DanChurchAid (DCA) and Norwegian Church Aid (NCA) have worked in Palestine since the early 1950s. Consequently, DCA and NCA have an intimate knowledge of political, cultural and religious components of the protracted humanitarian crisis arising from the Israeli/ Palestinian conflict.

In close partnership with local stakeholders, DCA-NCA’s Joint Country Programme (JCP) intervenes to save lives, build resilient communities and fight inequalities resulting from the situation of occupation as well as Palestinian specific socio-cultural issues. The JCP interventions are strongly grounded in International Humanitarian Law (IHL) and International Human Rights law (IHRL) to promote a viable and just peace in the region.

DCA and NCA combined their respective programme interventions through Economic Empowerment and Right to Food to support livelihood strategies that address the equity deficits of vulnerable Palestinian groups, communities and individuals, especially women and youth.

The aim is to create job opportunities and diversifying income generating opportunities. The JCP utilises methodologies that empower and organise people for collective action through vocational training, farmers associations, entrepreneurships, and cooperative models. 

Learn more: https://www.kirkensnodhjelp.no/en/ and http://www.danchurchaid.org

written by Erik Nyström, Finn Church Aid

Beira, Mozambique – Jacinta Francisco, 40, is from Beira and has five children. We meet Jacinta and her children at a temporary shelter set up in Muavi 1 Primary School. The school was damaged by cyclone Idai almost two weeks ago, and it now serves as a shelter for the most vulnerable families.

Before the storm, 2500 pupils attend the school, it is now closed because of the damages.

The day before the cyclone hit Beira, Jacinta was aware that a storm was coming, but she did not know how bad it would be. Jacinta decided to prepare dinner earlier than usual so that her family would have eaten before the storm reached Beira.

On the night of the cyclone, the wind blew so hard that coconut and mango trees were uplifted from their roots. The roof of Jacinta’s house was blown away, bricks fell off the walls and her fridge and television broke. When Jacinta realised that they could die, she took her family and ran towards their mother’s house, only to find her in the same situation. They huddled together in a room which they considered the safest and waited for the morning to come. When the day broke, they went to look for a shelter.

“At least no one from my family died,” Jacinta said. “But the future seems very difficult, now.”

Only the foundation of the house remained intact. Jacinta says that she has no money to rebuild her home. At the moment, she cannot think of anything else other than making sure that her children have something to eat. “That’s the only thing I can do now.”

Jacinta’s family has no house, no clothes and no means to send her children to school. Only two of their textbooks were found in the ruins of the house. Jacinta used to sell tomatoes and other vegetables, but her stall and supplies were blown away. Jacinta’s husband used to work at the school, but now he stays at the ruins, hoping to be able to fix something.

Life at the temporary shelter is difficult because the shelter is very crowded. The majority of those at the shelter are women and children. One of the classrooms has been allocated to men and older boys, and six to women and children. As the rooms are full, people are sleeping very close to each other on the hard floors. Jacinta says that the rooms are so full that it is impossible to even turn around. Many have chosen to sleep outside as there is more space.

Jacinta waits for the day when she can have a small, private space for her and her children, and a mattress to sleep on.

Threatened by cholera

Jacinta and her family have a shelter, but they are not safe from other dangers. Cholera is now a big threat to all, and the number of people affected is rising rapidly. Earlier this week, the UN declared that cholera has affected at least one thousand people in Beira.

The precarious health situation frightens Jacinta. She feels uncomfortable living with so many people and hygiene is lacking. According to her, not everyone uses toilets for their needs. She also worries about the quality of the water – there is no way that she can make sure that it is clean.

ACT Alliance members have joined local partners to fight cholera and other diseases in Mozambique. Partners have started to hand out water canisters and water purifying equipment in Beira and in the surrounding areas.

At the same shelter where Jacinta lives, we met Adelia Manhazo, who does not know her age, but guesses she must be around 60. She has four children and no husband.

In Beira, people lost their home but also their livelihoods. Most of the people at the shelter were street vendors selling bananas and tomatoes. Some used to cultivate their own plots of land.

Adelia says that she appreciates that she gets food at the shelter, but she is suffering a lot. Her house and her source of income were swept away in one single night. She used to farm her own plot and earned money by working on other people’s land as well.

She has no idea what she will do on the day that she will be sent away from the shelter. Adelia is not alone as many of those who are currently at the shelter have the same worries.

