UN climate talks have a bad track record.

Over and over again, governments meet to find practical solutions on how to tackle one the most urgent and dramatic global challenges we face as humanity: climate change. The majority of participants if not all, are in agreement about the need for action. However, when delegates book their flights, you can be sure they add an extra day, as they know that the meeting will run overtime over hard talks and negotiations. What changes do we need to make this summit in Madrid, COP25, a success?

To begin with, when I say “success” I mean a summit that delivers on goals. The same goals that are enshrined in the Paris agreement. If we were to listen to scientists, and we definitely should, success means that in Madrid governments should commit to increase their ambitions rather than behave like business as usual. The recent “Gap report” from UNEP, raises the stakes.  It makes it clear that all parties need to reconsider their current approach to climate change, revise their national plans, and support international rules and agreements which can facilitate and promote more climate action.

At COP 25 the finding of the report should inform a number of critical decisions. First, the planned review of the current work with “climate change-induced loss and damage”, must deliver a commitment to continue the work, with a more ambitious agenda, which includes support to people affected by climate change. Talks about loss and damage are difficult!  Developed and developing countries are far apart in their positions. However, communities in need of support cannot be left behind. The Paris agreement is quite clear about it: loss and damage must be addressed and acted upon.

Secondly, the Madrid summit is expected to deliver rules for international cooperation, including ways on how to trade with carbon. This is a risky element of the Paris agreement and it has so far not been further developed. If the objective to reduce global emissions is truly at the center of our work as the international community, any type of rules must be strict and must ensure that there are no loopholes, double counting or cheating. Delivering weak rules will be a giant failure as it may enable a continued fossil fuel-based development.

Finally, and this may not be directly linked to the summit itself, the parties to the treaty need to step up their national ambition. The Paris agreement is built with a bottom-up approach, where each country needs to make its own climate plan (the so-called National Determined Contributions). In 2020 the parties should submit their new plans, and COP25 is a great opportunity to share news about their forthcoming, and more ambitious, intentions. At the same time developed should declare that they will scale up their climate finance, to support developing with the implementation of their plans, and to deliver on the commitment to annually mobilize 100 bn USD from 2020 and onwards.

COP25 will of course cover many other topics but if parties deliver on these three points, they will at least be moving in the right direction.

I hope COP25 will be a success!

Blog by Mattias Söderberg, Senior Advocacy Advisor at DanChurchAid

During the U.N. Asia-Pacific Ministerial Conference on the Beijing+25 Review, ACT Alliance as a faith-based, global coalition of over 150 churches and agencies together with the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and UN Women organized a side event on November 28 entitled “Champions for Climate Change – Women Fighting for Climate Action”. Four women activists from four different countries in Asia presented how their work has contributed to fighting for climate and gender justice.

In his opening remarks ACT’s Regional Representative Asia Pacific Anoop Sukumaran said that climate justice and gender justice are inseparable. “Social exclusion and discrimination are often exacerbated by implications of climate change. All of us have to combat climate change and fight for gender justice”, he stated. Mrs. Åsa Hedén, Head of Development Cooperation-Regional Asia and Pacific of the Embassy of Sweden, reminded that engagements on climate change should not be looked at as an obligation, but as a chance to leave a resilient future to our children. She welcomed speakers and participants saying “Let’s seize this opportunity, we still have it”.

Supporting communities to mitigate the impacts of climate change

Khodeja Sultana, Country Director of Diakonia Sweden (a member of the ACT Alliance) in Bangladesh, described the challenges of working in a country where one third of the population is at risk of displacement due to climate change. “The effects of climate change are not gender blind. They are more hostile against women. In our patriarchal society, women and men perform stereotyped activities, have different roles and responsibilities and different access to resources”, she explained. She continued that at the same time however, breaking gender stereotypes and the walls of gender inequality at all levels was a must – gender equality being a right of its own.

Interconnection between climate justice and gender justice

Ruth Manorama, a dalit activist from India representing the Asia Dalit Rights Forum (ADRF) highlighted how social discrimination and exclusion is exacerbated in climate crisis. She illustrated how caste is an expression of oppression and hierarchy which needs to be challenged. Her work with Dalit communities in combatting caste discrimination and the implications of climate change on exclusion was expounded upon. “Gender, caste and racial discrimination are two sides of the same coin”, the activist stated. And she recorded: “Somebody fighting for gender justice cannot leave climate justice to others. It’s so interconnected”.

