The climate change negotiations in Bonn are wrapping up today with little progress made on developing the guidelines for the implementation of the Paris Agreement. The window for the negotiation of an ambitious outcome at COP24 is quickly narrowing, with little time left between now and December to finalize the process.

“We can no longer afford to lose more time on climate inaction. It is unfortunate that the international community is missing the opportunity to step-up and to take real and bold action to address climate change and its impacts on the most vulnerable,” says Rudelmar Bueno de Faria, ACT Alliance’s General Secretary.

The lack of leadership amongst countries to commit to supporting ambitious climate action in the negotiations has proven to be a stumbling-block in making meaningful progress. The issue of financial support is closely tied to the issue of trust between parties and trust in the process. This is extremely important because trust will ultimately affect the outcomes of the negotiations on the Paris Rulebook, and on the implementation of the Paris Agreement.

“In order for people and communities who are living in vulnerable conditions to transition to clean and reliable energy, while also adapting to the effects of climate change, financial support is imperative. Yet developed countries continue to not take the issue of financial support for climate action seriously,” says Martin Vogel, head of the ACT Alliance delegation at the UN climate conference.

The Suva Expert Dialogue which was held last week to advance work on Loss and Damage is a clear example of how the process is lacking adequate ambition to develop solutions with the most vulnerable.

“Those that are hit the hardest by climate change impacts continue to be ignored in the climate talks. It is not a question of whether the issue of Loss and Damage fits within the agenda of the negotiations, the real issue is the willingness of the international community to support those who are and will continue to face the enormous financial burdens imposed by climate impacts,” Vogel continues.

Looking ahead, the next round of climate talks will be taking place in Bangkok in September, where Parties will convene for one week and will hopefully move from an exercise of note-taking to actual negotiations and commitments to improving the future of our planet.

“Advancement on the Talanoa Dialogue will now be essential to turn the negotiation process into political goodwill to strengthen the climate commitments of Parties at the next COP and to shift away from the focus on national interests, mistrust and shrewd tactics, as witnessed here in Bonn,” says Vogel.

“ACT Alliance is committed to continue to work to ensure that the outcomes moving forward will be embedded in principles of justice, human rights and solidarity,” says Bueno de Faria.

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For additional information, please contact Joanna Patouris, Climate Change Communications Coordinator, ACT Alliance. joanna.patouris@actalliance.org +1 6479715360

The debates on climate change can be endless. There is so much to say, to consider, to reflect upon, and to discuss. However, what we need is action, and we need it now.

At this moment, diplomats from all over the world are engaged in difficult negotiations on how to move forward in our joint struggle to deal with climate change. The negotiations are moving slowly, and one of the most difficult elements up for discussion is climate finance. Coincidently, the talks and outcomes on climate finance might also have the most significant impact on the actual implementation of the Paris Agreement. With little money, or support, only a limited number of the many important decisions made to accelerate climate action might be realised.

While there is an agreement between Parties on the need for climate action, Parties tend to try to avoid making commitments to actually pay for the costs. As a result, previous agreements on climate finance have had loop holes.

You might be thinking, isn’t there already a commitment on climate finance?

Yes, there is agreement between parties to aim to mobilise at least 100 bn USD per year from 2020 and beyond, and yes, there is agreement that climate finance should be “new and additional”. However, there is no agreed definition of what “new and additional” funds means, and there are no rules agreed on how to count to 100 bn USD by 2020, a target which has been committed to by developed country Parties. As a result, the ambitious discussions on financial support to developing countries has become a game of numbers, where the desired effect of making climate finance available and accessible is not realised.

This is why the talks on climate finance at this point of the negotiations might actually have a direct effect on the ambition of climate action that is possible on the ground. Negotiations on climate finance have predominately focused on developing the rules and closing the climate finance loop holes.

Currently, there are no specific rules on how loans could be counted as climate finance. This is problematic as 15% of the climate support offered by the European Investment Bank is in the form of “non-concessional” loans. Non-concessional loans are similar to ordinary loans but are based on market conditions. This type of a loan is not accepted as ordinary development aid because development aid is expected to have an added value. If the same rules applied for climate finance, as they do for development aid, the EU would have to increase their support by almost 300 million Euros a year.

