DIGNITY INTERNATIONAL MONTHLY NEWSBULLETIN - August 2006

Dignity News
* Latin America: Applications Now Open!
*Countdown - East Africa Programme!
* Mumbai Project - Well under Way

DIGNITY NEWS

*** Latin America: Applications Now Open!
CDES, COHRE – Americas Programme, Dignity International, DECA Equipo Pueblo y Social Watch are pleased to announce that the application procedure to the second Linking & Learning Programme on ESC Rights for the Latin America Region, which will take place in Quito, Ecuador, from 2 to 10 November 2006, is now OPEN.
For the second time, this Latin American programme is being organised, with the support of People’s World Relief and Development Fund of the Anglican Church of Canada (PWRDF).
The Programme aims to equip selected participants with the knowledge and skills necessary to integrate human rights in their daily work. Activists from social and economic justice movements and those working directly with persons living in poverty are encouraged to apply. The programme will bring together ‘catalysts’ from all the different Latin American countries. These persons will be in a position to spread knowledge and skills they have acquired from the programme and to introduce/implement what they have acquired within their own organisations or environment.
Information Document (English (http://www.dignityinternational.org/dg/RC/projects/2006_LA_informative_doc.pdf) / Spanish (http://www.dignityinternational.org/dg/RC/projects/2006_cursoDESC_doc_informativo.pdf)) & Application Form (http://www.dignityinternational.org/dg/RC/projects/2006_cursoDESC_formulario_candidatura.doc)
Documents also available for download at Social Watch (http://www.socialwatch.org) and Dignity International (http://www.dignityinternational.org).
If you have difficulties accessing the documents from the website and would like the documents to be sent via e-mail, please send a mail to: curdesc@socialwatch.org.
You can apply by filling the application form and sending it to curdesc@socialwatch.org.
DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS: 1 September 2006

*** Countdown - East Africa Programme!
Invitation to the Regional Roundtable on “Human Rights Based Approaches: Another Dish of the Day or Solutions for Lasting Change”
In a few weeks time (4-14 September) the development activists from the East Africa region will gather at the Landmark Hotel, Dar Es Salaam for the Regional Learning Programme on Human Rights in Development.
 As part of the programme there will be a roundtable on 11 September from 09.00-13.00 entitled “Human Rights Based Approaches: Another Dish of the Day or Solutions for Lasting Change” . If you are based in Tanzania and interested to participate in this roundtable please contact Thomas Nzumbi, Regional Coordinator of Dignity International at thomas@dignityinternational.org
The programme will be organised by Dignity International in partnership with Tanzania Council on Social Development (TACOSODE) and Hakijamii (Centre for Economic and Social Rights) with the financial support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland and Oxfam NOVIB.

*** Mumbai Project – Well Under Way
Following the funding confirmation from the Netherlands based CORDAID, the action research, capacity building and advocacy project to support the people whose right to housing have been affected by the Mumbai Urban Transport Plan (MUTP) is now well underway. The three partners Youth for Unity and Voluntary Action (YUVA), Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) and Dignity International (by phone) met at the YUVA office on 25 July to share expectations, share results of the literature review, discuss potential members of the advisory committee, and to finalise and sign the Memorandum of Understanding among the three partner organisations.
Further information of the project can be obtained from Dignity International (http://dignityinternational.org/dg/RC/projects/2006_MUTP_Mumbai.pdf)

OTHER NEWS

*** Coca Cola and PepsiCo Banned from Kerala ( India)
Coca Cola and PepsiCo two of the world’s largest transnational corporations have been banned in the southern Indian state of Kerala. Neither of the two manufacturers can now produce, distribute nor sell their soft-drinks in that state. The reason for the state-wide ban in Kerala is the dangerous levels of pesticides found in those soft drinks produced in India. The Supreme Court of India has given the companies six weeks to disclose the ingredients in their beverages or face a possible national ban.
Communities and activists worldwide have welcomed the Kerala ban as a victory in the fight against corporate-led globalisation (or as some say, re-colonisation) and its destructive consequences on both humans and the environment. Whether it is seeds, crops, water supplies or human labor, the Global South pays heavily for the runaway greed of transnational corporations as they scour the globe in a race to the bottom.
This week international corporations got a clear message from the Indian state of Kerala - the people and environment of the Global South are not available for you to exploit and destroy as you accumulate obscene levels of profit.
More on the subject at India Resource Centre (http://www.indiaresource.org/index.html%20)
Source: Global Exchange Newsletter (http://www.globalexchange.org/index.html))

*** America Latina – 2 urgent appeals from OMCT
Last July, the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) denounced violations of economic, social and cultural rights together with child rights’ violations in Latin America.