Adelia was at home with her four children and her cousin’s baby when the storm hit. When the winds were at their worst, her neighbours came to rescue her and her children. She let them take the children but refused to leave her home until they forced her. Just after they escaped, she saw the house collapsing.

They all sought refuge in a school. Adelia explains how almost every morning after breakfast, people from the shelter wander back to their damaged homes to see if there is anything that they could do to restore their property. Two weeks after the storm it is still hard for them to accept that they have lost so much.

My participation and experience at the UN Commission on the Status of Women 63 (CSW) has challenged me to reflect on social protection issue and the key issues associated with it in my context as a Ugandan participant. CSW is the principal global intergovernmental body exclusively dedicated to the promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of women.

The priority theme at CSW this year was on social protection systems, access to public services and sustainable infrastructure for gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls.

In Uganda, social protection is enshrined in the constitution and brought to life in policy and legal frameworks. The Ugandan constitution requires that the state ensures equal access to education, health services, clean and safe water, work, decent shelter, adequate clothing, food security, pension and retirement benefits.  The constitution further provides for the promotion and protection of fundamental human rights and freedoms.

Uganda has enacted laws and designed policies and programmes to ensure the provision of social protection to individuals. However, the reality is that the level of women’s and girls’ vulnerability is still high and their access to social services remains a challenge.

I do appreciate that the poverty level in Uganda has steadily declined from 56 per cent (1992) to 24.5 per cent (2012). However, the Human Development Report of 2013 ranks the country as 161st out of 182 countries in human development.

One of my key concerns on the social protection of women and girls in Uganda is access to quality health care. Inadequate funding for health services presents greater challenges to women, who are the main users of health services especially for antenatal care. The sector is challenged by inadequate financing, which contributes to low staffing levels, persistent shortages of essential medicines, health supplies, and drugs at health facilities, and poor working conditions for health workers including lack of accommodation for critical staff.

Similarly, despite a lot of success in promoting girls’ education, there are persistent challenges facing girls’ entry, participation and outcomes from their education. In secondary education, despite the implementation of Universal Secondary Education (USE), girls’ enrolment still stood at just 45.7% in 2012. The issues in education include congestion in schools, and a lack of school buildings.

Water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) service delivery in schools is still short of the national recommended standards. For instance, currently, there is one latrine for every 67 students, and there should be one for every 40. The absence of adequate WASH facilities affects school attendance, more especially for girls during menstruation because of the lack of adequate and clean water, sanitation and hygiene facilities.

The lack of these facilities, plus that of emergency pads and changing rooms, prohibits girls from attending school for about 4 days per month, which has a negative effect on school attendance and performance as well accelerating school dropout. Experience has shown that latrine cleanliness affects toilet use and may be more important than the total number of latrines.

Another key issue on social protection is disability inclusion; it is estimated that as many as 16% of the population (5.2 million in Uganda) are living with a disability. Provision of inclusive education is affected by a weak policy framework, limited in-service training, socio-cultural factors and inadequate financing.

The Global Initiative report (2015) indicates that even if children with disabilities can gain access to school, they are particularly disadvantaged by non-inclusive teaching methods, inflexible curricula and examination systems. This resonates with the fact that we are not keen on social protection of these vulnerable persons.

The social protection schemes of the country are embedded in a number of policy frameworks which include the 1995 Constitution of Uganda and the National Development Plan (NDP 2010-15) that recognize the need for social protection and highlight social protection as one of the key strategies for the transformation of Uganda from a peasant society to a modern and prosperous country.

A National Social Protection Policy has now been developed and launched. The Policy seeks to promote coordination and harmonization of social protection interventions in the country. As an integral part of the Uganda Vision 2040, the Policy outlines a clear vision and strategic framework for a well-coordinated national social protection system.

I applaud the efforts of the government of Uganda and its commitment through policy and legislative frameworks to provide social protection with the aim of addressing vulnerability of women and girls, but a lot is still left to be desired. The status of women and girls is still alarming as well as other negative social cultural practices and social norms that perpetuate gender based injustices. Sexual violence leading to teenage pregnancy, domestic violence, and economic violence, physical harmful traditional practices, human trafficking and psychological violence is on the increase.  The legal system is very slow in providing access to justice for survivors of gender based violence.

While it is true that we all have a role to play in ending gender inequalities, it is the government that should strengthen its primary responsibility as a state to guarantee social protection for all. The national government should deliver rights-based and gender sensitive social protection services for all persons in Uganda through their life cycle and mobilize resources for publically funded social protection through fair taxation of companies and people.

