Priority Theme of Commission on Status of Women (CSW): ‘Challenges and Achievements in the Implementation of Millennium Development Goals for Women and Girls.’

To respond to this important CSW theme, MIA at the UN and the Mining Working Group at the UN brought a group of activists to participate in this event in New York. The activists are working at ‘grassroots level’ on the two major concerns of the MIA Global Action programme:
1. Combatting Human Trafficking (HT) or Trafficking in Persons (TIP)
2. The human and ecological abuses caused by mining/the extractive development model

To maximize the presence of the activists, we engaged in a series of roundtable discussions with UN NGO members; held a side- event with CSW participants; organised a community interactive event on ‘Environmental Justice and Human Trafficking’ at St. Francis of Assisi parish; and met with representatives of the UN Development Programme (UNDP)
The success of these events was primarily due to the professional competence of the activists and the power of their testimonies i.e. that took us from our heads into our hearts! Examples were:

• Case studies of the negative impact of mining on women and girls many of whom are trafficked into the mining region, to provide services for the miners and others…
• The horrific experiences of victims / survivors of ‘Human Trafficking’ or as the UN describes it, ‘Contemporary Forms of Slavery’

Complementing the above we heard:
1. Compelling human rights-based analysis of the present extractive model of development
2. Discussion on recent debates centred on the Post 2015 global development agenda
3. Suggestions about fundamental changes that are required for the implementation of a just and equitable model of development

Learnings Gleaned from these Sharings:
a) Created awareness of the intricate relationship between environmental justice; the unjust systems that perpetuate poverty; unsustainable development; and TIP.
b) Provided NGO advocates at the UN with directives on how to incorporate this understanding into their conversations and advocacy work. This is particularly true in terms of combatting TIP; and addressing abuse issues – women and men - associated with mining;
c) Energised our commitment to engage in discussions on the development of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) and the Post 2015 agenda. The latter is an umbrella term for a development vision post 2015, when the MDG are finished – though sadly not completed!
d) Confirmed the importance of using the evidence based research prepared by the activists, thereby using a rights-based approach to our work on the two MIA global concerns.

Activists Invited to the CSW by MIA and Members of the Mining Working Group (MWG) at the UN:
A. Viviana Tacha-Gutiérrez M.A. is a Colombian Lawyer specializing in constitutional law, who is doing research work with the Sisters of Mercy and the MWG at the UN

Analysis of the UN reports on SDG and the Post 2015 Development Agenda
Viviana believes that human rights must underpin all discussions on the Post 2015 Development Agenda and drive the final formulation of the SDGs.
From her research Viviana believes that discussions on both of these important issues, appears to be occurring within the context of ‘business as usual’.

Evidence for this is:

• The current economic growth model of development is not being challenged
• We have become blind to the connection between economic growth, inequality and the exploitation and violence caused by the current development model. Discussions on global policy are not addressing the structural violence caused by the prevailing development model
• Human rights are only mentioned in the reports as a tool and not as a legal binding obligation that States / Countries must comply with (this was a serious flaw in the MDGs)
• The abuse that women experience through social disadvantages i.e. cultural mores; and economic discrimination is not being viewed from a human rights perspective.
• Critically, the negative impact of violence on women and therefore the family, is also missing from discussions.
• In the development agenda, women are often seen as ‘objects’ to be integrated into the market based economy, because their vital contribution to society is not recognized nor translated into monetary terms e.g. child care and looking after sick family members.
• Some development projects have a negative impact on women, who are already suffering the consequences of discrimination and exclusion.
• Business and the private sector have an important role in developing the agenda, to ensure that it is people not profit, who are central to the discussion.

B. Samantha Hargreaves, WoMin Regional Coordinator, and International Alliance on Natural Resources in Africa (IANRA)

Samantha Calls us to:
• Explore what is meant by extractivism. She sees it as an exploitative and ecologically destructive model of development, characterised by large scale extraction and exploitation of natural resources i.e. oil, water, minerals, and forests. The economy of a country and government policies, are organised around this sector to the detriment of social issues and interaction.
• Study the impact of ‘extractivism’ on the poverty or well being of a community; on the cultural and social stability and in certain instances conflict in a community; on job gain or loss; and on the community’s ecological health especially if it entails destruction of vital ecosystems.
• Resist the dominant western economic model that is driven by and dependent upon mining of non renewable resources; and the exploitation of natural resources.

Samantha suggests we support an alternative vision of society, where mining/extraction is developed on very different terms i.e.:

•  Driven by local and regional interests and demands
•  Carried out through low intensity and smaller scale projects with minimal negative social and environmental impact
• Informed by a commitment to preserve ecosystems and reduce carbon emissions
• Involvement of the local community including women, who exercise social control and owner rights.
• Redistribution of revenue from mining and other extractivist activities, in order to serve the public good
• Supporting a carefully designed transition process to a low carbon economy

C. Simona Broomes is the Founder and President of ‘Guyana Women Miners Organization’ (GWMO) an organization which has rescued 21 trafficked victims from mining areas, during the past three years. Most of those trafficked were for sexual exploitation, including a number of children.

