About 900 government representatives and 100 representatives from civil society, UN agencies, and the private sector have been meeting in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, since Monday to deliberate on the outcomes of this year’s thematic and regional consultations for the adoption of a Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration.

The purpose of this stocktaking exercise has been to identify commitments for concrete action which will be included in the zero draft of the Global Compact document, which is expected to be drafted by the end of January, and will form the basis of intergovernmental negotiations next year.

Christian Wolff, ACT’s Programme Manager for Migration & Displacement, contributed a statement to the stocktake. He shared ACT’s concerns for protecting the rights and interests of migrants including:

• emphasizing the need for more regular pathways for labour migration,
• the need for human rights protection for migrants returning home,
• for participatory planning of their eventual reintegration, and
• the need to address crucial issues that affect people on the move in both the Global Compact on Migration and the Global Compact on refugees.

The full text of ACT’s contribution to the process can be read here.

ACT Alliance’s General Secretary, Rudelmar Bueno de Faria, issued a statement today expressing ACT’s concern over President Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

“We consider this decision to be a grave violation of International Law and the UN Resolutions vis-à-vis the Palestinian Israeli conflict, particularly UN Resolution 181,” wrote de Faria. “This decision will have serious ramifications on and cause irreversible harm to the peace process, the Status Quo of Jerusalem and interreligious relations in the region.”

“As a humanitarian network, we are very conscious that this decision will also add to the human suffering of the Palestinians,” he continued. “This will have the potential of escalating tensions, violence and the loss of innocent lives, not only in the Palestinian Occupied Territories, but also throughout the region.”

The full statement can be read here.

This weekend’s announcement that the US will take no further part in the process for agreeing on a UN Global Compact for safe, orderly and regular migration is of great concern to all migrants and those who work with and for them, including the members of ACT Alliance worldwide. The US announcement came only hours ahead of a major international Migration conference being held by the UN in Puerto Vallarta Mexico, which is taking stock of a detailed consultation process around the world, which has been gathering inputs for the text of the Compact, and in which many civil society organsiations, including ACT and its members, have been actively involved.

The Compact presents a once in a lifetime opportunity for the global community to unite to protect the rights of people on the move. Not without its own challenges, the Compact process has been underway since September 2016, triggered by the New York Declaration, which was hailed as a watershed moment, having been unanimously passed by the UN General Assembly. The US government at the time was one of the key states backing the declaration.

ACT Alliance’s support for the Global Compact process has been resolute from the outset. ACT recognizes the importance of such a compact in the protection of peoples’ rights. There is a need to safeguard the rights of people on the move. A multilateral process under the auspices of the UN is indispensable for ensuring this. The US assertion that, “the declaration contains numerous provisions that are inconsistent with US immigration and refugee policies and the Trump administration’s immigration principles” stands in sharp contrast with the prevailing, global consensus on the need to reach an international agreement on migration policy.

In addition, from the outset the Compact was never intended to infringe upon member states’ national sovereignty. Instead, it has been an attempt by the UN to develop a global understanding about the rights of people on the move, whose numbers will likely continue to increase due to unresolved conflicts, as well as the growing socio-economic interdependence between nation states, and that efforts need to be made to regularize movement, while simultaneously acknowledging the sovereignty of states, as well as the interdependence between them.

We are dismayed at the Trump administration’s decision, we also recognize that it runs counter to the continued goodwill and support of people for migrants and refugees globally, and also within the United States. In a similar way as happened after the US announced its intention to withdraw from the Paris Climate Agreement, when many US cities remained committed to act on climate change, we are confident that the heartfelt and passionate work of the people, including our US members, at state, district and local levels will be able to maintain the much-needed support for migrants and refugees.

We urge the US administration to reconsider its decision, and constructively engage on the issues of migration by returning to the multilateral process. Migration is a global phenomenon which requires a global response. Like all countries, the US is not immune to the global forces that drive human migration. We call on all governments engaged in the Compact to not be distracted by the US withdrawal, but instead to redouble their efforts to address this critical issue.