Governments should ensure that systems of social protection are anchored in law and comply with international human rights standards, and engage with different actors in society including faith based organizations and other civil society actors in developing policies on social protection with the aim of promoting accountability, efficiency, and inclusivity in the delivery of social protection systems.

Finally, the government should guarantee gender-specific analysis and design of social protection systems by prioritizing the voices of women and girls in designing social protection systems.  Faith actors and faith institutions should also be included in the government’s efforts, challenging negative social norms through their prophetic roles and spaces.  Over 85% of Ugandans ascribe to a particular religious belief, giving faith actors a significant level of influence. Through their engagement, many people will be involved in achieving SDG 5, ensuring gender justice for all.

The world has adopted 17 global goals (known as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)) to guide development around the world with the understanding that if these goals would be reached, poverty could be eradicated, we would all have access to clean water, more sustainable cities and ultimately global warming would be halted. In short, we could face a brighter future.

The global goals are interlinked. Progress on only one or a few goals on their own could hinder progress on another. Many governments, NGOs and companies have chosen to dedicate their efforts and positive contributions to a few, specific goals. I acknowledge that collective efforts towards specific global goals are good and important, and I recognise that it is difficult for stakeholders to keep a broad approach that is inclusive of all initiatives. However, we should consider these inter-linkages and make sure that any projects that we take on related to a specific goal, do not hinder progress made on another.

From April 1-3 2019, the “Climate and SDGs Synergy Conference” will take place in Copenhagen. The meeting is addressing the connections of climate change and the SDGs and intends to promote synergies between the UN’s climate talks and those on the global goals. Climate change is addressed in goal 13 -but with a broad and complex agenda. As a result, the talks on climate change are often managed separately during annual climate summits which address a wide range of aspects related to global warming and resilience.

The goal on climate change can only be achieved if it is also addressed in the other goals. For example, while we work to ensure food security (goal 2), we must ensure that projects related to goal 2 do not lead to increased food waste or emissions and that the promotion of industries, innovation and infrastructure (goal 9) are achieved through sustainable materials and production.

At the same time, many of the global goals are also affected by climate change. A lack of climate action will jeopardise progress on the goals, for example, on food security and poverty. This has been highlighted in a report by ACT Alliance, and it is a serious concern for poor and vulnerable people.

The meeting in Copenhagen will not solve the challenges that we face, but will hopefully promote a more aligned approach between the two political processes. These processes and policy-related decisions should be coordinated so that they automatically apply to each other.

UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres has invited world leaders to a climate summit in September, later this year, with the aim of increasing global climate ambition. Guterres has called on leaders to bring with them “plans not speeches”, as expectations for this summit build up. As leaders at the climate summit will be discussing the global goals, I hope that there will be concrete plans and commitments on the table, which could help us to ensure sustainable development for us all.

You can follow the meeting happening in Copenhagen here.

____________

Mattias Söderberg, Senior advocacy advisor at DanChurchAid and co-chair for the ACT Alliance working group on climate change.

More than 50 people from 21 countries across Latin America and the Caribbean, North America and Europe gathered this week in Guatemala City for ACT Alliance’s Global Conference on Latin America and the Caribbean.  Representing ACT, ecumenical organisations, UN bodies, and churches, the participants met from March 27-29 to discuss the range of issues which combine to present a significant crisis in the region.  

Today, the conference issued a statement of its results and commitments. 

“Since June 2016, a wave of negative political events has added to the problems of Latin America and the Caribbean,” the statement reads.  “Countries in the region such as Venezuela, Brazil, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Honduras, Colombia and Haiti are experiencing an increase in social, political and economic crises…

“Political violence has claimed hundreds of lives. Extrajudicial, summary and arbitrary executions are increasingly directed at human rights defenders, progressive social and political leaders, indigenous peoples, afro-descendants, women and LGBTI people. Racism, xenophobia, hatred of impoverished people, homophobia and misogyny are increasing at all levels.”

Climate change, multinational extractive corporations, mass migration, and other problems also affect the region. 

“We have to be prophetic and have the courage to promote inclusive policies and agendas,” said Rudelmar Bueno de Faria, General Secretary of the ACT Alliance. “The challenges we are facing in the region require adequate strategies and concerted actions to uphold human rights and the rule of law.”