Obstacles and opportunities on the way to green economy

Nanticha “Lynn” Ocharoenchai, founder of the climate strike in Thailand, and Sonika Manandhar, a young entrepreneur and creator of Green Energy Mobility from Nepal, represented the new generation of women mobilising people for climate demonstrations on social media and working on new solutions for mobility.

“The problem is trust”, said Sonika Manandhar. Women active in green micro-economy in her country could only get credits at very high interest rates. Therefore, green livelihood also has to come with financing.

Nanticha “Lynn” Ocharoenchai is actually trying to bridge the gap between environmentalists and non-environmentalists. She stated that in general, people would react more if their emotional side was touched and if it was easy for them to be good. She had a positive outlook to the future stating that “having realistic expectations doesn’t stop me from idealistic ideas”.

Targets of the Beijing +25 Conference

The Asia-Pacific Ministerial Conference on the Beijing+25 Review at the end of November brought together Ministers and senior officials, civil society and other key stakeholders from across the Asia-Pacific region. The targets were to identify key strategic areas and actions required to overcome barriers to gender equality and the empowerment of women, provide a platform to highlight innovative solutions and exchange good practices and lessons learned on strategies for change and increase the engagement of stakeholders of different ages. The ACT Alliance speakers gave a voice to those parts of the population highly affected by climate change. They also showed that gender justice cannot be achieved without climate justice nor without the inclusion of all members of society.

On Monday, December 2nd, governments will gather for a new round of UN climate talks at the 25^th Conference of the Parties (COP25) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The meeting which was moved from Santiago de Chile to Madrid has a heavy agenda and is expected to deliver on decisions that are important for international cooperation on tackling climate change.

“When parties meet in Madrid, they should not forget the people, families, and communities who have suffered due to cyclones such as Idai and Kenneth in Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe, heatwaves across India, droughts in the horn of Africa, and other disasters throughout the year,” says Birgitte Qvist-Sørensen, ACT Alliance Moderator.

“It is the very future of these people that governments will talk about, and their concerns must be at the centre of the talks in Madrid,” continues Qvist-Sørensen.

One of the most important issues to be addressed at COP25 is loss and damage. This refers to situations where people are no longer able to adapt to climate impacts, and as a result, are at risk of losing their property, livelihoods, or even their lives.

“COP25 must not be another business-as-usual session. It must come up with credible solutions to the lack of finance available to support people and communities affected by climate-induced loss and damage,” says Rudelmar Bueno de Faria, ACT’s General Secretary.

The debate on climate change has for a long time focused on how to mitigate global warming, and how to adapt to its impacts. “Although these areas are crucial, we should not forget the urgent need to address situations where disasters are already striking. Loss and damage is a pillar of the climate debate, the summit in Madrid should make that clear,” says Qvist-Sørensen.

COP25 is also expected to review the work program on gender and climate change, another priority for ACT Alliance. As women in many countries are the ones who are most affected by climate change, all development and climate-related efforts must be guided by principles of gender equality and human rights. “Nobody must be left behind when we take action on climate change,” says Qvist-Sørensen.

The third topic of interest for ACT is around international cooperation on market-based initiatives as a means to combat climate change. Unfortunately, experience from existing market-based initiatives under the Kyoto Protocol has shown that such initiatives can in fact be problematic. “If the rules on this issue are weak, the international community could seriously undermine global commitments to reduce global emissions,” says Bueno de Faria.

ACT’s delegation will follow the talks AT COP25 closely and will call for strict rules and high ambition. 

For further questions, please contact:

Mattias Söderberg, head of delegation, ACT Alliance – +45 – 29700609

Leia Achampong, climate change advisor, ACT Alliance EU – leia.achampong@actalliance.eu

As ACT Alliance members around the world continue to respond to extreme weather events, it is increasingly clear that climate change threatens to wipe out significant gains that countries have made towards sustainable development and poverty alleviation. 

“Unchecked climate change is running rampant, and certain developing countries and climate-vulnerable communities are being hit the hardest,” says Isaiah Toroitich, ACT’s Head of Advocacy and Development Policy.

While many communities have tried to adapt to climate change, the reality is that sometimes adaptation efforts are not enough to prevent communities from severe climate impacts, and there will be situations where losses and damages will occur.

In a recent report titled Climate Finance for Addressing Loss and Damage: How to Mobilize Support for Developing Countries to Tackle Loss and Damage ACT Alliance, Bread for the World, the World Council of Churches and the Lutheran World Federation acknowledge the injustices posed by climate change on the climate-vulnerable.

