ACTIVITY REPORT Europe and the Mediterranean places of pace and rights: For all or for the few?

Theatre of Pavone, Piazza della Repubblica, Perugia Saturday 8th October 2016

1ST SESSION The dialogue continued with , with the partici- RESISTANCE AND NON-VIOLENT pation of Rachid Malaoui from the Trade Union of Public STRUGGLES FOR DEMOCRACY IN THE Workers Employees in Algeria. He gave voice to the MENA REGION current practices of harassment and repression per- petrated by the government against the independent la- The session was moderated by Paola Caridi, journalist bour movement. Kamal Abbas from the Center for Trade and expert of and North Africa history and Unions and Workers’ Services (CTWUS) in Egypt called on politics. The debate started with the story of Nermin the EU and Member States governments to stop suppor- Sharif, who has been recently elected as the head of ting the Egyptian government in the current context of the Libyan Trade Union Confederation. She explained unprecedented repression of human and labour rights. how the trade union struggles in Libya fighting the In addition he called for seeking the truth behind the national division and contrasting terrorism. Unions are assassination of Giulio Regeni. Luisa Morgantini, from mobilising at the local levels in different parts of Libya AssoPace Palestina reflected on the ongoing non-violent trying to overcome the national division. struggle in Palestine against occupation. She reiterated that non-violent struggles are getting pace but it is not enough and therefore called on the EU and the International community to prioritise the fight against settlements building and expansion, and against Israeli colonisation. Finally, Danilo Barbi from CGIL concluded the session by insisting on the direct link between the international economic crisis and the revolutions in the Arab countries. He insisted that austerity policies are transforming Europe in an exporting super power, thus driving its foreign and social policy. He called for all Nermin Sherif © Fotoservizio Umbria24, 2016 trade unions and CSOs to work together for a different Europe that places sustainable development, justice and peace at the core of its priorities.

With the support of In the context With the patronage of Organised by the European of Commission Europe and the Mediterranean places of pace and rights: For all or for the few?

3RD SESSION PEACE AND RIGHTS Rachid Malaoui © Fotoservizio Umbria24, 2016 This session was moderated by Marina Lalovic, journa- list at Radio3 Italia, and looked at the role of the EU to 2ND SESSION promote peace through the promotion of socio-eco- CAUSES, PROTECTION, ASSISTANCE, INTEGRA- nomic rights, political rights and peace on the one hand, and the increase of weapons and arms exports TION OF MIGRANTS AND REFUGEES of EU members states on the other. Hassine Abbasi, the secretary of the UGTT and president of Arab Trade Union This session was moderated by the renowned Italian journalist Confederation (ATUC) - and recipient of the 2015 Nobel Giovanni Anversa, and focused on the root causes of migra- Peace Prize - has shared his experiences of the revolts in tion as well as EU and international policies with respect to the and highlighted the role of the trade unions in reception of migrants and refugees. Kwasi-Adu Amankwah, mobilising the youth and the workers for social justice. the head of the ITUC Africa highlighted that socio-economic The trade unions and sustainable social dialogue have difficulties remain the main reason for migrating. In Ghana, been at the core of the transitional period, and they are for example, economic growth has not translated into jobs, essential to achieve social peace. Gianni Rosas, from more than 100.000 people enter the labour market ever year the ILO office in continued on the same line and of which less than 2% is able to find a job in the formal eco- stressed the need to interlink peace and labour rights, in- nomy, in total the formal economy covers a mere 12% of the cluding socio-economic rights. Similarily, Patrick Itschert, Ghanaian labour market. In addition, he called for EU govern- from the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) ments and the international community to make international insisted on the need to support independent labour multinational companies abide the laws in order for decent movements and the EU needs to ensure the ratification work conditions to be ensured at all levels of the production of the ICESCRs and ILO core conventions. Finally, Laura and supply chain, as well as tackling illicit financial flows. Zeppa from Archivio Disarmo Italia presented findings of During the same session, Roberto Rossini from ACLI shared his a research done on the current trends of EU and member concerns about the growing trend of the security narrative in states weapons exports to MENA countries, showing the Europe and the increased objective to externalise EU borders growing expansion of this profitable market. coupled with the (mis)use of EU funds to attend this objective. Following on the same discourse, Francisca Sauquillo, Pre- sident of SOLIDAR and of its member organisation Movement for Peace, Disarm and Freedom (MPDL) criticised the current EU migration policy agenda and the agreements it pursues with Turkey and other countries of which the implementation of forced returns are part of. She called for a solidarity-sha- ring mechanisms among member states against the current utilitarian and security-oriented EU migration policy. Frances- ca Chiavacci, President of ARCI, highlighted the ongoing challenges related to the process of integration of migrant and refugees with a close look to the situation at local and national level in Italy. She also raised the concern that by externalising borders and preventing people from reaching Europe, and by prioritising security over developmental concerns, it will be unlikely that the EU will seriously and effectively address the challenges posed by the integration process and ensure social inclusion in Europe.

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