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DIGNITY INTERNATIONAL

Dignity News

* Dignity International’s 2nd South Asia Regional Workshop

* Workshop on CSO Engagement in UPR & ASEAN

Other News

* UNDESA: “We Need to Eradicate Poverty at a Faster Pace”

* UN: Impunity for Violence Against Women is a Global Concern

* Mexico: Indigenous Rural Women’s Rights under Scrutiny

Action Appeals

* Philippines: Supreme Court’s Ruling on Hacienda Luisita

Announcements

* Norway: Seminar on Justiciability of Socio-economic Rights in China

Events

* World Forum for Democracy: Strasbourg, 5-11 October

* OHCHR Meetings & Events

* Other UN Events

Publications

* World Statistics Pocketbook 2011

* After Rio+20, A Cemetery of Mangroves and Fisherfolks

* Rural Pacific Island Women & Agriculture

DIGNITY NEWS

*** Dignity International’s 2nd South Asia Regional Workshop - The 2nd South Asia Regional Workshop on Human Rights in Development took place in Negombo, Sri Lanka from the 22nd to 29th July 2012. 21 human rights activists/defenders from Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka participated in this intensive training course.

Acting out a scene defending human rights

Dignity's infamous 'Hand Ball Game'

Throughout the seven days, the participants covered various issues pertaining to fisherfolks’ rights, women’s rights, youth rights, rights of the tribes, internally displaced people (IDP) and other marginalised communities. Besides that, the workshop also introduced the rights-based approach to development and its key principles that will enhance the work of civil society organisations in the South Asian region. This learning process, using the trademark popular education methodology of Dignity International, was facilitated by Dignity International’s training team - Jerald Joseph (Malaysia) and Nayana Chowdhury (India), and supported by Ivahana Larrosa (Uruguay) from the Economic Social Cultural Network (ESCR-Net) who conducted a session on Optional Protocol.

Session on Optional Protocol conducted by Ivahana Larrosa of ESCR-Net

In addition to the workshop modules, a forum was held to acquaint the participants with the current situations in Sri Lanka. The panel of speakers invited to share about the struggles of local communities were Herman Kumara (National Fisheries Solidarity Movement), Padmini Weerasooriya, Pradeepa Sudarshini, and Sandum Thudugala. In Sri Lanka, the space for civil society intervention is decreasing and NGOs are often blamed when protest arises from farmers or workers. The participants also went on a field trip and were warmly welcomed by the National Fisheries Solidarity Movement (NAFSO) to their office in Negombo town. NAFSO shared about their recent movement against the construction of a sea plane port which threatens the livelihood of hundreds of fisherfolk and their families.

Participants of the 2nd South Asia Regional Workshop and our panel of speakers

Dignity International would like to thank our partner, Law & Society Trust (LST) for all the help given, ESCR-Net and the Commonwealth Foundation for their tremendous support, also to NAFSO and our friends in Sri Lanka who played roles towards the success of this programme. The workshop has successfully brought together a group of human rights activists/defenders and provided them a space to share, exchange, and learn from each other, while forming of a group of supportive allies/comrades.

For full documentation of the programme, Click Here>>>

*** Workshop on CSO Engagement in UPR & ASEAN - On the 17th and 18th July, Empower Malaysia, SUARAM, the Women’s Aid Organisation (WAO) and Dignity International organised a workshop-consultation session on International Mechanisms, under the umbrella of the Coalition of Malaysian NGOs in the UPR Process (COMANGO). With support from the South East Asian Women’s Caucus and Forum Asia, the workshop highlighted the Universal Periodic Review (UPR), the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). 44 individuals from various human rights NGOs, institutions and community based organisations in Malaysia participated in the event held at Crystal Crown, Petaling Jaya.

The objectives of this were:

1. To give a very brief update to Coalition of Malaysian NGOs in the UPR Process (COMANGO) on the most pressing issues the participants’ organisations are working on. 2. To analyse and share an overview of the participants’ work in relation to the Government’s commitments and pledges made in the Universal Periodic Review process (UPR), Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), and Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). 3. To discuss and analyse engagement in the ASEAN human rights processes, ASEAN Human Rights Declaration (AHRD) and ASEAN People’s Forum/ASEAN Civil Society Conference (APF/ACSC) process. 4. To strategise and create a work plan for NGO engagement in the 2013 UPR review, post-UPR review, and in ASEAN processes in order to leverage synergies between NGOs engagement in UPR and ASEAN and lay out the roles of each contributing organisation.

One of the key discussions that took place was the role and mechanisms of the UPR within the framework set by the Human Rights Council. It is one of the few international spaces that allow civil society to submit reports about the human rights condition in a country and to expose human rights violations. Participants from the workshop agreed to form committees and work together in close consultation to complete the NGO’s report for submission by March 2013.

