Participants
are welcome to record their pledging moments in
various forms, such as video, MP3, etc. The collected
recorded pledges would be uploaded at http://www.standagainstpoverty.org/, to show the clear appeal
from citizen to the authority and share the
solidarity globally.
Sources: ACPP sources,
<http://www.undp.org/mdg/>
Siege
to the Garbage Recycling Plant Imperiling Thousands
of Villagers
On 13 September 2009, around 5,000 people attended
the massive march, which later developed to a siege,
against the garbage recycling plant, Hanjer Biotech
Pvt. Ltd, which located in around Dhavgi hill at
Dongri near Bhayandar, Thane district, Maharashtra
state.
According to the fact-finding mission conducted by
Gordon D’Souza, Vice President of Bombay
Catholic Sabha and Editor of Christian Spotlight, and
his colleague Walter Murzello, 350 tons of garbage
carrying biohazards and toxic were transported by 60
trucks to the plant everyday for production of
organic manure, plastic, bricks and so on. However,
the waste drained from the plant was not treated
properly and contaminated the lavish green field and
drinking water nearby. Besides, the unbearable stench
from the plant was widely carried around by wind.
Thus more and more villagers living around the plant
have fallen sick. The Maharashtra Pollution Control
Board has issued a notice to the plant but little
were done to improve the situation.
The plant has seriously damaged the peaceful life of
the nearby villages and the villagers finally decided
to lay the 24-hour siege to the plant. Starting with
a march, over 5,000 people gathered nearby the plant,
appealing removal of the plant and handing in the
petition with 17,000 signatures, addressed to the
plant manager, but no one from the plant acknowledged
it.
Along the transport route, about 500 villagers took
turns to squat on the road to prevent garbage trucks
from entering the site. They later turned this action
into a prayer vigil. On 14 September, as two to three
vehicles were intercepted, the waste collection, as
well as the operation of the plant, was affected. The
civic officials had to seek help from the police.
Among the participants of the siege were Fr. Allwyn
D’Silva, the founder of Civic and Political
Cells of the Bhayandar Deanery and Fr. Victor Dalmet,
who encouraged the villagers and condemned the plant.
Sources: ACPP sources,
“It’s Hell in Paradise……The Siege
Continues” by Gordon D’Souza
(www.spotlight.net.in)
Japan
35th
National Gathering of Justice and Peace Council
The
35th National Gathering of Justice and Peace (JP)
Council took place in the Diocese of Saitama, Japan,
on 10-12 October 2009.
The 3-day annual gathering, attended by most of the
Catholic JP workers in Japan, started with the key
speech, “What we can do, to resist every
movement leading to the war?” As a venue for the
participants to share experiences, there were 18
workshops dealing with issues of the Japanese society
and 10 exposure programs. The topic of workshops
included: children born from parent of two different
nations, experiences of homeless people, detention
centers of the foreigners in Japan, Yasukuni Shrine,
death penalty system, justice and peace and how to
read the Ten Commandment now. The National Gathering
has been the most popular and effective way to share
the daily activities of JP workers to ordinary
Catholics.
Source:
local source
Inter-religious
Conference on Article 9 and Peace in Asia
The Inter-religious Conference on Article 9 and Peace
in Asia (the Conference), formed in December 2006, is
a community of religious based on the truth of
non-violence, declining any ideology and behaviour
that promote the culture of war. Committing to
protect and enliven the Article 9, the Conference
calls on citizens of the world to support and join
the movement to make “renunciation of war”
and “demilitarization” a concrete reality
in Japan, Asia and the entire world.
From 30 November to 4 December 2009, the second
Conference was held in Seoul, Korea, with
participation of more than 80 religious leaders
representing Buddhist, Christian and Muslim faith.
They shared the developments in Japan and the other
East Asian countries, as well as stories from
communities affected by the presence and actions of
military forces. During the meeting, the Mission
Statement prepared by the International Working
Committee (IWC), was presented. The IWC was derived
from the follow-up meeting of the first Conference in
2007 to implement the recommendation and proposals
given by the Conference. In December 2008, a letter
was sent to United States (US) President Barack
Obama, to urge him to withdraw the US forces in Japan
and stop the Japanese government from revising the
Article 9, with the vision of disarmament of nuclear
weapons.
Article 9 is the expression of sincere apology and
repentance for aggression and war crimes committed by
Japanese government during the 20th century. Shared
concern for Article 9 has created strong bonds
between religious and other peace advocates. They
believe that, while the post-war race for prosperity
and success in East has divided the region, Article 9
is a reminder to all nations that truth and
reconciliation after past conflicts were necessary
and Japan must move beyond its ‘One Nation Peace
Identity’ to the joint building of regional
peace with its neighbors.
However important it is, the revision of Article 9
has been pushed by the then ruling Liberal Democratic
Party. Although the government was taken over by the
People’s Democratic Party, the threat remains.
