ACT Guatemala Forum supports investigation into crimes against women
Statement in solidarity with the women witnesses in the Sepur Zarco case in Guatemala
As faith-based organisations, the ACT Alliance Guatemala Forum has expressed their solidarity with the women witnesses in the Sepur Zarco case in Guatemala.
In a trial initiated in Guatemala in February 2016, eleven indigenous Maya Q’eqchi’ women have stood up and are asking for justice for a serious of grave crimes committed against them during the civil war in the 1980s, including sexual and domestic slavery. This trial is historic since it marks the first time that a national tribunal is investigating crimes of sexual violence perpetrated in the context of an armed conflict in the same country.
During the civil war in Guatemala, these women were denied their rights as civilians and non-combatants to be protected by International Humanitarian Law. During a period of several years they were subjected to repeated violations of their human rights and were forced to survive under degrading circumstances that caused severe pain and suffering.
As ACT Alliance, we greet and celebrate the efforts made by the Public Prosecutors Office in Guatemala as well as the efforts made by Guatemalan civil society organisations who have worked tirelessly to investigate and prepare the Sepur Zarco trial.
We express our support and admiration for the witnesses who have shown great dignity and bravery in coming forward to tell of the horrors that they lived through during the civil war; and we ask the international community, the United Nations, international civil society organisations and other actors to closely follow, monitor and accompany this process to reveal the truth and obtain justice for the grave crimes committed against these women.
The human rights violations carried out against the women of Sepur Zarco cannot be undone, but we can all join forces to work for justice and do our best to ensure that these crimes against humanity are never repeated.
Myanmar Flood
CYCLONE SURVIVOR TOOK PART IN EMERGENCY RESPONSE
Maung Phyu Hla is currently working as an Assistant Education Officer for ACT Alliance member LWF in Rakhine State, Myanmar. When Cyclone Komen hit the region last year, he actively took part in the emergency response team of LWF even though his family was severely affected by the flood.
“I was together with my family when the cyclone came. My family had to evacuate and stay together with other people for two days in a monastery which was not flooded. We had to evacuate to the monastery in a small boat and ate only what was available in the monastery “
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ACT responds as refugees arrive at Nduta camp in Tanzania
Myanmar floods: the story of U Kyaw Thein
MYANMAR FLOODS: CROPS DESTROYED, LIVESTOCK LOST
U Kyaw Thein, 61, lives a simple life in the quiet Bauk Ywar village, located in Mrauk-U Township, Rakhine State. He has engaged in subsistence farming to support his family, planting rice in the wet season, and alternating it with maize during the dry season.
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An appeal to end the suffering in Syria
Thousands of Syrian refugee families now living in Jordan escaped the violence of civil war to save their lives – and left with nothing. Working with community based partners, IOCC, an ACT Alliance member, is distributing warm clothing, winter blankets, food, hygiene kits, mattresses, insulating rugs, and school kits to Syrian refugee families living in the capital city of Amman and the Jordanian governorates of Irbid, Mafraq, Ajloun, Jerash, and Madaba. ACT member IOCC is also providing winter relief items as well as household items such as cookware and food parcels to vulnerable Jordanian families to help ease the burden of those hosting Syrian refugees or indirectly affected by this humanitarian crisis. Photo: Paul Jeffrey
More than 120 humanitarian organizations and United Nations agencies issued a joint appeal today urging the world to raise their voices and call for an end to the Syria crisis and to the suffering endured by millions of civilians. The appeal also outlines a series of immediate, practical steps that can improve humanitarian access and the delivery of aid to those in need inside Syria. You are invited to “sign” the appeal simply by liking, sharing, and retweeting it.
Three years ago, the leaders of UN humanitarian agencies issued an urgent appeal to those who could end the conflict in Syria. They called for every effort to save the Syrian people. “Enough”, they said, of the suffering and bloodshed.
That was three years ago.
Now, the war is approaching its sixth brutal year. The bloodshed continues. The suffering deepens.
So today, we — leaders of humanitarian organisations and UN agencies — appeal not only to governments but to each of you — citizens around the world — to add your voices in urging an end to the carnage. To urge that all parties reach agreement on a ceasefire and a path to peace.
More than ever before, the world needs to hear a collective public voice calling for an end to this outrage. Because this conflict and its consequences touch us all.
It touches those in Syria who have lost loved ones and livelihoods, who have been uprooted from their homes, or who live in desperation under siege. Today, some 13.5 million people inside Syria need humanitarian assistance. That is not simply a statistic. These are 13.5 million individual human beings whose lives and futures are in jeopardy.
It touches the families who, with few options for a better future, set out on perilous journeys to foreign lands in search of refuge. The war has seen 4.6 million people flee to neighbouring countries and beyond.