The statement lists a series of commitments made by participants, to:

• Establish regional and global networks to accompany the political and social crises in Latin America and the Caribbean.
• Promote and support the voice and strategies of churches and faith-based organizations in a time of shrinking civil society space, while influencing regional and global organizations.
• Accompany the communities in their processes of accessing justice at the local and regional levels, supporting their demands and claims.
• Strengthen joint action with United Nations agencies and programs to promote regional and global initiatives on gender justice and against all forms of violence.
• Challenge impunity and the reduction of civil society space, while unmasking harmful and corrupt practices and protecting rights-holders.
• Strengthen internal spaces such as communities of gender justice practice to generate visions and joint actions against religious fundamentalism and injustice.
• Ensure that human rights and environmental defenders are protected.
• Produce evidence of violations of rights so that it reaches the governments and human rights institutions.
• Strengthen the voice of children and youth, so that they are full rights-holders in law.

Read the full statement here in English or Spanish.

Back home after one week of engagement in the 63^rd Commission on the Status of Women (CSW63), I reflect   with satisfaction my contribution as a first timer joining midway in the second week of the negotiation. A passionate gender justice   advocate   and an ardent ‘Jesus feminist’ I am very happy finally I got this opportunity to be ‘in’.                                                                       

When I arrived, New York City, and the power packed women and CSW process was too overwhelming, overpowering and inundating. I quickly equipped myself with all relevant & essential readings and updates from the past week through orientations which gave me the confidence to engage actively and effectively. 

Though negotiations are the key and primary focus of CSW, ecumenical morning devotions add value and energy bars for the entire day’s deliberations and negotiations. The   morning NGO briefing gave a good overview and alerted us to the day’s focus. Meeting a variety of vibrant, accomplished, struggling faith based and diverse types of women from across globe helped understand there is no one narrative for gender equality. But it was clear the   stories   of courage and struggle all reflected patriarchy of different levels and shades.

The regional caucus reiterated that we are local actors on this large stage of the global process. Here I could strongly pitch for climate justice text with my intervention which I further took up in the morning NGO briefing time too. I worked with a team from New Zealand to draft the climate text and passed it on to the key negotiators from Asia Pacific region.  After all, if the world cannot exist due to climate change, where will gender justice be? Climate justice should be the backdrop for social security, public service and sustainable infrastructure– the focus theme of the CSW 63.

The numerous and diverse side events with diverging opinions, interesting facts & figures, research & story telling  definitely added  color to my enthusiasm and inspiration. A UN workshop to identify ways to encourage active participation of civil society in the UN Women gave me the opportunity to share ideas like organizing country-level CSW preparatory events.

Though the agreed concluding document is not very transformational, I am excited about the enthusiasm of the negotiators and the civil society members who tirelessly worked on it. Short documents are desired, but imagine trying to include 160 countries’ input on gender equality in one document. What is more important is each member state following the document in action, with civil society supporting this. That is the hope in action.

I was extremely pleased that the Church Center and ecumenical women were at the center of it all.  I continue the   work at my grass root communities with added and greater enthusiasm, counting the larger responsibility on the shoulders of faith feminists-   I am one of them.  

Dr Joycia Thorat , Co-chair of Advisory Group on Advocacy, ACT Alliance and Project Officer & policy desk in charge, Church’s  Auxiliary for Social Action (CASA), India

“In ACT Alliance, we recognise that it is the responsibility of governments to provide effective, inclusive, and affordable social protection. Social protection systems must be financed by states through fair taxation or other public revenues,” said Rudelmar Bueno de Faria, General Secretary of the ACT Alliance, during his opening remarks at a side event at the 63^rd Commission on the Status of Women in New York City.

“Governments can learn from the long-standing experiences of faith actors, who are often at the forefront of social service provision, providing more than 30% of social protection globally and having the experience of reaching those most at risk of being left behind.”

Unlocking the Power of Faith-Based Partnerships: Enabling the Right to Social Protection was organized by members of the International Partnership for Religion and Sustainable Development, including ACT Alliance, the Side by Side Faith Movement for Gender Justice, the government of Denmark, the government of Canada, UK Aid, the World Council of Churches, the Lutheran World Federation, Islamic Relief Worldwide, Episcopal Relief and Development, Tearfund, World Vision International, Sonke Gender Justice, the Joint Learning Initiative, and USPG.

Ambassador Martin Bille Hermann from the Permanent Mission of Denmark to the UN underscored the importance of working with faith-based organisations, “The Danish government has worked with faith-based organisations for decades. They are a central pillar to how we approach development cooperation in a number of countries,” he said.  “Religious and cultural norms are key to advancing gender equality.”