The unification of Japan’s Self Defense Forces
(SDF) and the US Forces in Japan is a disguise to
support and participate in the war by playing the
loophole of the Article 9 and misinterpreted its core
message. Justice and peace workers are supporting the
new government to tackle important issues, such as
international relationship and Article 9, from the
point of ordinary people, not from that of the
dominating groups in Japan. For the issue of Article
9, the Conference 2009 has resolved several actions,
including:
1. to undertake more vigorous cross-generational
peace education to raise people’s vigilance to
make their governments more accountable;
2. to support the Japanese to interpret the spirit
and application of Article 9 with their own terms;
3. to study the links between US foreign domination
and peace building in Asia;
4. to oppose the presence of US bases and SDF, which
are contradictory to Article 9; and
5. to renounce nuclear weapons in any part of the
world, especially the powerful countries.
Sources:
local source; “Mission
Statement of the Inter-religious Conference on
Article 9and Peace in Asia 2009”; and “From
Tokyo to Seoul – The Second Inter-Religious
Conference on Article 9”
New Zealand
Aotearoa
New Zealand in Solidarity with West Papua
Since 1963, West Papua has been occupied by
the Indonesian armed forces. For the past forty-six
years, the people of West Papua have been subjected
to gross human rights violations including rape,
torture, cultural genocide, murder and massacre -
more than 100,000 West Papuans have been killed.
Thousands of West Papuans are currently living in
camps in Papua New Guinea; and others are forced to
live in exile around the world because it is not safe
for them to go home. A lot of documented evidence and
related reports have been presented at the United
Nations and at various Pacific Forum meetings.
In New Zealand (Auckland, Wellington and
Christchurch), symbolic flag raisings of 'Morning
Star' (the West Papuan flag) were held on 1 December,
as a way of standing in solidarity with the people of
this Pacific nation. They believe it is important to
mark the anniversary of the West Papuan Declaration
of Independence from Dutch Colonial rule in 1961, and
thus stand in solidarity with the people observing it
in West Papua and solidarity groups around the world.
As people in West Papua show signs of marking their
independence in various ways, however, the Indonesian
military and police have always responded with
increased violent oppression around this day,
arresting and killing those they perceive as
pro-independence activists. In 2004, for example, 2
activists who organized peaceful celebrations in
Jayapura, capital of West Papua, were sentenced to 10
to 15 years imprisonment. More recently in July 2009,
members of Free Papua Movement were approached by
representatives of the government for reportedly
raising the West Papuan flag;in September, armed
soldiers and police officers conducted a sweeping
operation against the Free Papua Movement in a
village, but finding no flags nor members, they set
alight 30 houses and shot four pigs, according to
witnesses, threatening and scaring many into the
forest where they remained for 2 weeks. In November,
two men were arrested, questioned and subsequently
charged with rebellion for raising the Morning Star
at the Papua People’s Council in Jayapura.
These are only some of the recent examples of
independence-related violated suppression. Groups
working on West Papua believe it is important to
raise awareness of the on-going situation, and
recognize the urgency for actions for peace and in
solidarity with people there.
Source: Peace Movement
Aotearoa; and Pax Christi Aotearoa New Zealand
Pakistan
NCJP’s
recent Activities
Advocacy Activites
Regarding the attacks on religious
minorities in Gojra and Korian - refer to ACPP’s
UA090813(7)}, the Episcopal National Commission of
Justice and Peace (NCJP) have made great efforts on
remedies to the affected communities and reforms of
biased laws and policy. NCJP has been disseminating
news about the Gojra incidents and proceeding of the
cases through network both inside and outside the
country so as to keep people aware of the situation.
A petition, initiated since August, calling for
repeal of the Blasphemy Laws has collected about
70,000 signatures, to date. In November, a booklet,
in both English and Urdu, was published as a
documentation of the Gojra and Korian incidents and
subsequent follow-up. To lobby the government, NCJP
also submitted their recommendations to the
Parliamentary Committee for Constitutional Reforms
for removing religious biases and discrimination in
the Constitution. The process of review is on-going.
 |
(left to right) Fr.
Emmanuel Yousaf, Rt. Rev. Samual Azraia,
Archbishop Lawrence J.
Saldanha,
and Peter Jacob at the press conference in
Lahore.
|
Since
the vigorous attacks, not only Christians but also
the civil society, as well as the political and other
religious leaders have shown grave concern on the
issue. They have organized seminars, protests,
rallies and prayer services throughout the country.
The government of Pakistan has announced 11 August as
“Minorities Day” to remember the Gojra
incidents.
Education
Activities
NCJP also promotes the culture of peace through
education programs.
1)
Ms Rosemary Paul, Peace Education Program Organizer,
during a training workshop for Teachers on
Peace-building.
2) Mr. Yousaf Benjamin, National Coordinator of Peace
Education Program, during a training workshop for
Youth.
3) The panelists during Lecture for peace promotion
"Nuclear Disarmament.”
Altogether, 114 teachers and 50 youth have
participated in 8 peace-building training workshops
for teachers and youth. Topics include philosophy of
peace and non-violence, extremism, discriminatory
legislation, physiological effects of terrorism on
overall society and effects of nuclear weapons were
also introduced and discussed.
On 18 November, a lecture on “Nuclear
Disarmament” was organized in Hyderbad. The
speakers criticized the current government’s
policies and urged the authorities to utilize the
nuclear power for development and peace instead of
war. Around 80 people gathered to study the issue.
As part of the Campaign to alleviate the predicament
of religious minorities, the heads of the five
mainstream Churches in Pakistan formed a coalition in
September 2009 called the “Christian Action
Forum” to study the prevailing insecurity for
the religious minorities, especially the Christians.
