GLOBAL CALL TO ACTION AGAINST POVERTY
Freedom from poverty and Every Human Has Rights Campaign
The Global Call to Action Against Poverty GCAP) supports the promotion of the Freedom from Want/ Poverty theme throughout 2008. Founded in 2005, the GCAP alliance comprises social movements, international NGOs, trade unions, community groups, women’s organizations, faith and youth groups, local associations and campaigners working together across more than 100 national coalitions/platforms. GCAP is calling for action from the world’s leaders to meet their promises to end poverty and inequality. In particular, GCAP demands solutions that address the issues of public accountability, just governance and the fulfilment of human rights; trade justice; more and better aid; debt cancellation; and gender equality and women’s rights.
Keeping the right to live free from want or poverty in the spotlight has been vitally important in a year of food, fuel and financial crises especially as we mark the 60th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on December 10th. In the high level summits and conferences convened by world leaders throughout this year there has been a marked absence of concrete actions to address the needs of the most vulnerable people. There have not been sufficient resources allocated and still the minimal commitments made by rich nations on aid for poorer countries, has lagged inexcusably behind.
In this context, the Millennium Development Goals present a key opportunity to improve the enjoyment of people's human rights around the world and GCAP promotes the goals as a core part of our work. At the same time, the MDGs will only be achieved in a sustainable way if human rights obligations of States and other actors are respected and strengthened in the strategies aimed at achieving the MDGs. Organizations and public officials around the world have underlined the human rights aspects of the MDGs. GCAP has tried to make sure the voices of people who experience poverty are heard in this process and their suggested solutions considered.
SO WHAT DID WE DO?
Throughout September and October 2008, GCAP joined The Every Human Has Rights Campaign with CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation to keep Freedom from Want a central theme during our 50 Days of Action on Poverty period worldwide. Coalitions in more than 112 countries, comprising thousands of organisations and million of individuals, were provided with toolkits for lobbying, mobilization and media relations containing information on the campaign and ways of linking their websites to the EHHR pledge.
GCAP has kept the EHHR widget on its home page throughout the year and many national coalitions have added the widget to their websites.
In September and October, GCAP called for 50 Days of Action Against Poverty and Inequality throughout which Freedom from Want was a central theme.
GCAP Co-Chairs and spokespeople have consistently linked human rights and poverty messaging, mentioning the campaign and encouraging participation, in speeches and interventions around the world throughout 2008.
50 DAYS OF ACTION
The 50 days began in Accra on September 1st (find out more here and here) at the High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness which was an important decision making moment on the aid debate. Mary Robinson joined members of GCAP from Ghana and other regions in Accra for the launch and spoke to the media and activists about the rights framework around the fight on ending poverty.
Just weeks later, GCAP was leading a civil society lobby of leaders attending the UN Summit and High Level Meeting on the Millennium Development Goals.
On September 23rd a Poverty Hearing was held in the UN Church centre in New York, attended by Ela Bhatt and Mary Robinson from The Elders and once again linking to the Every Human Has Rights Campaign. A powerful series of testimonies were presented that day to a packed audience voicing the reality of a life deprived of basic rights. Witnesses came from 15 countries including Kenya, India, Papua , Philippines, Nepal and Togo (find out more here and here). Literature and information on the EHHR campaign was made available to all present and the rights messaged aired throughout. At the hearing a major new Human Rights report from the UN Millennium Campaign and the Office of the Commissioner of Human Rights was launched.
On September 25th, the day the leaders were meeting to reaffirm their commitment to meeting the MDGs, the EHHR campaign was again offered a platform at the launch of a new online initiative called In my Name. Celebrities will.i.am, Bono, Kristin Davis, Elle McPhearson and Angelique Kidjo joined dignitaries Ban ki Moon, Ela Bhatt, Mary Robinson, Queen Rania of Jordan among others to sign their names and to call on governments to take the steps necessary for poverty and inequality to be eradicated.
October marked the most intense period of mobilization, which is centred annually around October 17th, the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty. GCAP coalitions organized delegations to heads of state, rallies, sports events and gathered in their millions to show the force of unity.
From October 17-19th individuals and groups in schools, community centres, faith centres, towns and villages were registered as part of the famous Stand up Take Action mobilisation and counted. Guinness World records confirmed that this year the participation had beaten all previous records and that 117 million people took part.
