ACT ALLIANCE APPEAL UPHELD

ACT ALLIANCE APPEAL UPHELD

Independent Appeal Panel upholds appeal by ACT Alliance.

Geneva, Switzerland – Following HQAI’s decision to suspend ACT Alliance’s certification and the subsequent appeal by ACT Alliance against that decision, the Appeal Panel mandated by HQAI’s Advisory and Complaint Board (ACB) has stipulated that the audit report does not provide sufficient objective evidence to support the major corrective action request (CAR) M2023-8.4 and requests the HQAI Secretariat to withdraw the major finding and lift the suspension of the certificate with immediate effect. The HQAI Secretariat has also been asked to allocate additional resources and time to the next audit so that there can be a specific focus on issues identified in the now-revoked major corrective action.

What does this decision concretely mean?

  • The suspension of ACT Alliance’s certificate is lifted with immediate effect. The major CAR M2023-8.4 (The ACT Alliance Secretariat does not have the management and staff capacity to deliver the effective operation of its humanitarian mechanism – Appeal and RRF – in compliance with the CHS) has been withdrawn, and the audit report is subsequently being updated.
  • It confirms ACT Alliance’s unwavering commitment to Quality and Accountability and the CHS, as demonstrated through its longstanding audit journey since its initial CHS Certification in 2017.
  • ACT Alliance is committed to addressing all CHS audit findings, and the next certification audit (maintenance audit 2025) will follow its progress on ensuring sufficient management and staff capacity to deliver its humanitarian mechanism in compliance with the CHS. Before finalising and sharing the 2025 public audit report, HQAI will report detailed findings back to the ACB.
  • The appeal decision clearly demonstrates the impartiality of the ACB in its decisions and corroborates HQAI’s commitment to professionalism, impartiality, and objectivity. The independent accreditation body Accredia annually assesses HQAI’s impartiality as one of its audit criteria against ISO/IEC 17065:2015.
  • HQAI welcomes and values complaints and appeals and will use every case as an opportunity to learn and continue offering independent, adapted quality assurance services. HQAI will embark on a meaningful reflection and comprehensive analysis of the Appeal Panel’s findings to ensure that HQAI’s interpretation of audit findings is systematically substantiated by factual and objective evidence and clearly conveyed to our partners.

 

Background

On August 09, 2023, HQAI’s audit report identified a major corrective action request (major CAR M2023-8.4) on ACT Alliance’s renewal audit, leading to the suspension of the CHS certificate, which was communicated to ACT Alliance on August 11, 2023. ACT Alliance appealed against the audit decision on August 24, 2023. The subsequent investigation and decision by the Executive Director of HQAI to uphold the audit findings was not accepted by ACT Alliance and motivated ACT’s request for the appeal to be escalated to the ACB of HQAI, dated September 22, 2023. An independent Appeal Panel of two ACB members was formed to conduct a review process evaluating all the documents and records submitted by both parties to the appeal. The Appeal Panel decided to uphold the appeal. The decision is binding for both parties.

It should be noted that provisional suspensions are common practice in certification schemes across various sectors and can typically last up to six months. They are used to indicate situations where the management system of a certified organisation has undergone significant changes that impact the organisation’s ability to comply with a given standard or when one or more minor CARs could not be addressed within the specified timeframe. Unfortunately, despite being a normal part of the HQAI audit process of CHS, suspensions may still cause reputational damage to audited organisations even if, like ACT Alliance, they have consistently proven their long-standing commitment to Quality and Accountability and the CHS. It is therefore acknowledged that a better sector-wide understanding of the CHS certification process, its transparency and purpose, is necessary to ensure that audited organisations’ commitments to quality and accountability are recognised and valued. HQAI is committed to furthering this understanding.

Download the Word document here

 

COP28 Blog: Will world leaders at COP28 care for Creation? 

By Mattias Söderberg

The UN climate summit, COP28, is just beginning. Over the next two weeks world leaders will take decisions which will affect our future. As Christians, we believe that we have duty to care for Creation as we should care for our neighbors and ensure that hope is kept alive. I do hope that world leaders share our concerns, and that they take responsibility for ensuring that we can manage the climate crisis we are facing.   