The forum was expected to guide people and Churches
for a course of action to address the situation.
Human Rights Education Activist Training Program
Three follow-up meetings with NCJP’s human
rights activists were organized in September 2009.
The meetings were aimed to discuss the progress of
the activists and to refresh the contacts of the
activists. Two refresher courses on “Human
rights Education” were organized in October and
November 2009 at Lahore and Faisalabad. 27
individuals attended these trainings.
Source: National
Commission for Justice and Peace
Philippines
Justice
for the Victims of Maguindanao Massacre
In the worst election-related violence in
the Philippines, that has shocked the nation and the
world, a convoy of cars with relatives and supporters
of a gubernatorial candidate in Maguindanao were
abducted and murdered on 23 November, by over 100
armed men, reportedly led by a powerful political
clan, the Ampatuans (also a political ally of the
Arroyo government). The 57 victims include women
relatives and political supporters of Ismael
Mangudadatu, 2 human rights lawyers and 31
journalists. The women relatives were on their way to
file the candidacy of Mangudadatu for governor in the
province, while the journalists were there to cover
the would-be filing. Their bodies, with multiple
gunshot wounds were piled between layers of soil, and
the convoy vehicles, flattened and with bullets, were
found buried in shallow graves, apparently being
excavated by a government-owned backhoe with engine
still running. After the Massacre, three of Ampatuans’
political leaders were expelled from the President’s
political party.
A comprehensive report of the Massacre has been
compiled in the “Report of
the Humanitarian and Fact-Finding Mission to
Maguindanao”
organized by the Freedom Fund for Filipino
Journalists and the National Union of Journalists of
the Philippines on 25-30 November 2009.
On 5 December, martial law was declared in
Maguindanao, allegedly as massive firearms were
discovered and when some Ampatuans opposed arrest.
The proclamation suspends the habeas corpus in the
province, allowing anyone to be arrested without
warrant. According to human rights lawyers, the
declaration of martial law in Maguindanao for the
mass murders, when the basis of rebellion or invasion
did not exist, is a bad precedent for the country, as
the president could also declare it in other
provinces without valid basis allowed by the
constitution; it also invites more human rights
violations reminiscent of the Marcos administration.
The declaration further puts into doubt the sincerity
of the government in giving justice to the victims of
the massacre as it could well be a potential cover up
of political interests in the issue.
The Massacre has drawn strong condemnation from the
civil society and the Church within the country, as
well as the international community.
In a press statement of the United Nations <http://www.unhchr.ch/huricane/huricane.nsf/view01/0A22646B2EA2EC9CC125768000515EDB?opendocument>, two human rights
experts, Philip Alston, Special Rapporteur on
extrajudicial executions, and Frank La Rue, Special
Rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression, have
called the Philippine government to go beyond the
standard murder investigations, to follow-up the
murders with effective prosecutions of all those
responsible, which also demands a more extensive
reflection on the elite family-dominated manipulation
of the political processes in order to eliminate such
practices and assure future democracy in the country.
The government should acknowledge the likelihood of
widespread extrajudicial executions of political
opponents in the lead-up to the elections in 2010,
and establish a high-level task force to identify
measures to prevent such killings. They also
emphasized the need to protect the media and freedom
of expression to prevent election-related violence in
the months ahead.
The Association of the Major Religious Superiors of
the Philippines (AMRSP) has issued a statement <http://kalinaw.com.ph/pages/News/maguindanao/AMRSP.html> to condemn the
Maguindanao massacre and to demand the government to
act decisively in bringing the perpetrators to
justice, regardless of the wealth, power, political
debts and alliances, and to end impunity. They have
noted that the massacre is “indicative of the
culture of violence that has been tolerated by the
administration inflicted by a known ally” and
call for an end to violence and death. The statement
also emphasized that the government must act to
protect its citizens, those who practice the noble
profession of journalism, and innocent civilians
caught in the midst of conflict.
The statement of Task Force Detainees of the
Philippines (TFDP) “Stop Impunity, Let Justice
Prevail” <http://www.tfdp.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&id=12:general-campaigns&layout=blog&Itemid=19> condemned the
abominable practice of politicians eliminating their
opponents to ensure their victory in the upcoming
election, which reflects the continuing culture of
impunity in the country. Criticizing the Arroyo
government of giving impunity to allies and
perpetrators of human rights violations, they also
pointed out the soft approach in the investigation
which shows the low level of sincerity and
seriousness in bringing perpetrators to justice.
Instead of subjecting them to arrest and
investigation, the perpetrators and victims were
invited to negotiate their availability to the
investigatory officers. TFDP re-iterated that
perpetrators must be dealt with according to the full
force of the law in order to bring them to justice.
In a statement <http://www.lasallian.ph/newspage.php?pid=201&cat=31&newscatid=0> issued by the
Philippine Lasallian family, it is noted that the
Massacre is a symptom of the moral bankruptcy, lack
of accountability and disregard for human rights that
has characterized the culture of the Arroyo
administration since 2004. They condemn the massacre
as it unravels the problem of a state where private
armed groups are allowed to lord over territories in
exchange for propping up the national leadership and
its cohorts at the national levels. They call on all
Lasallians and Filipinos to express indignation at
the moral bankruptcy that led to the violence, to
demand that the administration to be held accountable
for the quality of its stewardship and for its
continuing abasement of the political system.
