EDM MarchtoApril eBook Final

7/31/2019 EDM MarchtoApril eBook Final

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ISSN 1655-5295

Vol. 11 No. 2 MARCH-APRIL 2012

Cover and Layout DesignRon Villegas

Photo CreditsBayan ILPS

Eduardo Maserr, Collection o the National Gallery o Australia.

Friends o the Earth International

Gabriela

Gideon Omero

Global Minga in Deense o Mother Earth

GMB Akash

Kilusang Mayo Uno

Lauren Carroll Harris. International Journal o Socialist Renewal

PressTV

Socialist Youth, the youth section o Irelands Socialist Party

UN photos

World Bank

FAIR USE NOTICE: This publication contains copyrighted material, the use o which are not always specifcally authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available to readers in our

eorts to advance understanding o environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientifc, and social justice issues. We believe this constitutes a air use o any such copyrighted material.

Education for Development Magazine

is published by

IBON InternationalIBON Foundation, Inc.

IBON Center

114 Timog Avenue, Quezon City

1103 Philippines

Website: www.iboninternational.org

E-mail Address: [email protected]

Tel. Nos. +632 927 7060 to 62

Local 202Fax +632 927 6981

Antonio Tujan, Jr.International Director

Editor-in-Chie

International Department

Paul QuintosMaria Theresa Nera-Lauron

Jennifer del Rosario-MalonzoPio Verzola, Jr.

Editorial Board

Education for Development

COVER STORY

3 Solving the ecological crisis through system changeIBON International

NEWS

9 IBON asserts water rights at People, Planet & Water meetIBON International

9 Water justice campaigners debate water privatizationIBON International

10 Dont scrub off rights language from Rio+20 civilsociety, govt delegatesPaul Quintos, IBON International and Rights or Sustainability (R4S)

11 Environmentalists hail Baguios ban on SMs earth balling of treesMarya Salamat, Bulatlat

12 Japanese anti-nuke activists mark Fukushimas anniversaryIBON International

13 Migrant groups hit Malaysia for crackdown on undocumentedAsia-Paciic Mission or Migrants

14 World takes notice as Quebecs student protesters march onSteani Forster, The Globe and Mail

SPECIAL FEATURE

15 Rio+20 must address global economic governance

Maria Theresa Nera-Lauron, Peoples Movement on Climate Change (PMCC)18 IBON warns vs diluting Rio+20 draft: Dont delete our

rights, dont bracket our futures!Paul Quintos, IBON International

20 US, Aquino govt accused of hypocrisy over nukesMarya Salamat, Bulatlat

22 ASEAN peoples voices in danger: An impossible road toa People-Centered ASEAN CommunityIBON International

24 End U.S. military presence in AsPac, women leadersfrom 63 countries say

IBON International

27 A tricycle ride to Cordillera DayKimberlie Ngabit-Quitasol, Northern Dispatch

STATEMENT

30 Rights at Risk at the United Nations

BOOK REVIEW

32 Hope and the Hunger Games: youth fiction for the 99%Becca Barnes, Green Let Weekly

36 FACTS & F IGURES


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3E D U C A T I O N F O R D E V E L O P M E N T

COVER STORY

he Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaser and he Chernobyl disaser beore ha. e BP oil spill. e Bhopal

gas ragedy. e 2010 Russian hea wave. e 2011 Eas Arica drough. e June 2012 Derecho. HurricaneKarina. ese are only some environmenal caasrophes o recen decades calamiies ha weve earlier

hough o as accidens or as isolaed evens ha erup wihou warning or noice.

Bu are hese occurrences really accidens? Are hese phenomena ruly accidenal or are hey somehow ineviable?And do hese ineviable disasers orm a consisen patern? Are hey somehow rooed in a deep-seaed crisis haisn only environmenal bu prooundly social?

oday, heres a growing awareness ha he global ecological crisis is rapidly worsening, ha human economicaciviy is mainly responsible or his and ha heres an urgen need or sysemic changes in sociey.

Across he world, people are carrying ou serious changes in liesyle and consumpion, changes ha seemimmediaely doable, such as using bikes, buying organic ood and swiching o clean echnologies and more eco-riendly echniques o producion. Bu moving beyond hese pariculars, solving he ecological crisis demands acomprehensive undersanding o he ecological crisis and is roo causes.

Solving the ecological crisisthrough system change

Editors note: This article is an abridged and simplified version of the IBON Primer on System

Change: Monopoly Capitalism and the Ecological Crisis.

SYSTEM CHANGE NOT climate change, declared campesinos who marched at Cancun, Mexico during the Cancun Climate conference 2010.Photo credit: Sheila Menon, Friends of the Earth International.


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4 E D U C A T I O N F O R D E V E L O P M E N T

COVER STORY

Fallacies and false solutionsaking a closer look a some o he soluions beingproposed unmasks hem as allacies and alsesoluions ha don add up o a sysemic soluion.ey represen mere pachwork xes ha may

provide some relie o he crisis, and can even bedangerous i hey lull people ino a alse sense osecuriy while he basic problems worsen.

Fallacy No. 1: Overpopulaion is causingecological disaser especially in he Souh and sohe soluion is ound in populaion conrol.

Is rue ha more resources are required osusain more people (even wih more ecienproducion), and ha he biosphere canno absorb

an inniely growing populaion. Bu i doesnollow ha overpopulaion is he main culpriin he ecological crisis. e sparsely populaed

bu rich global Norh, or example, consumesmore resources and produces more wase han heoverpopulaed bu poor global Souh. is clearlydisproves he overpopulaion hesis.

Fallacy No. 2: Indusrialism and economicgrowh are he causes o ecological crisis, and sosocieies mus de-indusrialize and atain zero

growh. While indusrial producion does disruphe environmenhrough inensive resourceexracion and polluive and GHG-emitingossil uels his condiion is caused by heabuse o indusrial producion in a specic socialconex: Capialism, in which capialis rms areconsanly impelled o increase producion andcu coss, even hough ha means producing moreindusrial polluion and wase, depleing resourcesmore rapidly, and causing overconsumpion andevenually, he overheaing o he economy o hepoin o collapse.

Fallacy No. 3: Green capialism is he noionha capialism can be made susainable and isenvironmenal problems can be solved hroughhe righ policy and echnology mix. Sraegies orsuch susainable capialism include he ollowingapproaches: (a) ree-marke environmenalismha proers mobilizing marke mechanisms andprivae propery righs o solve environmenal

problems; (b) green Keynesianism ha calls ormore public unding assigned o key indusries ocaalyse he gradual shi o privae invesmensrom brown o green; and (c) echnologicalopimism ha relies on bioech, geo-engineering,

and oher echno-xes o overcome environmenallimis and problems.

e problem wih hese approaches is ha heymerely atemp o redirec he pro moive awayrom discredied echnologies and indusries(brown) owards more ecologically accepableones (green), wihou addressing wha areprecisely he cenral sources o unsusainabiliy: hepro imperaive and is resulan social inequiies.

Environmental impact of productione ecological crisis has is roos in he way oursocieies are organized o produce. o undersandi and solve i, hereore, we need o revisihumankinds basic relaionship wih naure, andexamine how his nexus urned problemaic underhe prevailing sysem o producion.

Humankind and naure. In he mos undamenalsense, humaniy belongs o naure; i canno wresisel away rom naure. Despie our grea advances,

our survival, like hose o oher species, dependsulimaely on he planes naural processes. Yeheres an inheren ension beween humaniy andenvironmen. Unlike oher species, we are much

beter able o harness naure or our own purposes,which are no longer jus biological bu socialones. is, in urn, impels us o urher developproducion and ransorm our environmen aaser raes and on larger scales, changing he aceo he earh much more sysemaically and widely.

Impacs o modern echnology and indusry.

Humans have been around or several million years,and agriculural civilizaion or several housand

years. Bu he mos proound changes in humansocieies and heir environmens occurred onlyin he las 250 years, wih he adven o modernscience and echnology (S&) and modernindusry. ese increased vasly our capaciy oexploi he environmen, expanded he goods andservices available or our use, and represen a vas


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COVER STORY

poenial source o mee growing human needs andimprove sandards o living.

Mechanizaion and auomaion, along wihhe expanded use o ossil uels and elecriciy,

made way or he large-scale producion o oodand oher goods. Improved ransporaion andcommunicaions led o increased mobiliy andcommerce, and new consumer needs as well.

Advances in chemisry, biology, physics andengineering enabled he mass producion o cheapsynheic maerials or indusry and agriculure(including new oods, drinks, drugs, abrics, ec.),as well as cheap mass media ha helped build upconsumers ases or hese producs.

Bu hese very same advances have also led o seriousenvironmenal problems ha now overwhelmhe planes carrying capaciies. Unsusainableproducion and consumpion are using up resourcesand producing wase a raes over 50% aser hanhe plane can replenish and absorb. e resulingclimae change, biodiversiy loss, deoresaion,soil degradaion, chemical polluion and depleiono reshwaer, sheries, ossil uels and minerals,hreaen o lead o abrup or irreversible changesha humans and oher species may nd hard, or

even impossible, o adap o.

Moreover, he benes o modernizaion haveno been shared equally among he worldsregions and counries. Modernizaion has beenaccompanied by widespread povery, hunger andunderdevelopmen. Over hree billion people liveon USD 2.50 a day or less. Roughly one billionor more suer chronic hunger, don have saedrinking waer or elecriciy, and don have accesso healh care sysems. Meanwhile, he economicgap beween developed and underdevelopedcounries has widened.

Is no only ha he benes are uneven, bualso ha people are harmed by modernizaion.Insead o easing human labor, mechanizaionand auomaion allow exploiers o devalue workand depress wages. Indusrial agriculure displacesarm labor and concenraes vas racs o landsino ewer hands. Dispossessed peasans fock o

he ciies, swelling he ranks o cheap laborers or ohe unemployed. S& advances are used o creae

weapons o mass desrucion and inrasrucureused o reach urher and exploi he people in he

worlds hinerlands.