The report notes that existing financial support mechanisms and climate actions are not enough to prevent loss and damage and examines various criteria that could be applied to develop an architecture to finance loss and damage in an ethical, just, and effective way.

“Poor and vulnerable countries should not have to pay for the climate-induced loss and damages that they face. Loss and damage finance must be put at the top of the agenda of the climate summit in Madrid,” says Mattias Söderberg, co-chair of ACT Alliance’s Climate Change Working Group.

“It’s incumbent on developed countries to play their part in radically confronting the climate crisis and to make support available to the most vulnerable people. Failing to do so, will demonstrate a lack of solidarity with front-line communities and the life-threatening realities that they face as climate change intensifies,” says Toroitich.

CSO equity review report

As ACT Alliance prepares for COP25, issues around loss and damage remain a key priority. ACT has joined nearly 100 civil society organizations to endorse the 2019 CSO Equity Review Report Can Climate Change-Fuelled Loss and Damage Ever Be Fair? The report highlights the inequalities faced by developing countries as a result of climate change and identifies the responsibility that wealthy countries must take for its devastating impacts.

“The people who have contributed the least to climate change in terms of emissions, are facing severe losses and damages, while developed countries who have a disproportionate historical responsibility for contributing to global warming, are hesitating to scale up their climate ambition. This is unfair,” says Söderberg.

The report provides evidence-based contributions on why tackling loss and damage in an equitable manner is a ‘must issue’ and notes that the level of effort needed by all countries to adequately tackle climate change is inconsistent with what is being delivered by developed countries.

“Although equity is at the core of the climate debate, it is not evident in the international community’s response to tackling loss and damage. It is unfair that vulnerable communities who have limited responsibility for contributing to global warming, are finding themselves even further in debt because they have to rebuild their homes after climate-related disasters,” concluded Söderberg.

World leaders must not fail to deliver on climate finance for loss and damage. If adequate resources are not mobilized, the worsening climate and debt crises will make it extremely difficult for developing countries to meet the Sustainable Development Goals.

The World gathered in Nairobi last week to review the global commitment on population and development that was made 25 years, at a conference in Cairo where 179 governments adopted a Programme of Action, recognizing that reproductive health, women’s empowerment and gender equality are the pathway to sustainable development.

Under the theme; ‘’accelerating the promise’’, The faith leaders from many religions, including Hindu, Christian and Muslim  had a moment to reflect on their role, challenges  and opportunities they have to accelerate the promise around three main zeros; Zero maternal Deaths, Zero unmet family planning needs, and Zero GBV.

The faith actors recognized that there is an increase in adolescent pregnancy and maternal child death, harmful practices and gender-based violence, with statistics being cited from different countries; of course, with Africa leading in reverse. Religious leaders found this a disturbing trend and presented a need for faith actors to question death out of these three areas.

“African Women die at childbirth and at the funeral service, the faith leaders who are called to celebrate the life of the departed 25-year-old says, The Lord gives and takes! The Big question is; Is God or Allah only interested in Africana Women that He calls them to glory faster than their counterparts in developed countries? We need to raise our liturgy, we cannot keep preaching only, we must condemn and question this situation.” said one of the faith leaders.

The faith institutions have structures and institutions that can accelerate access to services and should engage more in policy dialogues to strengthen public healthcare services, to make it more responsive and equitable to healthcare needs of women, children, men and youth. “ICPD1 to 25 mean nothing if we don’t translate the global process in local context that can transform lives of the rural person especially women. We shall Come back for ICPD30 and still be talking about statistics instead of transformation. A death of one mother is a death of a community”, said another faith leader.

While the ICPD aims to achieve the SDGs that are central to universal sexual and reproductive health by 2030, and in the SDG spirit of ‘leaving no one behind’, there has been a sharp division between some faith actors and the UNFPA constituency in the ICPD+25. These faith actors allege that ICPD+25 that is being hosted in Kenya is advancing the agenda of same sex marriage, calling for abortion (Safe abortion) and promoting LGBTQI. Many faith-based institutions and persons didn’t get accredited to participate in the conference and the Catholic community is cited to have pulled out of the ICPD+25 process.  This creates uncertainties if we are indeed on course to achieve the global commitments of the SDGs when some stakeholders question or misinterpret the objectives of the global communities 25 years later.

Patriciah Roy Akullo works for ACT member DCA as the Advocacy Officer for the Uganda Forum.  She engages in national and regional level advocacy on gender justice, climate change, and DRR among other advocacy issues pertinent to the forum.