However, world leaders will not be alone when they meet at the climate summit in Dubai. The joint ecumenical delegation, gathering members of the World Council of Churches, the Lutheran World Federation and ACT Alliance, stand united in a strong call for climate justice. More than 50 ecumenical delegates, including faith leaders, campaigners, activists, political advocates, and communicators will follow the meeting closely. We will raise our concerns, engage with decision makers, and share our calls for action.  

Firstly, we must end the global temperature increase, and reduce our greenhouse gas emissions. This must be done in a fair manner so that we achieve a just transition. That means that we need a rapid phase out of all fossil fuels, supported by climate finance and a rapid scale-up of renewable energy and energy efficient solutions. It also requires a greater focus on access to energy, so that nobody is left behind when the world leapfrogs into a green and sustainable future.   

Secondly, we need a drastically scaled-up focus on adaptation. UNEP has documented that the adaptation gap – the gap between current levels of adaptation efforts and the adaptation needed while accounting for the effects of climate change – is far more than USD 300 bn per year. Developed countries are currently not even delivering USD 100 bn as climate finance. The need for more attention to adaptation is therefore obvious.  

Thirdly, the lack of adaptation combined with increasing global temperatures leads to climate-related disasters, and loss and damage. Last year at COP27, parties acknowledged this challenge, and it is now time to operationalize the promised loss and damage fund. While the fund seem to have been adopted, attention must now turn to filling the fund with finance. A fund without financing will have limited effect, and as an ecumenical delegation we call for adequate, predictable new and additional loss and damage finance. This should be both as allocations from parties, and from new and innovative sources built on the polluter pays principle.   

Finally, and as importantly, all climate-related activities must be implemented in a fair and equitable manner, ensuring that climate justice is combined with gender justice. As an ecumenical delegation we stress that we cannot achieve climate justice without gender justice. This message will be an important part of our engagement during the coming weeks.  

World leaders must not fail us again. We need to care for creation, we need climate action, and we need an ambitious outcome from this summit.  

Mattias Söderberg is the co-chair of the ACT Alliance Climate Justice Reference Group and Chief Advocacy Advisor for DanChurchAid.                                                                       

Countdown to COP28: ACT in the Middle East and North Africa

Rachel Luce, ACT Regional Representative, MENA.
George Majaj, ACT Humanitarian Programme Advisor, MENA. PHOTO: Simon Chambers.

As the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region prepares to host COP28, we reproduce here our 2022 Annual Report interview with Rachel Luce, ACT Alliance Regional Representative for the MENA region and George Majaj, ACT’s MENA Humanitarian Programme Advisor. The interview will give you some insight into MENA issues and how ACT and its members address these issues during peacetime.

What are some of the key issues facing the region? 

Rachel: There are several protracted crises in the region. Linked to that is mass migration. Educated people are leaving, as is the Christian minority. The Christian migration is really on the hearts and minds of our local members, as this is where the historic churches are located. We also see big changes in the social fabric, and you lose the value of diversity. Migration is a big concern for all the members, along with the conflicts and ongoing wars. 

George: Most of the crises are becoming protracted. There are fewer political ways to end these issues – for example in Yemen, Syria, Iraq, and Palestine. There’s a lack of interest from funders and media. The political will at home and abroad is not there to solve the protracted crises in most of the countries in MENA, and that has a negative effect on communities. 

How do members in the region work together?  

In the Middle East, national forums meet monthly to discuss what they’re working on, joint areas of action such as training, what they’re hearing from other platforms they’re involved in, and how they might coordinate advocacy. The forums consist of country directors or their deputies. Iraq and Jerusalem have extended their forums so that faith-based agencies can join. 

The MENA Communities of Practice (CoPs), such as Gender Justice and Climate Justice, are connected to the forums. Each national forum sends at least one delegate to a MENA CoP. These are usually the thematic experts. MENA CoPs meet monthly and discuss aspects of the work they want to do together. They go to in-person events, such as trainings, and then report back to their Forum.  

What are the opportunities you see in the region? 