As an institution of faith and learning, the
Lasallian Justice and Peace Commission organized a
forum on “Understanding the Maguindanao
Massacre; Remembering the Victims” on 2
December, as part of their effort to reflect on the
event and continue the advocacy and pressure on the
government until the perpetrators are brought to
justice. The Commission is also seeking help from the
Justice and Peace network in Asia to demand a just
and speedy investigation and resolution of the case,
as well as to join their call in urging the
government to be transparent and to stay true to its
promise that no one will be spared in bringing
justice to the victims of the Massacre.
A recent press statement of the CBCP (The Catholic
Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines) on 8
December 2009, sums up the current situation and
position of the Church:
“The Maguindanao massacre …and the
controversial imposition of martial law …have
aroused the attention and concern among the Filipino
people as a nation, and of the world. Though the
Supreme Court has still to rule on the factual bases
of the declaration of martial law, and Congress has
still to decide … whether to stop or extend its
imposition, our urgent call is for the speedy
dispensation of justice to the victims of the mass
murder, for the granting of due process to the
accused as warranted by the present situation and for
the protection of human rights.”
Sources: Lasallian
Justice and Peace Commission; United Nations Office
of High Commissioner on Human Rights; Task Force
Detainees of the Philippines; The Association of the
Major Religious Superiors of the Philippines; ABS-CBN
news; Asian Human Rights Commission; Catholic Bishops’
Conference of the Philippines
(http://www.cbcpnews.com/?q=node/11501)
Voices
against Intex Mining Project in Mindoro
The Norwegian Intex Resources Nickel Mining
Project, which is expected to produce 100 to 120
million tonnes of ore over a period of up to 20
years, is expected to cover almost 20 percent of
total area of Mindoro Island (200km south of Manila).
Independent experts have conducted fact-finding
missions and concluded that this project would
seriously damage food production, human rights and
the environment of Mindoro. The Norwegian ambassador
who visited the area in 2007 also found that majority
of people in Mindoro, were strongly opposed to the
project. Local government officials have complained
that the project would displace around 20,000
residents, mostly indigenous Mangyans. The mining
tenement is close to the critical watershed
catchments of Mag-awawng Tubig and Bucayao River
systems, the largest source of water for the
irrigation of about 40,000 hectares of rice lands,
the residents’ main source of food. Residents
are also concerned that it would poison their water
sources.
A 25-year moratorium on mining was passed in 2002 in
Oriental Mindoro, as well as similar ordinances by
different municipal governments, with 8 out of 11
municipalities passing a resolution against mining.
Local government units have publicly stated in strong
terms that they do not want mining in their
provinces.
In spite of these, Secretary of the Department of
Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has chosen
to ignore the people’s complaints and issued an
Environmental Clearance Certificate (ECC) on 14
October 2009, allowing the Intex Mining Project to
proceed. In fact, the DENR’s own Environmental
Imapct Assessment (EIA) Review Committee had
recommended that the ECC be denied.
In response to this desperate situation, two priests
and 25 tribal leaders from Mindoro have gone on an
indefinite hunger strike on 17 November, in front of
the head office of the DENR in Quezon City, Manila,
to call for a stop to the mining operation. A Mass
was celebrated at the protest site in support of the
hunger strike, with the presence of the governors of
Mindoro Oriental and Occidental, nuns and anti-mining
activists.
|
|
| Rally against the ECC: “Save the
environment from destructive mining: Trash
the ECC of Intex” |
In an
open letter <http://www.tfdp.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&id=8:on-mining&layout=blog&Itemid=22> dated 23 November,
addressed to Lito Atienza, DENR Secretary, the Manila
Auxiliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo criticized the
mere 90-day suspension of the ECC as a betrayal of
their discussion on 18 November, and a denial of
responsibility over the project, as the official was
reportedly submitting his resignation for the 2010
elections. In his letter, Bp. Pabillo also pointed
out other irregularities of the ECC, such as:
no genuine consultations and
endorsements of the affected local government
units as required and failure of the Intex
Resources to conduct genuine consultations in
the affected communities;
the mining project covers a
watershed essential for food production and
source of potable water for 2 Mindoro
provinces (the former DENR Secretary had
previously cancelled the mining company’s
permit in July 2001 for this reason); and
the mining area overlaps with the
ancestral domains of several indigenous
groups (Alangan, Tadyawan, Mangyans) who
would be seriously affected by the project.
Bp.
Pabillo appealed to the Secretary to revoke the ECC
and to listen to the voices of the people, which
bishops, priests, religious, lawmakers, students,
parishioners and many non-government organizations
are hearing.
The ECC to Intex was temporarily revoked by the DENR
on 27 November pending completion of a thorough and
impartial investigation. An investigation Team will
also be created, comprising of independent experts
chosen by the Provincial Governments of Oriental and
Occidental Mindoro and the DENR, as well as
representatives from the civil society organizations
and indigenous peoples’ federation based in
Mindoro. The hunger strike was also subsequently
called off on the same day pending the conduct of
this investigation.
