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Resources > News Service > Newsletters > Issue 2, February...

Issue 2, February 2002

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AP to Profile the Indigenous Campaign Against Oil Development in Ecuador's Amazon

A new series of 'On the Record' profiles the catastrophic damage done by oil companies in Ecuador's Amazon region, and the struggle by indigenous people to resist.

The new series comes as the government of Ecuador is preparing to auction off large chunks of territory to oil companies for oil exploration. It is written by AP associate Peter Lippman, who visited Ecuador in the spring of 2001 at the request of the Center for Social and Economic Rights (CDES), a nongovernmental group that works closely with indigenous people.

During his visit, Lippman traveled to the heart of the polluted areas and spoke to indigenous representatives. He concludes that dependency on oil has devastated the environment, pushed several indigenous nations close to extinction, and forced Ecuador to wrack up massive debts. This has provoked several popular uprisings, and toppled two governments.

Blocked in the Ecuadorian courts, indigenous people have filed a class-action suit against the US company Texaco, which began drilling in 1972 and is responsible for some of the worst pollution. The case is currently before a US court of appeals. If rejected, it would probably return to Ecuador's overwhelmed and corrupt courts.

Lippman concludes that Ecuador's indigenous people have been strengthened by their campaign of resistance, and he charts the rise of representative bodies like the Organization of the Huaorani Nation of the Ecuadorian Amazon (ONHAE) and the Organization of Indigenous Peoples of Pastaza (OPIP). Most of OPIP's members are Quichua, descendents of the Incas.

In spite of their growing confidence, Lippman concludes that the indigenous communities face a major dilemma in deciding whether to oppose oil exploration outright, or negotiate with the oil companies. It is difficult and even dangerous to resist some of the largest companies in the world. But negotiations often expose communities to the tactics of "divide and conquer,' as the companies lavish gifts on individual villages and try to undercut the authority of chosen indigenous representatives like OPIP and ONHAE.

International allies of the indigenous people have on occasions tried to negotiate directly with the companies, with disastrous results. The approach of the Center for Social and Economic Rights (CDES) is to support the indigenous with training and education and help them negotiate from strength if they so decide.



Palestinian Civil Society Under the Bombs

Grassroots International, an AP partner, has just launched a regular newsletter about Palestinian civil society, written by its representative in the territories, Lucy Mair. The following extract is taken from the first issue, written from the Gaza Strip:

"At first I was surprised that the noise of a plane flying overhead could elicit such anxious looks from my Palestinian friends. Then I realized that in the Gaza Strip, this otherwise innocuous sound can mean only one thing: the Israeli army is preparing for a bombing raid. With the closure and destruction of the Gaza airport there are no commercial or passenger flights flying over the Gaza Strip.

"The next day, as I entered the compound of the Women's Affairs Center (WAC) in the early afternoon, I saw several of the staff running out of the office, covering their ears. There was a whistling sound as the Israeli warplane released its shell and then the sound of a bomb exploding nearby. Naila Ayas, WAC's director, explained that it is better to be outside when the bombing is nearby so that no one is injured if the office windows are blown out. "But really there is no safe place to be, and we're never sure where to go. Our first thought is about our children in school, who are terrified of the bombs, and after we pick them up we just want to get home so we don't have to be out on the streets." Our meeting was canceled as everyone headed for "safer terrain."


AP Board Member Calls for International Solidarity with Palestinian Women

Palestinian women need more support from their friends and allies in the international women's movement if they are to rediscover their commitment to nonviolent action, according to Lucy Nusseibeh, director of the Middle East Nonviolence and Democracy (MEND), based in Beit Hanina in the Palestinian territories. Ms. Nusseibeh is a board member of The Advocacy Project.

In a recent editorial that has been widely circulated, Ms. Nusseibeh notes that Palestinian women have successfully used nonviolence as a political tool since the time of the British mandate in Palestine. During the current crisis, however, Palestinian women have been largely 'absent and silent.' Part of this is because Israeli forces tend to turn nonviolent protests, such as marches, into violent confrontations.

Ms. Nusseibeh views nonviolent action as a way for Palestinian women to resist the day-to-day stress that comes from being under siege and watching husbands and sons run the gauntlet. "Nonviolence is a form of assertiveness and empowerment that enables people to stand up even in the face of overwhelming violence and retain their humanity.'

But in order to have the confidence to practice nonviolence, Palestinian women will need more support from friends abroad. 'Women can be the key to this if they reach out to each other across international boundaries. If women from outside the Middle East come as international observers to witness the plight of Palestinian women and talk about what they see, perhaps their voices can be heard.'


New Report on Housing Rights in the Palestinian Territories

A new report from the Democracy and Workers Rights Center (DWRC) in Ramallah examines violations to the right to housing in the Palestinian territories. The report deals only indirectly with the violent abuses that come from occupation, such as the bulldozing of houses. Its main focus is what it terms 'arbitrary building' without permits, and illegal encroachment onto public land – which is primarily an issue for local Palestinian authorities. The DWRC is one of eight Palestinian groups that receive support from Grassroots International, and were profiled in 'On the Record' in 2001.


Roma Women of Romania Launch a New Website

A new website has been launched by the Roma Women's Association of Romania (RWAR). The site is the first of its kind for the growing network of Roma women activists in Eastern Europe and the Balkans. AP's technical director helped develop the website and is providing the network with technical advice, in conjunction with the Open Society Institute.



NGO Relief as Ratification Nears for International Criminal Court

Portugal and Ecuador have ratified the statute of the International Criminal Court, bringing to eight the number of ratifications (60) required for the treaty to enter into force. Fifty-two states have now ratified. They include most NATO countries but not the United States, which has waged a vigorous campaign against the court. The United States maintains that it would single out Americans for mischievous prosecutions.

