CPDE Global Action of Day 2019 – Morocco

CIDH in partnership with CPDE will implement an action named : Walking the Talk – Our Space Counts. This local consultation will be organized on the Belgrade Call to Action.

The Consultation will be organized on Saturday the 14th of December 2019 at Hotel Parador, Laayoune.

It aims to Defend Human Rights and Civic Space for a Just and Sustainable World. The specific objectives are:

– Advocating with key actors to increase participation and inclusion through the promotion of peaceful assembly and association

– Promote strong partnership and spirit of solidarity for an open and free civic space

– Strengthening the power of people to organize, mobilize, and take action

The targets of the project are: Social movements, women’s groups, youth activist groups, journalists, and Representatives of the National Human Rights Institution. The beneficiaries are: Women, Youth, Men, Human Rights Defenders, Media, and Lawyers.

The results are :

– Enabled space to come together, debate, organize for collective action, scrutinize the actions of the powerful and express dissent

– incubated and shared ways of creating early warning systems on threats to civic space, and tools for supporting the safety of activists under attack

– Ensured that civic freedoms and civil society rights get the attention they deserve on the National agenda.

Refugees and Migrants in Africa : a Plague or a Pillar for Development

Human migration, a global concern that affect every economy, has been treated as a plague for decades, especially in Africa. But, shall we first look at its core definition.

Human migration is defined by the wikipedia encylopedia as the movement of people from one place to another with the intentions of settling, permanently or temporarily at a new location (geographic region). The movement is often over long distances and from one country to another, but internal migration is also possible; indeed, this is the dominant form in Africa where people migrate as individuals, in family units or in large groups.

A person who moves from their home due to forced displacement (such as a natural disaster or civil disturbance) may be described as a displaced person or, if remaining in the home country, an internally displaced person. A person who is seeking refuge in another country can, if the reason for leaving the home country is political, religious, or another form of persecution, make a formal application to that country where refuge is sought and is then usually described as an asylum seeker. If this application is successful this person’s legal status becomes that of a refugee.

The causes and reasons are various and may include as we know : economic hardship, war and political crisis, human rights violations, environment and climate change. These are the hugly truths that undermine the daily lives of people on the African continent and pushes them to migrate in search of a better future.

In contemporary times, migration governance has been closely associated with State sovereignty. States retain the power of deciding on the entry and stay of non-nationals because migration directly affects some of the defining elements of a State. Bilateral and multilateral arrangements are features of migration governance, and there are several global arrangements in the form of international and regional treaties in which African States have reached agreement on the application of human rights and the related responsibilities of States in specific areas.

Willingly or not, we can not deny that migrations have deep effects on countries and States economy. For as long as we can record and remember, the past and currents effects of migration in Africa include increased stress on housing, cross-border humanitarian crisis in refugees camps, political and social tension, increased costs, overcrowding, sometimes transmission of disease, and marginalization of migrants into low status and low paid jobs. Migrants can become policy tools, and many are used in wars.

The distinction between involuntary (fleeing political conflict or natural disaster) and voluntary migration (economic or labor migration) is difficult to make and partially subjective, as the motivators for migration are often correlated.

Should we continue to handle this situation as a problem, or shall we change the narrative and paradigm to turn it into a too for development. A fact to be considered is that migrants are a huge labor force that could effectively and positively contribute in State economy. Looking backward, the United States of America is an economy which has been built by migrants who were looking for a better place to live and fulfill their dreams. They have been empowered, equipped and included into the national system in education, health, industry, science, and even politics. Today, the greater worldwide economy is proudly maintained by migrants.

This is the reason why we are calling leaders and policy makers to change the approaches in developping strategies and policy towards migration governance. Inclusion is the key ; in economy, education, politics for a hollistic development of their economy with migrants as stakeholders that could bring innovative solutions.