Depending on the outcomes of the current negotiations, the flow of climate finance may increase considerably in the coming years. There should be clearer rules, agreed to by all parties, in order to ensure that support for climate action in developing countries can flow through the appropriate channels.

We need action now!

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Written by Mattias Söderberg, Senior Advocacy Advisor, DanChurchAid

When countries gathered in Paris in 2015 to strike a new climate deal to come in place from 2020, they agreed that in the lead-up to 2020, they would take stock and assess the total level of greenhouse gas emissions released so far. Parties agreed to engage in a collective process to identify what will need to be done to prevent global warming from increasing above the dangerous 1.5°C temperature threshold.

With the government of Fiji presiding over the negotiations, this collective process was named the ‘Talanoa Dialogue’. ‘Talanoa’ is a word used across the Pacific to refer to an inclusive, participatory, and transparent dialogue.

The Talanoa Dialogue is scheduled to run through the year until COP24, and so a preparatory phase was scheduled to take place here in Bonn, during the interim round of climate negotiations. The first session of this dialogue took stock of where we are in terms of actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through a story-telling sharing process.

Understanding the difficulty of the international community to act together on climate change, an inclusive dialogue through the Talanoa seems so far to have offered a promising opportunity to build enough empathy and pressure for countries to increase their climate actions and ambitions.

However, while the process is well intended, there is no certainty that the dialogue will be carried out in all countries, neither does it ensure that the Dialogue will lead to more ambitious mitigation commitments. So far, the EU and the most vulnerable countries have called on all countries to ramp up their climate targets before 2020. The African Group along with some of the poorest countries have also called on countries with large historical emissions to increase their climate efforts well before the Paris Accord is implemented in 2020.

In October 2018, the international scientific community (IPCC) will release a Special Report on the 1.5°C global warming threshold. The Report will identify where the global cumulative emissions bring the international community in relation to the 1.5°C temperature target. It will also explore how to prevent reaching a 1.5°C temperature increase and how to remain below this temperature threshold. The leaked draft versions of the Report show that there is only a handful of years before overshooting the 1.5°C temperature threshold. In other words, there is absolutely no time to loose and inaction on climate change cannot be excused.

Given the significance of the 1.5°C temperature target, it is essential that the Talanoa dialogue is not only a talking exercise for countries to take stock of their emissions contributions towards the temperature goal, but that it is a dialogue with constructive outcomes. An example of a constructive outcome would be one where every country agrees to ramp-up their mitigation efforts, with some countries doing more to equitably reflect their contributions to global emissions i.e. industrialised countries and historical emitters.

Sticking to a differentiated world of classifying countries into two categories such as Annex 1 and non-Annex 1 as was done in the early 90´s would be unfair today. Countries that are profiting from fossil fuel extraction or from industrial production including, Saudi Arabia and China, must significantly increase their climate actions.

Due to their historical responsibility and their current levels of consumption and pollution, European and other Western countries must significantly increase their emission reduction plans as well as the support to developing countries so that they do not need to rely on fossil fuels as a means for development.

The next few months will present Civil Society and Churches a number of opportunities to engage with local authorities and national governments as part of the Talanoa Dialogue. This participation is key to build the momentum necessary for country leaders to agree to increase their mitigation commitments that were presented in Paris two years ago.

We need to work together in this Talanoa spirit for a safer future for all.

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Written by Bruno Nicostrate, Policy Officer Climate Change and Development, ACT Alliance EU

Yesterday, the UNFCCC climate change conference – also known as the SB48 Intersessional– set off in the German city of Bonn. It is the first of two intersessional meetings to be hosted this year in preparation for the increasingly important 24^th Conference of the Parties (COP24) that will be taking place in Katowice this December. COP24 has been dubbed as, “Paris 2.0” by the UNFCCC Executive Secretary Patricia Espinosa in a speech underlining the critical importance for ambitious action at the next COP.

COP24 will hopefully and perhaps most importantly be the space at which parties conclude their work on the Paris Rulebook. The Paris Rulebook will outline the framework and working program that will guide Parties and civil society alike to achieve the targets that were set out in the Paris Agreement.