Guatemala: Social Cleansing In Marginalised Areas
Last May 18, the UN Committee Against Torture, had called the attention of the State of Guatemala upon “the social cleaning and the brutal assassinate of street children and children from the most marginalised communities, as well as the increase in the number of murdered, raped and tortured women”.
As the national authorities did not take any action, the number of victims (especially women and children) from street violence has been constantly increasing. The victims have the same characteristics: indigenous origin, lack of education, lack of job and coming from the poorest level of the society.
As the media describes all chid living in the most deprived and marginalised areas as delinquent, people do get frightened and, to defend their lives, houses or shops, they pay professionals to kill those kids. Police does not intervene and when they, those poor kids are put into detention centres.

Ecuador: Violent Evictions in La Yuca, Cantón del Palenque
120 families were violently evicted in La Yuca, in the region of Cantón del Palenque, Ecuador, by a massive police operation armed with bulldozers as well as tear gas to stop any reaction from the residents. According to denounces, at least 12 houses were destroyed, including the school. Nobody was allowed to enter the settlement, including lawyers, to avoid witnesses.
In La Yuca live almost 120 families - all have legal ownership of their plot of land, also pay the respective taxes. The same land is now claimed by some private person; the authorities do not recognise any more the legal ownership of the residents.
12 households were already destroyed, 120 are in danger of being destroyed.
See how you can act at OMCT (http://www.omct.org%20) (World Organisation Against Torture)

*** WSF – Some Updates:
* Consultation Postponed Until August 30 - t he preparatory consultation is the first step in the organisation of the 7th WSF program, which will take place in Nairobi, Kenya, from January 20 to 25, 2007. The consultations are useful to map actions, campaigns and contests in which those entities, organisations, social movements and networks that participate on WSF are engaged.
To learn more about visit the Consultation's Page (http://consultation.wsf2007.org)

* 2nd Triple Frontier Social Forum - T he 2nd Triple Frontier Social Forum took place on July 21st to 23rd at the Ciudad del Este, Paraguay - the so-called Triple frontier is the one linking Paraguay, Argentina and Brazil. The activities in the encounter were organised around three main topics: Sovereignty, militarisation and natural resources (water, energy, earth and biodiversity); Integration and alternatives for the peoples facing the neo-liberal capitalism (ALCA, debts payment) and Human Rights (equality, sexual, cultural, and educational) and communications diversity.
See the World Social Forum Webpage (http://www.forumsocialmundial.org.br/dinamic.php?pagina=ii_foro_frontera_esp%20)

*** HR High commissioner: Still Lower Priority to ESC Rights
The legal protection countries give economic, social and cultural (ESC) rights is considerably weaker than in the case of other rights and should be strengthened, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCHR) – Louise Arbour - says in a report presented to the Economic and Social Council at its current session. The High Commissioner recalls the Vienna Declaration and the value of ESC rights as legally binding obligations, and not of mere policy objectives or moral commitments.
The High Commissioner states the importance of the legal protection of ESC rights. Case law from all regions of the world show that legal protection can be an effective means of protecting economic, social and cultural rights, she says. The report aims to clarify the main forms of legal protection and how judicial, quasi-judicial and administrative remedies can play an important role in providing redress for individuals whose rights have been violated and in stimulating greater understanding of and respect for ESC rights.
Louise Arbour also draws attention to how the drafting of an Optional Protocol (OP) to the International Covenant on ESC Rights could stimulate strengthened legal protection of ESC rights. An optional protocol, providing for a complaints mechanism similar to existing mechanisms under the International Covenant of Civil and Political Rights and other human rights treaties, would enhance the ability of the Committee on ESC Rights to assist States in their realisation of economic, social and cultural rights.
Read the Louise Arbour's full declaration (http://www.unhchr.ch/huricane/huricane.nsf/view01/BD0C068DEC846C07C12571B9001DE8E3?opendocument%20)
You can read more on the OP at Choike (http://www.choike.org/nuevo_eng/informes/4689.html%20)

