ANNUAL REPORT Revisiting Deglobalisation:2018 A vision for progressive social transformation 2 | Focus on the Global South Annual Report 2019 marks the first year of Focus on the 2018Global South’s (Focus) new three-year work plan for 2018 to 2020 under the overall theme, “Revisiting Deglobalisation: a vision for progressive social transformation”. This work plan has three interrelated thematic areas: Political Economy of Development, Power and Democracy, and People’s Alternatives, which frame key issue areas and projects. The following is a narrative of the activities grouped along the key highlights and achievements of our work in the year 2018. The details of key activities and outputs, including dates, and places can be found in the annex, which has been separated to give a better sense of how Focus conducted its activities. Focus on the Global South staff in February 2019. Focus on the Global South Annual Report 2019 | 3 Highlights and 12Achievements of 2018 1. Drawing strength from integrated strategies that are grounded and networked Focus on the Global South engages high gional and international organisations, net- level national and international policy works and coalitions on trade- investment, platforms on trade, investment and human finance, regionalism, peoples’ rights to land, rights, but also works with communities commons, food sovereignty, gender equal- and people’s organizations at the grass- ity, systemic alternatives, environment and roots and national levels. Our advocacies climate, to expand our work across different are based on our knowledge of impacts sectors and groups, as well as to develop the and actions at multiple levels by different content of our analyses and advocacies. Our groups/actors, providing platforms and India and Philippines offices have organized opportunities for representatives from and maintained long-term networks such different constituencies and communities as the Forum Against FTAs, Trade Justice to directly articulate their struggles, for ex- Pilipinas and the Save Agrarian Reform ample on investor-state dispute settlement Alliance, that link international campaigning (ISDS), free trade agreements (FTAs), with local contexts, and enable us to share investment projects, democratization, our analyses, actions and updates on relevant peasant rights, rights to land, water and topics and issues. territory, and accountability of transna- tional corporations (TNC). The work with and support for communi- ty-based action researchers in Cambodia, Focus partners with local, national, re- who are at the forefront of land and natural 4 | Focus on the Global South Annual Report 2019 resource struggles, reflect the concrete Internationally and regionally, Focus is realities of the impacts of extractive in- an active member of networks such as the vestments and policies on communities. Asia-Europe People’s Forum (AEPF), Land These and their communities continued to Research Action Network (LRAN), NGO be strengthened through practical train- Forum on ADB, Save the Mekong, Asia ings, exposure visits inside and outside Pacific Movement on Debt and Develop- the country, overseas exchange visits, local ment (APMDD), and the ASEAN Peoples’ and national issue-based workshop, and Forum (APF), as well as in campaigns on semi-annual reflection meetings. the Binding Treaty for corporate account- ability, International Financial Institutions In the Philippines, Focus works with fish- (IFIs), the World Trade Organisation erfolk, indigenous peoples, peasant, labour (WTO) and new generation Free Trade and human rights groups to contribute to Agreements (FTAs). These networks and their resistance against urgent issues (resist campaigns provide spaces for us to share Manila Bay Reclamation, assert indige- and build collective analyses, and for our nous rights in the Bangsamoro Basic Law, grassroots partners to participate and am- land grabbing, mobilise against misogyny plify their voices. and extra -judicial kilings, oppose rice tariffication, etc.). Asia-Europe People’s Forum 2018 in Ghent, Belgium. [ September 2018] Thai farmers sell their products at a commemora- tion fair for the Thai Farmer’s Federation anniver- sary. [October 2018] Various groups press the Philippines military for accountabilty on a massacre of indigenous peo- ples. [8 December 2018] Focus on the Global South Annual Report 2019 | 5 2. Strengthened integration of gender issues In our new workplan, gender is a cross raise awareness on women’s rights, and to cutting issue, not only because of gender encourage greater participation of people differentiated impacts of trends, poli- with communities involved in land/natural cies, programmes and agreements, on resource struggles. the struggles of various sectors, but also