The MENA Gender Justice CoP wants to influence change in Christian family law in the Middle East. For Christians, family law is governed by their church, and it covers inheritances, marriage, divorce, custody, and similar issues. The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Jordan and the Holy Land (ELCJHL) changed their church’s family law a few years ago. The MENA Gender Justice CoP wants to see similar change across the region. They started with a study on Jordan’s church family laws. After hearing the consultant’s questions, the churches they interviewed decided to look into changing their laws. No one knew their own laws until they went to court to find out.  

One of the MENA Gender Justice CoP’s goals is to ensure family inheritances are divided equally between men and women and that women aren’t pressured into signing away their inheritance rights. They also want family laws to be transparent and accessible. Changing these laws makes real, true change in the lives of people.  

MENA’s Climate Justice CoP is growing every year. Season of Creation is on fire in the Middle East right now, which is amazing.  ACT MENA members also invested a lot in Egypt’s COP27. Now they’re talking about how to engage after Dubai’s COP28 in 2023. They’re showing a commitment to global negotiations in the long term.  

In MENA, we started by training members in country-specific multi-stakeholder dialogues where specialists reviewed adaptation, climate financing and mitigation. Once they understood climate justice at a country level, members engaged regionally because they could see the intersections. Now they’re making the link to the global level. They see how the fight at one UN COP can lead to additional financing and how they can push for climate ambition.  

*****

A participant in the 2022 Season of Creation celebration sponsored by MECC. PHOTO: MECC.

Season of Creation “on fire” in MENA 

The Season of Creation is the annual Christian celebration to pray and respond to the cry of Creation. The global ecumenical family unites to listen and care for our common home, the Oikos of God. It begins 1 September,

the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, and ends 4 October, the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of ecology. ACT Alliance has been part of the Season of Creation for many years. The Season’s initiatives encourage individual ACT members’ advocacy to influence decisions at global climate meetings such as the UNFCCC COP that follows shortly after the Celebration is completed.  The Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) translated the Celebration Guide into Arabic, a first, and encouraged its members to participate. In Lebanon, church youth walked in nature to “listen to the voice of creation.” Hosted by MECC, the activity inaugurated a series of celebrations throughout MENA. 

Women learn sewing in Jordan. PHOTO: Paul Jeffrey/ACT

Local members advance advocacy at home 

ACT Alliance welcomed a new Syrian member in 2022: GOPA-DERD (Department of Ecumenical Relations and Development of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and all the East).  Local members are organisations indigenous to the region or country in which they work.  “Local members engage very quickly in the CoPs. They see the value of advocacy and the ACT programmes,” says Rachel Luce, MENA Regional Representative. “They have been championing local voices here and internationally and they advance advocacy in their own country. They see this work as their long-term commitment to their country and to their people.” 

Project profile: Restoring livelihoods for refugees 

ACT Alliance member Department of Service to Palestinian Refugees (DSPR) established a small business startup loan programme for Syrian refugees living in Jordan but found that the refugees’ high debt levels hampered success. DSPR decided to focus instead on helping refugees graduate from poverty, an approach that had been tried with Palestinian and Syrian refugees in Gaza. Programme participants now receive cash support for necessities for the first six to eight months and then receive training in topics such as life skills and starting a small business. They can then access loans and grants to establish a small business and are more able to repay loans. 

Did you know? In the multi-faith Middle East, each religion has historically had its own family law. As well, each Christian church has its own church law. In Jordan there are six different church laws governing family issues like divorce, custody and inheritances. 

 

 

75 anniversary of the Genocide Convention: we must remain vigilant

ACT Alliance’s General Secretary, Rudelmar Bueno de Faria participated in a side event organized by the United Nations Office on Genocide Prevention and the Responsibility to Protect (UNOSAPG) and the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC), to commemorate the 75th Anniversary of the Convention on the Prevention of Genocide.

The Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide was the first human rights treaty adopted by the General Assembly on 9 December 1948 in the wake of the Second World War and the Holocaust.

The event “A Living Force in World Society: The Legacy of the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide”, aimed at highlighting the legacy and impact of the Genocide Convention and the challenges that remain in the prevention of genocide.

“With the surge in violent extremism as and when conducive to terrorism and religious intolerance in many societies and across faiths, religious leaders and faith-based organizations have an important role to play in preventing the instrumentalization of religious beliefs and promoting respect for all faiths”.