For the first time, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) is presented with the agenda of gender policies and human rights from the perspective of the advances of fundamentalism in Latin America and the Caribbean.

On November 11, 2019, in Quito, Ecuador, the organizations Peace and Hope and IPRODES, Peru, and Koinonia Ecumenical Presence and Service, member of the ACT Brazil Ecumenical Forum, presented at a public hearing of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) a report denouncing the danger of anti-rights and hate speech on the Human Rights agenda and the advance of public policies.

The fallacy of gender, called “gender ideology” and the appropriation by fundamentalist discourses, with attention to religious narratives, continues to promote aggravated and advanced setbacks throughout Latin America and the Caribbean. Such as recently in Bolivia, where the Bible and weapons are used to seize the power of a democratically elected government.

Representation in the IACHR was not just from these organizations, but from dozens more, from these and other countries in the region to expose the setbacks that have threatened and violated human rights for several years.

As stated in the presented document, “on recent years, several conservative churches, collectives and religious organizations have made speeches rejecting the concept of gender as a category of analysis, opting to classify it as a mere “ideology”. In this sense, we face a new terminology used by this sector of society to avoid incorporating the gender approach in public laws and policies.”

The aim was to lead and promote reflection on the challenges, norms of good practices in promoting and protecting the rights to education, health and the right to life free from violence, in particular with regard to women, LGBTI + population, children and adolescents; and on issues of gender rights, such as sexual and reproductive rights, in a context in which the political defence of religious fundamentalists is contrary to the rights of these populations.

The request for speech during the IACHR Public Hearing was presented by the Peruvian and Brazilian organizations which were represented by Ronald Gamarra, Sofía Carpio of IPRODES, Peru; Marilia Schüller de Koinonia and ACT Brazil Ecumenical Forum; and Germán Vargas of Peace and Hope, Peru.

The public hearing was chaired by Joel Hernandez Garcia (Mexico), member of the IACHR. The following members of the Commission were also present: Margarette May Macaulay (Jamaica), Luis Ernesto Vargas (Colombia), Soledad Garcia Muñoz (Argentina), María Claudia Pulido (Colombia). Regrettably, Brazil’s representation on the Commission was not designated to be present on this Public Hearing.

Marilia Schüller, KOINONIA’s advisor on the institutional and international relations of the Ecumenism and Gender Justice agenda, reports that the Commission welcomed the report presented and expressed that with words of thanks.

“The importance of the right to education of girls, boys and adolescents, and especially of sex education in schools, as part of training for life, was very clear; Also, the continuity of public policies that favour women, children and LGBTI + population that are vulnerable segments in our societies”.

In denouncing and opposing religious fundamentalism, which in our Latin American and Caribbean contexts has been propagated by conservative Christian sectors, Marilia adds: “We emphasized the importance of faith-based organizations contributing to the reflection from a human rights perspective and the affirmation of the secular state”.

The presentation by the organizations’ delegation sought to demonstrate that the region’s scenario cannot be understood from simple observations. It is complex, paradoxical and crossed by several elements. In which conservative discourses use democratic languages, symbols, values and institutions to deny and oppose the human rights that underpin these same institutions.

Which elements are these?

– Opposition to the gender approach through discourse creation and the development of activism based on the fanciful concept of “gender ideology”;
– The new forms of religious participation in the public sphere;
– The tensions between religious-conservative discourse and the approach to rights;
– The impact of the civil-religious agenda on public norms and policies related to human rights;
– Instrumentalization of the right to freedom of belief;
– The insertion of the religious phenomenon in a wider scenario of global de-democratization since the second decade of the 21st century.

Finally, the delegation submitted the following petitions to the Commission:

1. To develop a regional report on the “impact of religious fundamentalism on the human rights agenda, especially on the rights of children and adolescents”, establishing minimum standards that countries must ensure in these cases of human rights protection.
2. That the IACHR urge states to guarantee the right to sexual and reproductive education and to the health of children and adolescents by establishing procedures that guarantee their right to participate and respect their autonomy.
3. That the IACHR remind States of their obligation to take specific measures to modify sociocultural patterns of heteronormative behaviour, including the design of formal and non-formal education programs to combat prejudice and customs, and all other practices based on the premise of inferiority of women and children and adolescents.
4. That the IACHR remind states of their obligation to guarantee freedom of belief, without affecting other rights, and to guarantee the functioning of services whose denial may endanger the health and life of people.

