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ADVOCACY HIGHLIGHTS: JANUARY – APRIL 2014

A summary by Francesca Restifo - updated by spanish and german translation (choose language above)


THEMATIC HIGHLIGHTS

  • Stop Corporate abuses and impunity – Join our campaign on Business and Human Rights!

Extractive industry has a serious negative impact on local communities, indigenous peoples, human rights defenders, women, children and other disadvantaged groups.  By negative impact, we refer to the consequences on peoples’ full enjoyment of their human rights at any stage of business activity.
The violations that have been widely documented in this category include infringements on the right to life and physical integrity, freedom of expression, health, water, food, housing, livelihood, cultural life, and non-discrimination. Violations also occur in a systematic way, parallel to natural-resource extraction including; frequent cases of social and armed conflict over those resources and over access to land, repression, violence and killings of opponents to business projects. The disruption of the social fabric of communities that host business projects is one of the most frequently cited negative impacts.
States and companies have legal and ethical responsibilities to ensure that these activities are carried out in accordance with the full respect of human rights. The first step should be: “Do no harm.”  Experience shows that voluntary measures are not sufficient to ensure due diligence, accountability and access to justice for victims.

Franciscans International joins the Treaty Alliance movement to campaign for an international legally binding instrument on business and human rights that addresses all violations, that states clear binding obligations for companies and that establishes concrete and effective monitoring and accountability mechanisms. Learn more about our Campaign, at http://www.treatymovement.com/ .
Sign-on our statement and join us for the Week of Mobilization which will take place in Geneva from 23 to 27 June 2014!

  • The fight against extreme poverty through a human lens  

The  majority  of  the  world’s  population  is  trapped in the vicious circle  of  poverty,  inequality,  landlessness,  unemployment,  environmental  degradation,  marginalisation and  violence.  They experience a number of interrelated deprivations that prevent them from fully enjoying their civil political, economic, social and cultural rights. The first condition experienced by the global poor is the “poverty of rights”, asymmetry in power relations, powerlessness, discrimination and exclusion.   Extreme poverty goes beyond mere economic deprivation, it affects a person`s dignity. People living in extreme poverty are trapped in a vicious cycle of material deprivation, exclusion and human rights violations. Extreme poverty is also the result of acts and omissions committed by States and by others economic actors.

In the wake of on-going debate on Sustainable Development there is even greater need to fill the gap between human rights and anti-poverty policies and practices. Policy-makers keep failing to fully and meaningfully embrace human rights based approaches to poverty. In 2012 the UN Guiding Principles on extreme poverty and human rights were adopted by the UN.  The Guiding Principles represent an important tool for formulating the post-2015/SDG agenda as well as anti-poverty strategies at the national level.  

In trying to connect the dots between the Guiding principle on Extreme Poverty and the Post 2015 debate, Franciscans International and ATD Fourth World organised a side-event during the 25th session of the HRC.  FI demonstrated the importance of moving towards a rights-based approach to extreme poverty, with particular attention to participation and empowerment. The panel was formed, amongst others by Ambassadors of France, South Africa, former UN Experts on Poverty and Housing rights and Michael Perry, Minister General Ofm.  The Panel discussed the importance of promoting a rights-based approach to Extreme Poverty and the benefits of the Guiding Principles for poverty eradication strategies at the national level, as well as to inform the formulation of the post-2015/SDG agenda. In particular, Michael Perry in his intervention, emphasised that States have the primary responsibility to reduce poverty and even to eliminate it. “One important means for them to do this is to integrate the Guiding Principles into their national economic and development programs.  In this way, they will help ensure the promotion of the principles of dignity, non-discrimination, participation and inclusion, encouraging those trapped in all forms of poverty, especially and more immediately those in extreme poverty, to become the lead actors for their own social transformation”

  • Rights-based approach to Sustainable Development

While the negative impacts of development strategies based on large-scale extraction and export of natural resources are increasingly known, the particular impacts on the lives of women in the affected communities deserves greater attention. In rural areas women tend to be in charge of water collection, subsistence farming, and family caretaking. In this way depletion or contamination of water resulting in negative health impacts also increases the burdens on women in addition to direct harms they suffer themselves. Additionally, patterns of sexual exploitation, human trafficking, and other forms of gender-based violence tend to intensify around mining sites.