Axsa Charles Gabagambi, gender advisor to the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania and member of Side by Side Tanzania, spoke about the work undertaken by the church in her context, including working with both girls and boys in schools on gender issues.  Teaching positive masculinity is key to achieving gender justice.  “We prepare young boys to be better fathers when they come of age, we teach them about good relationships between boys and girls.”

Axsa also underscored that it is the role of the government to provide social protection.  “We recognize the primary role of governments is to provide social protection to the citizens. But I recognize the holistic mission of faith-based actors.  There is space for partnership between the two.  The role of faith-based organizations should be recognized, and they must be strengthened especially in countries with shrinking civil society space.”

Speakers shared examples of the important role that religious leaders play in social protection, with examples from Rabbi Diana Gerson talking about the need for seminaries to include training on how to respond to disclosures of gender-based violence to Suzy Ismail of Cornerstone speaking about the importance of faith-based organisations working together in situations like the cases of Syrian refugees, where the options before girls are severely limited.

Dr. Isabel Phiri, Deputy General Secretary of the World Council of Churches, closed the session by introducing the Thursdays in Black campaign, which encourages people to wear black on Thursdays and wear a pin to show that you stand in solidarity with all those who want a world without rape and violence.  “The campaign is simple but profound,” she said. “Wear black on Thursdays. Wear a pin to declare you are part of the global movement resisting attitudes and practices that permit rape and violence. Show your respect for women who are resilient in the face of injustice and violence. Encourage others to join you.”

More people than ever before have access to health care and education. Yet lack of access to Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR), including comprehensive sexuality education and access to HIV testing and treatment, result in grave health disparities, where those that live in poverty are most impacted. These basic social protection needs face normative, financial and implementation challenges at global, national and local level.

In addition, the space for individuals, human rights defenders and civil society organizations working on SRHR issues is very limited and decreasing in many contexts. Increasing social and economic inequalities within and between countries further erode the possibility of people’s equal access to health services, education and other forms of social protection, particularly to the disadvantage of women, girls and LGBTQI persons. Ensuring no one is left behind, as is stated in the 2030 Agenda, means addressing global inequalities and working towards universal access to health care.

The social determinants of health – the conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work and age – include economic policies and systems, development agendas, social policies, political systems and social, cultural and religious norms. These social determinants produce and sustain inequitable unequal access to sexual and reproductive health and rights.

Lack of access to SRHR is a driver of poverty. Ensuring universal access to SRHR not only saves lives, empowers people and protects human rights, but it also leads to significant economic gains for individuals, families and countries.

The SDGs provide a comprehensive framework for human development and for systematically addressing the social dimensions. Ensuring social protection for all, in all phases of life reduces health disparities and inequalities. 

Although social protection programs such as child allowances, pensions and universal health insurance including SRH services, family planning- and maternal health services are expanding in many countries, a majority of the world’s population do not have their right to social protection realized, particularly when it comes to comprehensive sexual and reproductive health services.

Churches and faith communities all over the world have many times raised their voices for human rights, human dignity and social justice. Churches and faith based organizations (FBOs) also have a long history in providing health services and in assisting people living in vulnerable situations. Recognizing the primary responsibility of states to fulfill the rights of sexual and reproductive health and other social protection for all people, churches and FBOs, as part of a wider civil society, increasingly relate to public social protection and health services by advocating, informing, monitoring and holding duty bearers accountable to ensure just access to social protection.

However, there is still an untapped potential for churches and FBOs to be active in the national, regional and global debates on the expansion of SRHR and other forms of social protection. Norms and attitudes are interlinked with political and social transformation. In the case of SRHR and social protection, faith communities and in particular religious leaders have a deep and pervasive impact on influencing norms and attitudes that can then enable political and social transformation on these issues.

Many times, churches and faith communities are as much part of the problem as the solution. Churches and faith communities working through a human rights based approach therefore need to take responsibility for their internal and external teachings and practices. They also need to engage ecumenically to promote theological interpretations that support social justice and transforms norms and attitudes around SRHR and social protection. 

Clara Helgesson is the Policy Advisor Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR), Church of Sweden. Church of Sweden are engaged in work on Social Protection as well as Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR), and strive to integrate the two areas where possible. Church of Sweden are represented at CSW as well as CPD.