Some well-meaning progressives blame S&and indusry per se or socieys dysuncionalrelaionship wih he environmen, ciing he

so-called Wesern worldview ha sees humansand naure in basic confic and he mindse oindusrialism ha sresses he overpoweringdominance and relenless growh o indusrialproducion. While valid o some exen, suchcriiques mus be undersood in he conex ocapialism, he sysem o producion ha hasprevailed in he pas wo and a hal cenuries.

Monopolistic capitalism and theecological crisisTe capialis mode o producion. Oneeviden aspec o capialism is modern indusrialproducion, in which large, powered machineryare used o mass produce goods and services haare bough and sold as commodiies in he marke.Under his sysem, mos people become workers

wih pracically no oher producive resourcebu heir capaciy o work in exchange or wages.Meanwhile, mos o he land, raw maerials,acories, echnology and nance are conrolled by

Source: Socialist Youth, the youth section of Irelands Socialist Party.


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COVER STORY

a iny capialis elie, a seup which is proeced byhe sae.

e capialiss exrac pros, a par o which goeso heir own pockes, and hen reinves he res o

susain and expand he pro-making cycle. edrive or pro is no jus abou individual greed,bu is an irresisible imperaive, in which capialisshave o gain pro and mobilize more capial orrisk ailure and bankrupcy.

Capialism is inherenly unsusainable. Sincehe pro-making drive knows no limis andproducion has o coninue expanding o susainpros, capialism is inherenly expansionary.Capialis rms mus consanly seek o expand

producion, sales and marke share i hey are osurvive and succeed, while he consumpion ogoods and services mus also rise in sep wihexpanding producion. In shor, capialism endso overproduce a he same ime ha i consanlyatemps o reduce workers wages in order osusain proabiliy.

A crisis o overproducion arises when hedecreasing income o he workers disables hemrom buying wha hey produce. When pros

dwindle and expansion saggers o a sop, hesysem alls ino crisis. e fow o money andcredi reezes, acories are idled, and workers arelaid o, while capialiss and he sae scramble o

jump-sar he salled economy and resume henormal growh cycle.

Capialism is hus undamenally in confic wih heenvironmen. Is lus or growh drives i o exploimore naural resources, creae more wase, andencourage more waseul consumpion, reachinglevels beyond normal human needs as well asenvironmenal carrying capaciies. Meanwhile,

when he environmens capaciy o provideresources and absorb wase is sreched o he limi,i sops uncioning properly. is conradicionendangers he susainabiliy o he economy, and olie isel.

Capialis rms produce o ensure markeabiliy andproabiliy, wihou an overall sense o socieys

needs and o how o manage is oal resourcesraionally. us, we nd resources wased onnancial speculaion and luxury goods and services,

while many pressing human needs are le unme.Moreover, hese rms atemp o resolve (only

emporarily) he periodic crises o overproducionhrough he idling or desrucion o producivecapaciy. All old, capialism is an environmenally

waseul, desrucive and inecien sysem.

Global-scale conic o capialism and

environmen. Indusrializaion grealy inensiedhe demand or raw maerials in advanced capialissaes, pushing hem o acquire colonial possessions.By end-19h cenury, he bigges indusrial rmsormed carels, merged wih banks, and hus urned

ino gian monopolies wih larger appeies orpros, capial accumulaion, new marke oules,as well as new sources o raw maerials and cheaperlabor.

ese monopolies became so concenraed inEurope, Norh America, Japan and Ausralia (heglobal Norh), such ha urher growh couldonly happen by expanding overseas, paricularlyo he agrarian counries o Asia, Arica andLain America (he global Souh) where 80

percen o he worlds populaion live. Monopolycapialiss operaed direcly via heir ransnaionalcorporaions (NCs) and indirecly hrough heirsaes, pracicing he wors kinds o colonialism andneocolonialism.

Unil oday, sysemic inequaliies in rade, deb,invesmen paterns and propery righs mainain

boh he underdevelopmen o he vas Souhand he economic and poliical dominance o heNorhern powers.

In he process, Souhern counries were, andare, denied ull conrol o heir resources. eireconomies, supposedly developing and sovereign,have become over-dependen on he Norh ormarkes, capial, loans and developmen aid. Norh-Souh inequaliies in various orms also broughabou he ecological devasaion and exhausion oland and oher naural resources.


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COVER STORY

Changing the system to solve the crisisClearly, capialism is inherenly irraional and

waseul. I is predicaed on relenless growhdriven by privae pro. I consumes resources andproduces wase a ever-larger amouns, disregarding

ecological carrying capaciies and even acualhuman needs. us, any sysemic soluion musbe creaed in he conex o nding alernaives ocapialism and is imperialisic ougrowh.

ere are hree undamenal requiremens osysem change:

Firs, we need o eec an ecological ransiioninvolving curren echnologies and mehods oproducion.

o achieve his, and as a second requiremen, weneed o ransorm he basic characer o producion

by changing he srucures o ownership, conroland decision-making, and reoriening he economyrom producing or pros o producing or humanneed.

ird, we need o dene and give acual shape ohe concep o susainable living.

Ataining ecological ransiion. e challengein ataining an ecological ransiion is howo prudenly apply curren echnologies andproducion mehods and evenually ransormhese in he conex o a sociey where producionis socially and ecologically raional.

Dealing wih he old producive srucures sill inplace echnological, energy, indusrial willremain a big challenge. Economies will need o gohrough a ransiion period where hey phase ouhe mos problemaic branches and mehods oproducion and adap oher exising ones (probably

wih adjusmens o make hese more democraicand ecological), hen inroduce and expand new,more susainable mehods.

In agriculure, socieies can wean hemselvesrom indusrial agriculure and move owardsecologically sound, susainable producionmehods (oen dened as agro-ecology). In

indusries, produciviy and susainabiliy shouldbe improved coninuously while sricer limison wase oupu and environmenal impac are

imposed. Socieies should phase ou ossil uel-based energy while scaling up alernaive energysources ha are less polluive or hazardous andmore renewable and manageable. Inernaionalgovernance and cooperaion are needed o make heglobal ransiion less painul, posiively reinorcingand more equiable, especially or developingcounries o he Souh.

Democraic decision-making and planning.o implemen his ecological ransiion process,

democraic decision-making and planningin developmen and producion are needed.People mus be empowered o paricipae inmaking decisions on how resources are goingo be used o achieve o heir needs, prioriiesand goals. Paricipaory planning based ondemocraic decision-making will enable counries,communiies and enerprises o manage producionand disribuion raionally, horoughly consideringhe use and allocaion o naural resources andoverall environmenal impac, wih a view oensuring long-erm economic susainabiliy.

In he global scene, he principles o naionalsovereigny (including sovereigny over nauralresources), sel-deerminaion, equaliy, andmuual bene should be upheld. Mulilaeralreaies and economic insiuions ha ampliy hepower o NCs and curail he eors o Souherncounries o pursue heir sel-developmen should

be reviewed and reormed or abolished.

Photo credit: Lauren Carroll Harris. Copenhagen, December 12, 2009.International Journal of Socialist Renewal.


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COVER STORY

Democraizing ownership and conrol over

producive resources. Because hey conrol hebasic means o producion (especially in highnance and indusry), capialis rms especially

nancial and indusrial monopolies can sepaterns o producion and consumpion haaec millions o people. Meanwhile, billions arele wih only marginal means o survive. isunequal srucure o ownership which underlieshe worsening environmenal desrucion as wellas exploiaion, inequaliy, mass povery andoppression mus be ended.

e ownership and conrol o he means oproducion mus also be democraized o ensure

ha hey serve he broad and long-erm needs ohe majoriy o people. Propery righs regimesmus move away decisively rom he overwhelmingemphasis on privae and capialis-oriened properyrighs owards more democraic, cooperaive andcommuniy-based orms o propery ownershipand conrol or managemen.

Te shif o susainable living. Finally, swichingo a more susainable and equiable sysemo producion enails a redeniion o human

developmen away rom he curren paradigmha equaes well-being wih more wealh andgreaer consumpion. Beyond a minimum andindispensable baseline o maerial well-being, heresan opimum or naural hreshold o consumpion.In oher words, he maerial needs o people areacually saiable (in conras o insaiable needscreaed by capialism) and can be me susainably.

In an alernaive social sysem based on susainabiliyand equiabiliy in which peoples real needs aregiven prioriy well-being goes beyond maerial

welare. e developmen o human poenials hrough educaion, culure and paricipaionin communiy lie becomes he higher goal.is undamenally dieren approach imposesewer demands on he planes carrying capaciy.

A he same ime, i provides a more prooundand susainable basis or human ulllmen anddevelopmen.

e challenges and pahways o achieve susainableliving dier rom counry o counry, and dierespecially beween he global Norh and he globalSouh.

In he Norh, susainable developmen requires amajor redisribuion o resources, boh wihin hesecounries and owards he less developed counrieso he Souh. In oher words, he challenge orcounries o he Norh is o reduce heir resourceconsumpion o say wihin susainable limis, inhe conex o ruly achieving social equaliy.

Meanwhile, he challenge o he Souh is o developproducive capaciies in agriculure, indusry and

key uiliies, in order o provide he maerial goodsand services o mee he basic needs o is peopleswihou remaining dependen on oreign capial,unequal rade, unjus loans and ied aid.

In oher words, economic developmen in heSouh should necessarily ranslae ino increasinglevels o producion and consumpion compared oha o he presen. e impacs o producion onhe naural environmen also mus be addressed,no as pos-developmen problems, bu by ensuring

ha soluions are buil ino each counrys programo susainable developmen.

Poor counries mus no be made o choose,hereore, beween indusrial developmenand proecing he environmen. Insead, heymus embark on alernaive pahs o economicdevelopmen ha bypass he gross socialdislocaions and environmenal abuses associaed

wih he Norhs capialis pah o indusrializaion.

Poor and rich counries alike need o developsocially and economically in ways no based on heexploiaion o peoples labors and he exhausion ohe planes resources. Insead, humaniy mus builda radically dieren sysem ha is ruly susainable,equiable, and inegraed wih naure.

I humaniy is o solve he ecological crisis andevenually is own social confics, we mus embarkon his pah now.