It touches a generation of children and young people who — deprived of education and traumatized by the horrors they have experienced — increasingly see their future shaped only by violence.
It touches those far beyond Syria who have seen the violent repercussions of the crisis reach the streets, offices and restaurants closer to their homes.
And it touches all those around the world whose economic wellbeing is affected, in ways visible and invisible, by the conflict.
Those with the ability to stop the suffering can — and therefore should — take action now. Until there is a diplomatic solution to the fighting, such action should include:
– Unimpeded and sustained access for humanitarian organizations to bring immediate relief to all those in need inside Syria
– Humanitarian pauses and unconditional, monitored ceasefires to allow food and other urgent assistance to be delivered to civilians, vaccinations and other health campaigns, and for children to return to school
– A cessation of attacks on civilian infrastructure — so that schools and hospitals and water supplies are kept safe
– Freedom of movement for all civilians and the immediate lifting of all sieges by all parties
These are practical actions. There is no practical reason they could not be implemented if there is the will to do so.
In the name of our shared humanity… for the sake of the millions of innocents who have already suffered so much… and for the millions more whose lives and futures hang in the balance, we call for action now.
Now.
21 January 2016
Sir Fazle Hasan Abed, Chairperson, BRAC, Bangladesh
Zairulshahfuddin bin Zainal Abidin, Country Director, Islamic Relief Malaysia
Ryoko Akamatsu, Chairperson, Japan Committee for UNICEF
Anne-Birgitte Albrectsen, CEO, Plan International
Richard Allen, CEO, Mentor Initiative
Dr. Haytham Alhamwi, Director, Rethink Rebuild
Steen M. Andersen, Executive Director, Danish Committee for UNICEF
Barry Andrews, CEO, GOAL Ireland
Nancy A. Aossey, President and CEO, International Medical Corp
Bernt G. Apeland, Executive Director, Norwegian Committee for UNICEF
Dr. Mohamed Ashmawey, CEO, Islamic Relief Worldwide
Elhadj As Sy, Secretary General, CEO, International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
Lina Sergie Attar, co-founder and CEO, Karam Foundation
Carmelo Angulo Barturen, President, Spanish Committee for UNICEF
Ileana Bello, Executive Director, Defence for Children International
Gudrun Berger, Executive Director, Austrian Committee for UNICEF
Tomaž Bergoč, Executive Director, Slovenian Foundation for UNICEF
David Bull, Executive Director, United Kingdom Committee for UNICEF
Vivien Maidaborn, Executive Director, The New Zealand National Committee for UNICEF
Blanca Palau Mallol, President, Andorran Committee for UNICEF
Rev. John L. McCullough, President and CEO, Church World Service
Carolyn Miles, President and CEO, Save the Children USA
David Miliband, President and CEO, International Rescue Committee
Mr. Juraj Mišura, President, Slovak Committee for UNICEF
James Mitchum, Chief Executive Officer, Heart to Heart International
David Morley, President and CEO, Canadian UNICEF Committee
John Nduna, General Secretary, ACT Alliance
Stephen O’Brien, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator
Babatunde Osotimehin, Executive Director, United Nations Population Fund
Ignacio Packer, Secretary-General, Terre des Hommes International Federation
People in Need
Dato Dr Ahmad Faizal Perdaus, President, Mercy Malaysia
Plan, Norway
Peter Power, Executive Director, UNICEF Ireland
Sarina Prabasi, Chief Executive Officer, WaterAid America
Chris Proulx, President and CEO, LINGOS, United States
Dr. Jihad Qaddour, President, Syria Relief and Development
Red Cross, Netherlands
Curtis N. Rhodes Jr., International Director, Questscope
Michel Roy, Secretary General, Caritas International
Paolo Rozera, Executive Director, Italian Committee for UNICEF
Dr. Tessie San Martin, President and CEO, Plan International USA
Christian Schneider, Executive Director, German Committee for UNICEF
Rev. Thomas H. Smolich, S.J. International Director, Jesuit Refugee Service
Janti Soeripto, Interim CEO, Save the Children, International
SOS Kinderdorpen, Netherlands
Caryl M. Stern, President and CEO, United States Fund for UNICEF
Marie Soueid, Policy Counsel, Center for Victims of Torture
John Stewart, President, Australian Committee for UNICEF Limited
Odd Swarting, Chair, Swedish Committee for UNICEF
William L. Swing, Director General, International Organization for Migration
Florence Syevuo, Global Call to Action against Poverty, Kenya
Daigo Takagi, Association for Aid and Relief, Japan
Tearfund, UK
Terre des Hommes International Federation
Constantine M. Triantafilou, Executive Director and CEO, International Orthodox Christian Charities
Rev Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, General Secretary, World Council of Churches
Monique van ‘t Hek, Director, Plan Nederland
Dr. William Vendley, Secretary General, Religions for Peace
Pierre Verbeeren, Director, Medecins du Monde, Belgium
Damien Vincent, Executive Director, Belgium Committee for UNICEF
Sandra Visscher, Executive Director, Luxembourg Committee for UNICEF
Vrouwen tegen Uitzetting, Netherlands
Tove Wang, CEO, Save the Children Norway
David A. Weiss, President and CEO, Global Communities
Kathrin Wieland, CEO, Save the Children Germany
Jan Bouke Wijbrandi, Executive Director, Dutch Committee for UNICEF
Nancy E. Wilson, President and Chief Executive Officer, Relief International
Carolyn Woo, President and CEO, Catholic Relief Services
Daniel Wordsworth, President and CEO, American Refugee Committee
Samuel A. Worthington, CEO, InterAction
Leila Zerrougui, UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict
Mohammad Zia-ur-Rehman, Chief Executive, AwazCDS and Pakistan Development Alliance
A better world is threatened by inequality
ACT Alliance today joined top international charities, human rights campaigners, women’s rights groups, green groups, civil society organisations and trade unions in a statement decrying the level in inequality in the world today. The organisations committed themselves to fight the growing crisis of inequality together. The statement was launched as some of the world’s richest and most powerful gather in Davos, Switzerland for the World Economic Forum.