*** Human Rights Committee – Last Session Conclusions
The 87 th session of the United Nations Human Rights Committee took place last July. During this session, the Committee examined State reports from Central African Republic, United States of America, UNMIK (Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo), Bosnia and Herzegovina, Madagascar, Ukraine as well as on the country situation (absence of report) of San Marino.
Read the Committee Concluding Observations (http://www.ohchr.org/english/bodies/hrc/hrcs87.htm%20) now available online.

*** G8 Summit – NGO Reactions
The Group of Eight (G8) consists of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Together, these countries represent about 65% of the world’s economy. The hallmark of the G8 is an annual political summit meeting of the heads of government with international officials, though there are numerous subsidiary meetings and policy research. The Presidency of the group rotates every year. For 2006 it was held by Russia, in Saint Petersburg from July 15 to July 17.
On the agenda, the main priority topics to be discussed were: Global Energy Security, Infection Diseases/Health and Education. For human rights NGOs it was shocking the simple fact of not having human rights as a topic on the agenda. And, during the summit itself, the G8 only affirmed their commitment to human rights in the area of fighting against terrorism and working towards better security.
By the end of the summit, there was satisfaction mingled with disappointment as civil society organisations analysed the outcome of the G8 summit.

On Corruption:
Transparency International - Jesse Garcia: "We have reason to be satisfied with the G8's statement on fighting high-level corruption because it points to a growing understanding of corruption”. Garcia was referred to a statement of the heads of government of the G8 in which they renewed their commitment to fight corruption, in particular at the highest levels, and to improve transparency and accountability.

On Africa:
ActionAid - Alexandre Polack: “To begin with Africa was not on the agenda. After G8 leaders promised to make poverty history last year, this summit has been a damp squib.” Commenting on the G8 decision to pause on Africa until the next summit in Germany, Polack said it was good news that German Chancellor Angela Merkel would be putting Africa back on the agenda in the G8 Summit of 2007, but without immediate action there would be little progress, he said.

On HIV/AIDS:
Trans-Atlantic Partners Against AIDS (TPAA) - John Tedstrom: “The results of the summit were less exciting than in the years past, but this is mostly a reflection of the following considerations: first, the priority issues of energy security, the Middle East peace and the war on terror, and secondly, the AIDS fight is moving into a phase of consolidation of prior commitments and pledges and initiatives. Until those are met, it would be difficult to get big new commitments from governments. I think the summit missed the opportunity to put AIDS in ' Eurasia' on the agenda in a strategic way. The epidemics in Russia, China and India, in particular, need more attention - both from national governments and from the international community. The G8 leaders mostly renewed their commitment to deliver promises made at the previous summits to reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS through the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (Global Fund). The leaders said in a joint statement that the commitments would be carried out though “mobilising support for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria” and “continuing to pursue as close as possible the universal access to HIV/AIDS treatment for all who need it by 2010.”
Source: Inter Press Service (http://www.ipsnews.net/new_focus/g8/index.asp)
G8 Summit 2006 official website (http://en.g8russia.ru/%20)

PUBLICATIONS

*** New report - Corruption and Governance Measurement Tools in Latin American Countries
This new report, produced by Transparency International (TI) and commissioned by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), presents the international, national and local tools used to measure corruption and good governance in Latin American countries. The report includes nearly 100 different corruption measurement tools in 17 countries: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, México, Nicaragua, Panamá, Paraguay, Perú, Uruguay and Venezuela. The report only includes measurement tools completed by the end of 2005.
In producing this report TI and UNDP seek to counterbalance the predominance of international cross-country corruption surveys that have emerged in the past several years by locating and presenting the local or domestic surveys and index tools measuring corruption. In order to use measurement tools for positive change, an understanding of the corruption phenomenon and its impact in the local context is required to inform the necessary policies and decisions to tackle the problem.
Report available online in English (http://www.transparency.org/content/download/8686/56295/file/TI2006_Corruption_Governance_Measurement_Tools_LA.pdf) and Spanish. (http://www.transparency.org/content/download/8687/56298/file/TI2006_Herramientas_Medir_Corrupción_Gobernabilidad.pdf)