We are also encouraged by the positive spirit of the discussions taking place in Puerto Vallarta at the moment, and we therefore urge the international community to carry on in its determination to find human rights-based, long-term and sustainable solutions to address the plight of people on the move. In this effort of collaboration, we also support the Statement from US Civil Society Participants during the UN Stocktaking Meeting on the Global Compact for Migration.

by Umesh Pokharel, Document Manager, LWF Nepal

The night of August 14^th, 2017 was a night to remember for Sundari Chaudhari (35) from the Bhitaria village of the Joshipur Rural Municipality, Kailali, Nepal. Woken up by a slap in her sleep, Sundari recalls the flood that inundated her house, “I squirmed and saw my mother-in-law warning me against rising water level.” The flood swept away her cattle and destroyed her paddy crops.  The flood was triggered by an inadequate drainage system in the plains and heavy rain, which caused the river to overflow.

According to the Nepal Ministry of Home Affairs (MoHA), the flood was responsible for approximately 150 deaths in 18 districts of Nepal.  Sundari’s house was only one of the 100,000 houses that were damaged and a further 80,000 houses were completely destroyed by the flood.

The immediate response of ACT Alliance

ACT Alliance member, the Lutheran World Federation in Nepal (LWF Nepal), which is rooted in the community, was present to respond to the flood.

As the rain continued to inundate Kailali through the night, The ACT Nepal Forum, in collaboration with various district agencies, prepared a relief plan. Together they mobilized the relief plan, “since the water-level was above 5 feet, we took a boat to reach the flood-affected people,” said Bal Krishna Chaudhari, LWF Nepal’s coordinator of the Western regional office. Chaudhari and his team provided relief to the affected communities of, Jabalpur village in Janaki Rural Municipality, Gothchaur village of Bhajani Municipality and Bhitraya village of Joshipur Rural Municipality in Kailali.

Sundari was one of the beneficiaries in the LWF Nepal response in Bhitraya village. She received rice, pulse, iodized salt, cooking oil, beaten rice, and instant noodles. Apart from these food supplies a dignity kit was provided. “Since most of the families from my village were taking shelter in same place, getting relief materials including a dignity kit meant a lot for me,” Sundari said.

Similar to the response in Kailali, ACT Alliance members have provided relief materials to hundreds of households in Jhapa and Morang districts of Nepal’s eastern development region.

Life after the flood

In the aftermath of the flood Sundari and her family took shelter at her elder sister’s house for a month. Her husband had migrated to the Gulf and was not present to assist with the reconstruction of her home. With the help of her neighbours, Sundari repaired her house and moved back to her ancestral land, “we supported each other to repair our houses and resettle in our beloved place,” she said. Many of her neighbours have been able to return and settle back in their village.

Towards Resilience

As Sundari and her neighbors resettled on their ancestral land, signs of resilience were evident. Her elder son was able to continue with school and people in the community resumed planting crops and raising domestic animals as they did before the flood. ACT Alliance members and their partner organizations such as Digo Bikas Samaj in Kailali have been a great source of support for the community in rising from the disaster.

A Food Grain Bank and an emergency fund that was established by ACT Alliance and its partner organizations before the flood helped the village to avoid a potential famine and provided immediate relief.

In a similar response ACT Alliance member, LWF Nepal and its partners are planning to provide temporary shelter, livelihood support, water and sanitation facilities and intend to address the psychosocial and protection needs of the community in Kailali, Jhapa, Morang, Sarlahi and Chitwan districts.

Way Forward

ACT Alliance members including LWF Nepal have adopted the Build Back Better approach in their humanitarian response. This response uses the learnings of the past and builds activities based on this experience. It is important to note that the Food Grain Bank and emergency fund set up before the bank was a result of this approach.  “The ongoing flood response activities funded by ACT Alliance and other bilateral donors are designed based on a needs assessment and LWF’s previous experience. Therefore, the activities are more sustainable,” says Dr Prabin Manandhar, Country Director of LWF Nepal.

The huge impacts of businesses on the communities in which they operate often bring benefits, but companies can disregard and even harm people’s rights in pursuit of economic gain.

The World Council of Churches (WCC), ACT Alliance and the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) hosted a side event at the 6th United Nations Forum on Business and Human Rights in Geneva on November 28, in this context.