The negotiations to this point have been painstakingly slow, with large draft-texts and worrying divisions between parties on several issues that are yet to be overcome. As ACT Alliance has a delegation that is present at the SB48 Intersessional, we will work together to play our part in supporting parties as they work to make the full implementation of the Paris agreement happen by 2020.

The reality that we are facing today shows that climate change does not wait for political ‘aha- moments’ or breakthroughs. 2017 was the hottest year on record, breaking the previous temperature record of 2014 by +0.17 °C. The effects of global warming have not spared anyone. People from across the world have experienced severe climate change impacts, ranging from drought in Southern Africa – to flooding and devastating monsoons in Asia and wildfires in North America, to name a few. People that are living in poverty and in vulnerable conditions are hit the hardest, while having contributed the least to the global emissions that has increased global warming.

For this reason, the intersessional meetings that are happening over the next two weeks will be of great importance for parties and civil society to make progress on some critical issues. Amongst the ‘hot topics’ up for discussion are; long-term financial support to developing countries to be able to implement their climate commitments, and a clear principle of effort-sharing for greenhouse gas emissions reductions.

During this SB48 Intersessional, work also needs to progress on the Talanoa dialogue which is meant to create meaningful dialogue and encourage a story-telling between parties and stake-holders on how they are doing in meeting their climate commitments. This process will feed into COP24 with the intention of contributing to raising the ambition of climate actions and commitments.

For ACT Alliance, it is of utmost importance that the Talanoa dialogue includes the stories and experiences of those most affected by climate change. We will work to ensure that the voices of those made most vulnerable by climate change are raised so that their experiences and solutions are given a prominent place in the COP24 deliberations.

The momentum of Paris must be kept alive!

This will entail taking the financial needs of vulnerable communities as well as the need for a speedy transformation away from fossil-fuel dependency seriously. ACT Alliance’s delegation at the Intersessional will of course be present to remind parties that the climate negotiations are not solely a matter of technical negotiations (despite this being central to the session). The negotiations are fundamentally a process that is closely linked to the livelihood and survival of people. The success of the negotiations will determine the possibility of the world to combat climate change and how lives and generations may be protected from future climate change disaster.

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Blog Written by Martin Vogel, Co-Chair of the ACT Alliance Climate Change Working Group.

(Bonn, Germany) As another round of interim climate change negotiations start today in Bonn, Germany, ACT Alliance reiterates its call for urgent action to address climate change and its impacts.

“The international community must now take bold action to address climate change and to adequately respond to its impacts. We cannot afford any delays or to waste any time,” said Rudelmar Bueno de Faria, ACT Alliance’s General Secretary.

At the top of the agenda for the Bonn Session is the Talanoa Dialogue that will encourage sharing between parties and stakeholders on progress made towards their climate commitments, the Paris Rulebook that will outline the modalities, procedures and guidelines for the implementation of the Paris Agreement, and the Suva Expert Dialogue on support for climate induced loss and damage.

“There is now every indication that we have just a few years before surpassing the 1.5 degree global warming target, which means that our policies and actions towards a more volatile climate must be ambitious and unequivocal. The Talanoa Dialogue must quickly translate into building resilience, supporting the most vulnerable and ensuring a higher mitigation ambition,” said Bueno de Faria.

The Suva Expert Dialogue on loss and damage support is expected to advance the discussions on climate finance and other means necessary to respond to the adverse impacts of climate change that go beyond the ability of communities to adapt. Recently, ACT Alliance made a Submission to the UNFCCC in which it called for clarity and a greater allocation of financial, capacity, and technological support towards the protection of vulnerable people, communities, and countries from loss and damage.

“Because there are already serious and exponential climate induced losses and damages, particularly affecting vulnerable people in developing countries, we would like to see a constructive Suva Expert Dialogue. It must lead to concrete outcomes including the reaffirmation of solidarity. Loss and damage must not be sidelined,” said Bueno de Faria.

