SJC Volunteer Blog

World Bank and Land Grabs: Who are they helping?

Comité justice sociale — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 22:37:41 +0000

Photo: International Livestock Research Institute

Farmlandgrab’s Joshua Pringle reports on the rise of the global land grabbing trend. Pringle suggests that the World Bank’s funding initiatives play a central role in maintaining detrimental foreign investment practices.

The World Bank claims that it works to help countries overcome inequality and ensure that new land investments offer benefits shared by local populations. Its Principles for Responsible Agricultural Investment (RAI), a list of voluntary principles for investors in agriculture, specifically lays out principles that are meant to protect the food security and natural resources of the public. The World Bank not only fails to comply with its own principles regarding agricultural investment; the Bank’s policies actually accomplish the opposite of its stated goals, facilitating land deals that have deleterious effects on local populations.

Read full article here.

Ingénieurs québécois donnent leur temps et expertises afin d’aider ceux dans le besoin

Comité justice sociale — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 22:13:03 +0000

Les Ingénieurs sans-frontière Québec utilisent leurs compétences pour aider à combler certains besoins de base, comme l’accès à l’eau et l’électricité, dans des communautés en difficultés autour du monde. En collaboration avec La Presse, Nathalie Côté nous présente ce rapport.

Améliorer les conditions de vie de populations défavorisées en leur donnant accès à l’eau et à l’électricité, voilà notamment à quoi travaille Ingénieurs sans frontières Québec. Depuis 1994, l’organisme permet à des ingénieurs d’ici de mettre leur expertise au service de communautés d’Amérique du Sud, d’Haïti et d’Afrique.

Lire l’article ici.

Crédit photo: Ingénieurs sans-frontière Québec, La Presse

Al-Qaida brings aid to Somalia, but at what price?

Comité justice sociale — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 21:55:48 +0000

Picture credit: Jamal Osman from the Guardian

An article by the Guardian, reports on recent occurrences that may shock the Western world; Al-Qaida has joined in the global mission to provide food and security to the poverty stricken Somalian state. Many are sceptical of Al-Qaida’s uncharacteristic humanitarian approach and predict there to be an agenda not far behind this noble front.

Al-Qaida operatives distributing aid to drought-affected Somalis may shock people – but for the displaced, al-Qaida is as good as anyone else giving them something to eat.

Since the famine was declared in July, aid agencies have descended on Somalia some old faces and some new ones. Al-Qaida is the latest to join the enormous aid industry in the country.

Read rest of article here.

Free trade and global market failures call for serious implementation of food sovereignty measures

Comité justice sociale — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 21:28:09 +0000

As world hunger continues to be a persistent problem, the food security model favoured by capitalist food systems has become a proven failure. The proposed alternative? Food sovereignty, which favours small scale, local food production.

LONDON Oct 17 (Reuters) – UK anti-poverty charity War on Want appealed on Monday for a new food system which favours small growers in the struggle against world hunger.

In a report entitled “Food Sovereignty: Reclaiming the global food system”, it said it had formed partnerships with farmers’ groups across the world to promote “food sovereignty” as an alternative to an approach which it said had contributed to hunger among hundreds of millions of people.

Read full article here.

Subotica: Une oasis dans un désert de désespoir

Comité justice sociale — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 21:18:11 +0000

Le Journal Francophone de Budapest (JFB) nous emmène un reportage sur la région de Subotica (Serbie) devenue un lieu d’espoir pour divers immigrés cherchant de s’échapper des conditions défavorables et dangereuses de leur pays d’origines.

Subotica (Serbie), ce lieu représente le dernier arrêt, le dernier rempart, l’espoir. Après cette ville commence la zone Schengen, où il n’y aura plus de contrôle frontalier.

Celui qui atteint ce point aura atteint son but puisque la frontière hongroise deviendra accessible à ces immigrés venus d’un peu partout, de Libye, du Pakistan, d’Afghanistan et d’autres pays où il ne fait pas bon vivre, la plupart du temps pour des raisons liées à la guerre.

Lire le reste de l’article ici.

Palestinian President to submit statehood request- A step in the right direction?

