Thursday, November 25, 2010
Sunday, November 21, 2010
IRAN - INDIA Ayatollah Khamenei calls for support for the Muslims of Kashmir - Asia News
IRAN - INDIA Ayatollah Khamenei calls for support for the Muslims of Kashmir - Asia News: "Lenin Raghuvanshi, a well-known human rights activist, said to AsiaNews that while it is right 'to defend human rights in the region, however,' it is not a religious matter connected with Islam. Khamenei ‘s Haj message is religious fundamentalist way to look the issue of Kashmir ,which is going to support the Hindu Fascist forces in India in indirect way. Actually, Iranian Government wants to hide their own failure of rule of law in their own country, so they are using the way of religious fundamentalism. In Iran there is no freedom, not even religious freedom. There is no right of expression. Additionally, as the UN Security Council approves new sanctions against Iran over its suspect nuclear program, they are desperately seeking diversionary tactics'.
'In their country - continues Dr. Raghuvanshi - [the authorities] have targeted minority groups and anyone who wants to express himself. There is an absolute regime of torture. Now they are trying to attract public opinion by claiming Kashmir as a religious problem. On the basis of fundamentalism, they are seeking the support of the Islamic world'. 'In a country entirely devoid of the right of expression, human rights and religious freedom, Khamenei only wants to raise populist sentiments for a religious platform that manipulates politics.'"
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Friday, November 19, 2010
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Fwd: Your contribution to the Report 'Access to Land and the Right to Food
From: srfood OHCHR <srfood@ohchr.org>
Date: Thu, Nov 18, 2010 at 11:19 PM
Subject: Your contribution to the Report 'Access to Land and the Right to Food
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Dear Madam, Dear Sir,
Earlier this year, you submitted a communication to the U.N. Special Rapporteur on the right to food, Mr Olivier De Schutter, replying to the Call for Cases on Land rights and the Right to Food that he had launched in December 2009.
We would like to sincerely thank you for your submission. The Special Rapporteur presented his report "Access to land and the right to food" last month in New York at the 65th General Assembly. This report is available on the website of the Special Rapporteur in English, French and Spanish, and in the six U.N. languages on the website of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (report A/65/281).
The report "Access to land and the right to food" shows that up to 30 million hectares of farmland are lost annually due to environmental degradation, conversion to industrial use or urbanization. The resulting pressures on those depending on land for their livelihoods are further exacerbated by the expansion of agrofuels and the speculation on farmland. The report identifies ways to confer legal security of tenure upon farmers, fishers and indigenous people affected by these pressures. It also asks how agrarian reform can be promoted as an alternative to the global enclosure that we are currently witnessing.
Your contribution was vital in enabling Mr De Schutter to depict the global situation of access to land and the right to food. The Special Rapporteur received 117 cases following the public call, which he analysed in a background paper that was made available at the same time than his report. This document also provides an overview of 115 letters of allegations sent to Governments by the Special Rapporteur in the period from 2003 to 2009 concerning rights related to the use of land and the right to food. The letters concerned 89 different cases in 36 countries. The cases reveal some similarities and trends which shed light on how issues of land use affect peoples' enjoyment of their right to food. Almost every case reported instances in which communities or individuals have been evicted or lost access to land or were facing the threat of eviction or of loosing access to land.
Mr De Schutter has also called for new international initiatives on land investments and land tenure to be strongly anchored in the right to food during the 36th session of the Committee on World Food Security, which was held in Rome on 11-15 October, and he publicly welcomed the outcome of this session which encourages the continuation of the work on Voluntary Guidelines for the responsible governance of tenure of land and other natural resources.
Sincerely,
The team of the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to food
If you would like more information on the work of the Special Rapporteur, please visit his website and subscribe to the newsletter about his work.
Mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food
Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
Postal Address: UNOG-OHCHR, CH1211 Genève 10, Suisse
Tel: +41 22 917 9643/ 917 96 97
Fax: + 41 22 917 90 06
Email: srfood@ohchr.org
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Parmarth: a hope for waters' right in Bundelkhand
PARMARTH has been working towards community water source sustainability by ensuring water security with inclusion & gender perspective. In the last one decade it has focused on the poorest & marginalized groups. The organization believes that awareness and community empowerment ultimately demands governance accountability. The organisation’s spread is limited to the Bundelkhand region of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.
Pani Panchayat, with due representation of women and dalit groups is central to the intervention strategy. It has been playing instrumental roles in ensuring drinking water for the community members through community’s own management. Training of women members and community cadre about maintenance of the hand pumps has helped in ensuring the regular water availability and reducing the drudgery work time (fetching of water) for women & adolescents members in the families. It has also resulted in number of drinking water sources being established & repaired.
The organization has adopted the potential of water-livelihood linkages as a focal long term Integrated Water Resource Management programme in its operational areas. It has also developed model Roof Water Harvesting and soak pits with participatory approach & community contribution strategy for water conservation and protection. Work on water brings the organization close to drought & livelihood agenda. Parmarth has demonstrated model work on water livelihood linkages by developing micro irrigation model, developing water structure for ensuring water source sustainability. Drought has impacted in the live of the poor families and water crisis further forced poor families to migrate. In this direction, the organization has addressed the water crisis during the drought season and ensured water availability throughout the season through developing and maintaining water sources points. Intervention on drought also consequently relates to education issues of adolescents / girls’ children.
Working with the government is key to the organisation’s function. It mobilizes support of district administration by participating in the various meeting / events like Jal Diwas, etc. Collaboration has led to assured effective implementation of government water programmes and facilitation of inter-sectoral dialogue and information sharing. Another impact of this partnership is convergence and inters departmental coordination and linking of the water issues with health, nutrition, education and other department such as forestry.
In the recent times Parmarth exclusively focusing on community water conservation and protection under MGNREGA, flagship poverty alleviation and job guarantee programme of the government of India at the panchayat level. It also actively monitors the Bundelkhand Package drought-proofing programme.
The organization undertakes research and monitoring of public expenditure on water issues through budget tracking and government policy. It facilitate platform for informed discussion on water related policy with poorest & marginalized perspective. Through its networks and alliance relationship, the organization facilitates interaction among government, NGOs and civil society groups and generates opportunities for poor people towards ensuring water security throughout the year.
The followings information sums up the outcome of the work of the organization:
• A network comprising of 372 women’s groups with 4522 women representatives from rural Bundelkhand.
• Forty nine Water Bodies (Pani Panchayat, Village Water and Sanitation Committees, Jal Saheli) enlists support of 813 functional members.
• Repairing of 1082 Hand pumps ensured drinking water availability to 21625 families.
• Installation of 340 new Hand Pumps provided drinking water to 6756 families.
• Approximately 4122 families were benefitted from restoration of 226 Hand pumps.
• Thirty seven new dug wells were constructed to benefit 1868 families.
• 45 wells were deepened & renovated benefitting 2352 families and addressing their yearlong drinking water need.
• Twenty five new check dams benefited 513 families
• Construction of 20 new ponds benefitted approximately 1800 families.
• Renovations of 31 ponds benefitted 3000 families.
• 28 Roof Water Harvesting Structure constructed benefitting 364 families.
