Equality for Ethnic Minorities

More than 65 ethnic groups call Uganda home—65! Living in a country so diverse, Ugandan civil society organizations agree that ethnic tensions are present, significantly as a result of discriminatory practices by the government.  However, the government denies the existence of any such ethnic discrimination. 

Most recently, development of the country’s oil resources has exacerbated tensions between those ethnic groups that stand most to benefit from newly found riches and those that are excluded. Although oil development will bring additional wealth to the country, ethnic minorities– those that do not have access to power or decision making – are excluded from what should be a shared benefit for all.

As you can see, the topic of ethnic minorities in Uganda is complex. I’ve witnessed this firsthand while visiting our Uganda country office and partners this past week.  During my trip, I attended the final workshop of our project for the development of advocacy strategies on key human rights issues for ethnic minorities.

The project, funded by the Ford Foundation, has made tremendous progress in one year, evidenced by the high level of workshop participation this past Thursday and Friday.  The 24 participants did a deep dive into the two advocacy campaigns that had been identified in the previous workshops – access to land and access to education for ethnic minorities.  Those campaigns have gained depth and commitment as a result of the project.   And, an informal network has even formed among the participants that includes two key state institutions, the Ugandan Human Rights Commission (UHRC) and the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC).

I was truly impressed by the honesty and the transparency of the conversation. The willingness to share personal stories with others in the room underscored the trust that Global Rights Uganda has built with the participants.  They recognized that to move this work of advancing the rights of ethnic minorities forward, there needs to be a more open dialogue rather than conversations behind closed doors that only deepen tensions. 

I’m excited to see the momentum grow. My hope is that this work will be able to develop and expand, bringing together even more civil society and government officials who are committed to change the discourse and open up dialogue. This is critical if Uganda wants to ensure a fair and equal access to all its citizens. 

Susan

Posted by Susan M. Farnsworth

Discrimination in the Dominican Republic

Did you know that discrimination against people of Haitian descent (Dominico-Haitians) is hindering the lives and rights of thousands in the Dominican Republic? What if I told you the Dominican government isn’t doing anything to stop it, but rather, is promoting policies that would strip these individuals of their citizenship…

Hi there, it’s Carlos Quesada, Global Rights’ Racial and Ethnic Equality Program director, with some important news to share.  

Over the past decade, legal Haitian immigrants have been the backbone of the sugarcane, construction and service industries in the Dominican Republic. However, deep rooted racism has denied Dominicans of Haitian descent basic economic and social rights such as legal employment, education, access to social services and even marriage.  Most recently, this racism has been fueled by the Dominican government’s efforts to deny Dominican nationality to individuals of Haitian descent.  This process violates the American Convention on Human Rights, to which the government of the Dominican Republic is a party.

Last week, I accompanied our partner, the Jacques Viau Network—a group of organizations that advocates for the rights of Haitians and Dominico-Haitians in the Dominican Republic– to the  82nd Session of the UN Committee for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (UN CERD) in Geneva, Switzerland. There, I worked with members Maria Martinez and Manuel Dandre from the Movimiento Socio-Cultural de Trabajadores Haitianos and William Charpantier from Fundacion Etnica Integral preparing their brief to committee members on the situation of Dominico-Haitians.


Maria Martinez at UN CERD

Our partners presented the following recommendations to the committee for their official report to the Dominican government to address this serious human rights violation:

• Recognize the existence of racial discrimination in the country
• Stop the denationalization  process of Dominico-Haitians
• Include specific data in the census on race and gender
• Stop mass expulsions of Haitians and Dominico-Haitians
• Appoint a human rights official in the country to investigate human rights concerns

 

We urge the UN CERD to consider these recommendations in their final report to the Dominican government, which must be held accountable to their duty to protect the human rights of all their citizens, regardless of race or ethnicity. Input and pressure from the UN CERD are critical steps in ensuring this accountability.

 

I look forward to keeping you updated on the process.