“Fighting inequality is one of the most urgent priority for ACT Alliance, and it should very well be the priority of all governments, civil society and all sectors of society, “ says John Nduna, ACT General Secretary.
The current food insecurity crisis in Ethiopia appears to be a result of a combination of factors, including the pre-El Niño failure of the spring rains and the El Niño induced late onset, erratic and early cessation of the main summer rains.
Click on the image to see the infographic
[INFOGRAPHIC] Drought emergency in Ethiopia
The current food insecurity crisis in Ethiopia appears to be a result of a combination of factors, including the pre-El Niño failure of the spring rains and the El Niño induced late onset, erratic and early cessation of the main summer rains.
Click on the image to see the infographic
[INFOGRAPHIC] Drought emergency in Ethiopia
The current food insecurity crisis in Ethiopia appears to be a result of a combination of factors, including the pre-El Niño failure of the spring rains and the El Niño induced late onset, erratic and early cessation of the main summer rains.
Click on the image to see the infographic
París establece una señal para un clima futuro resiliente y más equitativo
COMUNICADO DE PRENSA
El red international de desarollo ACT Allianza, bienvenida el borrador del Acurdo Global de cambios climáticos que es adoptado ahora en Paris despues de anos de negociasiones entre los países.
” Cientos de ciudades, regiones, empresas e iglesias han demostrado un fuerte compromiso para eliminar las energías basadas en fósiles para mediados de siglo. Esto marca un hito histórico en la lucha contra el cambio climático y nos muestra un futuro esperanzador, más sostenible, resiliente y equitativo”, dice el Arzobispo y el embajador mundial de la Alianza ACT Thabo Makgabo, de Sudáfrica.
El acuerdo de París universal incluye por primera vez el compromiso de todos los estados para mantener el calentamiento del planeta por debajo de 2 grados. Con el objetivo de mitigación a largo plazo, un mecanismo para aumentar dinámicamente los compromisos de cada uno de los países con el tiempo, las normas comunes de transparencia así como un paquete de apoyo a las personas más vulnerables, están todos los elementos necesarios a bordo para seguir adelante en la lucha contra el cambio climático.
“Ahora hacemos un llamamiento a todos los gobiernos nacionales para cerrar los flecos que quedan todavía y aquellas cuestiones que aparecen indebidamente en el acuerdo debido a los países que no están dispuestos a asumir su responsabilidad”, dice Mattias Söderberg, jefe de la delegación alianza ACT.
Mattias Söderberg continúa: “Se necesita mayor acción contra el cambio climático y que ésta sea más rápida para abordar adecuadamente las preocupaciones fundamentales de las personas más pobres y vulnerables. La aplicación del Acuerdo de París debe ser aumentada e incrementada por medidas a nivel nacional y la cooperación internacional”.
Arzobispo Thabo Makgabo dice: “Todas las personas somos parte de la Creación, y mientras estamos agradecidas por esto, también tenemos que reconocer nuestra responsabilidad de cuidar de la tierra. Esta responsabilidad nos fue dada por Dios, y por lo tanto nosotros y nosotras, como los grupos religiosos de todo el mundo tienen que liderar el camino ”
Las delegaciones religiosas conjuntas de la Alianza ACT, la Federación Luterana Mundial y el Consejo Mundial de Iglesias han estado formadas por más de cien personas durante las dos semanas cumbre contra el cambio climático.
Para más preguntas: Jefe de la delegación de la Alianza ACT, Mattias Söderberg, en msd@dca.dk o + 45-29.700.609.