Although Fr. Edwin Gariguez of Calapan Vicariate,
recognized that the letter Bp. Pabillo published in a
national newspaper was “crucial” to the
strikers’ “victory,” the fight is far
from over. The Alliance against Mining (ALAMIN) which
Fr. Gariquez is a member, is contemplating legal
action to enforce Moratoriums on Mindoro.
For years, the Church has raised its strong voice on
environmental issues and opposed indiscriminate
mining by the government or private companies.
Together with ALAMIN, they are seeking to repeal the
Mining Act of 1995, which allows foreign investors to
conduct large-scale mining operations in the country.
Sources: Open Letter of
Bp. Pabillo to Sec Atienza of DENR; Inquirer.net;
AsiaNews; UCAN Philippines
Sri
Lanka
Prison Day Programme
A team from the Human Rights Office – Kandy
(the Team) has implemented programmes for Prison Day
in Weerawila and Bogambara in September. Exercises in
artistic form were prepared for the detainees to
release their emotional and psychological burden. At
the end of the programme, soap, toothpaste and
toothbrushes were given to the detainees,
particularly those who were not visited by their
families. Programmes were modified responding to the
situation of two different prisons. The following are
some details:
Prison Day in Weerawila
On the invitation of welfare office, Mr. Ranil
Kumara, the Team visited Weerawila open prison in the
Southern Province, on 12 September.
Under the guidance of Fr. Nandana Manatunga, 7 staff
members and volunteers conducted the programme for
950 detainees. The tele-drama “Uthpalawanna”,
depicting how decisions were influenced by emotions,
was screened and discussed by a tele-drama director,
followed by a session on counseling.
After the programme, 93 detainees were given
presidential pardon and were set free. The Team was
accommodated at the Weerawila prison quarters set
apart for prison staff.
Prison Day programme at Bogambara
Prison Day was celebrated at Bogambara prison in
Kandy (Central province) on 19 September with the
prisoners and suspects in remand. The team was
introduced by welfare officer, Mr. P.L. Anurudda to
discuss human rights values for 450 detainees.
Fr. Nandana and Mr. Sriyantha Bandara conducted a
game on “sharing” which allowed detainees
to participate with enthusiasm, followed by a
discussion on their thoughts. Detainees were also
emotionally moved by the meditation on a song written
at Bogambara prison by a detainee few years ago, and
sung by a popular artist, Mr. Sunil Edirisinghe. 130
detainees were set free on presidential pardon that
day. The team also had a chance to talk to most of
the detainees who were victims of torture and
fabricated charges.
Source: Human Rights
Office – Kandy
Santha
Fernando Released on Bail
After 225 days of detention, Santha Fernando,
Executive Secretary of the Commission of Justice and
Peace of the National Christian Council of Sri Lanka,
was finally granted bail on 11 November, on several
conditions.
He was arrested by the Terrorism Investigation
Division (TID) at Colombo airport on 27 March 2009,
on his way to India to attend a seminar. The exact
reason for his arrest is not known, but he was
allegedly arrested for carrying some CDs with
information about impact of the war on civilians,
downloaded from the internet. His initial detention
order for 30 days had been extended as court hearings
have been postponed several times during his
arbitrary detention. This has been a great concern of
his family and friends, due to his age/ health
concerns and delayed justice by postponement of bail
without charges filed.
Santha is a committed human rights campaigner for the
poor and marginalized in his country, and friends and
colleagues in the NGO community worldwide value his
concern for the marginalized, including refugees and
overseas workers. During his detention, and at every
court hearing, family members, Church leaders and
human rights defenders were present to show support
to Santha. As he was a former General Secretary of
Colombo YMCA and Hong Kong-based Asia Pacific
Alliance of YMCA, all YMCA Movements were requested
to set a day of prayer for him on 8 November.
The next hearing is scheduled in February 2010.
Source: Asia
Pacific Alliance of YMCA, local source
Thailand
Bangkok Climate Change
Talks 2009
Talks- in Preparation for the COP15
Global warming as a crisis of climate change is not a
recent alarm. As early as 1992, the United Nations
Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) has
been adopted to cope with the crisis, followed by the
Kyoto Protocol which was adopted in Kyoto, Japan, on
11 December 1997, and entered into force on 16
February 2005. (The major distinction between the
Protocol and the Convention is that while the
Convention encouraged industrialized countries to
stabilize Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions, the
Protocol commits them to do so.)
However, the
implementation of action reducing the GHG is far from
satisfaction and the 15th Conference of Parties in
Copenhagen (COP15) in December 2009 is critical for
renewing nations’ commitment to halt the global
warming. In preparation for the COP15, the Bangkok
Climate Change Talks 2009 (the Talks) was held
between 28 September and 9 October 2009 at the United
Nations Conference Centre in Bangkok, Thailand.
During the meeting negotiators representing different
nations strived to figure out way to implement the
action and policy to stop the global warming, while
facing challenges of political issue.
Commentary on the Talks
Outside the Talks, people demonstrated, demanding
climate justice. While the government kept them well
away from the venue, more than 7,000 sang, danced and
shouted slogans while peacefully moving towards the
UN building. The demonstrators urged decision-makers
not to let the burden of changing climate fall
disproportionately on the world's most vulnerable
group. One banner said it all, “For us there is
no option. It is climate justice or death.” The
biggest protest was the indigenous peoples’ walk
on 5 October 2009 -- one day after the feast of St.