Saludos,

Carlos

 

Rise Up for Women

It comes as no surprise that the rights of women are a significant focus of our activities. At Global Rights, we believe that all women, regardless of race, class or nationality deserve the same opportunities—and the same protection from violence. We know that true societal change only occurs when everyone’s rights are addressed, defended and insured.

That is why we work to empower women in some of the toughest places it is to be a woman.

• In Afghanistan, where opportunities are far and few, we are committed to ensuring that women are safe from violence. Through our Legal Advice Bureaus  run by our Afghan partners, we are showing women how to access the justice system in five Afghan provinces. Global Rights has created an environment in which even the most marginalized women can ask questions and voice concerns about their rights, and file cases to defend those rights.

Legal assistance training workshop in Morocco
with our partner, Association Amal

• For the past 12 years, Global Rights has also been working alongside 10 Moroccan women’s organizations, providing them with the tools and skills they need to teach women about their human and legal rights, and developing strategies to articulate and demand those rights. Currently, our Moroccan partners are spearheading efforts to push their government to adopt a specific violence against women (VAW) law. Domestic violence is pervasive in Morocco and a specific VAW law would legally grant women proper protection. If passed, it would be the first of its kind in the Arab world.
  
• In some of the most underserved regions of Nigeria and Uganda, Global Rights works alongside local human rights and women’s organizations to ensure that women are protected from human rights violations under the law. Click here to hear our Nigerian partner, the Isa Wali Empowerment Initiative, discuss how they are putting a stop to violence against women and children.  
  
• In the first program of its kind in Burundi, Global Rights is coordinating an effort with our Burundian partners to bring high-impact strategic litigation to the courts for victims of gender-based violence.  In Burundi, there is currently no movement to promote the legal rights of victims of violence and to help them secure justice in court. Through strategic litigation, a change in the practice and policy of Burundi’s prosecutors in weighing evidence of gender-based violence is designed to increased prosecution of these crimes in the future.

• In Brazil, Colombia and Peru, we know that women of African descent are more susceptible to discrimination and human rights violations, and particularly, violence. We’re working alongside some of the most dedicated Afro-descendant organizations in South America to help them with their struggle for equal rights. Click here to read more about the recent work of our Brazilian partner, Articulação de Mulheres Negras do Brasil (AMNB). 



As you can see, Global Rights continues to grow our network of advocates and activists to help women assert and defend their inherent rights around the world— a world in which we strive for all, regardless of gender, ethnicity or background, to achieve their full potential.


Susan

Posted by Susan M. Farnsworth

Domestic Workers Deserve Protection

Last week, the International Labour Organization (ILO) released their first ever Global Report on Domestic Workers as follow up to their 2011 passage of Convention no. 189: Decent Work for Domestic Workers.  Upon reading the report, I immediately thought about Global Rights’ work in Brazil, and how Convention no.189 is critical to protecting more women from violence.

Global Rights' and AMNB's report on the
situation of Afro-Brazilian domestic workers

The ILO report captures the size of the global domestic work sector and the extent of legal protection enjoyed by domestic workers. The report concludes that domestic workers are a highly feminized sector (with more than 80% women) who remain largely excluded from the scope of labor laws and hence from legal protection enjoyed by other workers.

Coincidentally, this year, Global Rights and our partner, Articulação de Mulheres Negras do Brasil (AMNB), published a report on the situation of Afro-Brazilian domestic workers. 

We found that the majority of domestic workers in Brazil are of African descent (70%) and suffer from numerous human rights violations. They are at greater risk of violence—including physical, mental and sexual violence. Notably, less than 1/4 of these domestic workers have  legal contracts with benefits.

In February 2012, Global Rights and AMNB presented a shadow report on the situation of Afro-Brazilian women to the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). We highlighted the issue of discrimination, especially that suffered by those working as domestic labor. It was at that same session that CEDAW recommended to the Government of Brazil to ratify Convention no. 189 in order to provide full protection for domestic workers.  However, the Government of Brazil has yet to act.