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NEWS

MARSEILLE, France Waerjusice campaigners Mariaeresa Lauron and LeviFrancisco underscored hehuman righs approach o waerand environmenal issues inhe Governance, Democracyand erriories ConroningExploiaion o Naural Resources

workshop aciliaed by IBONInernaional on March 10.

e workshop, held a he Hoelde Region Provence-Alpes-Coe

dAzur in PACA, France, was oneo many workshops held as paro he People, Plane and Waerinernaional conerence ha begana day earlier.

During he workshop, Lauron, whois rom IBON Inernaional, spokeabou he righs o indigenous

peoples in souhern Chile, whileFrancisco, who is also rom hesame inernaional nonpro group,discussed he impac o mega-projecs on peoples collecive

environmenal righs and hehuman righ o waer.

More han 300 paricipansatended he conerence, includingcivil sociey and communiyrepresenaives rom Ialy,

Argenina, Belgium, Benin,Colombia, Chile, India, Moldova,

he Philippines, Souh Arica, Spain,Swizerland, Uganda, and ohercounries.

MARSEILLE, France Waer jusice campaignersand privae waer operaors deliberaed he meris opublic and privae waer provision in a debae eniledPrivae/Public Involvemen in he Provision o Waerand Saniaion Services held on March 13 during he6h World Waer Forum in Marseille, France.

Arguing or public conrol were Maria eresa Lauron oIBON Inernaional/Waer or he People Nework andDavid Boys o Public Services Inernaional. Deendingprivae managemen were Gerard Payen, presiden ohe Inernaional Federaion o Privae Waer Operaors(AQUAFED), and Mamadou Dia o Sngalaise desEaux, a public-privae uiliy company in Senegal.

Boys noed ha he suppor or public, insead o privae,managemen o waer and saniaion services has given

way o low risks and high reurns. Added reurns rompublic waer provision include healh, amily sabiliy

and communiy coherence socio-culural aspecsno aken ino accoun by marke mechanisms.

Lauron also recouned he persising ill eecs o waerprivaizaion in meropolian Manila, he megaciy hais he capial o he Philippines.

e privaizaion scheme in Manila had been ouedby he World Bank as a model o public-privaeparnerships. Bu in realiy, waer raes in ha Souheas

Asian counry had risen by over 1,000 percen sinceprivaizaion was iniiaed in he 1990s, and raes arenow among Asias highes, Lauron said.

Meanwhile, more han 200 communiies in hemeropolis remained waerless or no serviced

because privae conracors did no hink doing so wasnancially viable.

IBON asserts water rights atPeople, Planet & Water meetIBON International

Water justice campaigners debatewater privatizationIBON International

Water Rights... (continued onp. 21)

Water justice... (continued on p. 29)


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NEWS


Civil sociey organizaions (CSOs)and some governmen delegaesatending preparaory evens ohe upcoming Rio+20 UniedNaions Conerence on SusainableDevelopmen decried he atemps

by a ew powerul paries oweaken reerences o human righsobligaions in he negoiaing ex.

e rs reading o he zero-dra negoiaion documen orRio+20, o be held his June inRio de Janeiro, is se o ake placehis March. e reading is par oormal and inormal processes ha

will lead up o he Rio+20 oucomedocumen isel, which is expecedo dene more clearly he pahwayso susainable developmen or henex decades.

Bu a he side even organizedby civil sociey groups IBONInernaional, and Boh ENDS onMarch 21, CSO represenaives andeven some governmen minisers

warned ha removing or weakeninghuman righs saeguards in he zerodra would exclude marginalizedsecors and vulnerable groups romhe Green Economy or evenleave hem worse o han hey were

beore.

e direc cause o he waer warsha sared in 2005 in Cochabambain Bolivia was he atemp by hegovernmen o privaize waerresources, recalled Rene Orellana,Chie Negoiaor o he PlurinaionalSae o Bolivia o he UN. is is

precisely wha is happening now inhe Rio+20 process: privae accessand conrol and propery overnaural resources is being prioriizedin he discussions, he said.

Anil Naidoo, coordinaor o heCouncil o Canadians Blue PlaneProjec also warned, e righslanguage is being scrubbed o rom

he inernaional discussions aboususainable developmen.

I hey (powerul paries a heRio+20) succeed (in) geting hehuman righ o waer ou o his ex,hen a preceden has been shapedor every uure negoiaion, hecauioned, asking, Is he GreenEconomy going o be a rojanhorse or he commodicaion o

naure?

We need o rearm hesusainabiliy agenda which hasa righs-based approach and

we canno come back on whawe already agreed upon, HelgaSerrano, Adviser MiniserioCoordinador de Parimonio deEcuador, emphasized.

Bu apar rom hese grim warnings,he paneliss a he side eveneniled Righs or Susainabiliyand Susainable DevelopmenGovernance also had someinspiring messages or he civilsociey groups, governmendelegaes, sudens and aih-basedorganizaions in he audience.

Serrano recouned how Ecuador hassince 2007 gone hrough a reormprocess based on a new consiuionha adops he principle o Buen

Vivir, or living in harmony wihnaure.

Ecuadors new sress on he Righso Naure sars rom a recogniiono naures limis, she explained.

A new global economic order anda new nancial archiecure areurgenly needed oday, Serrano alsosaid, vowing, Ecuador will bringhe concep o Buen Vivir o heRio+20 process.

Bolivias Dr. Orellana also explainedhow he human righ o waeris enshrined in he Bolivianconsiuion. is righ o waer in

Bolivia is also inerpreed o meanha cusomary laws govern heuse o waer, he said. is impliesha peasans and communiiescollecively manage he nauralresources o Bolivia, he added.

Joseph Foi, Senior Associae ahe World Resources Insiue,spoke abou Principle 10 o heRio Declaraion, which involvesaccess o inormaion, publicparicipaion and access o jusiceon environmenal maters.

ere has been a lo o progresssince 1992 wih a near-universaladopion by legislaion o public

Dont scrub off rights language fromRio+20 civil society, govt delegatesPaul Quintos, IBON International and Rights for Sustainability (R4S)

Dont scrub-off... (continuedon p. 26)


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NEWS

Environmenalis group KalikasanParylis welcomed he emporaryEnvironmenal Proecion Order(EPO) issued by a Baguio CiyRegional rial Cour on April 10,

which pu a emporary sop o SMBaguios planned earh-balling oalmos 200 rees in Lunea Hill.

A he same ime, he group alsourged he cour o make he

ban permanen, noing ha heEPO would hal all earh-ballingoperaions or only hree days.

e order, delivered early in hemorning o April 10 by he sherisoce o SM Baguio auhoriies, cushor he mall operaors ongoing

earh-balling operaions, whichi began in he evening o April9. According o repors, SM hadalready nished uprooing 14 rees.

Clemene Bauisa Jr, presideno Kalikasan Parylis, praised hecour order, saying i has providedBaguio residens hree more days oresis he removal o he rees.

is is a welcome sep orward inhe campaign o save he LuneaHill rees rom SMs operaions,Bauisa said. e conroversial reesmake up much o he remainingores sands in he ciy aer high-impac developmen projecs

and economic zones decimaedBaguios pine oress over he paswo decades, explained Bauisa.He said i was crucial o save he lasremaining rees rom disappearingalogeher.

Our green cours can help by

delivering he srong message haour ecology mus no be desroyedin he pursui o pro, Bauisaadded.

Unprecedented rallies for

Baguios remaining trees

Early his year, he earh-ballingo he Lunea Hill rees o make

way or he malls expansion which includes he consrucion

o a parking lo and enerainmencener had spurred some o helarges rallies in his perenniallycool ciy, he summer capial o hecounry ha was once cloaked wihpine oress.

Since January, housands o Baguioresidens and local ouriss and have

been proesing wha hey describedas he massacre o he 182 rees onLunea Hill. Residens and ourisshave saged various proes acionsand circulaed peiions.

Because hey are ound a he hearo ciy, Baguio residens say, herees don only signiy a las hope

or mainaining dwindling greenery,bu are also a par o he ciyshisory, as well as he very hing hahas disinguished Baguio rom heres o he counry or he pas 100

years.

Bating or he EPOs exension,Bauisa said hree days is oo shora ime o proec hose rees.

We hope he cour will exend hisEPO agains he cuting o rees bySM Baguio and make i permanen,or he ecology and he peoplessake. We also hope ha he DENR

will revoke he permi issued oSM and declare i null and void, inrecogniion o he growing publicclamor o save he remaining rees,he said.

A version of this article was published in the Philippine

online news site, Bulatlat.com, on 10 April 2012 ( http://

bulatlat.com/main/2012/04/10/environmentalists-hail-

baguio-city%E2%80%99s-ban-of-sm-tree-cutting/).

Environmentalists hailBaguios ban on SMs

earth-balling of treesMarya Salamat, Bulatlat

CUTTING THE ROOTS effectively kills thepine tree. Shown here is an earth-ball thatis too small. Photo credit: Gideon Omero,Baguio Citys Save 182 Trees Movement


12/36

NEWS


ousands o ani-nuclear proesersook o he srees o okyo andoher Japanese ciies on March 11o mark he rs anniversary o heFukushima nuclear crisis, he largesnuclear disaser since Chernobylha had been riggered by a srongearhquake and sunami occurring

back-o-back a year ago.

Marching o he head oce o okyoElecric Power Co, demonsraorscalled or Japan o abandon nuclearpower and o rehabiliae hepreecure rom which more han100,000 residens were orced orelocae.

In Koriyama, Fukushima, some16,000 people atended an ani-nuclear rally, calling on hegovernmen o scrap all o hecounrys 54 commercial reacorsha ogeher had, beore heFukushima disaser, provided ahird o Japans elecriciy.

In Shizuoka Preecure, abou1,100 people gahered o pressure

he Chubu Elecric Power Co. oshuter is reacors a he Hamaokapower plan. e reacors weresopped las May a he reques ohen Prime Miniser Naoo Kan,

who was concerned abou he risksposed by a new quake, which has orsome ime now been prediced ohi he area.