For more information on the working group, contact Adrian Pereira at [email protected]

DIGNITY PARTNER NEWS

*** Zulfiqarabad City: Destruction, Not Development –The Sindh Government plans to build a mega city named Zulfiqarabd in the Thatta district, Sindh, Pakistan. This year, the Sindh Assembly passed Zulfiqarabad’s Development Authority Bill which was approved by the Sindh Cabinet recently. Sindh government has also allocated money for the city in current budget of 2012-2013.

According to the Zulfiqar Development Authority, the city will be built into the deltaic region of four taluks of Thatta District such as KharoChhan, Ketibander, Shah Bander and Jati, utilising about 199 dehs or 70 percent of the land in the four coastal sub-districts. The total population living in the site area is about 280,000 people. Map of proposed city

A deep probe into the project reveals that the Zulfikarabad Megacity Project (ZMP) is not feasible on various social, cultural, ecological, historical, environmental and geological grounds. This project will pose existential threat to endangered Indus delta, mangroves, various fish species and deltaic heritage. It will not only cause record displacement, but also potential disasters due to seismic sensitivity of the project site and its coastal location.

No consultation with community

Public consultation and public participation are core values and mandatory for every development project that affects the people. Even the safeguards policies and accountability mechanisms of all international financial institutions and multilateral development banks should ensure public consultation and participation in the project at all levels. In addition to that, public consultation is most important phase in a project management cycle.

The right to participation is ensured in the International Bill of Human Rights (ICCPR, Article: 25).

However, it is a regrettable fact that the Government of Pakistan has neglected all these obligations with regard to the scheme of Zulfiqarabad City that carries environmental concerns along with other apprehensions. Furthermore, the public and indigenous Fisherfolk has been kept in the dark about the project.

Read more about it *here*

Article contributed by Jamil Junejo of the Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum

OTHER NEWS

*** UNDESA: “We Need to Eradicate Poverty at a Faster Pace” - - Only a week into her new role, DESA’s Assistant Secretary-General for Economic Development, Ms. Shamshad Akhtar, met with DESA News. “With fast changing global events, magnified by recurring crises, the UN has a unique role to play in nurturing stronger multilateral framework, based on cooperation, innovative solutions and solidarity to safeguard our planet,” she said. Read the FULL ARTICLE>>>

Source: UNDESA

*** UN: Impunity for Violence Against Women is a Global Concern - Governments are urged to act with due diligence to prevent and investigate violence against women and girls, prosecute perpetrators and provide protection and redress to victims.

Afghan rights activists attend a rally to stop violence against women in Kabul. This was contained in the report to the Human Rights Council by Rashida Manjoo, the UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences.

She noted that religious, cultural, and social norms and beliefs are largely the causal factors for harmful practices resulting in violence against women. Therefore countries’ efforts to comply must also address these structural causes.

Globally the prevalence of different manifestations of killings targeting women is increasing and a lack of accountability for such crimes remains a concern.

“Whether labelled murder, homicide, femicide, feminicide, or ‘honour’ killings, these manifestations of violence are culturally and socially embedded, and continue to be accepted, tolerated or justified - with impunity as the norm,” stressed the independent expert reacting to the latest killing of women in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Impunity for the killings of women has become a global concern, a fact noted by the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon when he stated that, “Impunity for violence against women compounds the effects of such violence as a mechanism of control. When the State fails to hold perpetrators accountable, impunity not only intensifies the subordination and powerlessness of the targets of violence, but also sends a message to society that male violence against women is both acceptable and inevitable”.

These killings targeting women, Rashida Manjoo decried, are extreme signs of existing forms of violence against women and are not isolated incidents that arise suddenly. To read the full article CLICK HERE>>>

Source: OHCHR

*** Mexico: Indigenous Rural Women’s Rights under Scrutiny - UN CEDAW Committee Reviews Mexico - With the release of its concluding observations addressed to Mexico, the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) expresses concern about harmful cultural practices and violence directed at indigenous rural women, as well as their lack of access to land, property and justice and asks for better implementation of women's rights in the country.

According to recent estimates, in Mexico, 28 million people lack access to adequate nutrition. Of the 18.1 million people who live in areas that have a high or very high level of marginalization, 80.6 percent live in rural zones. While data regarding how many women are affected by malnutrition is not easily accessible, FIAN Mexico conducted community meetings with 171 women from the states of Guerrero and Morelos on the subject of rural and indigenous women's right to adequate food and identified a number of obstacles to the realization of this right.

The Committee periodically reviews state reports and civil society submissions with the goal of highlighting gaps and failures in the implementation of international obligations of State Parties under the CEDAW Convention. To read more CLICK HERE>>>

Source: FIAN

ACTION APPEALS

*** Philippines: Demand Justice for Farm Workers at Hacienda Luisita - Letter campaigns (called Urgent Actions) are one of FIAN's instruments to address violations of the human right to food. Members and supporters from all around the world, either by letter, fax or e-mail, request the responsible state authorities to meet their obligations to respect, protect and fulfill human rights.