We strongly encourage the Government of Brazil to ratify this convention. By doing so, they will grant their citizens who are employed as domestic workers the legal protections from human rights violations that they deserve. This would be an important step forward not only for the Afro-Brazilian population, but for all domestic workers in Brazil.

Susan

Posted by Susan M. Farnsworth

Strengthening The System

“Long road ahead for Afghan women” “Afghan women still suffer abuse”

Our LAB partners including Mafuza Folad, Justice for All Organization
and Suraya Pakzad, Voice of Women Organization.

Each day we hear about turmoil and injustice for women in Afghanistan.  However, among these terrible stories are glimmers of real progress and change, and we’re in the thick of it.

Global Rights and our Afghan partners are at the forefront of strengthening the Afghan justice system so that women are protected from injustice— protected in one of the most difficult places to be a woman. 

Global Rights’ Legal Advice Bureaus provide legal assistance to the most poor and marginalized, primarily women, in Kabul, Herat, Nangarhar and Balkh family courts.  Run by our Afghan partners, the LABs give women direct access to the formal justice system via legal information, assistance and representation. The bureaus enable women to approach the justice system with questions, concerns and bring cases defending their rights—a rare opportunity in Afghanistan. 

85% of our Legal Advice Bureau (LAB) clients are women.
3,152 Afghan women received legal advice from our LABs from 2010-2012.
494 Afghan women were represented by members of our LABs in court from 2011-2012.

We know increasing access to justice is a potent tool to overcome power imbalances in society and strengthen Afghanistan’s justice system.  We also know that by educating and training the next generation of lawyers, judges and justice officials on human rights and women’s rights, women will be better protected from violence.

Since 2010, Global Rights has been working with the Law and Shar’ia faculties at five different universities to provide a hands-on human rights-focused program for fourth year Law and Shar’ia students, both male and female.

2,172 students have graduated from our Young Lawyers in Training Program and Family Law Clinical Education Project. The project expands access to justice through intensive training in Afghan civil and criminal procedure, and in international human rights law for Law and Shar’ia students in their final year of study and it offers practical training in family law matters to Shar’ia students.

224 students have graduated from our Legal Fellowship Program, which places promising young Law and Shar’ia graduates in Afghanistan’s formal justice sector and in local human rights and justice non-governmental organizations where their knowledge and skills in human rights law is immediately put to work.

So, for every negative story I read about Afghanistan, I think about how many Afghans we’re educating, empowering and enabling to uphold human rights. By strengthening Afghanistan’s justice system, we are building a stronger future for Afghan women where their rights will be protected by rule of law. 

Susan

Posted by Susan M. Farnsworth

Human Rights Matter

Last week when I watched Secretary Clinton’s Frontlines and Frontiers: Making Human Rights a Human Reality remarks from Dublin, on more than one occasion I wanted to jump out of my chair. Clinton’s words just hit so close to home.  This is what we’ve been saying for over thirty years.

Human rights matter.

“...because a society can and should be judged, in part, by how it protects the rights of its minorities. Societies are strongest when they deliver justice not just for the powerful, but also for the vulnerable.”

At Global Rights, we advance human rights for some of the most poor, marginalized and vulnerable people around the world.  We believe that empowering people to access justice is an effective mechanism to overcome power imbalances in society.   We open up a range of tools for individuals within formal and informal systems that best fit their context to challenge structures and practices that are barriers to human rights fulfillment. 

“Civil society is important everywhere, including in our countries. But nowhere is it more vital than in those states whose futures are unsure… We know that durable change is most likely to come from within, and that it takes everyone – journalists and activists, business people and teachers, religious leaders and labor leaders – pointing out the need for change, providing the ideas for change...”

What makes Global Rights unique among other human rights actors is that we just don’t “go in and fix the problem.” We believe systemic change to overcome barriers and to achieve full human rights begins with the individual and the community. We believe in the courage, passion and potential civil society has to be change makers in their societies.  That is why we work alongside local partners in Africa, Asia and Latin America and provide them with the tools, skills and education they need in order to make positive, sustainable change in their communities.  This approach works.