In Fukui Preecure, abou 1,200people marched in suruga, whichhoss he experimenal Monju as-

breeder reacor and he KansaiElecric Power Co.s aomic reacors.e rallyiss were proesingagains resaring he wo reacorsa he Kepcos Oi plan despie agovernmen order or saey esso be conduced on he wo plans,

which had been idled in ime orregular checkups.

Build a society that doesnt rely

on nuclear power

Wha we need o do, aerwinessing how ragic okyoElecrics Fukushima No. 1 nuclearplan acciden, is o build a sociey

ha does no rely on nuclear plans,said Fujio Yamamoo, one o heproes leaders.

Similar proess were held in oherpreecures, including Saga and

Aomori, which hos aomic plansor relaed aciliies.

Over he weekend, housands opeople had also gahered in okyos

Hibiya Park o hold candlelighservices, play music and oerprayers o mark he rs anniversaryo he Grea Eas Japan Earhquake.

e Hibiya Park proes was amonghe larges gaherings held across

Japans capial. Nonpros who weregahered a he park in Chiyoda

Ward se up boohs and ens andhanded ou pamphles calling or

aid o he crisis-sruck ohokuregion and or people o share heirhoughs abou he year o he greadisaser.

Protesters mull, How to

proceed from here?

ime has passed and he rubblehas been removed, bu we are nosure how o proceed rom here,said Risa Waanabe, 33, who camerom Morioka, Iwae Preecure, oatend he even. I is grea ha somany people have gahered odayand ha he media is reporing heeven. Bu i shouldn be only odayha his sor o atenion is given oohoku, she added.

Japanese anti-nuke activists markFukushimas anniversary

ANTI-NUCLEAR protesters gather at a rally. Photo credit: trust.org


13/36


NEWS

Members and riends o heInernaional Migrans Alliance(IMA) in Hong Kong held a

proes acion on March 8 in rono Malaysias Consulae General ocondemn he Malaysias crackdownon undocumened migrans.

Chaning sop he crackdown now,no one is illegal, and respec herighs o migrans, a small groupo around 25 people marched romHarcour Garden o he MalaysianConsulae o show heir opposiiono he crackdown and o expose ohe Hong Kong public Malaysiassysemaic violaions o migranpeoples righs.

A shor program was held in whichrepresenaives o he Asia PacicMission or Migrans (APMM), he

Asian Migrans Coordinaing Body(AMCB), and he IMA spoke.

APMMs Joselio Naividaddiscussed he crackdown and hecondiions o migran workers

in Malaysia, and recouned howmigrans have helped, and coninueo help, build he Malaysianeconomy. He also lambased hacounrys governmen or he

brual crackdown, which he said isexpeced o inensiy in he uure.

Eman Villanueva o AMCB-HKdelivered a solidariy message oMalaysia migrans rom his group,composed o migrans rom hePhilippines, Indonesia, ailand,Nepal and Sri Lanka, and expressedhis coninued suppor or heundocumened aliens.

According o IMA chairwoman EniLesari, undocumened migran

workers are a major concern o hergroup. Criicizing he Malaysian

governmen or is ill reamen omillions o Indonesian migrans, shenoed, however, ha undocumenedmigrans around he world acesimilarly brual, repressive anddiscriminaory policies.

e proesers vowed o coninueo suppor he campaign o lihe crackdown and o encouragegroups in oher counries o join hecampaign as well.

A version of this article was first published on the

Asia-Pacific Mission for Migrants (APMM) website on

8 March 2012 (http://www.apmigrants.org/home/

item/62-migrant-orgs-in-hk-hit-malaysia-crackdown-vs-

undocumenteds).

Migrant groups hit Malaysia for crackdownon undocumentedAsia-Pacific Mission for Migrants

A her booh, Waanabe, who worksor a ood services chain in Iwae,

was selling local produce includinggarlic, shiiake mushrooms andasparagus. I eel ha i is my job o

coninue spreading wha is going onin he area o keep he memory ohe March 11 ragedy rom beingorgoten wih ime, she added.

A he March 11 even, a speechby nauralis and V commenaorC.W. Nicol was ollowed by amomen o silence a 2:46 PM he exac ime he quake sruck a

year ago. Each o us mus hink

and do wha we can or he uure oJapan, Nicol, a ores conservaion

acivis and conribuor o eJapan imes, old he crowd.

Organizers o he even said haup o 30,000 people gahered a he

park on Sunday, while abou 9,000had visied he previous day.

Grammy award-winning composerRyuichi Sakamoo also ook o hesage o deliver a srong message:I has been a year and we sill donknow how o handle he nuclear

wase and allou, Sakamoosaid. He criicized he Japanesegovernmen or persisenly

claiming ha i had he cripplednuclear power plan now underconrol.

Aomic bomb survivors rom heciies o Hiroshima and Nagasakialso ook par in ani-nuclearproess and urged he counry osop relying on nuclear power.

This article was drawn from two articles originally

published in the online news site, The Japan Times,

on 12 March 2012: Anti-nuke protests erupt worldwide

(http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120312a8.

html) and Thousands rally at Hibiya Park (http://

www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120312a3.htmll). It

was reprinted in the International League of Peoples

Struggle (ILPS) website on the same date (http://ilps.

info/index.php/en/current-events/statements-and-

press-releases/103-asia-pacific-and-china/380-anti-

nuke-rallies-commemorate-anniversary-of-fukushima-nuclear-disaster).

Photo credit: International Migrants Alliance/Asia-Pacific Mission for Migrants


14/36

NEWS


Wha began as a provincial policyspa over uiion hikes in Quebechas ransormed, in jus over a

year, ino a movemen o broadersuden unres now receiving someinernaional atenion.

In he pas ew days, Quebecssuden proess have receivedcoverage in France, hrough AgenceFrance-Presse, V5 and a ron-page phoo in Le Monde. ey alsoappeared in Ausralia, New Zealand,on Al-Jazeera and in he UniedSaes, including on CNN. A New

York imes blog suggesed uiionees and suden deb could becomea key heme in Presiden BarackObamas bid or re-elecion as hepresiden ries o energize young

voers. e French-Canadiansudens were cied as an examplein he uiion debae, as par o aninernaional oucry agains hehigh price o educaion.

e annual uiion or a privaeuniversiy in he U.S. is over $30,000a year, wih collecive suden debpoised o reach $1-rillion whichis even more han all he credi-carddeb in ha counry. So why should

Quebecers be complaining abou acomparably measly $1,625 hike?

Proesers say is because hey wanheir educaion sysem o move inhe oher direcion away romhe U.S. model and closer o asysem like Swedens, where pos-secondary educaion is ree.

e opposiion has grown seadily,ever since he Quebec governmenannounced is $325-a-year, ve-

year increases in he March 2011budge. While he move wouldsill leave Quebec wih some o helowes uiion raes in he counry,proesers say heyre ghing orprinciples.

Aciviss overseas are also joining inon he discussion abou Quebecs

uiion hikes, raming i as par o alarger hisoric gh.

Laurie Penny is a social acivis andjournalis or he U.K.s Independenand Guardian newspapers whosuppors and wries abou heinernaional Occupy movemen.

Shes been paying atenion oevens in Quebec. Ms. Penny said

he provinces proesers represenhe ace o Occupy, as a growingdemographic o graduaes andsudens worldwide who ear heyhave piles o suden deb bu nouure.

I hink is a misake o hink ouiion hikes as a niche issue, shesaid. Suden deb and uiion hikesare no a niche or side issue in erms

o wha maters o young people, oro wha maters o he uure o heglobal economy.

e Occupy phenomenon beganwih suden movemens, she said,and he people involved are in acmobilizing agains similar problems wih youh leading he charge.

Marin Gendron, a suden a heUniversi du Quebec, said recenrowdy scenes have helped piqueinernaional ineres.

A recen proess, a ew vandals inhe crowd have smashed windowsand peled projeciles a police.

World takes notice as Quebecs student protesters march onStefani Forster, The Globe and Mail

Quebec students...(continued on p. 17)

STRIKING BACK at students who had spilled into Quebecs streets, carrying out sustainedand massive protests against tuition fee increases, the liberal government of that Canadianprovince passed Bill 78, a law that restricted the freedom of assembly and criminalized thestudent strike. Photo credit: Tehran, Iran-based PressTV.


15/36


SPECIAL FEATURE

As many o you know, during he previous round oinormal-inormals here in he Unied Naions (UN),civil sociey was quie alarmed over he proposals ocerain saes o delee or weaken or bracke reerenceso righs, equiy and imporan Rio principles

which are also grounded on human righs rom henegoiaing ex or Rio+20.

We iniiaed an open leter o he UN Secreary Generaland member saes o express our alarm and call on hemo rearm and srenghen righs and Rio principles ando be accounable or heir implemenaion. is leterhas been signed by over a housand organizaions romover 100 counries and erriories.

We are hereore glad o hear a leas some membersaes here who have expressed suppor or he righsagenda in Rio+20.

We would, however, like o underscore one dimension ohe righs-based approach o susainable developmen,

which we believe needs solid suppor and commimenrom member saes especially hose presen here.is is he inernaional dimension or he colleciveresponsibiliy o he communiy o naions o creaeenabling condiions or he ulllmen o human righs,including he righ o developmen.

By his, we don jus mean he provision o ocialdevelopmen assisance (ODA) rom he Norh o heSouh. As i sands, ODA is being cu back or being madeo subsidize privae secor or-pro ineress. Bu eveni developed counries did provide 0.7% o heir GDP asunied aid, wihou major reorms in he inernaionalnancial archiecure and mulilaeral and bilaeral raderules, his would no make a den in povery eradicaionand he shi o susainable developmen pahways.

Rio+20 must address globaleconomic governanceMaria Theresa Nera-Lauron, Peoples Movement on Climate Change (PMCC)

UNFAIR TRADE RULES continue to drive tens of thousands of poor and indebted peasants in India to suicide. To achieve sustainable development,the global community must undertake major reforms in international trade, finance and investments. Photo from the series Suicide cotton

farmers in India by renowned Bangladeshi photographer GMB Akash.