On the modalities of the implementation of the Paris Agreement, ACT Alliance expressed concern about the slow progress of the Paris Rulebook. “By the end of this year, we need a robust Paris Rulebook with a strong inclusion of transparency and accountability at all levels,” said Martin Vogel, Chair of the ACT Alliance Climate Change Group, and head of ACT’s delegation to the Bonn Session.

“Transparency and accountability in climate action and support are keys for building trust and confidence among countries and must be seen as the hallmark of the guidelines for the implementation of the Paris Agreement,” said Vogel.

It is imperative that climate action is transparent in all aspects related to the provision and use of financial support and in emissions reductions. Every country must make an effort. The Paris Rulebook must be a win-win for all, and the Bonn Session will play a significant role in setting the foundation for this.

ENDS
For further information, contact: Joanna Patouris: Joanna.patouris@actalliance.org , +1 647-971-5360

The Stockholm Forum on Gender Equality (15-17 April, 2018) brought together over 700 activists, academics, politicians and civil society representatives from over 100 countries.

The Forum, which aimed to make progress towards a more gender-equal world was hosted by the Swedish government, the Swedish International Development Agency, the Swedish Institute, and the Folke Bernadotte Academy.

Rudelmar Bueno de Faria, ACT Alliance’s General Secretary participated in the Forum, and served as the moderator of a discussion on religious legislation and norms, co-organized by ACT member Church of Sweden and the Swedish Association for Sexuality Education (RFSU). He also engaged as a panellist at a side event on gender inequality and development cooperation. The side event was hosted by the Confederation for Relief and Development (CONCORD) on, “Tackling global gender inequality through development cooperation and feminist policies.”

Panellists explored the role of civil society, government, and donors to contribute to a more gender-equal world. They identified that tackling the critical global problem of gender inequality will require more feminist policies across the world. In addition, in order to promote a more prosperous development agenda, there will need to be a more balanced engagement and inclusion of all women, at all levels of decision making and implementation strategies.

A major concern raised by ACT Alliance is the threat that is posed to the rights and dignity of women on the move. “Women make up about half of the world’s 244 million migrants, and half of the world’s 65 million displaced people. A vast majority of them are insufficiently protected,” said de Faria. “In addition, the policies that have been created and implemented to protect women migrants and women who have been displaced, too often fall-short, and do not offer adequate protection.”

ACT members that engage with people on the move at various points of their journey recognize that those seeking to reach international protection face tremendous difficulties that are exacerbated by increasingly stringent border control measures. “Using border control measures as the primary tool for addressing irregular migration increases situations of vulnerability for people on the move,” said de Faria.

This is particularly true for unprotected women and children who are forced into unsafe and exploitative channels of migration. The risk of exploitation and trafficking is not only pertinent to women who are seeking protection, but also for those who are migrating for better work opportunities.

Women migrants are important global economic actors as 72.7% are part of the labour force. It was estimated that in 2015 international migrants had sent $432.6 billion in remittances back to their home countries. This amount is almost three times the amount of Official Development Assistance, which totalled $131.6 billion for that same year. Many families rely on remittances for improved access to health services and greater livelihood opportunities. Remittances also play an important role in strengthening economies.

“While there is a clear demand for labour migration and there are significant economic benefits, there is a lack of political will to facilitate and regulate labour migration in a rights-based manner, and this is concerning,” said de Faria.

The lack of regulation of labour migration, which may foster poor social protection systems, is a particular concern for many women who are employed in the informal sector and in domestic work.  “Domestic work is not even covered in the national labour laws of many countries. This poses significant threats to gender justice and gender equality, as women make up 73.4% of international migrant domestic workers,” continued de Faria.

ACT Forums and members are directly involved in implementing programmes which challenge gender based inequalities, empower women, and safeguard the rights of women and girls on the move. Some ACT members are engaging at the community level to provide immediate humanitarian assistance for displaced peoples for example, in South Sudan, Uganda, and Bangladesh.

Other ACT members are supporting the reception and integration of migrants and refugees into their local communities and are providing skills-based trainings and other supports to help displaced women to rebuild their lives.

ACT is further engaging in advocacy at the international level to fight for gender equality and for justice and solidarity with people on the move in various intersectional platforms, including the recent Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), and the Commission on Population and Development (CPD).