Mr de Faria said:

« The criteria outlined in the Convention offer a comprehensive and clear definition of the acts that constitute genocide. As we examine conflicts unfolding around the world today, it becomes evident that many meet the criteria outlined in the Convention. However, a disconcerting parallel narrative often emerges, driven by political and military interests, seeking to undermine the principles of the Convention. This undermines the collective responsibility we share to prevent and respond to such atrocities.

These interests sometimes distort the narrative surrounding conflicts for strategic gain, deflecting attention away from the true nature of the crimes being committed. In some instances, these interests may intentionally downplay or misrepresent the severity of actions that clearly align with the criteria for genocide. This manipulation of information not only hampers international efforts to prevent such atrocities but also obstructs justice and accountability.

In light of these challenges, it is crucial for the international community to remain vigilant and uncompromising in upholding the principles of the Genocide Convention. We must resist the distortion of narratives for political or military gain and hold those responsible for genocide accountable, regardless of their affiliations or geopolitical significance. »

ACT Alliance also produced a video contribution to mark the occasion.

Why is crucial for Faith-Based organizations to work on the intersections of economic and gender justice

A blog post by Simagaliso Hove,  Lutheran Development Service  (Zimbabwe) and ACT Governing Board member

Why is crucial for Faith-Based organizations to work on the intersections of economic and gender justice?

Economic inequality and injustice remain one of the major obstacles to gender justice as women in most countries continue to be disproportionately disadvantaged when it comes to equitable access and distribution of economic and financial resources and privileges. Therefore, economic gender justice issues are part of fundamental human rights.  By their nature, Faith Based Organizations are in a better position to influence traditions and norms in most communities as religion plays an important role in most people’s everyday lives.  FBOs are also respected by governments and other duty-bearers and participate in platforms where they can influence necessary changes in policies that continue to perpetuate discrimination. A lot of work is already happening with FBOs raising awareness and working towards the prevention of GBV, child marriages, gender pay gaps, and unjust legislation among many others.  However, to be able to achieve more sustainable results, FBOs should start focusing on where gender justice and economic justice intersect rather than continue with fragmentation or compartmentalization.

What are the main learnings on this intersection, that you can share from your work in Zimbabwe?

  • A lot of women will continue to suffer from gender-based violence and young girls forced into early marriages if they do not have economic and financial means to survive daily. Women need to have livelihood options that provide income security to enable them to make decisions about their lives, and their bodies and escape from domestic violent relationships. Traditionally, women in Zimbabwe take more responsibility for childcare and household chores than their male partners.  This may mean that mothers take less-paying or less stressful jobs than they are qualified for.  Attaining their career goals is delayed due to these family responsibilities that they are neither paid for nor can they include in their curriculum vitae.  In Zimbabwe paid maternity leave is 90 days only and one has to return to work and leave the child with a paid carer, at times this is someone the family doesn’t even know and as a mother it is in our nature to worry about the safety and quality of care your child gets in your absence.   Women of childbearing age with young children may not perform as well as their colleagues, male or female, who have nothing to worry about hence these women may not move up the ladder as fast as their colleagues.  There is a need to have programs (employer-led or government-led) to help women reach their potential and not be limited should they choose to be mothers.
  • Women need income to take care of their special needs like sexual and reproductive health necessities like contraceptives, menstrual hygiene, and other well-being needs. Medical care is very expensive in the country and medical insurance is a luxury that can be accessed by a privileged few.  There is a need for special allowances or allocations for women either through income tax reduction (being gender-responsive in the national budget) or employer-assisted allocation or even family budget allocations for these special needs.
  • In rural Zimbabwe, women earn their incomes from farming activities. This implies that they need access to land. Most Zimbabwean rural women are discriminated against in land ownership, particularly, in rural areas due to customary restrictions and patriarchal culture.   Although rural women work tirelessly in their fields, they are aware they may lose it once their husbands marry another wife or divorce them.  Gender equality and economic justice are at the centre of land ownership for these women, it is not an either-or case but both, for them, there is a seamless connection with the land as a major economic resource and gender-inclusive laws in its allocation and ownership.  If they do not own the land, they work they will continue to be under the control and influence of sometimes abusive partners or guardians.

What this has taught us is that there cannot be a real struggle for gender justice without addressing issues of economic justice.