16/36

SPECIAL FEATURE


We all know ha nancial speculaion is a majoracor behind commodiy price volailiy and hehike in ood prices, which aecs he righ o oodo he vas majoriy. Indeed, i is devasaing helives o small rural producers as well as low- incomehouseholds in urban areas oday. Moreover, much-needed nancial resources or building green

producive capaciies, generaing green decenjobs [righ o employmen] and ensuring universalsocial proecion [righ o social proecion] are

being wased on speculaive rading o nancialasses, which infaes asse bubbles and causesnancial convulsions in he global economy.

Unair rade rules, including agriculural subsidiesin he Norh, coninue o wipe ou small agriculuralproducers in developing counries, driving ens ohousands o poor and indebed peasans in India

o suicide, o cie jus one counry. And developingcounries, which ry o nurure heir domesicindusries or, say wind power and oher renewableenergy sources, are hauled o he World radeOrganizaions (WO) dispue panel.

On he oher hand, under he same unairagreemens, big mulinaional corporaions canalso sue governmens i hey eel ha heir prosare adversely aeced by new laws or regulaionsincluding environmenal sandards.

Unair inellecual propery righs regimes builino he WO and oher so-called ree radeagreemens (FAs) rules ha none o hedeveloped counries adhered o when hey wereindusrializing also preven he more rapidadopion, disseminaion, and urher innovaiono new echnologies and producion mehods,including low-carbon alernaives in developingcounries.

Clearly, major reorms in he area o inernaionalrade, nance, and invesmens need o beunderaken i counries, paricularly developingcounries, are o ulll heir human righsobligaions o heir ciizens and i we, as a global

communiy, are going o address he challenge osusainable developmen.

And ye, his dimension o inernaional cooperaionis being banished rom he Rio negoiaions. Forinsance, developed counries (or a leas some ohem) are sriking ou language calling or reormo he global nancial sysem [paras 13 sex, pre25, 54 bis]. Or language sressing he developmenmandae o he Doha Round o WO negoiaions[para 65 bis]; or underscoring he need or special

and dierenial reamen or developing counries[para 124]; or calling or ranser o echnology[para 125].

We are also concerned wih inconsisenciesin some developed counries who, on he onehand, champion human righs bu on heoher hand also earnesly suppor mechanismssuch as REDD(+) ha uphold carbon markes,enclosures o commons, and lead o displacemen,o indigenous communiies and local communiies

especially. is is a perversion o he Rio polluerspay principle and allows developed counriesa convenien excuse o evade heir hisoricalresponsibiliy or he overexploiaion o heamospheric and biospheric space.

e developed counries also appear consisenlyopposed o reerences o he Righ o Developmen which bes expresses his inernaionaldimension despie i being endorsed by heGeneral Assembly in he 1986 Declaraion onRigh o Developmen, he 1992 Rio Declaraionas Principle 3, and in numerous oher poliicaldeclaraions endorsed by heads o sae.

We hank you or he progressive posiions akenin hese negoiaions ha uphold and promoehuman righs, and we sincerely hope ha you willremain seadas wih hese posiions despie manypressures. However, i is no enough or you oendorse or suppor SOME human righs language

Unfair trade rules, including agricultural

subsidies in the North, continue to wipe out

small agricultural producers in developing

countries, driving tens of thousands of poor

and indebted peasants in India to suicide, tocite just one country


17/36


SPECIAL FEATURE

in he oucome documen, bu no ohers. Youcanno be selecive on he se o human righs ha

you will suppor.

We call on governmens o suppor he righ o

developmen and in so doing, suppor proposalsor reorming inernaional nance and rade ouphold commimen o human righs, reedom andgenuine susainable developmen. We need youo ensure ha reerences o human righs are noonly kep in he Rio+20 oucome documen, bualso reinorced by paricipaory monioring andaccounabiliy mechanisms.

weny years aer he Rio 1992 Earh Summi,surely we should expec more, nohing less!

This were the remarks of Maria Theresa Nera-Lauron, coordinator of the

Peoples Movement on Climate Change (PMCC) and member of the Rights for

Sustainability (R4S) delegation to Rio+20. She made her remarks at the Rights

at Rio+20: A Rights-based Framework for Sustainable Development that had

been held at the UN Headquarters in New York on April 27, 2012. This side event

had been organized by the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner

for Human Rights, The Missions of Germany, Maldives and Norway, IBON

International, the Center for International Environmental Law and The Council of

Canadians, in collaboration with the United Nations Development Groups Human

Rights Mainstreaming mechanism UNDG-HRM.

Police have responded by making muliple arressand blasing chemical irrians ino crowds areacion suden aciviss have called excessive.

e answer rom he police is very violen, Mr.Gendron said. as somehing has very srongin images and exs, and ends o go ouside helocal sphere.

In a saemen las week, Amnesy Inernaionals

French-Canadian branch expressed concern overhe acics employed by police and exended issuppor o Quebec sudens.

e human-righs organizaion denounced anexcessive use o orce, poenially arbirary massarress, inimidaion and proling. I asked Quebeco sop resoring o means which poeniallyinerere wih he reedom o expression and herigh o peaceul proes.

e suden groups have received some supporrom neighbours in oher pars o Canada as well.

Many orononians expressed solidariy wih heproesers by handing over a peiion wih morehan 700 signaures o he Quebec governmen on

April 26.

Alan Sears, a spokesman or he group ha creaedhe peiion, said he suden movemen refecs a

worldwide rend and could even infuence acionsin Onario or elsewhere.

Globally, we are seeing governmen aergovernmen adop auseriy prioriies where heyare cuting back on public services, increasinguiion ees all hese kinds o hings, Mr. Searssaid.

Where heres an inspiring gh back agains onepar o his agenda, a lo o people sar o payatenion.

Criics, however, have called proesers everyhingrom deadbeas o unocused charges ha Ms.Penny calls simply unrue.

Is very, very naive and shor-sighed when peoplesay is jus lazy sudens who don wan o pay heirees. is is going o be a criical issue or everyoneacross he world economy over he nex decade.

This article was first published in The Globe and Mail on April 28, 2012 (http://

www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/world-takes-notice-as-quebecs-

student-protesters-march-on/article4104313/)

Quebec students... (continued from p.14)


18/36

SPECIAL FEATURE


As he Unied Naions Conerence on SusainableDevelopmen (UNCSD) draws near, negoiaions onhe zero dra o is oucome documen have heaed

up markedly. From March 19 o 23, he rs round oinormal-inormal (preliminary) negoiaions onhe zero dra o he oucome documen was held ahe Unied Naions Headquarers in New York Ciy,NY.

Moreover, he ird Open-Ended InormalInersessional Meeing o he Preparaory Commiteeor UNCSD will be held rom March 26 o 27 in heEconomic and Social Council (ECOSOC) Chambero he Norh Lawn Building o he UN Headquarers.Members o permanen missions, governmen delegaes,represenaives o inernaional organizaions and civilsociey acors are expeced o atend he meeing.

IBON Inernaionals Paul Quinos is currenlyparicipaing in he inormal-inormal negoiaions andhe inersessional as a civil sociey represenaive, as

well as atending he UNCSD side evens. On March23, Quinos delivered he ollowing remarks a he

side even eniled owards he Peoples Summi aRio+20 held a he ECOSOC Chamber o he UNHeadquarers in New York.

Deleting our rights, bracketing our futureWhy we need a Peoples SummitI hink he bes way o appreciae he Peoples Summiin Rio is o look a whas happening here in his hallover he las ew days.

Here we have been winessing a sysemaic atempby some powerul saes o weaken, or bracke, orourighly eliminae, nearly all reerences o humanrighs obligaions and equiy principles in he ex o heRio+20 oucome documen.

Les ake he secion on Food. e ex ha reers ohe Righ o ood and proper nuriion delee, saysone major power. Righ o everyone o have access osae, sucien and nuriious ood Bracke i! Buincreasing agriculural produciviy is ne; improvingaccess o small armers o global markes is ne.

IBON warns vs diluting Rio+20 draft: Dont deleteour rights, dont bracket our futures!Paul Quintos, IBON International

A FARMER washes his cow in Bangladesh. The right to food is one inalienable human right that powerful states have tried to remove from theRio+20 outcome document.


19/36


20/36

SPECIAL FEATURE


MANILA Progressive labor cener Kilusang Mayo

Uno (KMU) criicized he Aquino governmensechoing o U.S. imperialisms opposiion oNorh Koreas planned saellie launch, as well ismisrepresenaion o he even.

Elmer Bong Labog, chairman o KMU, poined onumerous cases in which he Unied Saes displayedhypocrisy and numerous cases o when he Aquinogovernmen seemed o ollow blindly every line beingaken by he U.S. on oreign relaions.

e KMU paricularly poined o U.S. hypocrisy inraising uror over Norh Koreas nuclear research anddevelopmen program, when (in ac) i is he worlds

bigges nuclear power.

e U.S. owns and conrols he worlds larges sockpileo nuclear weapons in he world, KMU said. I hecurren uror over Norh Koreas program is ueled by adesire o dismanle nuclear plans and weapons because

o he hreas hese pose o he environmen and human

lie, he calls should no be direced o iny Norh Koreabu insead o he gian nuke owner, he U.S., KMU said.

KMU also blamed U.S. imperialism or having orcedNorh Korea o develop is nuclear weapons program insel-deense. I is no secre ha he U.S. has long beenhreaening o atack Norh Korea, having branded i asone o he so-called enemies or rogue saes under heUS-led, borderless war on errorism, he labor groupnoed.

e U.S. has used he so-called war on errorism as amere preex o invade Libya, Iraq, Aghanisan and ourher orward is roops presence all over he globe,he KMU poined ou. According o he labor cener,hese U.S. wars o inervenion drove Norh Korea inoholding on o is own nuclear weapons program.

e labor group noed ha Norh Koreas currensaellie projec was a rouine procedure ha counries

US, Aquino govt accused ofhypocrisy over nukesMarya Salamat, Bulatlat

FILIPINO DEMONSTRATORS march in front of the U.S. embassy to protest the Visiting Forces Agreement and the War on Terror. Source:photoblog.msnbc.msn.com


21/36


SPECIAL FEATURE

such as he U.S., France, Japan, China, he UK,India, Israel, Ukraine, Russia and Iran have all donehis beore, using long-range rockes. Why is he

Aquino governmen opposing he Norh Koreaslaunch when i agrees wih he U.S.s use o drones

in he Philippines? he KMU hen asked.

e rs is a rouine acion o counries whilehe second is an abominable ac o imperialismaneuvering, Labog declared.

e KMU also condemned he U.S. or draggingChina ino he picure, rying o urn i againsNorh Korea and consequenly, seting he one orpossible wars in he uure.