For these reasons, FI partnered with the Sisters of Mercy in March to carry out an intensive week of activities at and around the UN aimed at raising awareness of the gravity of the problems and the urgent need for a new model of development. To bring the voices and experience of those closest to these impacts, we invited 7 advocates that work on human trafficking and/or extractive industries in different countries to attend the UN Commission on the Status of Women, share notes, and raise a collective voice calling for change. The countries represented included Canada, Colombia, Guyana, Ireland, Peru, South Africa, and Uganda. For the week of activities in coalition we organized a side event to the UN Commission; a public event at the Church of St. Francis of Assisi; 3 strategy sessions with NGO partners looking at trafficking, mining, and using the human rights framework; and a roundtable with staff from UNDP.

  • Birth Registration – A right from the start!

Around the world approximately 230 Million children under the age of 5 are not registered at birth and of this, about 85 million are in sub-Saharan Africa. Birth registration is the first right a child is entitled to, it is an instrument for protection. Unregistered children are invisible and are condemned to remain in the informal sector, to be exposed to numerous abuses. Birth registration contributes to the prevention of child marriage, under-age recruitment in armed forces, child labour, trafficking, unsafe migration, illegal adoption, being tried and sentenced as adults, statelessness and family separation.  
Franciscans International is committed to promoting Universal Birth Registration within the Human Rights Council, in particular by encouraging the use of UPR to obtain the commitments of States to address Birth Registration issues at a national level. FI is an active member of the Working Group on Birth registration, convened by Plan International and World Vision.  Within this context,  FI is now conducting a study on how the UPR mechanism responded to the issue of Birth Registration since the first session, back in 2008, up to the current sessions. The study aims at examining the potential of the UPR as a strategic space in which country-specific issues related to Birth Registration can be discussed to bring about change on the field. FI has submitted a report on the Ivory Coast emphasising Birth Registration concerns in that country. These issues have received the attention of recommending states and the commitment of Abidjan.  

REGIONAL HIGHLIGHTS

  • Democratic Republic of the Congo - DRC: Breaking the links between Conflict and Minerals

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has had a long, bloody history of multiple issues with ‘conflict minerals’ that continue to involve a wide variety of actors. While the valuable mineral resources of the DRC are exploited for profit, the populations that live near mining sites are exploited in another way.  Through sexual abuse, forced labor and violence, these populations suffer due to their proximity to minerals that should bring prosperity and support peace. Although the government has committed to strategies against mining-related conflict, including checks and controls to trace the origin of minerals exported from the DRC, doubts remain as to whether these measures have been successful. Corruption and a lack of transparency severely limit certification and traceability procedures. The region’s worst-hit by human rights violations are those where there is less state presence, allowing exploitation to continue with impunity. Given the gravity of the situation and the Franciscans’ involvement in addressing the issue of ‘conflict minerals’, the DRC has become one of the priority countries for FI’s action in Africa.

Since February 2014, FI has been conducted a number of activities drawing the attention of the international community on the human rights situation in DRC. At the national level, consultations with local partners were conducted to promote capacity building and coordination amongst the various stake-holders. During these consultations, proposals were made to establish a working group and a follow-up mechanism tasked with reporting human rights violations using the UPR. It was suggested that stronger links should be created with other NGOs working at the international level as well as with the existing UN Human rights mechanisms and the African Court of Human and People’s rights to make advocacy activities more consistent and effective.
On the occasion of the 25th session of the Human Rights Council, FI organized a high-level panel discussion entitled “Breaking the Links between Natural Resources and Conflict”. The event, which saw the participation of Ms. Mary Robinson, former High Commissioner for Human Rights, and Mgr. Fridolin Ambongo, President of the Congolese Episcopal Commission on Natural Resources, captured a large number of attendees and stakeholders demonstrating a great interest in the subject. The debate, moderated by H.E. Mr. Bertrand de Crombrugghe, Ambassador of Belgium, revolved around the human rights violations of the local population and the systematic exploitation of minerals by the armed groups. The event was a good occasion for stakeholders to elaborate on their concerns about conflict minerals and propose recommendations to be made at the UPR of DRC.  With the aim to lobby States and thus inform the UPR of DRC, FI submitted a document to containing key recommendations to DRC. On the occasion of the UPR-Pre session, an advocacy brief addressing key issues of concern was presented by Mr Eric Koffi Gamien, FI focal point in Africa, and shared with PMs to ensure our recommendations were taken up during the UPR interactive dialogue.
Following the UPR of DRC, a second roundtable discussion dealing with the issue of conflict minerals in the eastern part of the country and a side event on the outcome of the UPR of DRC were also organized. Both events were a chance for Congolese civil society to express concerns about the weakness of some of the recommendations made during the interactive dialogue and to formulate possible solutions and best practices as a way forward.
The outcomes of the event on conflict minerals were fully covered by  national media with articles published in the well-known daily journal l’Observateur as well as in the 7sur7. Following the event FI was invited to participate in a meeting with journalists to share aspects of our work in DRC. The journalists highlighted the difficulties they are facing in their attempts to obtain information and investigate into the human rights violations engendered by the mining sector. Strengthening collaboration with the media as an important tool to share information and is at the core of FI’s advocacy work on DRC.