because we work with women’s groups in In the Philippines, Focus has long term co- different sectors. More importantly, there operation with national women’s networks is a need to highlight the gender dimen- of peasants (PKKK, the National Coalition sion of issues that cut across sectors and of Rural Women) and indigenous peo- often place particular and heavier burdens ples (Lilak: Purple Action for Indigenous on women. Women’s Rights) through campaign plat- forms for the commons, the Save Agrar- In Cambodia, the community-based ian Reform Alliance, and the Loyukan action research teams (ARTs) among campaign. This year, both women’s groups farming, fishing, forest and urban workers’ have joined the Focus-initiated platform communities count on strong and deter- on food sovereignty among small-scale mined women leaders in their respective producers. struggles against destructive resource de- velopment and investment projects. They On March 8, Focus launched online photo also lead livelihood projects that make exhibition titled The Hands that Feed communities more viable and resilient. Us to explain and draw attention to the To link the importance of gender in land crucial role of women in food provision, and natural resource conflicts, the ARTs as well as the issues and structures that and their communities organized local surround their often unrecognized work. events in three provinces on national tree The exhibit features photographs by Focus planting day, International Women’s Day staff and partners. and International Human Rights Day to Indigenous women join the State-of-the-Nation protest on 24 July 2018. 6 | Focus on the Global South Annual Report 2019 POLITICAL ECONOMY OF DEVELOPMENT 3. Consolidating and broadening resistance to RCEP and new generation FTAs This year continued to reflect the shift in civil society groups issued a statement to trade justice advocacy from a focus on the denounce this backwards move by the WTO toward mega-FTAs. Particularly for Singaporean government. Asia, the Regional Comprehensive Eco- nomic Partnership (RCEP)—involving 16 Prior to the next round of negotiations in countries in the region—has become the Bangkok in late July, Focus held national most urgent trade issue involving trans- meetings on RCEP in Cambodia and Thai- parency of the negotiations, lack of public land, participated in by grassroots com- scrutiny and participation, and potential munities, labor organizations and trade impact on communities, food sovereign- unions, women organizations, academics ty, self-determination and public health. and NGO partners, to discuss the impact Focus participated in civil society events of the agreement on health, access to med- during the official RCEP negotiation icines, agriculture, labour rights and the round in Singapore from May 2-5, includ- commons. A press conference was held on ing speaking at a workshop on trade with the same day as the meeting in Bangkok to public sector unions organized by Public brief the Thai press on the issues at stake Services International. Unlike previous during the RCEP negotiations. In India, negotiation rounds which included stake- Focus regularly includes RCEP in its advo- holder engagements with civil society, the cacy and workshops on agrarian and de- Singapore government instead held con- velopment issues. A highlight of such in- sultations with business. Focus and other vitations is conducting a session on RCEP Anti-RCEP protests in Manila (above), New Delhi (opposite page, top), and Bali (bottom) Focus on the Global South Annual Report 2019 | 7 and agriculture at the Kisan Swaraj Sammelan farmers’ assembly meeting in Ahmedabad, Gujarat (see discussion paper here) on 2-3 November. Discuss- ing these topics helped participants formulate and articulate their positions toward the emerging free trading bloc in relation to protecting their land, water and natural resources, traditional knowledge and plant varieties, as well as how the agreement will affect de- mocracy and corporate and government and an overview of the possible impact accountability to the people. Local and na- RCEP will have on different constituen- tional discussions on RCEP helped mobi- cies. The meeting was also an opportunity lize and bring together local organizations, to share information on their campaigns grassroots communities, and academia to and initiatives, assess the current regional create initiatives to further discuss and to coordination of the campaign, and plan create monitoring networks on RCEP and the work ahead. Focus contributed to pub- other trade and investment agreements’ lications and outreach in regard the RCEP, impact on the local people and economy. including co-publishing the book RCEP: A Secret Deal, and taking part in a News- During the