When all is said and done, his warmongering by heU.S. and he Aquino governmens mimicking oi is bu par o a sysemaic campaign o allow heexpansion o U.S. basing, or roaional deploymen,or whaever i is ha he U.S. governmen preers

o call is increased permanen presence in hePhilippines, KMU said.

e labor group also condemned PresidenBenigno Noynoy Aquino III or going oo ar bycreaing public paranoia over Norh Koreas nuclearprogram.

This article was first published in the Philippine online news site, Bulatlat.

com, on 13 April 2012 ( HYPERLINK http://bulatlat.com/main/2012/04/13/

us-aquino-govts-accused-of-hypocrisy-over-nuke-issue/ http://bulatlat.com/

main/2012/04/13/us-aquino-govts-accused-of-hypocrisy-over-nuke-issue/).

During he wo-day even, simulaneous workshopson he ollowing hemes were held: he righ o

waer and saniaion, waer and energy, waer andhe environmen, and ypes o waer managemen.

Under he righ o waer and saniaion (RW&S),

our workshops were held on: advocaing or heuniversal recogniion o he RW&S, nding

ways o realize his righ eecively, inorming andeducaing ciizens, and going beyond he humanrigh o waer by pushing or he righ o waer isel.

opics discussed under he waer managemenheme included: suiable echnical soluions andheir public appropriaion, he role o ciizens in

waer managemen, saniaion, and managemen oconfics in waer use.

Each workshop began wih wo or hree case sudies,aer which he foor was opened or quesions andeven brie presenaions by paricipans who spokeabou heir own local siuaions and sruggles.

In he workshop eniled e Role o Ciizens inWaer Managemen, Margare Nakao Lubyayio Ugandas Kaosi Womens Developmen Fundrecouned he ironic siuaion o her counrys local

shing communiies, where people live in housesbuil on sils above and surrounded by waer busuer rom a lack o access o sae and clean waer.

Lubyayi noed he need o involve womenspecically in he managemen o waer. is is o

be done by empowering hem o make decisionsover he design, implemenaion and managemeno waer inrasrucures.

e oher issues ackled included: agriculuralpracices ha negaively aec waer resources,organizing local residens ino users associaions,securing agreemens beween ciizens andgovernmens o inves on local iniiaives, andresising privaizaion as he go-o soluion or

waer problems.

Meanwhile, Elizabeh Vargas o Comisin para laGesin Inegral del Agua en Bolivia enumeraedhe key elemens needed o ensure eecive waermanagemen: (1) banking on local experience andexperise, (2) supporing peoples organizaions,and (3) insiuionalizing paricipaorymechanisms such as surveillance commitees andciizens nance wach groups.

Water Rights... (continued from p.9)


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In he run-up o he 20h ASEAN Summi, more han1,200 delegaes rom all 10 ASEAN counries gaheredin Phnom Penh, Cambodia, or he 2012 ASEAN CivilSociey Conerence/Peoples Forum (ACSC/APF).

ey represened various civil sociey organizaionsand movemens o rural and urban workers, as well asdomesic workers, he migran secor, peasans andarmers, women, children, youh, he elderly, persons

wih disabiliies, urban poor, indigenous peoples, vicimso human righs violaions, human righs deenders,lesbian-gay-ransgender/ranssexual-inersex and queerpeople (LGBIQ) and oher peoples groups.

e Forum is an annual gahering o civil socieygroups where major issues ranging rom he righs o

women and migran workers, o land righs and oresconservaion, agriculure and climae change, and ohermajor concerns o he peoples o ASEAN are discussed.

e aciviy is also a means o make he Associaionrelevan o he daily lives o he regions people a keyprovision o he ASEAN Charer. A he end o eachForum, civil sociey paricipans produce a common

saemen ha pus orh a se o recommendaions orASEAN leaders.

Currenly chairing he ASEAN, Cambodia mus

suppor he regional eor o creae a People-CeneredASEAN Communiy by respecing civil sociey spaceand heeding he peoples voices.

However his year, he ASEAN Peoples Forum held ahe Lucky Sar Hoel in Phnom Penh was no ociallyrecognized by he Cambodian governmen or hegovernmens o ASEAN, and he ACSC/APF alsoound isel compeing wih a mirror ASEAN PeoplesForum a he Chakomuk Conerence Hall anaciviy ha was organized, suppored and atended bysenior governmen ocials.

In addiion, cerain paricipans were coninuouslydiscouraged rom atending he ACSC/APF, and

workshops on land righs and on Myanmar/Burmawere no allowed o ake place. Civil sociey groups weredeeply disappoined over he unaccepable resricionsimposed on heir righs o reedom o expression andassembly.

ASEAN peoples voices in dangerAn impossible road to a People-Centered ASEAN Community

SOME 118 million people in the ASEAN region, like these Indonesian scavengers, live on $1.25 or less a day. Photo credit: World Bank


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Led by he Inernaional Womens Alliance (IWA),women leaders rom 63 counries called or an endo he miliary presence o he Unied Saes in Asia

Pacic, declaring ha he exisence o miliary basesand aciliies in he region creaed nohing bu havoc or

women and girls.

e women were paricipans o he 12h InernaionalForum held on April 19-22 in Isanbul, urkey, which

was sponsored by he Associaion or Womens Righsin Developmen (AWID).

e women leaders also paricipaed in he U.S. roopsOu o Asia Pacic Now! signaure campaign ha callson he U.S. governmen o sop deploying soldiers andmiliary personnel and consrucing miliary bases andaciliies in he region, and o pull is roops ou o AsiaPacic. e campaign was iniiaed by he IWA.

For years, he U.S. has mainained miliary bases andaciliies in and deployed roops and personnel o

Ausralia, India, Indonesia, Japan, Pakisan, Philippines,Singapore, Souh Korea and ailand.

Almos a hundred American miliary bases and aciliies including depos, warehouses and barracks arescatered hroughou mainland Japan and in Okinawa,

and abou 52,000 American roops are deployed here.

In Souh Korea, here are around 40 U.S. miliaryaciliies, including he Kunsan and he Osan air bases.

Meanwhile, despie he ban on permanen deploymeno roops under he Philippine Consiuion and heaboliion o he U.S. bases in 1991, around 4,000 U.S.roops are deployed in he Philippines a any given imeunder he Visiing Forces Agreemen.

Aer he Subic Bay Naval Saion in he Philippineswas abolished, he Logisics Group Wesern PacicCommand was esablished in Singapore on July 1992.

In Pakisan, aside rom around 100 o 300 miliarypersonnel deployed, here are also housands o

American soldiers saioned in he Pakisan-Aghanisanborder, he known base o he Pakisani resisancemovemen.

End U.S. military presence in AsPac,women leaders from 63 countries say

Members of the militant group Bayan shout anti-US slogans. Photo credit: Bayan-ILPS.


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U.S. focuses military presence in AsPacIn heir peiion, he women leaders also lambasedhe new 10-year deense sraegy, revealed by U.S.miliary auhoriies in January, which underpinshe Obama Adminisraions Americas Pacic

Cenury.

is shi in poliical, economic, and miliary ocusis a means o creae an opporuniy or he worldsmos powerul counry o secure all resourcesavailable in he world, in he mids o he worsnancial and economic crisis in hisory.

For he oppressed and exploied peoples o AsiaPacic, mos especially women, he peiion said,his means he inensicaion o he U.S. wars o

error and aggression.

According o he women leaders, he new deensesraegy uses humaniarian missions and miliaryraining exercises as an excuse o increase hedeploymen o American roops and war maerialall over he region, o acquire more aciliies,o increase access or miliary exercises, and oinensiy U.S. miliary operaions. Hal o he U.S.miliary bases and aciliies are in he Asia Pacicregion.

U.S. troops in PH increase in pastdecade

While he U.S. recenly declared a oreign policypivo oward Asia involving greaer economic,poliical, and miliary engagemen in he region,he shi had sared as early as 2001. a year, heQuadrennial Deense Review proclaimed a shio Asia and a corresponding increase in he U.S.miliary presence hrough xed bases, roaionaldeploymens, raining exercises and logisicalarrangemens.

In January 2002, he U.S. called he Philippines issecond ron [in he war on errorism] and sincehen, i has dramaically buil up a naionwidemiliary presence.

e whole archipelago has been pracicallyransormed ino a U.S. miliary base a

violaion o Philippine sovereigny and he 1987Consiuion.

e U.S. miliary has also made exensive use o heVisiing Forces Agreemen (VFA) o saion some600 o 700 special orces roops in he counry ando bring in as many as 7,000 addiional soldiers a

a ime on so-called join exercises, civil-miliaryacions and relie operaions. I has also used heMuual Logisics and Suppor Agreemen (MLSA)o esablish miliary ouposs and access warmaeriel or is orces.

Construction of naval base in SouthKorea continuesDespie susained proess by locals and increasingcriicism rom across he world, he Souh Koreangovernmen and is Navy have begun blasing pars

o a reasured world-heriage sie on Jeju Island,Souh Korea, o make way or he consrucion oa naval base. is miliary projec also hreaens hepeace in he wider Eas Asian region.

Expers on U.S.-Souh Korea relaions argue hahe U.S. has pressured Souh Korea o build henaval base o harbor Aegis desroyers. When he

Jeju naval base is consruced, he base will alsoplay a key role in U.S. deense sraegies againsChina, which expers say may be suppored by he

Japanese governmen. e base may also be usedwhen and i he U.S. underakes miliary operaionsin Eas Asia.