The organizations that supported the advocacy action were:

1) Peace and Hope Association;

2) Institute for the Promotion of Social Development – IPRODES;

3) KOINONIA Ecumenical Presence and Service;

4) ACT Alliance;

5) Ecumenical Forum ACT Brazil – FEACT Brazil;

6) National Council of Christian Churches of Brazil – CONIC;

7) Ecumenical Service Coordination – CESE;

8) Lutheran Foundation of Diaconia – FLD;

9) PAD – Articulation and Dialogue;

10) Human Rights Monitoring in Brazil;

11) Articulation of Brazilian Women – AMB;

12) Eastern Amazon Forum – FAOR

13) Platform of Social Movements for Political System Reform;

12) SOS BODY – Feminist Institute for Democracy;

13) Brazilian Association of Civil Society Organizations – Abong.

Access the full report document here (Spanish)-> Informe – CIDH 11.11.19

* The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) is a principal and autonomous organ of the Organization of American States (OAS), whose mission is to promote, protect, monitor, and analyse all human rights-related issues in the 35 member countries of the continent. It is made up of seven independent members who act in person and is headquartered in Washington, DC. It was created by the OAS in 1959 and, together with the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (Corte IDH), established in 1979, is an institution of the Inter-American System of human rights protection (IACHR)

Writer: Natália Blanco/ Koinonia

Translation to English: Marilia A. Schüller/Koinonia

This story originally appeared on the Koinonia website.

ACT Palestine Forum is deeply concerned about the latest development in the Gaza Strip. According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, since 12 November, 34 Palestinians have been killed and another 111 injured . Eight of those killed were children and three were women. Among those injured are 46 children and 20 women.

Violence escalated after Israeli forces killed the leader of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group, in an air raid targeting his home in Gaza City.

We in ACT Palestine forum condemn the indiscriminate attacks by the Israeli Military Forces on civilians. “While we do not condone the firing of rockets on populated areas, we see this latest exchange of fire as a result of targeted killings in the absence of a credible political process between Palestinians and Israelis that would  see an end to the ongoing siege of the Gaza Strip and to the human and basic rights infractions suffered by the civilian population in the Gaza Strip.”

According to ACT members working in Gaza, the latest violence has further deteriorated the already dire humanitarian situation on the ground.

The ACT Palestine Forum is closely monitoring the situation, and stand ready to activate the Forum’s Emergency Preparedness and Response Plan while continuing the implementation of the current ACT Appeal

ACT Alliance is weighing in on issues of sexual and reproductive health and rights in the Global Summit on Population and Development, ICPD, being held in Nairobi from 12^th to 14^th of November.

ICPD is an important moment, coming 25 years after the Cairo Summit introduced the UN Population Fund’s Programme of Action.  In Nairobi, ACT will be continuing its work towards achieving gender justice, women’s rights, protection of LGBTQI people, the right to contraception, prevention of HIV and of gender-based violence.

ACT has worked with the Associated Press to produce the first of a series of short documentaries on these issues, telling stories from the slums of Nairobi, and looking at how faith-based groups contribute to tackling endemic gender-based violence and toxic masculinity. The short documentary was produced in coordination with ACT member LWR/IMA and with support from UNFPA.

The movie highlights the DREAMS project in Nairobi, a programme that provides education and support to young women who are subject to gender-based violence and who have little or no access to critical health education and services. The video introduces characters who are mentors in a scheme that is supported by ACT member LWR/IMA. Many of the people being mentored are in their early teens. The mentors themselves have been beneficiaries of the program that promotes access to services that empower young women and girls to take ownership of their reproductive health.

“The DREAMS program uses a proven, community engagement approach for reducing HIV infection among adolescents and young women,” IMA VP for Health Programs, Allyson Bear said. “We know young women in informal settlements are particularly vulnerable to HIV infection and other threats.” 

General Secretary of the ACT Alliance, Rudelmar Bueno de Faria, said that ‘Through projects like DREAMS, ACT members are working around the world to advance gender justice, to work against gender-based violence, and to live into our commitments to the ICPD, fighting for the rights of all people, and in particular for women and the LGBTQI community whose rights are still a long way from being respected.‘

Read ACT’s commitments to ICPD.

Watch the DREAMS video.

The status of gender justice in Africa evokes both discomfort and optimism. The discomfort arises from the ever-present and growing hand of patriarchy, the push back on human rights– especially women’s rights– and the impunity with which acts of violence against women and girls are normalized and accepted by society.