Francis of Assisi, the Patron Saint of the
environment.
Fr. Bonnie Mendes of Bangkok-based Caritas Asia,
said, “given that climate is a justice issue,
then there must be an ethical response.” As the
Catholic Priest, he believes that “it is the
right time for local churches in Asia to get
involved. They must not remain on the sidelines but
take the challenge seriously and act.”
Fr. Bonnie also quoted the recent encyclical,
"Caritas in Veritate" (“Charity in
Truth”), calling for all to work for the common
good, to emphasize that to realize climate justice,
we must live a value-filled life and make changes in
our own thinking and our behavior.
“Time is running out. All realizes this but few
are willing to make the necessary changes,” Fr.
Bonnie said.
Sources: < http://unfccc.int>; <http://www.ucanews.com>
Issue
of Concern/ Events
Anti-Torture
Act in the Philippines
The Philippine Congress has passed “the Act
Penalizing the Commission of Acts of Torture and
Other Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or
Punishment prescribing Penalties Therefore and for
Other Purposes” (Anti-Torture Act of 2009) on 12
November 2009, signaling a step forward in preventing
all forms of torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading
treatment in the country. International organizations
working on torture, in welcoming this initiative, now
call upon the competent authorities to take prompt
measures to effectively implement the Act, including
approving the Implementing Rules and Regulations of
the Act in accordance with the Convention against
Torture.
However, it must be emphasised that this intended
protection of individuals will remain only words on
paper unless the Act is enforced; the civil society
must assert their rights under the law. The Act is
one tool they can use to ensure that persons who
commit torture, especially abusive law enforcement
and military personnel, can be persecuted and
punished for their crimes.
Copy
of the Act can be found at:
<http://notorture.ahrchk.net/profile/philippines/House_Bill_5709_Anti-Torture_Act_of_2009.pdf>
Source: OMCT,
Inquirer.net
Justice and
Peace Resources
Master
of Human Rights and Democratization
Sydney University is calling persons committing to
justice and peace work for a Master programme of
Human Rights and Democratization (MHRD) Asia Pacific.
The graduates will be able to sustain efforts to
strengthen institutions dedicated to the protection;
promotion of human rights and democracy; and, to
enhance a regional culture of human rights and
democracy.
Accepted students will undertake a foundational
semester of study in social science, legal and
political approaches to human rights and
democratization at the University of Sydney, and then
a second semester will be held at in one of the four
partner Universities: Gadjah Mada University
(Indonesia), Mahidol University (Thailand), Katmandu
School of Law (Nepal), University of Colombo (Sri
Lanka). During the second semester, students will
accomplish two core units, chosen from either
research study, internship programme or specialized
electives.
Applications for the MHRD are open now until 30 April
2010. Applications for scholarship, covering course
fees and a living and travel allowance will close on
12 March 2010. For more details, please go to:
<http://www.arts.usyd.edu.au/departs/ssp/postgraduate/2010_pgcw_ssp_human_dc069.htm>
or contact Academic Director Dr. Danielle Celermajer
at <danielle.celermajer@usyd.edu.au>.
Source: http://www.arts.usyd.edu.au/departs/ssp/postgraduate/2010_pgcw_ssp_human_dc069.htm
Nexus of Climate Change and Human Rights
While climate change is likely to affect
human rights, such as the right to life and right to
food, and vice versa, the interdependency between
these 2 issues receives scant attention from human
rights workers and commercial groups.
Challenges for Business Groups
Business managers looking to excel should
therefore think of the connections between the two.
Some key issues that emerging companies need to
consider:
energy is both a problem and an
opportunity: while the use of fossil fuel
energy is one of the main reasons for
greenhouse emissions, companies can move to
low-carbon energy sources that can slow down
climate change, and the transition to
affordable, clean energy can enable
communities to realize their economic rights;
balance of economic development and
use of resources: hard decisions need to be
made about land use, access to natural
resources and opportunities for economic
development; this is most evident in Asia
where the world’s largest population are
based; and
scrutiny of companies is increasing:
specialist legal companies are emerging to
focus on the legal liability of companies
that impact on human rights because of their
contribution to climate change; watchdog
organizations are also boosting efforts to
publish public lists of companies that emit
heavily or lobby against emission
regulations.
Climate
Change as a Human Rights Issue
Human rights workers should complement their local,
specific approaches with long term frameworks that
take into account how climate change will impact
business-relevant human rights issues. Taking account
of this may help spark innovative approaches to bring
climate issues and human rights’ benefits
together, such as small scale irrigation and
weather-related insurance.
Companies can also educate their colleagues about the
importance of incorporating climate change into their
work, for example, by sharing how companies have
helped alleviate human problems caused by climate
change, and by dispelling common myths that climate
change is narrowly an “environmental”
problem.
Human Rights as a Climate Change Issue
“Energy” managers who are in charge of
buying or selling of carbon market instruments,
recommending sites for new facilities and in the
procuring of energy and water, should also consider
the impact of the project on the human rights of the
community affected or involved. They would need to
beware of the impacts of their actions, such as the
growing instability in communities where people could
feel disenfranchised, while promoting development for
a wider world amidst climate instability.
