REFLECTION

Addis Ababa 2015: Has The Time Come?

As the preparations for the 3^rd Conference on Financing for Development (FfD) in Addis Ababa progresses, the nations of the South are on edge, holding their breath and wondering what financial policy framework will emerge for adoption in pursuance of  the Post 2015 Development agenda. It is not sufficient to have an ambitious agenda, there must be a corresponding robust financial framework to support it, otherwise the Post 2015 becomes one of those UN empty rhetorics. The agenda presents a wonderful vision of paradigm shift for people and the earth but what is still needed is the political will to carry out the agenda. The outcome of the FfD conference is indeed crucial not only for developing nations’ quest to break yokes of poverty but also for peace and security of the developed nations. Read more

AFRICA

Meeting between AEFJN and the villagers of Koudiadiène

The Secretariat was invited to a town meeting in Koudiadiène where the AEFJN policy officer presented the results of the study and the advocacy efforts both in Europe and Senegal. Afterwards, the town meeting agreed that the organization of advocacy efforts on a local level should be strengthened, especially in voicing their concerns to the local government for which the study provides input. At the meeting villagers from neighbouring villages like, Lamlam, also raised their concerns, stating that they are suffering from the same harmful impacts of phosphate operations in their towns. So, the participants called for a strengthening of solidarity between the villages. Next, the villagers conveyed to the Secretariat that the situation had not improved in the last year. The mango trees and tomato plants had stopped producing and yields from palm trees were down; cattle were dying, poisoned by the dust emitted by the companies. Read more

Letter from the bishops of Bukavu concerning the town of Beni

The bishops of the six dioceses of the ecclesiastic Province of Bukavu have just published a letter entitled OUR PLEA FOR ABSOLUTE RESPECT FOR HUMAN LIFE. The document shows their deep distress of the people wounded by the violence plaguing the city of Beni for almost two years and continues to intensify. The bishops are calling for an end to the violence, to seeking gain without working for it and to siding with the Enemy, so that, together, a more just, more human and more fraternal society may be built. This call was supported by the religious congregations in Rome with a declaration. You can read both declarations on our website. Read more

ADVOCACY

Global Land Forum Dakar

The Secretariat participated in the Global Land Forum in Dakar, organized by the International Land Coalition (ILC). This year’s conference theme was “Land governance for inclusive development, justice and sustainability: Time for action”. During the event AEFJN & CICODEV Africa presented the case study on Koudiadiène. Mr Amadou Kanouté, the Executive Director of CICODEV Africa who carried out the study, gave a presentation on the case study during his speech in the plenary session where several Senegalese government officials were present. At the same time Mr Kanouté called for a moratorium on large scale land acquisitions in Senegal, in order to establish an inclusive land reform. Read more

AEFJN welcomes decision of the European Parliament on Conflict Minerals

AEFJN welcomes the vote of 20 May in the European Parliament, adopting mandatory requirements throughout the whole supply chain of products containing minerals and/or their derived metals from conflict areas. All companies sourcing tantalum, tungsten, tin and gold (3TGs) as raw material or in (semi-) finished products will henceforth be obliged to conduct due diligence to make sure that their products do not finance armed groups or contribute to human rights violations. For this purpose companies importing, transforming and commercializing these minerals and metals will have to report on measures taken to identify and remedy risks in their supply chains. Read more

Civil Society asks critical questions of the World Bank

In the framework of the campaign ‘Our Land Our Business’, more than 260 civil society organisations have formulated a series of critical questions to the World Bank, mainly related to the Bank’s preference for large-scale agriculture. The questions were asked in the run-up to the Bank’s annual spring meetings. However, they have not been answered formally. Civil society is mainly concerned about the lack of consultation of farmers in the World Bank’s flagship initiative “Enabling the Business of Agriculture” which seems tuned to the interests of large agribusiness corporations. Moreover, civil society organisations remain critical of the World Bank’s ‘Doing Business’ indicators which reward countries for decreasing corporate income taxes, for relaxing regulations on land transfer and land acquisitions, while punishing countries that increased social contribution taxes. Read more

Call to governments concerning the New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition in Africa

AEFJN, together with more than 100 civil society organisations (CSOs), is supporting a declaration on the G7/8’s New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition in Africa. At the World Social Forum, African CSOs shared their analyses of the impacts of the New Alliance in their countries. They stated that this initiative is a real threat to Africa’s food security as its chief focus is the strengthening of agri-business. In the meantime, the main producers are being left out, chiefly peasants and family farmers who account for approximately 70% of food production in Africa. Studies from different CSOs show that policies established in the context of the New Alliance favour the large-scale acquisition of land and natural resources while undermining the small farmers’ livelihoods and the environment. Read more

VOICES FROM THE NETWORK

 Antennae Meeting

From May 15 to 17, AEFJN held its yearly Antennae meeting in Bilbao at the house of the MisionerasMercederiasBerriz. During the meeting, the participants evaluated the plan of action which led to refinement of the plan. The secretariat discussed the studies in Africa, and in particular the study conducted in Koudiadiène which was presented in Senegal during the Global Land Forum by CICODEV Africa and AEFJN. In addition, the participants discussed the statement of HE Archbishop Tomasi on human rights and business, the European Parliament vote on conflict minerals and the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). Finally, Antennas spoke about their activities from 2014 to 2015. Read more

VIDEOS

What is TTIP

Video explaining the TTIP (4 min)

The Truth behind TTIP

Campaign video on TTIP (3 min)

Africa’s Diamond Trade

Video on the trade in diamonds (3 min)