ACT is committed to continue to advocate for the protection of human rights and dignity for all, regardless of their status.

The Commission on Population and Development convened governments, UN agencies, civil society actors, and others to its 51^st Session (CPD51) in New York from April 9- 13^th. The theme of this year’s Commission was “Sustainable cities, human mobility and international migration”.

Unfortunately, member states were unable to reach consensus on the outcome document as some member states did not want to agree on any clauses that would predetermine the Global Compact on Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration currently under negotiation at the UN. This Commission however, saw strong cross-regional collaboration on advancing the issues of migration. Transnational support was expressed from member states that had never before spoken out strongly on these issues.

Action by Churches Together (ACT Alliance) was present at CPD51, with a delegation of ACT members and partners from around the world that are committed to working towards gender equality, and are leading programmes that incorporate sexual and reproductive health care services, advocacy or normative work in their settings. ACT Alliance recognizes that human dignity is a foundation to human rights, and that conceptions of human dignity have historically arisen out of faith and religious traditions. ACT also recognizes that gender equality and access to sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) is a prerequisite for the enjoyment of all human rights and for poverty reduction.

Access to SRHR which includes access to health care services, information, family planning, etc., is crucial and should be accessible to all regardless of migration status. Globally, there are 32.3 million women refugees, half of them being girls, who are affected disproportionately by emergencies.

Women, children and adolescents, especially girls, face an increased risk of unwanted pregnancies, sexually transmitted infections, including HIV, human trafficking, child, early and forced marriage and other forms of sexual and gender based violence, and their needs and rights largely remain unprotected and unengaged. Considering these crucial times of international mobility, it was unfortunate that member states could not reach consensus on all aspects of social protection for all during CPD51.

ACT welcomed the opportunity to engage in CPD51 and to deepen the discussion around religion and SRHR in general, and in particular, in the context of human mobility and migration. ACT Alliance and partners including the World Council of Churches, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), German Justice Commission, and Islamic Relief USA hosted a public side event at CPD51.

The event, “Faith-based approaches to Sexual and Reproductive Health in a Human Rights perspective,” was in line with Sustainable Development Goal 3.7 (SDG 3.7), “by 2030 ensure universal access to sexual and reproductive health care services, including for family planning, information and education, and the integration of reproductive health into national strategies and programs.”

The side event facilitated an interactive panel discussion, bringing FBOs from many faith traditions, working on human rights advocacy as well as on development and humanitarian service delivery, together with secular humanitarian NGOs and UN representatives.

Panellists explored the nexus between faith-based actors and sexual and reproductive health, looking at the theological underpinnings and interpretation of sacred texts that defined their approach to SRHR and services. ACT delegates showcased their experiences and perspectives as FBOs on integrating SRHR into their health, youth and other programs.

Last year (CPD50) was the first time that a platform under the CPD hosted an inter-faith event supportive of the rights-based sexual and reproductive health narrative. At CPD50, there was consensus amongst various civil society organizations for increased dialogue around faith and religion-related aspects and SRHR related aspects.

“This side event was a wonderful opportunity to continue the discussion that was started at CPD50. Some participants mentioned that they did not know that progressive faith voices existed,” said Alison Kelly, ACT’s Sustainable Development and UN Representative. “As a faith based organization with religious values at our core, values of dignity, justice, compassion and love for every individual are central to all of our work.”

Under the auspices of the Government of Sweden, ACT Alliance joined the UNFPA and other organizations in hosting a private round table discussion, bringing together FBOs and secular organisations from the Global South working on SRHR on the ground. This unique meeting explored the misconceptions and challenges that are faced in working with each other and the misconceptions that surround both faith and SRHR related items. One of the participants said, “we can harness the positive work of the communities, and remove the toxicity at the global level.”

“I am grateful that we as a faith-based family, and religious leaders were invited to participate in the discussions,” said Bishop Stephen Kaziimba of the Anglican Church in Uganda. “We need to work together in order to help people to live life in its fullness. I remain committed to promote human dignity,” he continued.