Quantitative analysis can be used to represent longer
term trends of climate change while doing qualitative
research via community engagement to determine
potential human rights issues.
Nexus of Climate Change and Human Rights as a
Strategy issue
The climate change-human rights link requires
attention by those setting company strategy, such as
senior executives and boards, as it involves
enterprise level risks and opportunities.
Senior-level executives have an opportunity to help
their company address climate change and human rights
by promoting quantitative data analysis with
qualitative, holistic thinking. At the same time,
they should promote aligned, consistent actions
throughout the company, particularly among their
marketing, public relations and government affairs
teams.
Companies that do this will be ahead of the game
– and ultimately more efficient, with lower risk
profiles - as climate change unfolds and companies
are held to higher account for human rights.
(authors, Ryan Schuchard is manager of environmental
research and innovation and Nicki Weston is associate
of human rights research and innovation at Business
for Social Responsibility.)
Full article:
<http://www.climatebiz.com/blog/2009/06/25/nexus-climate-change-and-human-rights>
Source: GreenBiz.com
JPW Exchange
Corner
UM Appeals for communities
affected by Ondoy
Last year, at the JPW meeting in the Philippines, we
visited 6 communities in different parts of Manila.
They hosted us for the night and shared with us their
lives, joys, pains, aspirations and whatever little
they have in their simple lives. This immersion
experience became the initial part of the meeting
giving us a common context in which to share and
reflect on our countries and our regional solidarity.
In late September this year, the news of Typhoon
Ondoy (International name: Ketsana) flooded the local
and international media, just as it flooded the
houses of many families in Manila up to the second
floor, and destroyed their properties and the lives
of many of their loved ones. According to AsiaNews,
within 4 months, with 4 typhoons hitting Manila and
the northern Luzon, 1,128 lives were lost and 1.3
million displaced. Two regions were facing a
bacterial epidemic that has infected nearly 3,000
people, with 175 dead in Manila alone.
The Philippines is only one of the countries
seriously affected by these “natural”
disasters in Southeast Asia (Cambodia, Vietnam and
Laos). Until now, relief operations are still
on-going in many countries. There are efforts to try
to reach those who could not be reached earlier,
while other areas have moved on to the next stages of
rehabilitation and post-calamity re-building.
Needless to say, many communities and homes of our
friends in Manila were not spared from the
destruction. All the areas were flooded and, thus,
severe poverty, sickness and trauma afflicted the
people. Fortunately, relief operations were
immediately begun through the help of partners (e.g.
schools, congregations and Mission Partner of the
Association of Major Religious Superiors in the
Philippines (AMRSP)) and individuals.
On the after-effects of the calamity in their mission
areas, the Urban Missionaries (UM), AMRSP’s
labor apostolate working among urban workers and
their families in Metro Manila, shared that many are
still suffering: from various illnesses (traumas/
nervous breakdown; some were confined in hospitals);
livelihood lost; houses destroyed and the loss of the
simple possessions they had which were swept away by
the flood. One of their mission areas was in
Paranaque City, where some participants from East
Asia were hosted in the exposure last year. Some of
us would be familiar with the name, KAYUMANGGI
(Kababaihang Yumayabong Tungo sa Kagalingan) –
Translated, this means “Women Arising towards
Development.”
The UM is seeking generous support to carry out a
“post-calamity project” for their
communities. Activities include: de-briefing sessions
for adults and children, medical assistance and
housing related assistance. The total budget
estimated is around USD3000. Those who are interested
to help can contact ACPP (hotline@acpp.org) or the Urban Missionaries (um77amrsp@yahoo.com) for details.
Source: Urban
Missionaries
Hong Kong’s Constitutional Reform
On 18 November 2009, the Hong Kong (HK) government
unveiled a plan for constitutional reform within
2012. This plan is unlikely to achieve a democratic
system, in terms of neither the direct election of
the chief executive nor universal suffrage in the
legislature’s election.
According to the Basic Law (the mini-constitution of
HK), “the ultimate aim (in the forming method of
the Legisative Council) is the election of all the
members of the Legislative Council by universal
suffrage” (Article 68) and the “implementation
of the provisions of the International Covenant on
Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR)……shall
remain in force and shall be implemented through the
laws.” (Article 39) The ICCPR states that,
“Every citizen shall have the right and the
opportunity… to vote and to be elected at
genuine periodic elections which shall be by
universal and equal suffrage.” Within the
current electoral system, the chief executive is
elected by an 800-people election committee, made up
of mostly pro-Beijing electors. For the legislature,
30 seats are directly elected while the other 30
functional constituency seats are from selected
professional sectors, most of them related to
commercial groups.
It is obvious that most of the decisions made by the
current government are in favour of business groups
rather than of the majority of people, especially the
low income groups. For example, the government
proposed to build the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong
Express Rail Link (the Express Link) with a budget of
almost HK$70 billion (almost US$9 billion), which is
one quarter of the total foreign exchange reserve of
the HK treasury. It is estimated that the proposed
rail would be faster than the present rail by 10
minutes only and the main passengers will most
probably be the upper class as the ticket price is
expensive. The civil society, including villagers to
be evicted for the Express Link construction and many
professionals, have strongly opposed the proposal of
the Link. However, funding for the project has been
approved in Legislative Council (LegCo) by the
Sub-Committee consisting of majority of members from
commercial sectors. (For an ordinary motion, the
consent from half of the LegCo member is needed, but
for an important motion, like constitutional reform,
a two-third majority is needed.) Such composition
tends to set aside most of the proposals for social
welfare, while insisting on approving luxury projects
like the Express Link.