  • Ivory Coast: promoting child rights and birth registration

In Ivory Coast, children who are unregistered are forced to leave school because they lack legal status. Concequently they become street children, working as labourers and are exposed to economic exploitation and trafficking.  In late 2013 FI submitted a report to address various issues related to birth registration and other human rights concerns in Ivory Coast. In early 2014 we followed-up the submission with strong advocacy, monitoring and bilateral meetings. On the occasion of the second UPR exam of Ivory Coast, on 29 April 2014, FI invited Mr Eric Koffi, FI focal point in Western Africa to Geneva to meet diplomatic representatives as well as Civil Society Organizations from Ivory Cast to discuss human rights issues in the country. During the review, FI achieved satisfactory results with a number of Members States making recommendations in relation to the issue of birth registration, child labour and trafficking, and the right to health and education for the most in need. Strategies for a follow-up on UPR recommendations will be discussed during a sub-regional workshop organized by FI in Abidjan from 19- 23 May 2014.

In addition, on the occasion of his field visit of the UN Independent Expert on Ivory Coast, Mr. Doudou Diené, in February 2014, FI shared concerns in relation to peace and reconciliation, right to health, and access to justice. In line with discussion held in Abidjan, FI delivered an oral statement during the 25th session of the Human Rights Council, in conjunction with the release of the report by the Independent Expert.

  • El Salvador: Advocating for Environmental Justice

El Salvador is one of the countries in Latin America with the greatest inequality  regarding access to clean water between the privileged and the marginalized. The country is already at a critical state: the Ministry of the Environment found recently that only 2% of the water in the country can be deemed of “good” quality. UNDP summed up the situation last year: “Water and sanitation services in El Salvador are irregular, of low quality, or all together inexistent. The superficial and subterranean sources are contaminated, the aquifers are overexploited, the waterbeds degraded, which impacts how vulnerable the land is, increasing the risk in which the people live and carry out their productive activities.” This precarious situation stands in stark contrast with the priority of access given to corporations.

The Franciscan Family of El Salvador has a long history of work with civil society and communities to defend life through environmental justice. Since last August, the Franciscan Family has been partnering with FI to develop an advocacy campaign around the Universal Periodic Review to bring increased momentum and international visibility to this work. After months of training, research, and elaboration of the analysis and recommendations, in March the Franciscan Family and FI presented a detailed report to the UN on the situation in El Salvador. The environmental justice portion focused on the water crisis, mining, and natural disaster risk management. The report also included recommendations on two other areas of concern, public security and the right to education. This joint advocacy strategy is ongoing with joint activities planned at the national and international level.

  • Bolivia: Giving Marginalized Communities a Voice at the UN

From last year FI has been supporting and advising a strong coalition of organizations in Cochabamba, Bolivia in their strategy to use the UPR to mobilize efforts to push for structural changes on issues of shared concern. While taking a very constructive approach, recognizing advances and aiming at dialogue with the government, the field and desk research revealed shocking findings of injustice where more could be done. For example, reliable sources confirm that 83% of children and adolescents in Bolivia suffer some form of physical, psychological or sexual violence in the home or school; there are an estimated 848,000 children working in Bolivia; and more than 80% of people in prison do not even have a conviction but are held long-term in pre-trial detention.

As a key part in the strategy FI assisted the group to create a written report for Bolivia’s Universal Periodic Review. The analysis and recommendations for the report to the UN were elaborated based on great first-hand information stemming from consultations with different groups of women, with the child workers’ union in Cochabamba, on individual interviews, and on two community forums. One forum convened youth from 10 schools to hear and document their opinions and proposals about their experiences with their families, neighborhoods, and schools. Nearly 100 people participated, including women from several neighborhoods, NGOs, police and governmental institutions working with women on issues related to violence and discrimination, representatives of the Ombudsman’s Office (Defensoría del Pueblo), and religious and lay men and women of the Catholic Church. The report included detailed analysis on violence against children; child labor; right to health for women and children; gender equality; violence against women; political violence against indigenous peoples; and the situation of women in detention. The group will continue to advocate at the national and international level leading up to Bolivia’s review in October this year.