Comité justice sociale — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 15:06:46 +0000

Democracy Now hosted a debate on the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ decision to officially submit a statehood request to the United Nations. The U.S has vowed to veto the request. A joint Israeli-Palestinian poll shows that the Obama administration’s stance against recognition of a Palestinian state is more severe than that of a majority of Israeli Citizens, 69 percent of which approve of Palestine recognition.

Credit: Democracy Now!

While supporters have hailed the bid as a step forward in the struggle to end the Israeli occupation and bring peace to the Middle East, critics call it a ploy by the Palestinian Authority to cling to power while undermining the rights of Palestinian refugees.

Follow Democracy Now debate here.

Land grabbing- an unfortunate trend.

Comité justice sociale — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 18:45:01 +0000

One wonders to what extent some administrations are willing to go in order to support foreign investments that have the potential to jeopardize their citizen’s stability and livelihood. As reported by Oxfam, the recent surge in the practice of ‘land grabbing’ suggests that some governments are willing to go very far.

Imagine waking up one day to be told you’re about to be evicted from your home. Being told that you no longer have the right to remain on land that you’ve lived on for years. And then, if you refuse to leave, being forcibly removed by hired thugs.

Read entire Oxfam blog post here.

US to implement EITI. What about Canada?

Comité justice sociale — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 21:04:26 +0000

Extractive Industries Trasparency Initiative (EITI) have reported that President Obama intends to implement its mandate on greater transparency within the extractive industry. Canada lags behind as it has thus far only agreed to become a supporting nation of the EITI.

In his speech President Obama said: “Today, I can announce that the United States will join the global initiative in which these industries, governments and civil society, all work together for greater transparency so that taxpayers receive every dollar they’re due from the extraction of natural resources.”

In the United States’ OGP National Action Plan, the US Government states that it “Is Hereby Committing to Implement the EITI to Ensure that Taxpayers Are Receiving Every Dollar Due for Extraction of our Natural Resources”.

Read full article here.

Credit: EITI Website

Murder of Colombian priest has Canadian civil society groups worried

Comité justice sociale — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 21:31:23 +0000

Mining Watch Canada reports that Canadian civil society groups are calling for stronger protection of human rights defenders after the muder of Colombian priest Jose Reinel Restrepo.

Canadian labour, faith, social justice, and solidarity organizations have sent a letter to the Canadian Embassy in Colombia expressing concern that Canadian mining companies may well be aggravating or benefiting from violence.

Civil society groups are troubled by recent news of the murder of Father José Reinel Restrepo, an outspoken advocate against the displacement of the urban centre of Marmato in the department of Caldas to make way for an open-pit gold mine project owned by Toronto-based Gran Colombia Gold.

Read full article here.

Un avertissement peu subtil

Comité justice sociale — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 20:05:09 +0000

Un article de l’organisation Reporters Sans Frontières montre que des mesures extrêmes et bizarres pour faire taire un journaliste ont été prises par les autorités azerbaidjanaise. Sous le prétexte que leur maison avait été construite illégalement, les parents du journaliste Idrak Assonov ont vu leur domicile attaqué à la pelleteuse. De plus, les parents du journaliste, ses frères et leurs enfants ont été violemment roués de coups à l’aide de matraques.

Les autorités azerbaidjaniases utilisent parfois des techniques de censure et d’intimidation aussi surprenantes que brutales. Le 9 septembre 2011, les services de sécurité de la Binagadi Oil Company, entreprise pétrolière appartenant au gouvernement, ont attaqué à la pelleteuse la maison de la famille du journaliste Idrak Abbasov, située dans la banlieue de Bakou, sous prétexte qu’elle avait été construite illégalement.

“Il s’agit d’une action punitive. Cette attaque vise clairement à faire taire Idrak Abbasov, dont le travail d’investigation dérange la Binagadi Oil Compagny. Elle jette une lumière crue sur les pratiques d’intimidation mises en oeuvre pour réduire au silence les journalistes en Azerbaïdjan. En plus de menacer et d’agresser directement les professionnels de la presse, les autorités n’hésitent pas à s’en prendre à leurs proches”, a déclaré Reporters sans frontière.

Pour lire la suite cliquez ici

Crédit: Media forum