In reference to this year’s theme, ACT Alliance recognizes that faith-based organisations (FBOs) have the potential to reach out to and offer security to marginalized communities, including people on the move and those in fragile or rural settings.

“The theme of the CPD this year was crucial as the needs and rights of some of the most marginalized people in the world, particularly migrant women and girls, requires urgent resolution,” said Kelly, reflecting on conversations with the ACT delegation.

Substantive progress is desperately needed in view of the grave human rights infringements and consequences for population policies by the growing numbers of refugees, migrants, and displaced people in the world today.

ACT submitted a Written Statement to the CPD51. A section from the Statement reads, “As faith actors we know of the challenges of religion in ensuring gender equality and the sexual and reproductive health and rights for all. It is however due to the presence and power of faith networks that engaging with faith actors is also crucial.”

The Statement continues, “Faith institutions’ and networks reach the most marginalized communities, where even governments have difficulty in ensuring an institutional presence, sometimes being the only functioning civil society institutions offering security in situations of conflict and fragility. Faith actors are also a diverse network and communities, institutions and leaders can contribute to challenging patriarchal attitudes and practices by promoting gender equality at all levels of society.”

The full Statement is available here.

The ACT Alliance is deeply concerned about the recent actions of the Philippine government to list a number of activist and Human rights defenders. On 21 February 2018, the government through its Department of Justice filed a petition seeking to declare the Communist Party of the Philippines and its armed wing, the New People’s Army as terrorist organisations after the government cancelled peace negotiations with the groups. One of the names of the list is Beverly Longid, who has no affiliation to either parties.

Beverly Longid is one of the CDPE (CSO partnership for development effectiveness) co-chairs and assumes an important role to foster development effectiveness principles and practices in the Philippines. She does so with the aim to achieve greater respect for human rights and the protection of human rights defenders. This is work that adheres to non-violent methods. The ACT Alliance is a member of the CDPE.

Beverly Longid and her work should not in any way be attached to the definition of terror. ACT Alliance calls for a prompt removal of the name of Beverly Longid from the Philippine Government’s list of “terrorists” and underlines the urgency in giving attention to protection of the civic space for Beverly Longid and other HR-activists.

#activistsnotterrorists #civilrights

The International Council of Voluntary Agencies (ICVA) held its 17th General Assembly on 21 March, 2018. At the General Assembly ACT Alliance, represented by Anoop Sukumaran was elected to the governing body. Anoop who is ACT’s Regional Representative for the Asia/Pacific region was also elected by the General Assembly as the Chair of the ICVA Board for a three-year term. The Chair of the Board carries the responsibility for maintaining the humanitarian identity and integrity of ICVA’s mission and to ensure that the Board functions effectively. ACT member Christian Aid was also elected to the Board, represented by Jane Backhurst, Senior Advisor on Humanitarian Policy and Advocacy.

Established in 1962, ICVA is one of the oldest networks of NGOs advocating for a rights-and-needs- based approach for effective humanitarian action. Today, ICVA’S membership consists of over 100 organizations, including ACT Alliance, who are working together for increased coordination and collaboration between various humanitarian actors and NGOs.

“ACT is a leading voice and actor in the humanitarian space, and many of ACT’s members are members of ICVA. This makes ICVA a natural partner for us, and ACT has been committed to the mission of ICVA” said Anoop.

The four cross-cutting areas of ICVA’s work are forced displacement, humanitarian partnerships, humanitarian financing, and humanitarian coordination. Each of these priority areas are in line with the work of ACT. Close collaboration with ICVA is indicative of ACT’s dedication to support and to strengthen the representation of Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and the voices of people from the ground, especially during a time of shrinking CSO space.

“ICVA connects ACT’s work on the Grand Bargain, the Localization Agenda, WHS commitments as well as the Global Compacts that are currently being negotiated,” said Anoop. “Engaging at a deeper level with ICVA allows for us to further our work on these very important issues from a rights-based lens, and from a lens that ensures that communities remain at the center of our work,” he continued.

ICVA further connects ACT’s engagement with the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC), which is the primary mechanism for inter-agency coordination of humanitarian assistance, as well as with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, and other UN agencies. Through ICVA, ACT Alliance can continue to work to influence humanitarian policy and to contribute to more effective humanitarian action.