Therefore, the struggle for a democratic system in HK
is the struggle for a better homeland with justice.
It is disappointing that the HK government shows
little vision and determination for this. The recent
blueprint of constitutional reform failed to tackle
the biased and discriminatory elements of elections,
for example, and it does not provide the schedule for
reform towards democracy. Actually, a similar
blueprint was declined by the legislature in 2005 for
these reasons. Although the unsatisfactory blueprint
can be rejected by LegCo, the government can also
keep presenting the same set of political reforms in
future. To break through the stagnation, there are no
other tools but our aspirations, persistence and
strategy.
Among the challenges to democracy, the most notable
was the re-interpretation of Basic Law in 2002 (on
the Right of Abode of children born in Hong Kong/ of
parents who are residents in Hong Kong). Moreover, it
is not uncommon for the Beijing and HK government to
claim that most of HK’s people do not insist on
a genuine democracy.
In response to the recent constitutional reform
“package”, opposition parties have planned
to wage a de facto referendum to show the Hong Kong
and Beijing government that HK people demand genuine
universal suffrage. To oppose the fact that there is
no law for universal suffrage in Hong Kong, the idea
is for one legislator from each of the 5 geographical
constituencies to resign, prompting a by-election to
“re-fill” these seats. Legislators who have
resigned will take part in the by-elections with a
single agenda of a genuine universal suffrage. All
qualified voters in Hong Kong can therefore vote them
to express their opinion upon their agenda.
The de facto referendum is a new and risky strategy
for the HK democratic movement, as the legislators
who have resigned may lose. But it is important to
remember that the spirit of democracy is beyond
personal glory and interest.
Sources: local sources;
Hong Kong Economic Journal; South China Morning Post
(local newspapers); AsiaNews; Human Development
Report 2009- Hong Kong
(http://hdrstats.undp.org/en/countries/data_sheets/cty_ds_HKG.html)
21 JPWs at ACPP Workshop on
“Responding to Injustices”
“… style is very
helpful for learning and sharing experiences,
having fun, yet encouraging commitment to work
and create solidarity to do peace and justice in
ones own country and supporting friends from
other countries…”
The Asian Center for the Progress
of Peoples (ACPP) holds its regional training
workshop once every 2 years to gather its staff and
partners in the Asia-Pacific region to share and
reflect together on topics related to justice and
peace work. This year, ACPP conducted its Workshop on
10-13 October 2009 at St. Gabriel, Bangkok, with the
participation of 21 justice and peace workers from
Cambodia, Hong Kong, India, Mongolia, Pakistan,
Philippines, Sri Lanka, Taiwan and Thailand, each one
as a resource person sharing their experiences,
challenges, analyses, and plans on "Responding
to Injustices" in their respective countries.
Ice-breaker action song at Orientation Night
Through a
reflection-sharing-discussion process, the Workshop
aims to share, explore and analyze
the experiences, methods, approaches of the
participants’ response to injustices; and to
renew their commitment, role and direction, as well
as plans for justice and peace work. Topics include sharing
and categorizing expectations, actions and
challenges, reviewing sequence of actions, refining
goals and identifying driving force
and restraining forces through the Force Field
Analysis, effective international solidarity,
and effective networking.
Group photo of ACPP
Workshop 2009 - “Responding to Indjustices”
Sharing and categorizing expectations, actions
taken and targets of action, and challenges, helped
in clarifying and concretizing expectations and
reflecting on the nature and purpose of participants’
own actions and foster solidarity for each other’s
issues. Sharing of the sequence of actions taken
helped group suggest some alternative ways of doing
things to each other, as well as bring out that
identifying targets, objectives and planning
strategies are the basis of effective actions and
activities. To further analyze their experiences, a
tool called the Force Field Analysis (FFA) was used
to explore and identify the driving forces (DF) and
restraining forces (RF) towards the goals of
participants’ actions, and to help identify a
clear goal to begin with.
The concept of international solidarity was
also clarified to give participants a proper
perspective on the best timing and strategy to
utilize Hotline Asia’s Urgent Appeals and other
activities at the regional level. Time was given for
participants to reflect on their plans, as well as to
concretely ask for specific support from each other
through Networking Stations which gave all
participants a final chance to interact with each
other.
Each day ended with a learning break and silent
reflection and celebration of the day’s learning
to strengthen each other’s personal commitment
for justice and peace.
Source:
ACPP
ACPP’s
Christmas Message 2009
This year, ACPP celebrates its
30th Christmas with a reflection on the life of “Jesus in
public ministry” as the
model who dedicated his whole life for justice and
peace. We are called, in our time, in the
contemporary world, to courageously identify with the
marginalized and oppressed, to challenge the
powerful, and to expose injustices, as He did in His
time.
The message is available at ACPP web site at
www.acpp.org under”Special Events” or by
sending your address to: <hotline@acpp.org>.
Source: ACPP Christmas
Greetings 2009