ANNOUNCEMENTS

*** Human Rights Tools - New Website for Human Rights Professionals
The Human Rights Tools website is a new website produced by a small and independent group of volunteers who aim to facilitate the use of information on human rights available on the Internet. The editors call upon any suggestion you might have, regarding resources to add, other areas to cover, etc. Please send your comments to Daniel at editors@humanrightstools.org.
The website offers services as a library of carefully selected and commented resources; key resources for country analysis and daily updated human rights headlines as well as a newsletter with updates on human rights documentation.
Visit Human Rights Tools (http://www.humanrightstools.org%20)

*** Amnesty’s Special Programme on Africa - website redesigned
The webpage of the SPA - Special Programme on Africa (Amnesty International Netherlands) has been redesigned. The page contains general information on SPA as well as information on the activities from early 2005 to date. All SPA publications can now been downloaded in English, French and Portuguese.
See Amnesty International Netherlands (http://www.amnesty.nl/spa%20)

FORTHCOMING EVENTS - HIGHLIGHTS

*** World Bank & IMF Annual Meetings
The Annual Meetings of the Boards of Governors of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank Group are the largest gathering of global financial representatives in the world, and are held outside their Washington, D.C. base every third year. This year, the meetings will be taking place in Singapore, from 11 to 20 September.
Each country’s delegation usually includes its Minister of Finance and the head of the Central Bank or their respective equivalents. The rest of the delegation is comprised of advisors and other government representatives, totalling approximately 3,500 participants from all delegations.
Annual Meetings 2006 Official webpage (http://www.singapore2006.org/sections/annual_meet/about_annual2006.html%20)

*** XVI International AIDS Conference – Time to Deliver
The Conference is co-organised by UNAIDS, the Global Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS, ICW and ICASO among others, and aims at bringing together the movement of people responding to the HIV/AIDS epidemic to share their lessons and together stake out the road ahead. The AIDS 2006 theme - "Time to Deliver" - underscores the continued urgency in bringing effective HIV prevention and treatment strategies to communities the world over. Te magnitude of this epidemic demands increased accountability from all stakeholders to fulfill their commitments, be they financial, programmatic or political. The conference will take place in Toronto , Canada, from 13 to 18 August 2006.
All information available at Aids 2006 (http://www.aids2006.org/%20)

*** International Seminar on Domestic Workers
This Seminar is organised by Irene-Network, European Trade Union confederation (ETUC), Committee for Asian Women (CAW) and Women in Informal Employment: Globalizing and Organizing (WIEGO). It will take place from 8 to 10 November 2006, in Amsterdam, Holland.
Domestic workers’ employment situation is considered not to ‘fit’ the general framework of existing employment laws. This is because most work done by them is generally invisible, done in private houses (not considered as workplaces) owned by private persons (not considered as employers). So, domestic workers are not normally considered as employees, their work is undervalued, and their working conditions remain, in essence, unregulated.
Adding to that is the fact that domestic workers stem from the poorer parts of the population, migrate within countries, migrate to other countries, are predominantly women; also repeatedly they are still children. Trade unions working on the national and international level and the NGOs, which network nationally and internationally, can give the strong impetus for common strategies towards legal protection of domestic workers like fighting for: an ILO convention; workers’ rights for all domestic workers; work permits for domestic workers in receiving countries; protection for migrant workers, amongst others.
See Irene Network (http://www.irene-network.nl/download/domestic1eng.pdf)

*** VI International Human Rights Colloquium: Strengthening Human Rights in the South
The Colloquium is organised by Conectas together with SUR–Human Rights University Network Human Rights and will take place in Sao Paulo , Brazil , from 11 to 17 November 2006. The annual International Human Rights Colloquium is a forum that brings together human rights activists and academics, for a week each year, to learn from their peers and experts in the field, obtain a fresh perspective on their work, and lay the foundation for professional alliances down the road (networking). The objective of the VI International Human Rights Colloquium is to strengthen the impact of human rights activists and academics work in Latin America, Africa and Asia.
Applications will be accepted until September 3rd, 2006
All information available at Conectas (http://www.conectas.org/coloquio)

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.

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