“It was the women’s voices that created a tipping point.  It was their testimonies, their stories, their pain, their truth, their courage to speak truth to religious power at the time,” said Dionne Gravesande of ACT member Christian Aid, during a side event at the Commission on the Status of Women in New York.  “What was different in 2015?  They were heard.”

Gravesande’s story, which shared the experience of the Zimbabwean Council of Churches, was one concrete example of the importance of involving religious leaders in addressing harmful gender practices including early marriage, gender based violence and more.  ACT Alliance co-hosted the event, along with the Danish Permanent Mission to the UN, DanChurchAid and the UNFPA.

The goal of the event, Building Bridges, was to discuss best practices in developing effective partnerships between faith and secular actors to challenge discriminatory gender norms and secure rural women’s rights. A broad range of organisations participated, including Christian Aid, Tearfund, Abaad, Islamic Relief Worldwide, the Joint Learning Initiative, World Vision, and Norwegian Church Aid.

Dr. Selina Palm of Stellenbosch University presented research from JLI’s report No more ‘Harmful Traditional Practices’: Working effectively with faith leaders.  Palm noted that the term “harmful traditional practices” itself is problematic.  “We suggest that it is a term beloved by policy makers, but not very user friendly for practitioners,” she said.  The term often makes people defensive, and can put practises into silos isolating them, rather than addressing them in comprehensive programmes like child protection or anti-gender based violence.

Palm underscored the importance of faith communities and leaders: “Faith communities are spaces where beliefs, behaviours and social norms- both positive and negative- are created, reinforced, and can be challenged.  To engage there, you have to work through faith leaders.  They are crucial gatekeepers into wider faith communities.”

Faith leaders bring access to spiritual capital, which can be harnessed alongside the health information and knowledge, to transform, over time, opinions and norms in societies.

Irene Arena, from ACT member the Church of Uganda, echoed the importance of working with faith leaders.  Faith leaders played a key role in ending the war in Uganda.  “The faith leaders are actually the sleepy giants, which should be engaged in ending gender-based discriminatory norms and practices.”  90% of the population of Uganda is religious, so DCA and other ACT members engage church leaders as champions of gender justice, building their capacity to respond to gender issues.  2017 was the Year of the Family, and faith leaders were involved in addressing family-based gender discrimination in their communities.

Rev. Joseph John Hayab from Nigeria spoke of the need for faiths to come together in addressing gender-based violence.  “If we keep thinking it’s about them, not knowing it’s about us, there is no way out,” he said of the realization that in Nigeria, despite the 50/50 Christian/Muslim split in the country, gender issues are found throughout the nation.  They are a Christian problem as well as a Muslim problem.  Muslims and Christians have become collaborators on gender justice, creating joint resources drawing on Islamic and Biblical sacred texts, and engaging in educating boys and girls in gender issues and positive masculinity/femininity.

Dr. Azza Karam, Senior Advisor at the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) spoke of their work with religious leaders as a part of their work for decades.  “We have plenty to learn from faith-based actors,” she said, and talked about strategic learning exchanges with faith-based organisations that have helped to build a network of 450 FBOs the UNFPA has worked with since the 1970s.

Kidist Belayneh, from ACT member Norwegian Church Aid’s Ethiopia office, spoke of the engagement model that NCA has used for almost 10 years, starting with the top leadership in churches- educating them on the effects that female genital mutilation is having on girls in their communities- and then challenging them to identify their role in addressing the problem.  “It should be their agenda,” she said,” not ours.  Don’t push, but continue the journey.”

Faith-based and secular actors can come together to address gender-based practices that are harming women and girls around the world, and to tackle the underlying issues of poverty and patriarchy that help perpetuate them.  Dr. Palm summed up the danger of patriarchy at the end of the event.  “Patriarchy destroys.  Both men and women.”

But there is hope.  “Transforming patriarchy requires engaging men and boys and having male champions,” she said.  “Engaging masculinity and femininity and how they are constructed is important in how we do this work.”

Doing this work with faith leaders is one key way of helping it to happen.