What are the main challenges?

  • Inconsistencies in the law and practice; in the cities, land ownership is through title deeds and anyone (regardless of gender) can buy land, whereas in rural areas most women have access to land through their husbands, husbands’ families or their own families as land is communal owned. In rural areas, land ownership is traditionally a male privilege.
  • The national budgets are not gender-responsive as nothing is providing for special needs for women and girls.
  • Women and girls remain marginalized both in church and society as there are still practices that discriminate against their access to resources, and decision-making positions (positions of power and influence) as well as blocking their appointment to higher offices.

How economic justice and gender justice are grounded in faith, from a diaconal perspective?

The current LDS Strategy 2019 – 2023 is titled “And by our actions, we demonstrate our faith”.  Faith influences a lot of the diaconal actions we do, it influences how we engage with communities and duty-bearers.  It moves us into action.

Our actions are motivated by the fact that ‘every being is created in God’s image’ and is therefore equal in the eyes of the Creator.  If all are equal, no one should be discriminated against in accessing opportunities and protection.  Our environment should be able to listen to all voices without discrimination or preference.  This is how our actions can demonstrate our faith.  It is the practice of our faith through diaconal initiatives that transform us to achieving the “leaving no one behind” commitment.  Our diaconal activities are supposed to work hard in promoting equal opportunities for economic empowerment – an economy where no one is left behind, responding and preventing GBV – an economy where if one member is injured all work together to repair and get rid of the hurting, empowering women to rise to higher decision-making positions (in the church, in society and in politics) – an economy where all voices are equally important, as well as advocating for more caring and inclusive economic systems that do not discriminate against gender.

Faith, climate justice and the UN General Assembly: a report

Faith groups marched against fossil fuels in NYC. PHOTO: Simon Chambers/ACT

By Rev. Fred Milligan

This year’s mid-September United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) high level opening week featured two events that allowed the world to reflect on the progress made since the adoption in 2015 of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Paris Climate Agreement. 

The first event was the SDG Summit of September 18-19, intended to renew the commitment of the world’s nations to press forward toward the goals they had adopted eight years ago. 

The second event was the Climate Ambition Summit of September 20, called by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to accelerate progress toward the goals of the Paris Agreement. This is linked to SDG 13 which urges the world to “Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts.” 

SDGs and Climate Justice  

The linkage of the two events is particularly significant from the perspective of Climate Justice. The other sixteen SDGs address crises such as child mortality, gender discrimination and many other dimensions of human and non-human life. All the goals are complexly linked as parts of the solution to the climate crisis and vice versa. The solution to the climate crisis must include climate justice. As a student of cross-cultural theological ethics, I can attest that the 17 SDGs are congruent with visions for life on the planet which the world’s religions have long held.  

Many feel it will not be possible for the global community to make the kinds of changes necessary to fight global warming and achieve climate justice without the full engagement of all our cultural resources, including those of the religious community. But, according to some observers, the religious community has not been fully engaged in the UN SDG process, particularly SDG 13 on climate change.  

It was with this concern that I participated as an observer in various activities surrounding the UN high level week. With a growing sense of urgency, I listened to reports that there has been very little progress on any of the SDGs, including climate, since their adoption. In some cases, there has actually been retrenchment. 

UNGA-related events 

The first event was disappointing from my perspective. On Saturday, September 16th, I attended UN Mobilization Day events with Alison Kelly, ACT’s Representative to the UN. This included a forum on civil society inclusion and another on the role of youth and young adults in the SDG processes.  

I listened with great anticipation to Secretary-General Guterres’s remarks. I hoped he would include an acknowledgement of the important role of the faith community in achieving the SDGs, but alas, there was none. In fact, of all the interventions, only the moderator of one panel mentioned faith. She said that she represented many identities, including activist, young adult, person of color, woman and believer. While this acknowledgement of the spiritual dimension of human culture and identity was welcome, I was, to say the least, disappointed by its exceptional rarity.  