However, all hope is not lost on those advancing gender equality given the bold “push back on the pushback,” coming from some faith communities as well as a gradual increase in political will and commitments from governments across Africa to address such injustices. These efforts are coupled with a shift in male engagement models in the spirit of leaving no one behind, including stakeholders like faith actors who have power and influence to create the desired change.

Inspired by such an environment, ACT Alliance members in Africa formed a regional Gender Justice Community of Practice in October, with an overarching need to transform society, building on the space created by ACT Forums across Africa and leveraging from the networks and partnerships nurtured by over 155 ACT members around the world.

The Africa CoP brings together countries including Uganda, South Sudan, Kenya, Tanzania, Somalia, Sierra Leone, Burkina Faso, Liberia, Zimbabwe, South Africa and Ethiopia among others. The common denominator of these countries is that they rank as the most religious with more than 80% of these populations aligning to a specific religion (The Global Attitudes 2015 Survey). However, the irony is that they also rank highest in gender disparities including discrimination against women and girls.  It’s no wonder that the Africa Gender CoP is prioritizing sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), economic justice, and transformative masculinities – the CoP is keenly aware of the linkages between these areas and the multiple layers of vulnerabilities faced by women and girls.

These themes resonate with the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) and the consensus built through the Programme for Action 25 years ago focusing on individual dignity and human rights. In achieving the PoA, strengthening the role of faith-based organizations, religious leaders and faith communities in advancing gender justice is key, as human rights and theology complement each other. ICPD +25, the Nairobi Summit, is a build-up to high-level global discussions and engagements spearheaded by UNFPA on maternal health, SGBV, HIV/AIDS with calls to faith communities to boldly advance issues of sexual and reproductive health and rights and to challenge harmful traditional practices which are facing a strong push back from society, including some faith circles.

The Nairobi Summit is significant to the Africa Gender Justice CoP beyond it being hosted in an African Country which will encourage the participation of many actors from the region. It is an opportunity for faith actors to continue advancing the positive role of faith in achieving gender justice. It is also a forum for faith actors in the region (and beyond) to understand the urgency in realizing gender equality, re-affirm their commitment to gender justice and raise their voice in solidarity with many actors working tirelessly to challenge the push back which has been experienced across Africa. The different forms of gender injustice are a sad reality across Africa, however, there is an ever-increasing space to rally support within the region and to advocate for more progressive legislative frameworks and more tangible commitments such as financing for gender equality from African governments.

The Africa Gender Justice CoP, through the ACT network, is already engaged in gender justice work. An added value of the CoP is the adoption of a theological approach which promotes the unfolding of affirmations of gender justice and reflection on sacred texts (which are sometimes used to promote gender injustices). It also promotes joint advocacy, particularly using the Africa Regional Human Rights Frameworks and spaces which have continuously registered limited faith actors. This has the potential to enhance grassroots, national, regional and global linkages and reap the benefits of working together.

The CoP is also cognizant that faith actors are important in the spiritual nourishment of their faith communities but equally important for their capacity to reach the unreachable and to provide physical nourishment as well. The CoP will use its prophetic voice to address gender injustices and to contribute to the legal and institutional frameworks at various levels.

ACT Alliance members across the world, who are also members of the various Gender Justice CoPs have actively engaged with the ICPD +25 country processes in the lead up to the Nairobi Summit. Specific actions taken by ACT’s network include a faith-based position paper with commitments to the ICPD, mobilizing progressive faith voices, participating in the UNFPA’s thematic technical groups, providing input to the CSO country position papers and taking the lead on key thematic areas.

ACT’s Gender Justice CoP members in Uganda are leading the CoP on issues related to Gender-Based Violence and Harmful Practices.  In Nairobi, the Alliance has been instrumental in shaping faith conversations in the ICPD +25 process and will convene a Pre-Summit Conference for FBOs.

ACT Alliance is at the center of advancing discussions which reaffirm the positive role of faith actors in advancing SRHR as a fundamental human right. ACT will host a session at ICPD on,  “Keeping the Faith in SRHR” and in light of the push back on this topic, will provide a safe space for dialogue and will stand in solidarity with those advancing the faith-based values of dignity, justice and peace.

True to a reflection during the gathering of the Africa Gender Justice CoP ‘the harvest is huge, yet laborers are few!’ There is no such thing as oversubscription when talking about actors for gender justice.  We need more laborers, particularly from faith circles and faith communities, to speak on these issues. Only then will we see a world where everyone lives in dignity and all people, irrespective of their diversity realize their full potential.

Blog written by Gladys Nairuba, DanChurchAid (Uganda).