Experience has shown that Urgent Actions can improve the situation of those people concerned of or threatened by a human rights violation.

On April 24, 2012, almost 10 years after the farm workers of Hacienda Luisita petitioned for the cancellation of the Stock Distribution Option (SDO) - a non- transfer scheme of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) which merely distributes corporate stocks in lieu of land - the Supreme Court finally reaffirmed its earlier decision to revoke the SDO and order land redistribution to the landless farm workers. This ruling needs to become final and executory, and all necessary support services must be provided to the farm workers during the transition process as well as the post-distribution phase - otherwise land redistribution appears and remains only a victory on paper. To read more and take action CLICK HERE>>>

Source: FIAN

ANNOUNCEMENTS

*** Norway: Seminar on Justiciability of Socio-economic Rights in China - On 8 August, the China Programme at the Norwegian Centre for Human Rights welcomed participants to a seminar by Dr. Sun Meng, Associate Professor, Institute of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law, China University of Political Science and Law with a comment by Malcolm Langford, Research Fellow at the Norwegian Centre for Human Rights and Director of the Socio- Economic Rights Programme. For more information on this ongoing programme and its findings, CLICK HERE>>>

Source: Norwegian Centre for Human Rights

EVENTS

*** World Forum for Democracy: Strasbourg, 5-11 October - In bringing together high-ranking political officials, leading public figures, Nobel Peace Prize winners and civil society activists, the World Forum will allow for an exchange of experiences and perceptions and help identify risks as well as possible answers to today’s societal challenges.

The Forum will begin with an opening ceremony on 8 October attended by leading international figures, to be followed by a meeting of experts from politics, civil society and academia... Read more…

Source: Council of Europe

*** OHCHR Meetings and Events

State parties meeting - ICCPR / 31st session From : 06-09-2012 To : 06-09-2012 New York Committee on the Protection of the Rights of Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families (CMW) / 17th session From : 10-09-2012 To : 14-09-2012 PW 1

Human Rights Council / 21st session From : 10-09-2012 To : 28-09-2012 PN XX

States parties meeting - CRPD / 5th session From : 12-09-2012 To : 14-09-2012 New York

Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) / 8th session From : 17-09-2012 To : 28-09-2012

Committee on the Rights of Child (CRC) / 61st session From : 17-09-2012 To : 05-10-2012

Social Forum / 5th session From : 01-10-2012 To : 03-10-2012 PN XXI

HRC/WG on Discrimination against Women in Law and Practice / 5th session From : 01-10-2012 To : 05-10-2012

CEDAW / 53rd session From : 01-10-2012 To : 19-10-2012 PWG

Pre-sessional WG - CRC / 62nd session From : 08-10-2012 To : 19-10-2012 PWG

Intergovernmental Working Group on the effective implementation of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action / 10th session From : 01-10-2012 To : 19-10-2012 PN XXI

BoT, UN Voluntary Fund for Victims of Torture / 36th session From : 15-10-2012 To : 19-10-2012 PW1

Human Rights Committee / 106th session From : 15-10-2012 To : 02-11-2012 PWG

Universal Periodic Review From : 22-10-2012 To : 05-11-2012 PN XX

States Parties meeting - OPCAT / 4th session From : 25-10-2012 To : 25-10-2012 PN XIX

BoT, Voluntary Fund for Technical Cooperation in the Field of Human Rights / 37th session From : 29-10-2012 To : 02-11-2012 PN XXIII

Source: OHCHR

*** Other UN Events

 International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples, New York, 9 August  Open-ended Working Group on Ageing, New York, 21-24 August  Second Session of the UN Committee of Experts on Global Geospatial Information Management (GGIM), New York, 13-15 August

PUBLICATIONS

*** World Statistics Pocketbook 2011 - The World Statistics Pocketbook 2011 is the thirty-first in a series of annual compilations of key statistical indicators prepared by DESA’s Statistics Division. Over 50 indicators have been collected from more than 20 international statistical sources and are presented in one-page profiles for 216 countries or areas of the world.

This issue covers various years from 2000 to 2011. For the economic indicators, in general, three years – 2000, 2005 and 2010 – are shown; for the indicators in the social and environmental categories, data for one year are presented. The topics covered include: agriculture, balance of payments, education, energy, environment, food, gender, health, industrial production, information and communication, international finance, international tourism, international trade, labour, migration, national accounts, population and prices. For more information CLICK HERE>>>

Source: UNDESA

This is a monthly electronic news bulletin of 'Dignity International: All Human Rights for All'. Dignity International does not accredit, validate or substantiate any information posted by members to this news bulletin. The validity and accuracy of any information is the responsibility of the originator.

If you are working in the area of human rights with a special attention to different aspects of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, we would love to hear from you. To contribute, email us at [email protected] Change email address / Leave mailing list Powered by YMLP