The next days, however, offered a more encouraging picture: 

  • September 17: The ACT Alliance team participated in the March to End Fossil Fuels with representatives from the World Council of Churches and hundreds of others in the faith section. Tens of thousands of marchers focused on US climate policies and practices and the global climate crisis.  
  • September 18: I attended Inspiring, Faith, Hope and Transformative Action to Accelerate progress Towards the SDGs, a high-level forum sponsored by the Trilateral Partnership of Regional Faith-Based Networks for the SDGs. The group represented Africa, Asia-Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean and was led in part by ACT Alliance’s Asia-Pacific Regional Representative Alwynn Javier. 

My initial concerns about a disconnect between the UN’s SDG process and the faith community were confirmed when a panelist who had been part of drafting the original SDGs spoke of her disappointment that there had originally been no vision in those founding documents for how to constructively engage the faith community.  

Still, the presence on one of the panels of a high-level UN official gave me hope. Perhaps if we push the UN at a local level and do not receive the kind of collaboration we would hope for, we might still have assistance from those higher up the chain of command. I was also intrigued by the presence of Ambassador Hussein, a US State Department employee who focuses on interreligious cooperation. 

  • Wednesday, September 20: The Episcopal Denominational Stocktake presented a model for how faith communities could evaluate their own efforts and ambition on climate.  
  • Thursday, September 21: I attended the Kofi Annan Briefing sponsored by ACT Alliance and the Multi-faith Advisory Council to the UN Interagency Taskforce on Religion and Sustainable Development. Panelists spoke on the faith community’s role in effective implementation of SDG initiatives in countries where local knowledge and trust is essential for effective outreach. Yet some concern was expressed that the relationship between the UN and faith communities be that of co-creators instead of simply implementers of solutions to social and environmental ills. 
  • ACT Climate Justice Reference Group co-chair Mattias Soderberg of DanChurchAid organized a high-level meeting on Adaptation Finance. Sponsored by Denmark and Bangladesh, it included key decision-makers who will be at COP 28 and a member of the COP presidency.

Climate and US faith groups 

In the weeks following the UNGA high-level week, two publications offered further food for thought that were important from my perspective as a US citizen. 

October 4: Pope Francis released his second encyclical on climate change Laudate Deum (Glory to God). In this, his second pastoral letter on the climate crisis, the Pope says forcefully that while scientists have done their work faithfully in addressing our minds, the religious community has yet to effectively address the hearts of people. He singled out the citizens of the US for rebuke, saying that their per capita carbon footprint is twice that of Chinese citizens. While this reader would have appreciated more diligent sourcing of such statements in the document, the point is assumed to be a valid one, at least in historical cumulative terms. 

October 6: According to Kristoffer Tigue in Inside Climate News two recent studies shed light on the views of Americans in relation to the climate crisis. 

 “A Pew Research Center survey, found that just 44 percent of American Catholics believe in human-caused climate change,” he writes. “While 29 percent believe the warming climate is due to “natural patterns” and 13 percent don’t believe Earth is warming at all.”  

He further notes that “A second survey, by the Public Religion Research Institute found that ‘the higher someone values their religious beliefs, the less likely they are to believe that Earth is warming” due to human activity’.” 

Ways forward 

The foregoing leads me to four conclusions: 

  1. Many of the world’s religious leaders now realize that we can and should engage as a force to achieve sustainable development, climate change and climate justice goals. 
  2.  While many in the UN hierarchy seem ambivalent about the value of collaborating with faith-based groups, (no doubt for very good reasons in many situations), there also seems to be a growing openness to dialogue on how each sector’s strengths can complement the other. However, there is still much work to be done to ensure the inclusion of religious leaders and faith actors across the work of the UN. 
  3. We on the faiths side have much work to do to convince people within our churches that the SDGs and Climate Justice goals align with the deepest yearnings and demands of our traditions. 
  4. Finally, we in the faith community must encourage our leaders to keep reaching out across boundaries and engage with members of the UN to forge bonds of trust and collaboration. 

 

 

New York City, September 21, 2023- Fred Milligan at the Multi-Faith Advisory Council to the United Nations presentation. PHOTO: Simon Chambers/ACT.

Rev. Fred Milligan is an Act Alliance Global Climate Justice Advocacy Team member and local New York City volunteer for UNGA Week, September 17-22. 

 

 

 

New Climate Justice online platform

A graphic from the platform guides users to the examples of best practices that most interest them.