“It’s very true that many governments attempt to squeeze civil society in a steel vise, and we are seeing a particular movement against the LGBT community around the world, punishing people, harassing them, beating them, imprisoning them for who they are…”

LGBT rights are human rights. Global Rights’ LGBT Rights program in Sierra Leone is breaking the silence. Our partners, members and nonmembers of the LGBT community, know human rights are universal. They are ensuring that everybody –regardless of gender or sexual orientation— are entitled to the same rights.

“In many places we’re also working with USAID and other donors to help civil society actors build the skills they need to do their work effectively, documenting abuses, storing data, learning how to deal with the media.”

Burundi may look small on the map, but it is a country with big potential.  With our USAID-funded project, Global Rights helped establish the Nongovernmental Organization (NGO) Network on Transitional Justice to increase civil society’s understanding of, support for, and participation in the transitional justice process in Burundi.  To deliver justice, we’re helping civil society monitor and document human rights abuses and store them in a database—the first of its kind in the country.

“I personally have no doubt that if women everywhere were treated as equal to men in rights and dignity, we would see economic and political progress come to places that are now teetering on the edge.”

We believe in women. In all of our programs, Global Rights makes a deliberate effort to promote and protect women’s rights. We believe empowering women so that they can assert and protect their rights is critical in order for societies to thrive.  We work with amazing women day in and day out who are working as agents of positive change throughout the Maghreb region and beyond.

So, on this International Human Rights Day, I leave you with one last quote that I truly believe in and hope you do to:

“And if you are truly representing your citizens, you cannot do so effectively in the 21st century without recognizing that human rights must remain a central goal of those of us who believe in the dignity of every person.”

Susan

Posted by Susan M. Farnsworth

Making Women’s Rights Real, Not Virtual

Our partners in Morocco are truly revolutionary.  Led by and comprised of women, our ten local Moroccan NGO partners are standing up for all women across the country. They are spearheading efforts for a specific violence against women (VAW) law in Morocco. 


Global Rights' Moroccan Partners at the Chamber
of Councillors (Photo Credit: http://bit.ly/YELAax) 

Last Sunday, on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, our partners kicked off four days of advocacy to gain support for legislation to stop violence against women.  Almost 12,000 text messages and 13,510 emails were sent across Morocco with the slogan, “Making our Constitutional Rights Real, not Virtual: Pass a Violence Against Women Law!”

Although the Moroccan constitution says women have equal rights, and the Moroccan government has taken steps to raise awareness about violence against women, women are still subject to discrimination and violence.

During their four days of advocacy, our partner NGOs met with members of the Moroccan Parliament to discuss the necessity of a VAW law.  Unfortunately, domestic violence is prevalent in Morocco and negatively effects family and society. The partners addressed the importance of fostering a human rights culture in Morocco and how specific legislation that criminalizes violence against women will further women’s rights in the country.

The partners also had the opportunity to observe the public Parliamentary session in the Second Chamber of Parliament (the Chamber of Councillors), which is equivalent to the United States Senate. To our surprise, the Vice President of the Chamber opened the session by asking everyone to thank and applaud the work of our local NGOs present advocating for a VAW law! 

This week, the Chamber of Parliament President even wrote about meeting with our partners during the Parliamentary session. Click here to read more. (Arabic)

For the past twelve years, Global Rights’ Maghreb team has been working alongside local women’s groups in Morocco to promote and protect women’s rights and push for gender equality.  They’ve provided partners with the tools and skills they need to make lasting change in their country. Thank you to the Embassy of the Netherlands in Rabat for making our work possible.

If the VAW law is passed, it would be the first of its kind in the Arab world. I look forward to keeping you updated on their progress!

Susan

PS: To read more about Global Rights’ work on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, click here.  (French)


Posted by Susan M. Farnsworth