  • Australia: Harsh Push-Back policies jeopardise the lives of hundreds of asylum seekers

Reza Berati was a 23 years old Iranian who fled Iran with the hope of arriving in Australia as an asylum seeker. However, before reaching Australia, he was arrested by Australian authorities, and sent to Manus Island in Papua New Guinea, along with more than 1000 other men also attempting to receive refugee protection  Australia.  The situation in Manus Island Center was deplorable both for Reza and other asylum seekers who have followed. On February 21st, 2014, they stood up to protest the conditions they were forced to live in. Different sources reported the riot inside the centre, saying it was responded to firmly by the Australian G4S Guard, which was specifically contracted by the Australian Government to provide security in the Centre. Unfortunately Reza did not benefit from such security, he was killed during the riots, and allegedly 77 other asylum seekers were reported injured.

FI has expressed its deep concern regarding the treatment of asylum seekers attempting to gain refugee protection in Australia. Following an urgent appeal sent in December 2013, FI, Edmund Rice International (ERI) and the Marist International Solidarity Foundation (FMSI) had a meeting with the secretariat of the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention in January 2014 to discuss the situation of  asylum seekers in Manus Island Detention centre in Papua New Guinea. The three organisations had received updates from Australian workers in Manus Island that the situation was deteriorating and the human rights of asylum seekers were continuously being violated by the administration of the centre. This included the limited provision of access to drinking water, the overcrowded of the living space, uncertainty of their processing of their status as refugee, among others. In addition, they were constantly told by the officers of the Centre that they would never be granted refugee status in Australia.

On 17 and 18 February 2014, we sent a further communication to the Chairperson of the UN WG on Arbitrary Detention following the report from FI and ERI partners that there were violent protests erupting at Australia’s asylum seeker detention centre on Manus Island in early February 2014.  An Iranian asylum seeker has been confirmed dead and five asylum seekers at the facility had been airlifted for medical treatment. One asylum seeker was sent to an Australian hospital for treatment and another, who was shot in the buttocks, has been transferred to Port Moresby. Australian Immigration Minister, Scott Morrison, has confirmed that 77 people have been injured. For the second time, FI and ERI urged the WG to request for an explanation from Australian government.

During the 25th Session of the UN Human Rights Council in March 2013, FI delivered an oral statement urging the Government of Australia to respect its international human rights and humanitarian obligations, and recommend that the Manus Island detention centre be closed immediately, and that Australia return to a policy of processing asylum-seekers on the Australian mainland, in compliance with international human rights standards.

  • Philippines: Stop Black Sands Mining and protect Indigenous Peoples Rights!  

The office of the Justice, Peace and the Integrity of Creation (JPIC) in the Philippines is one of the several Franciscan congregations in the Philippines that work with communities negatively affected by mining activities. Sr. Gloria Carmen Emigual, current JPIC coordinator, explained that they are working with the Aeta indigenous community in Zambales, Luzon, to claim their right on their ancestral domain against black sand mining companies, which extract the magnetite ores from the debris of Pinatubo volcano. In particular JPIC has worked on; providing information on indigenous rights, educating  younger generations on the importance of environmental balance, as well as the importance of claiming their rights to be consulted and to give consent or to refuse in any activities taking place on their ancestral land.

The case described above represents just one of the different stories shared by the Franciscans in the Philippines during the workshop organised by FI and the Inter Franciscan Ministers Conference of the Philippines which took place in the Philippines from 1 to 9 February 2014. The workshop brought together Franciscans from three main regions of the country: Luzon, Viscayas and Mindanao. Participants discussed the impact of extractive industry on indigenous peoples. Franciscans and other local partners had the opportunity to share their struggles with human rights activists, representatives of the Philippines Commission on Human Rights and representatives from the Government of the Philippines. FI facilitated the discussion on international human rights instruments as a means to address the violation of the rights of indigenous peoples, especially by the private sector.

At the end of the workshop, each region prepared a plan of action to be implemented within a one year period. At the same time, Franciscans also agreed on a national advocacy strategy on extractive industry as part of the broader strategy with other civil society groups. One of the key strategies is a national campaign to revoke the 1995 Mining Act and to enact an Alternative Mining Bill.