Do you need to develop an internal climate policy and want to know what other organisations have done? Or do you want to find out more about disaster risk reduction or locally led adaptation? Maybe you have a great adaptation project you’d like to share with other ACT members. 

Visit ACT’s new Platform for Climate Change and Programmes, meant to strengthen ACT’s Climate Justice members and networks. Available on the Fabo Learning site, the platform has several functions:

  • a one-stop learning site for climate change issues;
  • a sharing space for climate policy and members’ work on adaptation, resilience, loss and damage; and,
  • a digital space in which to network with and learn from other ACT members’ work on climate justice. 

“This is an opportunity for members to share their best experiences adapting to climate change,” says Tewaney Seifesellasie, co-chair of the ACT Alliance Climate Justice Programmes team. The team focusses on the climate adaptation work of ACT members at the grassroots level and is also responsible for running ACT’s Resilience Award. They started designing the platform in March 2022.  

Four sections 

The platform, accessible to ACT members at https://fabo.org/act_secretariat/actclimate , is divided into four main sections.  

The first, Climate Programming, includes training opportunities and news on ACT Climate Justice opportunities such as the Resilience Award.  Users are invited to submit their own climate programme interventions addressing adaptation, resilience, loss and damage and/or low carbon transition. A template is provided. 

The second section, Internal Climate Policies, has examples of ACT member climate policies from DanChurchAid, Norwegian Church Aid and Christian Aid, a helpful slide deck on implementing such a policy, and a climate game to help members of organisations reflect on their climate change goals. 

Member policies can be downloaded from the platform.

Both of these sections feature a useful resources library with ACT and member publications on climate change and climate justice.  

The third section, Dialogue Forums, has two components. The Practice Forum invites ACT members to “collaborate, share examples of good practices, learn from others and exchange ideas or questions.” The  Networking Forum features photographs and short biographies of the members of the Programmes team and invites users to add their own profile. 

Graphics guide users to the dialogue forum of their choice.

 

 

 

 

 

“We want to increase networking among ACT members,” says Ruusa Gawazaa, co-chair of the ACT Alliance Climate Justice Programmes team. “We can learn a lot from each other.” 

The final section gives an overview of ACT Alliance, and how users can participate.  Members of the ACT Alliance are welcome to join the community of practice, with possibilities for regular cooperation and exchange of ideas and experiences. 

ACT members are invited to share news of the Platform in their Forums and with their own members. “We can leverage our strengths by sharing them, and also strengthen the climate justice movement within the alliance,” says Tewaney.  

To access the site:  

https://fabo.org/act_secretariat/actclimate  

Step 1: Log in: https://fabo.org/my/  

Step 2: Access Climate ACT alliance platform for climate change and programs  

Step 3: Click, climate programming, dialogue Forum (on Tool Bar) etc or other forums 

To share experiences:  

Step 1: Log in: https://fabo.org/my/  

Step 2: Access Climate ACT alliance platform for climate change and programs  

Step 3: Click Dialogue Forum (on the Tool Bar)  

Step 4: Click on “DO YOU WANT TO SHARE EXPERIENCES FROM YOUR ORGANISATION? DO YOU HAVE A QUESTION? OR AN OPINION? CLICK HERE TO ENGAGE IN THE DISCUSSIONS IN A DIALOGUE FORUM” 

 

 

 

 

ACT Palestine Forum’s statement on the situation in Gaza

The ACT Palestine Forum is appalled, and grief-stricken by the unacceptable attacks being committed against unarmed civilians.  

We condemn all violations of international law committed by both sides of the conflict and we deplore the attack that targeted innocent Palestinian civilians seeking refuge in the Al Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza on October 17th. An attack on a hospital is a grave and unacceptable violation of International Humanitarian Law and must not be tolerated by the international community. Initial reports by the Palestinian Ministry of Health spoke of more than 500 casualties, including patients, medical personnel, and individuals seeking shelter at the hospital. It is even more heartbreaking that a significant number of the casualties were women and children.

The ACT Palestine Forum expresses deep concern for the loss of innocent lives and the extensive destruction of vital civilian infrastructure, including hospitals, mosques, churches, and private homes. We call on all governments to promptly demand and implement a humanitarian ceasefire and put an end to the conflict in Gaza.