Leaders in the human rights movement including Archbishop Tutu, the son of Martin Luther King and Mary Robinson spoke out on that day to send their special messages
At Amnesty’s Annual Lecture in Queen’s University Belfast, in Northern Ireland, the former President of Ireland and member of The Elders, Mary Robinson led a stand up moment against poverty saying,
“The right to live free from poverty is enshrined in the Universal Declaration and it is so important we stand shoulder to shoulder with so many others who experience the reality of poverty, to show our commitment to end this injustice and hold our own leaders to account for the role they must play in ending it,”
From South Africa, Archbishop Desmond Tutu said,
“By standing together on this historic day you could be the first generation to end one of the greatest injustices and human rights violations in history: extreme poverty. You join millions and share the vision of a more just and peaceful world.” video message
In the US as the tension rose ahead of the elections, Martin Luther King Jr., son of the famous civil rights activist made a clear link between the movement to end poverty and the civil rights movement in the US saying;
“Four decades ago, my father, Martin Luther King, proved that peaceful action of the masses can reverse the course of history, no matter how entrenched the status quo may seem. This weekend, people across the globe have the opportunity to Stand Up and Take Action to be part of a movement just as powerful, demanding that world leaders end the evil and injustice of extreme poverty.”
The year will end with a global online and offline push to mark the 10th of December with more signatures of the Declaration pledge online and office as well as the distribution of campaign materials through coalitions and constituency groups.
NATIONAL MOBILISATIONS ON HUMAN RIGHTS IN OCTOBER
As well as the pledges made online by thousands of people linked to the GCAP alliance, national coalitions took on human rights as a theme for the month. Among those were;
Make Poverty History Australia, the GCAP coalition, circulated Every Human Has Rights campaign information in emails to all stand up registrees (400 approx) prior to October 17th. They also sent links to EHHR videos and content to the volunteers (1200 approx). As a follow up to October 17th, Stand up registrees and event organizers were invited to participate in the EHHR campaign. There was very positive feedback from volunteers who would like to campaign around human rights in the future and many are holding 60th anniversary mini-events as part of their December volunteer meetings. www.makepovertyhistory.com.au
In the Philippines Amnesty International and GCAP did a Bike for Rights event to highlight the importance of Human Rights on October 17th. Visit the national site www.endpovertynow.org.ph
In Liberia, due to the high illiteracy rate in the country and a history of injustice and human rights violations during the rule of former Liberian presidents, many civil actors and citizens used October 17th as a moment to demand their rights. The campaign activities on October 17, 18 and 19, 2008 created the space 13,555 people including students, civil society executives, local government officials, chiefs, elders, marketers, soccer lovers, soccer administrators, Christians, Christian leaders and vulnerable and marginalized people voices, were heard in the Global Call to Action against Poverty and the United Nations Millennium Campaign intervention this year (2008) as well as mobilized to stand up and speak out against poverty and inequality. The campaign focused on people fulfilling their fundamental rights and further set the stage for citizens to demand accountability on national agenda that addresses poverty and development issues in the framework of Liberia’s Poverty Reduction Strategy (PRS).
In Malta, the national coalition made a call for people to Stand Up to eliminate the violations of Human Rights and Extreme Poverty around the World. They mobilized 16000 people - which in a country of 400,000 is very impressive - and ensured that a large percentage of the Maltese population heard about Human Rights on that day
In Senegal, where 5 million people live in poverty, mainly in rural areas, a panel discussion in Saint Louis focused on poverty human rights, inclusion and the need for new paradigms to end the scourge of poverty. The panellists included the Governor of St. Louis, Director of the Ministry of the family, national solidarity and micro finance as well as the UNDP representative in Dakar, the executive Secretary of the National Strategy for advanced Growth and the national coordinator of the Civil Society platform as well as university and private sector representatives. They stressed the infrastructural needs for better social policies and how to speed up progress son meeting the Millennium Development Goals. They also discussed right to decent work in the context of increased migration and the structural inequalities in food production and agriculture.
As the year draws to a close, GCAP coalitions and constituency groups worldwide are taking the Freedom from Want human rights message to the Financing for Development meeting in Doha at the end of November, the Climate Change talks in Poznan, Poland and culminating in the 60th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on December 10th.
This campaign encourages nations to incorporate the right to freedom from want as the core element to achieving poverty reduction.
What You Can Do
Show your commitment to Freedom from Want: Take the EHHR pledge
Join a GCAP coalition in your country
Find out more about the Millennium Goals and Human Rights
Add your personal pledge to fight poverty and inequality
Join the Amnesty International Campaign on poverty
Learn More about GCAP
Everything you need to know about GCAP and what we are doing
Contact your national GCAP Coalition and find out how to get involved in the efforts of the coalition through lobbying local, national and international governments (www.whiteband.org) - see the map linking to all countries where GCAP is active.Return to the Right to Freedom from Want theme page