According o expers, he Souh Korean governmenunder Presiden Lee Myung-Bak aced unlawullyand illegiimaely when i proceeded wih heconsrucion o he naval base despie Gureombisinclusion in he Absolue Preservaion Zone an

... This shift in political, economic, andmilitary focus is a means to create an

opportunity for the worlds most powerful

country to secure all resources available in the

world, in the midst of the worst financial andeconomic crisis in history.


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area sricly proeced rom developmen underSouh Korean laws.

e Lee adminisraion has atemped o jusiy heconsrucion o he base osensibly by removing

Gureombi rom he Absolue Preservaion Zone.However, his exclusion occurred wihou dueprocess and goes agains he wishes o he majoriyo Jeju residens and oher Korean ciizens.

e SoKor governmen has also ried o garnersuppor by claiming ha i would develop he areaino an atracive miliary-civilian ouris por.However, a echnical assessmen o he naval baseplans exposed serious faws in he design.

e Lee adminisraion coninues o deny heexisence o such design problems, deliberaelydeceiving he public and downplaying as well heenormous damage he base is expeced o inficon he naural environmen and o he regionalcondiions or peace.

e Gureombi seashore is criical or he islandersbecause i includes several Yongcheonsu springsha are vial sources o waer. ese sources areessenial o he Jeju residens, whose waer supply isinadequae because o he islands volcanic errain.

Recognizing he urgen need o preserve he islandsnaural environmen, Jeju residens and peopleacross Souh Korea have or some ime now beenunied in resising he esablishmen o he naval

base and in demanding or an immediae sop o isconsrucion.

The article was drawn from the following articles published in the International

Womens Alliance and IBON websites: Stop the Jeju Naval Base construction:

an urgent call for global support to restore justice in South Korea and

preserve peace in East Asia (http://internationalwomensalliance.wordpress.com/2012/04/10/stop-the-jeju-naval-base-construction-an-urgent-call-for-

global-support-to-restore-justice-in-south-korea-and-preserve-peace-in-east-

asia/), Presence of U.S. troops in PH increases in past decade (Hhttp://ibon.

org/ibon_articles.php?id=220) Women leaders from 63 countries call for end of

U.S. military presence in As-Pac (http://internationalwomensalliance.wordpress.

com/2012/05/19/women-leaders-from-63-countries-call-for-end-of-u-s-

military-presence-in-aspac/).

paricipaion rules or Environmenal ImpacAssessmens, he said. Bu he also noed ha heacual implemenaion o hese EIA laws wassill pachy, paricularly in erms o he equiableapplicaion o hese principles. For insance, heasked, how can Principle 10 work or poor, illieraepeople who don have he ime and resources oparicipae in EIAs?

Paul Quinos o IBON Inernaional lauded he sideeven or giving rise o a ruiul exchange beweencivil sociey and governmens, consequenlyhelping orge greaer uniy or he deense o herighs o people and he plane.

Bu in order o achieve subsanial gains, hedialogue beween civil sociey and governmensneeds o be improved, sressed Mari Piknen, Firs

Secreary o he Permanen Mission o Finland ohe UN.

IBON Inernaional is a nongovernmenorganizaion based in Philippine, which coordinaeshe R4S global plaorm or advocacy.

R4S aims o promoe a righs-based approach osusainable developmen as a way o ensuring hainer- and inra- generaional equiy and jusice arecenral concerns in he reorm agenda a Rio+20and beyond.

For details about the Rights for Sustainability or R4S Initiative, please contact

Paul Quintos of IBON International ([email protected]) or

Nathalie van Haren of Both ENDS ([email protected]), or visit the website

http://rio20.iboninternational.org/

Dont scrub-off... (continued from p.10)


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Atending he Cordillera Day celebraions every Aprilhas been a par o our summer vacaion. My son has beenatending i since he was born. When he was younger, hedid no really have a choice and we would jus ag himalong. Bu as he grew older, he came o enjoy i, alwayslooking orward o he rip every summer.

is years Cordillera Day celebraion was unlike hosein he pas. is year, i was made up o a series o severalcelebraions in he dieren provinces o he region, andno jus one grand even held in one o he provinces.My son and I atended he celebraions in upaya,Lagawe, Iugao las April 29.

Even he rip o he venue was dieren his year.ere was no convoy o jeepneys rom Baguio Ciy, asmy son had been used o. Insead, we were insrucedo ride a van o Solano, Nueva Vizcaya; ake a jeep oLamu, Iugao and nally, o ride a ricycle o Barangayupaya, Lagawe and look or Dick. Laer I learned haDick, or Benedic angid, is he presiden o he upaya

Indigenous Farmers Organizaion (IFO), he localorganizaion hosing he Cordillera Day celebraions.

And so, we did as we were insruced. We arrived inSolano a around 11:00 AM, and a Lamu a around12:00 noon, we go on a ricycle and old he drivero bring us o Dicks place. roughou he 20-minuericycle ride on a rugged gravel road o upaya, my sonsace was li by a wide grin. He did no mind he dus;he was even ascinaed by he pebbles bouncing o hericycle foor. He, oo, enjoyed bouncing on his sea

when ricycle sruggled hrough he unpaved road!

When we reached a crossroads, he driver said hecould no longer go arher since he ricycle could nonavigae he road ahead, bu he said Dicks place was jusa ew meers away. I learned rom he ricycle driver haalhough barangay upaya is par o he municipaliyo Lagawe, here were no roads connecing i o heowns cener. upaya residens have o pass hroughLamu municipaliy i hey have o go o he municipal

A tricycle ride to

Cordillera DayKimberlie Ngabit-Quitasol, Northern Dispatch

THE CORDILLERA DAY celebrates the Cordillera indigenous peoples vibrant struggle for a just society. In this yearly event, the Cordillerapeoples movement renews its commitment to the ideals pursued by the regions heroes and martyrs. Photo credit: At the Papatayan (sacredgrove). Malegkong, Sagada, Mountain Province, 1949 by Eduardo Masferr, gelatin sliver photograph, Collection of the National Gallery ofAustralia.


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SPECIAL FEATURE


governmen oces in he owns cener. ey couldwalk or abou a day hrough hose hills i hey wan,he driver said, smiling and poining o he rollinghills up ahead, covered by grass only.

As we were geting o he ricycle my sonannounced, Ma, his is my rs ime o ride aricycle. Are we going o ride on i again on our way

back home? Gazing a him, I searched my memoryor a ime ha we rode a ricycle in he pas when he

was oo young o remember. Bu he was righ: i washis rs ricycle ride. Even he driver looked a him

wih amusemen.

We hanked he driver and bade him goodbye,hen sared rekking under he scorching midday

summer sun o nd Dicks home. o my surprisehe a ew meers away wasn really ha ar, unlikemany experiences in he pas where a ew meersor he locals weren really ha ew or ciy dwellerslike me. Surprisingly, my son was no complainingover he hea or he disance ha we had o walk.He was acing as i he was aking sroll in he park,and his eyes were as radian as he midday sun.

Ma, look, dragonfies! So big and so many, heexclaimed, pulling me o a sop. Did you see, here

is a red-ailed, black and orange? ere are greenand blue ones, oo. Wow! ey are all over he riceeld. I wish we could cach some I jus wan o akea closer look a hem, he sighed.

Insanly, childhood memories fooded my mind,memories o how my cousins and I used o cachdragonfies on our way o school, in he las days

beore summer breaks. I remembered how manyimes I braved being sung by he big black and red-ailed dragonfies and he lenghs I ook o cachhem, aware o he envy and atenion my preciouscach would atrac rom our playmaes hen. a

big black- and red-ailed dragonfy was cerainly hehardes o cach!

I ried o recall, when i was I las saw a dragonfyin Baguio Ciy. I couldn really recall i I had seenany a all.

I would have waned my son o enjoy he sigh ohose dragonfies a litle longer, hovering above hemauring palay in he eld, bu i was high noon andhe sun was already scorching my skin. So I old him

we needed o walk on les we ge sun burned. He

ook one more look a he dragonfies, as i biddinggoodbye, and ran o my side.

He was singing as we walked on o nd ourdesinaion: Ayan dagii uwau aglagu lagu ijayngau (Where are he dragonfies jumping upabove) I orgo he song Ma, do you know he nexline? he asked.

I looked a him and ried my hardes o sing Ayandagii uwau, aglagu lagu ijay ngau, a mangan

lamuk ken daduma nga inseko. Awanen dagiiuwau napanda ijay adayu, kagurgurada i law-ang au (Where are he dragonfies jumping upabove ha eas mosquioes and oher insecs. edragonfies are gone hey wen ar away hey haeour Law-ang).

is is a par o a Salidummay song ha ells hesory o a girl asking her broher, where have henaural springs, rees, wild pigs, birds and rivers hashe has heard o rom sories o heir elders gone?

Will she ever see hem?

When we reached he Cordillera Day venue, nallyaking reuge under a comorable shade a hemakeshi program area, his quesion sruck me:

will my sons children even ge o see dragonfies?My son is nine years old oday and a he currensae o he environmen, wih more han 80% ohe Cordillera homeland covered wih large-scalemining applicaions, will here sill be dragonfies byhe ime he ges married and has children (weny

years rom now, I hope)?

e Cordillera Day celebraion is born ou o hesruggle o he regions indigenous peoples odeend heir erriories rom large-scale logging andmining, hydroelecric and geohermal projecs haare derimenal o he environmen. Preserving heenvironmen is innae o he culure o indigenous


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SPECIAL FEATURE

peoples, no jus in he Cordillera region, bu alsoall over he world.

is is proven by sudies ha show ha he majoriyo remaining oress in he world are ound in IP

erriories. I our ancesors had no done heir paro preserve he environmen amid he onslaugh ocorporae greed, hen my son migh jus be lookinga dragonfies in science books and phoographs.

I is hereore imperaive ha we do our par odayo each our children o ake on heir roles in he

proecion and preservaion o our environmenor he uure generaion. As Gwendolyn Gaongeno he angguyub People Cener or Peace andDevelopmen (angguyub) pus i, You would no

wan o be known as he generaion who sold your

ores and naural resources o corporae greed.

