those who are forced out of their region.

In several places where conflicts have turned violent, Franciscans are in the unique but dangerous position to gather reliable testimonies that help to inform the international community. Through FI, they can safely and confidentially reach the United Nations

Our Franciscan partners in the region

• Franciscan Family in Uganda
• Franciscan Family Madagascar
• Franciscains-Bénin
• Franciscan Family in Mozambique

FI and its partners also regularly join forces with other local, national, and international civil society organizations to share common concerns

Americas

The Americas are facing a multitude of intersecting human rights crises. As the effects of climate change are becoming more manifest, livelihoods and access to water are threatened across the continent.

In countries like Brazil, Guatemala, and Colombia, this situation is exacerbated by the development of mega-projects and extractive industries that operate without consulting affected communities, obtaining consent, or considering their impact on the environment, especially on sources of water and food.

Together with victims and local allies, Franciscans International brings attention to cases of human rights abuses and violations that are committed through business activities – often with the complicity of authorities. We stand firmly with local and Indigenous leaders who are frequently at risk themselves when opposing mega-projects.

Franciscans also work to build the capacity of marginalized communities, including Indigenous Peoples, to demand protection of their human rights.

Extreme poverty, violence, environmental degradation, and climate change have all fueled large migration flows across the continent. Franciscans have responded by forming a network of connected shelters that provide support to people on the move.

As governments grow increasingly hostile to migrants, refugees, and those working to protect them, FI brings cases of alleged human rights violations and first-hand accounts from these shelters to the UN.

Our Franciscan partners in the region

• Red Franciscana para Migrantes (RFM)
• JPIC Familia Franciscana de Colombia
• JPIC Familia Franciscana Unida de Guatemala
• Order of Friars Minor in El Salvador
• Serviço Franciscano de Solidariedade (SEFRAS)
• Serviço Franciscano de Justiça, Paz e Ecologia (SINFRAJUPE)

FI and its partners also regularly join forces with other local, national, and international civil society organizations to share common concerns

Asia-Pacific

Our work in the Asia-Pacific builds on the deep roots of Franciscans living with communities affected by human rights violations and abuses.

In recent years, our engagement has focused on several protracted human rights crises and the increasingly dire impacts of the environmental crises.

Over 30.000 people have been killed in the so-called ‘war on drugs’ in the Philippines, where human rights defenders and critical voices continue to be intimidated. Following a long tradition, Franciscans have denounced these extra-judicial killings and provided support and sanctuary to witnesses, victims, and families.

In Sri Lanka, we relay the calls for accountability by Franciscans and wider Catholic church. Violations that occurred during the civil war, but also more recent repressive policies, as well as acts of terror such as the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings, need to be proactively investigated and addressed.

In Indonesia, Indigenous West Papuans face racial discrimination, violence, extrajudicial killing, arbitrary arrests, and exploitation of their natural resources. Tens of thousands of Indigenous people are displaced due to the ongoing armed conflicts. Local Franciscans work with us at the United Nations to demand accountability and justice.

In the Solomon Islands, Franciscans are also raising concerns at the UN related to the harmful exploitation of natural resources, such as industrial logging and its impacts on the rights of children and women.

More broadly, the very existence of the Pacific Island nations is threatened by climate change, although they have done little to contribute to the causes of this crisis. Together with local partners, we work  toward stronger global commitments to fight this global environmental crisis.

Our Franciscan partners in the region

• Conference of Major Religious Superiors of the Philippines (CMSP)
• Franciscans Solidarity Movement for JPIC in the Philippines (FSMJPIC)
• Society of Saint Francis, Province of Solomon Islands
• JPIC Franciscans, Papua (SKPKC Fransiskan)
• JPIC Order of Friars Minor, Indonesia
• JPIC Order of Friars Minor, Sri Lanka

FI and its partners also regularly join forces with other local, national, and international civil society organizations to share common concerns

Europe

Franciscans International launched its fourth regional program covering Europe in September 2023. This decision was made as a response to rising concerns about the human rights violations brought up by Franciscans in Europe.

To develop this new regional program, FI has been undertaking an extensive mapping to identify key issues and build connections with partners, allies, and other stakeholders. The immediate focus of the program will be the migration crisis, with many Franciscans already offering support and aid to migrants, asylum seekers, and refugees in various European countries.

The new program is strengthening links with the Franciscan Mediterranean Network, established in 2019. The program will also look at other areas of concern in respect to the treatment of migrants and refugees in the British Isles and Eastern Europe.

However, with Europe and its business interests being a major contributor to the environmental crises and other human rights challenges, the program is expected to cover this and other issues as well as well.

More broadly, the Europe program will expand the capacity of the Franciscan family to address decision-makers at the UN in a region that was outside of our advocacy scope for the past years. The work will remain deeply rooted in the Franciscan commitment to help those who are most affected by harmful policies and practices on the continent.

Our Franciscan partners in the region

• Franciscan Mediterranean Network
• Order of Secular Franciscans, Italy

FI and its partners also regularly join forces with other local, national, and international civil society organizations to share common concerns