According to William Pace, who coordinates the NGO Coalition for an International Criminal Court (CICC), the pace of ratifications is likely to accelerate because the first sixty governments to ratify will play a crucial role in defining the court. This will include choosing judges and prosecutors, as well as budgetary decisions. The treaty will enter into force three months after the sixtieth ratification is received. Setting up the Court is expected to take about a year.

The NGO Coalition comprises approximately 1,000 civil society organizations from around the world. The Advocacy Project worked with the Coalition in covering the 1998 Rome conference which established the court.



Youth Network Urges New Global AIDS Fund to Target Youth

Youth Against AIDS (YAA) has expressed concern that the new Global AIDS Fund will not target vulnerable groups like young people, and that it may give out grants that are too large to be useful to community based campaigns.

The concerns are raised in the current series of 'On the Record' (#9) on AIDS in Africa, which is produced on behalf of Youth Against AIDS by The Advocacy Project. AP has assisted YAA to establish a network of young AIDS activists in Africa, whose main goal is to lobby governments and agencies to engage young people in the campaign against HIV/AIDS. 

The board of the new fund – which will fund programs against tuberculosis and malaria as well as HIV/AIDS - met in Geneva for the first time on January 28 and 29. The fund has commitments of $1.9 billion, and the board hopes to spend $700 million this year. The first grants will be announced at the next board meeting in April.

AIDS activists have followed the fund's evolution carefully since it was launched in April last year. They laud the fact that civil society will be allowed to submit proposals and be represented on the board. (One board member comes from a Ugandan NGO). But some activists are also concerned that the fund will choose to spend its limited money on preventing HIV/AIDS rather than treating those infected. This could shut the door on 34 million HIV-positive Africans.

YAA has additional concerns. YAA's 18 members in Africa have started to draw up projects. Some would cost as little as $1,000 and most are community-based. (Details of this "Adopt a Project' program can be found on the YAA website). YAA is asking for assurances that the new global AIDS fund will give out small grants.

YAA also wants the fund to emphasize the needs - and potential - of young people. This applies particularly to young women, who suffer disproportionately from HIV/AIDS because of their vulnerability to sexual violence and poverty. It is not clear from the fund's guidelines whether the board agrees, although the guidelines do pledge to "support 'public health interventions that address social and gender inequalities.'"

YAA's members feel that civil society needs to hold the new fund accountable. They may try and test its mechanism by submitting proposals.

Meanwhile, the latest issue of the YAA newsletter looks at the way government-sponsored information programs that are targeted at youth have helped to reduce the rate of HIV infection in Uganda. The next issue will look at people living with AIDS in Senegal and Botswana.


Insecurity and Violence Limit Role of Afghan Women in Reconstruction

Continuing insecurity and violence are preventing Afghan women from fulfilling their potential as partners in the new peace process.

This is one of the findings of a new report from the Women's Commission for Refugee Women and Children, which has been monitoring the situation of Afghan women and children for over a decade.

The report is entitled 'Rights, Reconstruction and Enduring peace – Afghan Women and Children after the Taliban,' and it is available from the Commission's website.

The report warns that 'Although the Taliban no longer control most of Afghanistan, there are still many Afghans who do not believe women and girls should have active roles in public life. In some places, they will continue to threaten, harass and attack women and girls who work and study outside the home. Moreover, Afghan women operating education, health care and skill training programs in Pakistan would like to bring those services to Afghanistan, but fear doing so because of these attitudes, combined with the insecurity and violence that continues to exist in many parts of the country.'

Meanwhile the Commission has joined forces with The Advocacy Project to support the lobbying and information work of the Afghan Women's Network, a coalition of some 200 individual women and organizations which formed in 1996. Under a proposal which has been jointly developed by the three organizations, a consultant would be hired to help the network produce a website and newsletter, train an information officer and develop relations with the media. Production of the website and newsletter would then be handed over to the network.

$10,000 has been pledged towards the project so far, and more funding is being sought. Applications are also sought for the post of consultant, who would start work immediately. Interested candidates are invited to contact our Washington, DC office.


Ogiek Forest Dwellers Sue the Government of Kenya to Prevent the Loss of Their Ancestral Land

In a case that is being closely watched by African environmentalists, the Ogiek people of Kenya are suing the government of Kenya over a decision to reduce the boundaries of their ancestral forest. The decision has opened the way to the destruction of 167,000 hectares of forest and raised fears that the Ogiek might lose their ethnic group identity.

The case is currently being heard in Kenya. One of the groups campaigning for the Ogiek is Rights Features, a Nairobi-based news service that has partnered with The Advocacy Project in helping Youth Against AIDS in Africa. AP will help Rights Features to design a website.

Rights Features and other supporters of the Ogiek argue that the government acted illegally in degazetting 167,000 hectares of the Mau forest for development. This removes it from the scope of the Forest Act, which protects valuable forests.

In 1997, the Ogiek appealed to the Kenyan High Court, which ordered a halt to all new designations of the Mau forest until the issue is resolved. But another court decision last October seemed to overturn this decision.



News from The Advocacy Project

New Assistant Coordinator Joins AP

Ms. Charity Fain has been appointed assistant coordinator of The Advocacy Project, after an extensive candidate search. Ms. Fain has several years of experience in building and supporting civil society networks and partnerships. She worked previously as a Program Coordinator in the Network Women's program at the Open Society Institute in New York, and has also worked in Kazakhstan. 

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