All you need to know about the NGOs Forum preceding ACHPR Sessions

IMPORTANT TO KNOW: The Forum on the Participation of NGOs in the Ordinary Sessions of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (African Commission), also known as the ‘NGOs Forum’ is an advocacy platform coordinated by the African Centre for Democracy and Human Rights Studies to promote advocacy, lobbying and networking among and between human rights NGOs, for the promotion and protection of human rights in Africa.

The NGO Forum has become a key venue for NGO engagement with the Commission. Held in advance of the Commission’s Ordinary Sessions, the NGO Forum provides a platform for NGOs to discuss the human rights situation in Africa, exchange information, and build their advocacy networks. Moreover, Commissioners often participate in the NGO Forum and incorporate language from NGO Forum resolutions into Commission resolutions.

HISTORY AND FUNCTION

The NGO Forum was first held in 1990, at the initiative of the International Commission of Jurists. The African Centre for Democracy and Human Rights Studies (ACDHRS), a pan-African organization based in the Gambia, now organizes and hosts the NGO Forum. This convening is generally held approximately three to five days before the Commission’s Ordinary Sessions, and brings together a large and diverse group of people with an interest in advocacy before the Commission. The NGO Forum provides an opportunity for a wide range of individuals and organizations to share their knowledge of and experience with human rights issues prior to the Commission’s sessions. Forum participants have also included representatives from national human rights institutions and academia. Past forums have seen participation by over 200 individuals and organizations.

BENEFITS OF ATTENDING THE NGO FORUM

• provides a good opportunity to network and meet other advocates

• creates opportunities to organize

• useful to attend side events that address specific issues

• the Commissioners and the Commission’s staff also attend

RELATION TO THE AFRICAN COMMISSION

· The nature of the NGO Forum illustrates how African and other NGOs weave their work together with that of the African Commission. As a primary example of this, the NGO Forum’s program itself generally mirrors the African Commission’s Provisional Agenda, which is circulated by the Commission prior to the Session. For that reason, NGO Forum panel discussions and Special Working Group Sessions tend to focus on the specific human rights issues and State reports about to be considered by the African Commission.

· Over the years, the African Commission and the NGO Forum have developed a close working relationship. This relationship enables NGOs to advocate outside Commission Sessions; they can also engage with other NGOs and – significantly – with Commissioners.

· At the conclusion of the NGO Forum, participants adopt a number of thematic and country-specific resolutions, which are subsequently delivered to the African Commission. Then, during the opening ceremony of a Commission Session, a representative of the NGO Forum typically delivers a statement summarizing the NGO Forum’s substantive discussions and resolutions.

· ADVOCACY OPPORTUNITIES

· Participation in the NGO Forum offers many opportunities for engagement. First, participants can attend panel discussions, working groups, and networking events. Panel discussions typically focus on specific human rights issues that the African Commission will hear reports on by its special mechanisms, but the NGO Forum also permits civil society to discuss, and raise awareness of, issues that are left off the Commission’s agenda or that are of concern in more than one country on the continent. The panel discussions provide an opportunity for NGOs to flag issues not previously raised in State reports to the Commission.

· Second, since NGO Forum resolutions are drafted during working groups that are also occasionally attended by Commissioners, participants have the chance to urge the Commission to take action on issues it has avoided or not adequately addressed in the past. The final resolutions are subsequently delivered to the African Commission, creating multiple avenues for advocacy.

· Third, NGOs can organize side events to take place during or after the NGO Forum. These events tend to focus on issues identified as critical by a coalition of civil society groups. As with the NGO Forum, Commissioners and State delegates sometimes attend these events, providing another opportunity for dialogue outside of the Commission Sessions.

· Lastly, the NGO Forum also provides valuable opportunities for individuals, civil society, NGOs, and Commissioners to network and collaborate with each other. Indeed, networking and collaboration among civil society organizations forms “the core” of the Forum’s objectives. In the past, the NGO Forum has dedicated time to examining the relationships between NGOs as well as between NGOs and the African Commission in order to develop strategies to increase collaboration between these groups.

SOURCE : Advocacy before the African Human Rights System: A Manual for Attorneys and Advocates Preventing and Remedying Human Rights Violations through the International Framework