Simona is a courageous woman, who founded GWMO knowing that there would be strong resistance to the initiative among mine owners, even though she is a mine owner herself. Last November Simona was given a special award by John Kerry, US Secretary of State. She received it because of her:
1. Fearless and pioneering work in Guyana to rescue victims of trafficking;
2. Programme to raise awareness about TIP throughout Guyana and the Region;
3. Advocacy work to introduce laws to penalize those exploiting trafficked persons.

Additionally Simona and her colleagues are raising awareness about factors that render persons vulnerable to trafficking. They are lobbying the Guyanan Government to implement the tenets of the Anti-Trafficking Protocol, designed to ‘Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially of Women and Children’. Guyana has ratified this Protocol and will have to report on the progress made to the UN, so the GWMO is challenging the Government to honour its commitment.

Questions/ Opportunities arising out of participation in CSW 58, 2014
Q1. What impact does the collective voice of women participating in the UN CSW have, in shaping policy decisions versus the voice of corporate interests?

Q2. Are the current structures/commissions/bodies the most effective way for decision-makers in the UN, to hear the voice of the people?

Q3. When and how will the UN and its agencies recognize the negative impact of mining on women and girls?

Q4. Will the UN commit to collecting the necessary data on the negative impact of mining on women and girls, in respect of poverty, health and social consequences?

Q5. Does the UN listen to the concerns underpinned by statistics, related to the ecological destruction caused by mining e.g. fracking to the water table?

Q6. What is the most effective way to address an alternative vision and the development of mining in different terms, in both the SDG and post 2015 development discussions?

Q7. Are appropriate UN bodies consulting with survivors of human trafficking and women formally caught in prostitution, to help shape global and national policy decisions about the legalization of prostitution?

Additionally, there are many questions as to the best way to strengthen the monitoring and implementation of UN treaties, Conventions and International Law on Human Rights. This applies particularly to the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), the Convention on the elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against women (CEDAW), and the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children.

A heartfelt word of thanks to Aine O’Connor, Rita Parks and Devin Tellitan (Intern) who provided an excellent opportunity for full participation in the 58th session of the CSW. Their professional preparation and sound understanding of the UN system in NY ensured that we benefited greatly from the experience. The challenge now is to share our learnings and double our efforts with and on behalf of the most vulnerable, including ‘Mother Earth’…

Srs Aine and Denise compiled this report together.

Additional Important Information:

Mining Working Group (MGW) at the UN, of which MIA at the UN is an active member. This is a coalition of faith-based NGOs that, in partnership with our members and affected local communities, advocates at the United Nations for human and environmental rights, as related to mining/extractive industries.

The MGW strongly upholds that:

•  People are at the center of sustainable development, which means that peoples’ rights must be at the center of the sustainable development agenda.
•   Human rights and the integrity of the natural environment are interdependent.
• Governments must exercise their primary responsibility to respect, protect and fulfill people’s full enjoyment of their human rights over corporate interests.
• It is the responsibility and duty of Governments to ensure that corporations do not violate or infringe on these rights and are held accountable for their actions

In discussions on the Post 2015 Development Agenda and the development of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), the MGW urges that a rights-based litmus test be applied to the sustainable development conversation.

Examples of rights-based questions used in the litmus test include:

1. First, do no harm: To what extent can extractive activities be permitted or carried out without violating human rights. These rights include life, health, water, food, right to land and control over productive resources, right to work, right to self-determination (including Free Prior and Informed Consent), and cultural life? To what extent can mining activities be permitted or carried out without damaging vital ecosystems or threatening the Earth’s capacity to such an extent that it makes these rights vulnerable?

2. Eradicate the root causes of poverty: Will this mining activity enable persons and communities to sustain themselves and their families in the lives they deserve to live? Will the mining negatively affect marginalized groups (i.e., small farmers, fisher people, indigenous peoples, forest people, women) in life-altering and culture-changing ways which will further impoverish them?

3. People as rights-holders: Are strong legal frameworks and political processes backing up law enforcement and guaranteeing the peoples’ rights to participation? Does this include access to independent research and information about the extractive industry? Do people enjoy freedom of expression and assembly, and effective reparations, including financial compensation for harms committed?

4. Sustainability: Are assessment and monitoring mechanisms adequately addressing vital ecosystem protection or destruction? Does this extend to monitoring risks to climate, to the protection of land, of water and the rights of future generations and our planet?

Aoc/March 2014

Messages to:
Aine O'Connor rsm - MGA Co-ordinator at the UN
Denise Boyle fmdm - Assistant Director Mercy Global Action