Any attack on civilians is not justified under any circumstance, we also demand accountability. The protection of civilians and the adherence to international humanitarian law (IHL) must be upheld in any conflict. Those who are currently targeting civilians must be held accountable.

The current escalation of violence is intolerable and shows no concern or respect for human life. Thousands of women and men, girls and boys, have been killed on both sides of this conflict so far, and many more have been injured. In Palestine, those injured cannot access proper care, they lack medicines, water, and food. The blocking of humanitarian aid must be revoked, and civilians must be assisted.

The ACT Palestine Forum appeals to the global community to commit to addressing the root causes of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict while upholding the principles of international humanitarian law and human rights. The ACT Palestine Forums’ mission is to bring an end to the Israeli military occupation, alleviate human suffering, and emphasize the urgent need for an immediate and peaceful resolution to this conflict.

The ACT Palestine Forum urges all members of the ACT Alliance to stand in solidarity with us and join in the call for a three-day period of mourning. The situation is deeply distressing; a mourning period would allow us to honor the victims and express our empathy and concern for those affected. During these challenging times, we must come together to remember and pay our respects to the victims of these attacks and their families. We continue to pray for justice and peace.

Announcing the ACT 2022 Annual Report

PHOTO: Paul Jeffrey / ACT

“In 2022, the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the existential threat of climate change, and the impact of ongoing conflicts were exacerbated by the war in Ukraine,” says Rudelmar Bueno da Faria, ACT General Secretary in his 2022 Annual Report message. “Despite these challenges, ACT and its members were able to consolidate our work as a relevant and cohesive faith-based alliance.” 

The 2022 issue of the ACT Alliance Annual Report has special features on the work of ACT’s MENA region and ACT’s global advocacy programme. You will find out more about the work of other ACT regions and members as well as about 2022’s activities on Climate Justice, Migration and Displacement, Gender Justice and ACT’s other programmes. 

You’ll also find news on ACT’s engagement at the World Council of Churches General Assembly, our new joint ACT/WCC publication on ecumenical diakonia, and our work to combat vaccine inequity. 

PHOTO: Simon Chambers / ACT

The Annual Report can be downloaded in English, French or Spanish using the links below.

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ACT members responding to deadly earthquake in western Afghanistan

A devastating 6.3 magnitude earthquake flattened homes and infrastructure in western Afghanistan on October 7, 2023. Photo: ACT member
A devastating 6.3 magnitude earthquake flattened homes and infrastructure in western Afghanistan on October 7, 2023. Photo: ACT member

Just before lunchtime on October 7, 2023, a devastating 6.3 magnitude earthquake with continuous aftershocks struck Herat province in western Afghanistan, flattening thousands of homes as well as schools and other infrastructure, with over 2000 reported killed and over 12,000 people impacted.  These numbers are expected to rise as some remote areas have not yet been reached by first responders.

Because of the timing of the earthquake, many women and children were in their homes preparing lunch for the families, which led to 2/3 of the affected people being women and children.

ACT members immediately began to respond to the needs in the communities affected, contacting local partners, beginning to do needs assessment and to move relief supplies into the area, including winterized tents, hygiene kits, and other needed items.

Winterized tents like this are being provided by ACT members to affected families after the October 7 earthquake. Photo: ACT member

ACT members also immediately engaged in the complicated coordination with local and national authorities, the UN and other NGOs needed to ensure that aid reaches the communities and families where it is most needed as quickly and effectively as possible. ACT members are planning to provide emergency assistance as soon as possible before the harsh winter hits western Afghanistan.  

ACT members are planning response over the coming year and a half, including the provision of emergency shelter like the winterized tents, blankets, clothes and kitchen supplies, WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene), providing hygiene and dignity kits, building latrines and bathing places, providing water purification systems, multi-purpose cash assistance, and protection for people who are more vulnerable now that they have lost their homes. 

In the longer term, ACT members plan to rebuild homes, to provide solar systems to health centres, build community kitchens, and provide lanterns to households impacted by the earthquake and its aftershocks.

For more information about ACT’s response, or to contribute, please contact Waqas Muhammad, Humanitarian Program Officer Asia-Pacific at waqas@actalliance.org.

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