This article was originally published in Northern Dispatch Weekly, a peoples

newspaper for Northern Philippines http://www.nordis.net/?p=12455 on 13 May

2012. Kimberlie Ngabit-Quitasol is one of the longest-running staff writers at

Nordis.

e IPF-ASEAN swily and srongly condemned his curailmen o righs by he Cambodiangovernmen. I also joined oher civil sociey organizaions in calling or he ASEAN o respec herigh o is peoples o express heir opinions reely and o be allowed o hold heir evens especiallyas hese are sincere eors o build a people-cenered ASEAN Communiy.

This article was drawn from the following articles: ASEAN peoples voices in danger, published on March 29 HYPERLINK http://www.acscapf2012.

org/images/meeting/29032012%20Press%20release%20on%20ASEAN%20Peoples%27%20Voices%20in%20Danger.pdfActivists pull out of meeting with

ASEAN leaders, March 18 HYPERLINK http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/local/284842/activists-pull-out-of-meeting-with-asean-leaders Indigenous

peoples face further marginalization at the ASEAN Civil Society Conference, March 30 HYPERLINK http://www.forestpeoples.org/topics/asean/

news/2012/04/aipp-press-release-indigenous-peoples-face-further-marginalization-asean-c

In conras, AQUAFED presiden Payen opinedha he debae should no be beween privaeparicipaion and public involvemen, bu abou

which scheme would guaranee he bes way obring waer o he oher 40 percen o he worldspopulaion ha isn served by eiher public orprivae waer companies.

Suddenly, as he AQUAFED presiden was makinghis presenaion, some waer jusice aciviss inhe audience donned red clown noses and held

a lighning proes in a bid o drive across hemessage ha he World Waer Forum was merelyone corporae aair.

During he orum, Dia o Sngalaise des Eauxalso recouned how parnership wih he privaesecor in his Wes Arican counry led o reormsin he waer secor, which he claimed promoed

democraic paricipaion and susainabiliy o waerresources in his counry.

e debae highlighed he inheren conradicionbeween privae and public paricipaion in hewaer secor and indicaed he urgen need orconsensus on more imporan issues, includingissues o governance in managing waer resources.

Meanwhile, a he Alernaive World Waer Forumheld rom March 14-16 a Docks des Suds Waer,

waer jusice aciviss poined ou ha he realsoluions o he waer crisis lies in upholding hehuman righ o waer and reclaiming public waer.

Waer is a common good ha should no begoverned by he logic o maximizing pros, he

waer aciviss declared.

Water justice... (continued from p.9)

Asean peoples.. (continued from p.23)


30/36


STATEMENT

Rights at risk at the United Nations

We he civil sociey organizaions and social movemens who have responded o he call o heUnied Naions General Assembly o paricipae in he Rio+20 process eel ha is our duyo call he atenion o relevan auhoriies and ciizens o he world o a siuaion ha severelyhreaens he righs o all people and undermines he relevance o he Unied Naions.

Remarkably, we are winessing an atemp by cerain counries o weaken, or bracke, or ourighly eliminaenearly all reerences o human righs obligaions and equiy principles in he ex, e Fuure We Wan, heoucome documen o Rio+20.

is includes reerences o he righ o ood and proper nuriion, he righ o sae and clean drinking waer andsaniaion, he righ o developmen and oher righs. e righ o a clean and healhy environmen, which isessenial o he realizaion o undamenal human righs, remains weak in he ex. Even principles previouslyagreed upon in Rio in 1992 are being brackeed he Polluer Pays Principle, Precauionary Principle, and heprinciple o Common bu Diereniaed Responsibiliy (CBDR).

Many member saes are opposing prescripive language ha commis governmens o do acually wha heyclaim o suppor in principle and o ac as duy bearers o human righs, which includes he provision o nance,echnology and oher means o implemenaion o suppor susainable developmen eors in developingcounries. On he oher hand, here is a srong push or privae secor invesmens and iniiaives o ll in he

gap le by he public secor. is risks privaizing and commodiizing common goods such as waer inurn endangering heir access and aordabiliy, which are undamenal o such righs.

Alhough economic ools are essenial o implemen he decisions aiming or susainabiliy, social jusice andpeace, a privae economy raionale should no prevail over he ulllmen o human needs and he respec oplaneary boundaries. ereore, a srong insiuional ramework and regulaion is needed. Weakly regulaedmarkes have already proven o be a hrea, no only o people and naure, bu also o economies and naionsaes hemselves. Markes mus work or people; people should no work or markes.

From he ashes o World War II humaniy gahered o build insiuions aiming o build peace and prosperiyor all, avoiding urher suering and desrucion. e Universal Declaraion o Human Righs spells ou hiscollecive will, and he Unied Naions organizaion was creaed o make i a realiy. Alarmingly, his veryinsiuion is now being used as a plaorm o atack he very righs i should saeguard, leaving people wihoudeense and puting he very relevance o he UN a sake.

We urge member saes o bring he Rio+20 negoiaions back on rack o deliver he peoples legiimae agendaand he realizaion o righs, democracy and susainabiliy, as well as respec or ransparency, accounabiliyand non-regression on progress made.

Note: This open letter to the United Nations Conference on SustainableDevelopment (UNCSD) Secretary General, co-Chairs of the Bureau for Rio+20,and Member States of the United Nations was circulated and signed by many

organizations.


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STATEMENT

We call on he UN Secreary General o sand up or he legacy o he Unied Naions by ensuring ha Rio+20builds on he muligeneraional eor o srenghen righs as he oundaion o peace and prosperiy.

We urge our ellow ciizens o he world o sand up or e Fuure We Wan, and le heir voices be heard. o

ha end, he Rio+20 process should be improved by adoping he proposals we submi below.

On greater participation for MGs

We are concerned by he coninuing exclusion o Major Groups rom he ormal negoiaing processo he Rio+20 zero dra. Unlike in he Preparaory Commitee Meeings and he InersessionalMeeings, Major Groups and oher Sakeholders have no been allowed o presen revisions ormake saemens on he foor o he meeing. Nor, we suspec, will we be allowed o make submissions or oparicipae ully in he working negoiaion group meeings ha are likely o ollow. Despie he UN DESAhaving compiled a ex ha shows all he revisions suggesed by Major Groups, hese revisions o he zero drahave so ar no been included in he ocial negoiaing ex.

We reques ha he Major Groups be given he opporuniy o submi suggesions and wording, which wouldhen be added o he ocial ex or consideraion, indicaion o suppor or deleion, and poenial inclusion

by governmens.

We appeal o he UNCSD Secreary General o urgenly reverse his sae o aairs and o ensure ha MajorGroups have a sea a he able and a voice in he room where he negoiaions are aking place. Please ensure haa he very leas, Major Groups are allowed a ormal saemen a he commencemen o he nex negoiaingsession and a every session where a new dra ex is inroduced.

SIGNED:

Ibon InernaionalViae Civilise Access IniiaiveSakeholder ForumCouncil o CanadiansConsumers InernaionalSusain LabourInernaional rade Union ConederaionCIVICUS

Women in Europe or a Common Fuure


32/36


BOOK REVIEW

e Hunger Games is young adul cion or he 99%.

Millions o readers around he world have made he2008-10 Hunger Games rilogy by Suzanne Collinsa wildly popular series, and an eagerly awaied movie

version is scheduled or release his year.

Bu e Hunger Games should ge special atenionor he way i capures somehing unusual in youngadul cion he srengh, curiosiy and resolve o acunning, inelligen, young emale proagonis, Kaniss

Everdeen.

e rilogy also sands ou because i resonaes wih ageneraion o young people who have grown up wihhe realiies o economic insecuriy and war, bu also

wih he hope o resisance.

e novel akes place in a ciious, bu no oulandish,pos-apocalypic, police sae called Panem. ecounry is divided ino isolaed disrics, whose ciizensare orbidden o communicae wih one anoher. Each

disric specialises in a dieren indusry whea, coal,shing, ec.

e 12 disrics suppor he wealhy ciy called heCapiol, where people live in absurd narcissisic wealh.

Each year, as a specacle or he ciizens o he Capioland a way or he governmen o conrol he populaiono he 12 disrics, he Capiol hoss he Hunger Games.

A boy and girl rom each o he disrics (known asribues) are chosen by lotery and orced o gh o hedeah.

Wihou spoiling he plo, here are cerain hemes harun hroughou e Hunger Games ha clearly alignhese books wih he hopes, aspiraions and senimenso our side he 99%.

is is a book abou an inelligen young girl, Kaniss,who is he careaker o her amily and proecor o herloved ones.

Collins never sexualises Kaniss even as she is orcedino a relaionship or he bene o he Capiol, he 1%.

A dieren poins hroughou he novels, she makeshe poin ha she does no have ime o worry abou arelaionship or love. She is her own young woman, evenas here is inense pressure o eel and ac dierenly.

Kaniss isn sexy, firy and boy-obsessed. She is asrong, subborn, inelligen, caring, conused, angry,rash, impulsive, and a imes under-conden young

woman in oher words, she is a eenager.

is is a rilogy abou povery. e lives o he peoplein Disric 12 are gripped by povery, hunger, ear andmisery.

Hope and the Hunger Games:youth fiction for the 99%


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BOOK REVIEW

A generaion o young aduls growing up during aneconomic crisis during which 50 percen o childrenin he Unied Saes will a some poin be dependenon ood samps and 16 percen are considered oodinsecure know he eeling o growling somachs alloo well.

ey, like Kaniss, use a mixure o keen survival skills

and desperaion o provide or heir amilies andnavigae dicul siuaions.

Kaniss and her bes riend Gale break he law o survive hey hun in a resriced area. Wihou his illegalaciviy, heir amilies would sarve o deah since bohGales and Kanisss ahers died in an explosion a hemine where hey worked.

e Peacekeepers (police) and he local ocials lookhe oher way, since Gale and Kaniss rade heir game

and loo wih hem.

is is a rilogy abou wealh inequaliy. Disricsprovide or he Capiol, where he ciizens vainly alerheir appearances wih cosmeic surgery, ining heirskin and hair ourageous colours.

Once picked in he Hunger Games, he ribues haveaccess o

EDM MarchtoApril eBook Final

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