The event, called “Stop Human Rights Abuse! – Meaningful Dialogue with Communities” brought together leaders from faith-based organizations, the United Nations and civil society to discuss the impact of businesses on communities and families, particularly in the developing world.

Dr Isabel Phiri, deputy general secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC), recounted a recent visit to Zambia.

There she witnessed first-hand how a company extracting iron ore had displaced entire villages from their homes and sources of sustenance as well as destroyed sacred places of worship.

“Our role as churches or faith-based organisations is to lift up the voices of those who are suffering from such violations of human rights,” Phiri said.

Dr Ojot Ojulu, LWF’s Interim Assistant General Secretary for International Affairs and Human Rights, noted that the Lutheran communion “is committed to addressing corporate land-grabbing and upholding communities’ land rights.”

In the face of exploitative mining activities and land-grabbing, “faith-based actors have to engage with the business or private sector,” said Rudelmar Bueno de Faria, general secretary of ACT Alliance, not least with a view to protecting people’s rights and ensuring communities’ access to remedies.

Meaningful dialogue between various stakeholders can be an effective way to begin to remedy or mitigate business abuses and the side-event shared practical examples from Africa.

The Bench Marks Foundation, a church-initiated corporate watchdog in South Africa, has developed an Independent Problem Solving Service (IPSS).

While dialogue is at the centre of the IPSS, “genuine dialogue is not possible without addressing unequal power relations between impoverished communities and mining corporations,” said Bench Marks Foundation director John Chapel.

“The IPSS helps to empower communities affected by extractive activities through organising, building capacity, providing relevant information and developing coalitions,” he said.

In a Mozambique land-grab case, the LWF is mediating between a biofuel company, the government and communities.

Yet, bringing companies to the table is not easy.

“A key challenge has to do with changing the beliefs of the company – they have to learn that human rights must be respected,” said Nordine Ferrao from the LWF Mozambique office.

“Another challenge is to bring any violations to the attention of the government, who may not know what is happening,” Ferrao pointed out.

The side-event also examined human rights defenders pressing for businesses to be held accountable.

An increasing number of them are being criminalized, threatened and even killed.

Åsa Beckius from Diakonia, a member of the ACT Alliance, cited a recent report by Michael Forst, UN special rapporteur on human rights’ defenders which said, “businesses have to do much more including by demanding accountability in their supply chains and protecting spaces for civil society.”

ACT Alliance has joined with the World Council of Churches to issue a “Minute on the situation in Zimbabwe” from the WCC’s Executive Committee meeting in Amman, Jordan this week after events in Zimbabwe have led to the resignation of President Robert Mugabe.

“The WCC executive committee, together with the ACT Alliance, welcome and affirm the joint statement of the Zimbabwe Council of Churches, the Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops Conference and the Evangelical Fellowship of Zimbabwe, issued on 15 November 2017, as reflecting the clear common mind and witness of the churches of the country in this critical moment,” the minute reads. “We affirm and endorse the call of the churches of Zimbabwe for prayer for the nation, for calm and peace, for respect for human dignity and rule of law, for a transitional government of national unity to oversee the transition towards free, fair and credible elections, and for an inclusive process of national dialogue to capture the aspirations of all sectors of Zimbabwean society and for building a democratic state under the rule of law.”

The full minute can be read on the WCC website here.

As the world comes to terms with the weak outcome of COP23, ACT Alliance calls for a recommitment to the need for ambitious action and solidarity with climate vulnerable people.

“COP23 has fallen short of the main expectations we had: we had hoped that the cry of people of the Pacific and other vulnerable parts of the world would be heard and translated into urgent and ambitious action,“ said Rudelmar Bueno de Faria, ACT Alliance’s General Secretary.

COP23 is ending after two weeks of tough negotiations. While the adoption of the Gender Action Plan which aims to enhance gender equality throughout all processes and bodies of the UNFCCC may be one of the most significant milestones to be remembered from COP23, other important agenda items have not had particularly successful outcomes.