ACT Alliance will host a Global Conference on Latin America and the Caribbean from March 27th to 29th, 2019 in Guatemala City.  The conference will define strategies to contribute to achieving political solutions, social reconciliation and solidarity to counteract the backlash against human rights and the increase in inequalities, violence and emerging conflicts in Latin America.

“The Conference will help us to discern and discuss proposals to face the complex and volatile situation in Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as its intersection with global political processes and their implication for human rights, security, democracy, humanitarian needs and sustainable development”, said Carlos Rauda,ACT’s Regional Representative for Latin America and the Caribbean.

The region is facing a growing crisis affecting different countries and subregions, with a variety of major implications, from humanitarian crises to violence against human rights defenders to a shrinking space for civil society. In many countries, the polarised, simplistic fundamentalist narrative monopolizes the public sphere.  It is harder and harder for those who attempt to close the divide with moderate viewpoints, that try to recognize the nuanced nature of the conflict to be Heard. All of these dynamics are affecting the people, especially the most vulnerable.

The members of ACT Alliance, ecumenical organisations and faith-based organisations (FBOs) in Latin America are worried and affected by these trends.

“Theological analysis is essential to us, given our identity as a faith-based organization. We have to base our response and actions on our identity and on our global strategy,” said Rudelmar Bueno de Faria, General Secretary of the Alliance.

It is expected that sixty people from ACT Alliance, universities, the UN, government representatives,  FBOs, civil society organizations, social movements and media representatives will participate in the event.

ACT Alliance is a coalition of 152 churches and church-related organisations working together in over 140 countries to create positive and sustainable change in the lives of poor and marginalised people regardless of their religion, politics, gender, sexual orientation, race or nationality in keeping with the highest international codes and standards.

When the 63^rd session of the Commission on the Status of Women began two weeks ago, Antonio Guterres, gave an impassioned speech where he called out the resistance to gender justice. “Around the world, there is a pushback on women’s rights.  That pushback is deep, pervasive and relentless.,” he said.  But he continued, calling on participants at CSW to continue to fight for gender justice.  “We will not give ground. We will not turn back. We will push back against the pushback. And we will keep pushing.”

Today, the member states of the United Nations failed to push back very much.  Consistently, there were attempts to roll back language in the text of the final document of CSW63.  In some cases, the chair had to replace whole paragraphs with language from last year, literally rolling things back in time.  In other cases, new paragraphs with new text were simply not accepted.

Elsebeth Gravgaard, from ACT member DanChurchAid, has followed the negotiations at CSW for the last six years.  “I am concerned about the increasingly hard tone at the negotiations, and the difficulty of reaching consensus on advancing gender justice,” she said.  “Still, it is a positive outcome this year- we managed to push back against regression.”

The positive outcome included specific mention of the role of faith-based actors for the second year in the final document.  There was also, for the first time, a specific mention of the importance of menstrual hygiene. 

Despite these positives, overall it is a very weak document which does not comprehensively advance the cause of gender justice.  In particular, the theme of this year’s CSW of social protection is not sufficiently addressed.  This is a missed opportunity, as this year was the first time CSW has addressed this vital theme.

“It is the responsibility of states to provide social protections for their citizens,” said ACT’s General Secretary, Rudelmar Bueno de Faria. “We believe that all people are created equal, and enjoy fundamental rights that gender responsive social protection policies need to help ensure.  This CSW failed to substantially advance those rights, leaving women, girls, LGBTI and others at increased risk due to insufficient social protections.  We must do more.  Now is the time to act.”

Of particular concern to ACT Alliance is the paragraph on climate.  Joycia Thorat of CASA India, a member of ACT’s Advisory Group on Advocacy, said “Climate justice should be the backdrop to ensure effective social protection, services and sustainable infrastructure for women and girls. Ensuring women’s leadership and participation in climate matters is critical for gender equality.”

ACT is also concerned about the effect that this weak outcome will have on communities around the world. Gladys Nairuba of the ACT Uganda Forum said, “The increasing push back globally delivers weak commitments and laxity in accountability from states, which further limits the progress on women’s rights. Lack of accountability from states is a matter of life in the communities where we work. We still have a long way to go to get from rhetoric to tangible gender equality.”

“ACT knows that the pushback against gender justice is coming from a minority of conservative governments—often governments that do not represent the feelings of their own citizens,” concluded de Faria. “ACT will continue to actively push back against the pushback, and will leverage its work to ensure justice for all.”