As a matter of fact, this COP has shown that it is the needs of the vulnerable countries who need support that continue to fall into the line of fire, instead of the shortcomings of the big emitters of the world.

“As a global community we need to figure out quickly how to address the weak and slow responsiveness of our policy making systems. The UNFCCC cannot continue to deliver painstakingly small steps forward, when the world needs decisive action. We must act now to ensure that no one is left behind,” Bueno de Faria continued.

Loss and damage is an issue that lies close to the hearts and realities of the least developed countries and small island states who are at this moment threatened by rising sea levels and other climate-influenced disasters. Despite a Fijian presidency at COP23, the support for Loss and Damage in Bonn did not deliver on the ambition required to truly stand in solidarity with climate vulnerable communities.

“We applaud the commitment and continued push of the most vulnerable countries, who never fail to raise the voices and the concerns of the populations already affected by climate change, and who match their vision for a better world with higher ambition than their developed country counterparts,” said Martin Vogel, Climate Policy Adviser to the Church of Sweden and co-chair of the ACT Alliance Climate Change Group.

“ACT Alliance will continue to fight for the needs of the most vulnerable communities. We shall increase our voice, action and solidarity as we respond to humanitarian crises, in our development programmes and in our advocacy at all levels,” Bueno de Faria concluded.

As COP23, the International Climate Conference in Bonn, Germany draws to a close, the ACT Alliance and the Lutheran World Federation are launching a call to people of faith and faith-based organisations to take action on climate change.  “Climate change and its impacts affect the full enjoyment of human rights and dignity,” the call reads. “Both from the perspective of our belief in God as the Creator and from the perspective of justice and human rights, Climate Change is a matter that must be urgently addressed by human beings in our age.“

The global policy processes, including COP, are not delivering the urgent, ambitious climate action that people and communities around the world require.  We, as faith-based networks shall continue to do advocacy around climate justice, but will also continue to act on the ground in communities, helping to respond to humanitarian crises, to reduce risks, to adapt to climate change and to increase capacity building through our programmes.

We call for ambitious action to change the current models of development and economics, to protect the most vulnerable people, and to provide adequate financing and action to ensure that global temperature rise remains below 1.5°C.

It is not a call aimed only at high-level actors, but at all people of faith. ACT and LWF members at COP23 shared some of their reasons for engaging in climate action:

Bishop Ingeborg Midttømme, Norway—“God is the creator of heaven and earth and all human kind, Mother Earth is a gift to all of us, we can’t destroy the gift that is given to all of us just to focus on our own needs. The gift of God is given to us to that we can have what we need to live together in peace and harmony and it is very unfair that if you are born in one part of the world you will not have the opportunity to have food security or clean water or the most basic needs, and why should I shave it because I was born in Norway and I live there. We are all sisters and brothers and we belong to each other.”

Collins Shava, Zimbabwe— “It is important for the people of faith to take climate change as a moral challenge, as an issue of justice as it is causing harm to many who are poor and vulnerable. Recognizing that faith has an influence in the behavior of billions of people in the world, faith communities no matter what religion must use this unique space to call on the leaders of the world to focus and urgently address the issues of climate change.”

Frances Namoumou, Fiji—“This is our prophetic role, to raise the voices of communities that are suffering.  We have a moral responsibility to act as a moral radar for our governments, our communities, even ourselves.  We have to walk the talk, hold hands with those in the front-line of Climate Change impact and to join together in solidarity on climate justice action.”

Please join your voice with ours in calling for ambitious action on climate change. Read the full call to action here. Contact Joanna Patouris, ACT’s Climate Change Communications Coordinator, to add your name to those who endorse the call. Together, we can work to ensure that global temperature rise remains below 1.5°C., so that the earth will continue to be a nurturing home for all God’s people.

It is time to act.  Act now for climate justice.

The climate is changing rapidly, and this change is affecting different parts of the world through storms, hurricanes, floods, and so forth, but most importantly, the droughts from which we suffer so much especially in my context in Southern Africa. These events must inspire us not just to raise ambitions for implementation of the Paris agreement but to actually reprioritize climate actions in our communities over everything.

At this time last year – prior COP22– our hopes were raised for a changing world since the Paris Agreement had already been ratified by enough countries for it to be effective. Unfortunately, since the Agreement entered into force we’ve seen implications rather than implementation.

On the 6^th of October 2017 Green ELCSA (Evangelical Lutheran Church in Southern Africa) and the SAYCCC (South African Youth Climate Change Coalition) held a seminar based on SDG13 at the Durban University of Technology.  The main aim was to raise awareness of climate change effects in order to enable increased adaptation and mitigation capacities.

The Sustainable Development Goals are a better approach to build capacity in local communities and to strategize with them on the best ways of combating climate change effects. At the seminar, we had an integrated discussion with the representative of the Ethekwini Municipality’s Representation explored new opportunities of the Durban Climate Change Strategy, especially among the youth, about becoming key players in implementation.

During the seminar, our message of mobilization was: “Durban might face a number of risks in future since climate change continues to have detrimental effects on our society. These include water-related impacts such as floods and drought, threats to biodiversity and ecosystems, impacts on agriculture and food security, potential damage to infrastructure, higher energy consumption, and health impacts.”

Just four days after the seminar, a major storm hit the Durban area destroying infrastructure and properties including three hospitals, and a number of people lost their lives while many more were injured and left desolate.

As ACT Alliance our message is always prophetic which is why we need to be heard. We’ve been advocating for climate justice with a vision of a resilient and zero-carbon society, the end of the half of the century is approaching, and our call for justice– particularly on lowering carbon emissions other urgent actions to keep global warming below 1.5C– is yet to be realized. Unless we act ambitiously and urgently, the storm that hit Durban, as well as hurricanes and other natural disasters that have affected other regions, are nothing compared to what the world is yet to experience. I’m saying that not because what is happening is tolerable but precisely because I think it should galvanize us to implement the Paris Agreement.

As COP23 approaches; we are hoping for enhanced negotiations with Human Rights at the top of the discourse. The Conference of Parties serving as a Meeting to the Kyoto Protocol or the CMA should be able to develop a legal treaty that will allow the implementation of the PA.

The Lutheran World Federation adopted a resolution on climate change calling upon its member churches to take urgent and integrated actions for climate justice and in its last paragraph; “The Assembly affirms the fact that the global ecological crisis, including climate change, is human-induced. It is a spiritual matter. As people of faith, we are called to live in right relationship with creation and not to exhaust it” (LWF Twelfth Assembly: 2017).

“The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein” (Psalm 24:1)

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Khulekani Sizwe Magwaza is from South Africa. He is a member of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Southern Africa (ELCSA) and a Theology Student. He is LWF Council Member and part of the LWF Climate Network. He is championing the Green ELCSA which is a church’s climate change initiative and he is Secretary-General of the South African Youth Climate Change Coalition (SAYCCC)

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As the end of the COP approaches, there are still so many unresolved issues, ranging from climate finance to clarity on how to implement Paris Agreement in a way that is both ambitious and that responds to the urgent needs of vulnerable communities.

The trust and confidence that was built in Paris is starting to break, as a result of many unkept promises. Poor and vulnerable communities need climate finances to assist them in addressing the impacts of climate change that are already ravaging them. These finances must be provided in a way that is scaled up, transparent and accountable. COP23 has not made any significant steps towards these needs.

More needs to be done to address climate induced economic and non-economic loss and damage. These impacts are particularly felt in the Pacific where populations are already facing imminent displacement and climate induced migration. Thus far the discussions at COP23 have been weak on loss and damage, but the parties here still have the chance to make sure that loss and damage are part of the future negotiations.

You can read more about ACT’s work on loss and damage at COP23 here.

As heads of governments and ministers arrive today for the high-level segment of COP23, we call on them to take bolder action. We call on them to show true leadership and solidarity. We call on them to take action and to meaningfully respond to the urgent needs of poor and vulnerable people.

Climate justice demands that the countries responsible for causing climate change take action to cut emissions and to provide finances and support to assist those that are affected.

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Martin Vogel is the Climate Policy Advisor with the Church of Sweden and co-chair of the ACT Alliance Climate Change Group.