FAO Conference in Rome- Its all about Food and Hunger

( Editor's note-Assistant Programme Director Margaret and SI UN Rep to Rome- Else recently went to Rome for the Annual FAO Conference for FAO -Food Agriculture Organization. Read this interesting excerpt from APD Margaret's report!)

‘ENOUGH FOOD IS BEING PRODUCED TO FEED EVERYONE!’

‘Yet nearly 1 billion people still live on less than $2 a day.
MDG 1 ‘Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger’ seems to be further away than ever.
We are confronted with ever rising trends in energy consumption and climate change.
We use far more of our natural resources than our planet can regenerate- some reports indicate four times!’

At the 21st Session of the Committee on Agriculture at the FAO session last week in Rome , Governments were left in no doubt that they MUST act now in order to meet the challenges that we are facing and reverse the damage that is being done to our planet.

The focus was on agriculture but it became startlingly obvious that agriculture cannot be viewed apart from sustainable development and climate change. A strategic approach for the FAO was a focus for discussion by governments, with interventions from some NGO’s, on the second day. The paper before us was a developing one. There was hearty debate on:
-whether the amount of water used in agriculture was over estimated
the monitoring of land degradation
- the policies on biofuels and a need for vigorous objective analysis
-whether the polluter should pay
- should a set of simple core indicators be evolved?

NGO’s questioned the use of pesticides, eating of locally produced food, learning from indigenous peoples, the continuing development of biofuels and the continued development of organic farming.

Other papers were presented highlighting the need for an ecosystem approach to all the challenges we face rather than an ‘agriculture alone’ consideration.

Sustainable agriculture-learning from women! There was an acknowledgment that women are often the farmers- particularly in the South- and a valuable asset for developing good practice in sustainable agriculture.

I attended COAG with Else Larsen, our UN Representative at FAO. We did a lot of networking- establishing useful links and ensuring that the work of Soroptimists is known well in FAO. The Gender Equity Department was particularly helpful- they were very interested in what we achieve and I know that this contact will help us develop our presence at FAO.

The NGO’s represented there are a strong group and certainly have access to departments and their officers. Their interventions at the debates was evidence of regard for their importance at the UN.

Climate change is certainly the ‘hot topic’ and it is evident that there must be interaction between UN centres about this very important issue which affects the future of the planet!

Soroptimists, there is much we can and must do about climate change and sustainable development and our awareness, advocacy and action is urgent!
Margaret Cook
SI Assistant Programme Director
April 2009

Restoring Dignity- Update- Cafe Juniper Opens

Soroptimists - Restoring Dignity
Our new Juniper Café is soon to be opened near the lake at
Desta Mender, and set among many juniper trees!
It is near our teaching or conference centre where we hope
to attract groups, who want a pleasant place to hold a day
conference, and where they can buy food from our café. We
are enormously grateful to the Soroptimist International
organisation for raising all the money for this café through
the 2007 and 2008 President’s Day Appeals, called “Restoring
Dignity”. We want to thank the President of the Soroptimists
for those 2 years, Margaret Lobo, for choosing the Hospital to
be the recipient of this large donation – which also paid for a
hard-top vehicle for use at Desta Mender. We hope Ms. Lobo
will visit us for some celebrations in May or June and will then
be able to unveil a plaque in the café telling of the assistance
provided by so many Soroptimist women.
We are also most grateful to Rae Newman, from Canberra,
who has done all the work in a voluntary capacity, in training
the girls from Desta Mender who will be the future cooks and
managers of the café. Rae has also worked hard at selecting all
the equipment and furniture we need for the café – kitchen,
and storerooms and an attractive eating area with tables and
colourful table cloths!
We are sure this will be a great attraction, not only to help
us financially, but to make known the plight of so many
fistula sufferers in this great country. We ate there a few
days ago, after holding our weekly management meeting in
the conference room. We had a delicious lunch, eating true
Australian meat pies, and other delicacies, all made by the girls
under Rae’s tutorship!
I have just realised this is our first letter in the New Year – so
I send you all our warm greetings, and wish you much joy, and
may God be with each of you through the months ahead.
Dr E. Catherine Hamlin AC
The Fund joins Dr Hamlin in expressing its grateful appreciation
to AusAID, Soroptimist International and all the Fund’s other
supporters for their generous assistance towards the work of
the Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital.
The Foreign Minister with Dr Hamlin and a fistula patient.

URGENT ISSUE IN AFGHANISTAN-Advocacy Needed

APRIL 2009- ACTION REQUESTED


As many of you will already be aware, President Karzai of Afghanistan has signed a new law that is detrimental to the women of Afghanistan and in particular Shiite Muslim Women. The law has not been enforced yet but has been debated in the Afghan Parliament and signed by 249 members including 68 women.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay made a statement condemning the new law on 2 April, saying: “This is another clear indication that the human rights situation in Afghanistan is getting worse not better. Respect for women’s rights – and human rights in general – is of paramount importance to Afghanistan’s future security and development. This law is a huge step in the wrong direction.”

Soroptimists are appalled at this intended legislation to be introduced in Afghanistan and urge President Karzai to rescind this new legislation with immediate effect. The Rights of Women are to be protected under all circumstances and this law takes away those rights and makes them prisoners and slaves to their husbands and victims of gross violations. UNHCHR details the new restrictions on Shiite women which include denying them the right to leave their homes except for ‘legitimate’ purposes; working or receiving education without their husbands’ express permission, as well as explicitly permitting marital rape.

I encourage every Soroptimist to write to their individual governments requesting that they condemn this new law that is to be introduced into Afghanistan and ask President Karzai to respect the rights of all women in Afghanistan.



Margaret Lobo
President
Soroptimist International


3/2/09“Afghan women Slowly Gaining Protection” - NYtimeshttp://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/03/world/asia/03shelter.html?scp=2&sq=afghanistan%20women 4/1/09“Pressure on Hamid Karzai to scrap Afghan women’s law” – The Guardianhttp://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/apr/01/afghanistan-womens-rights-hamid-karzai/print 4/2/09“UN Human Rights Chief Says Afghan Law Restricting Women’s Rights is Reminicent of Taliban Era”http://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/Media.aspx 4/2/09“Afghanistan: Critics Speak out on ‘Rape Law’” - NYtimeshttp://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/03/world/asia/03briefs-afghanlaw.html?fta=y 4/3/09“Women Erased in Israel, Flogged in Pakistan, and Restricted in Afghanistan” - NYtimeshttp://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/04/03/setbacks-for-women-in-israel-pakistan-and-afghanistan/?scp=1&sq=afghanistan%20women 4/4/09“Karzai Vows to Review Family Law” --NYtimeshttp://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/05/world/asia/05afghan.html 4/5/09“NATO Leaders Blast Afghan ‘Rape’ Law”http://www.thestar.com/article/613989 - 4/5/09“Karzai Vows to International Calls to Scrap “Afghan Law”http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/apr/05/afghanistan-shia-rape-law-scrap - The Guardian 4/6/09“New Afghan Law on Women on Hold” - NYtimeshttp://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/04/06/new-afghan-law-on-women-on-hold/?scp=3&sq=afghanistan%20women 4/7/09“Afghanistan ‘Rape’ Law Puts Women’s Rights Front and Center” http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/asiapcf/04/06/afghanistan.law/index.html - CNN 4/13/09“What you Should Know About Women’s Rights in Afghanistan” – Huffington Posthttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/anand-gopal/what-you-should-know-abou_b_186225.html 4/16/09 “Afghan Women Protest New Law on Home Life”-New York Timeshttp://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/16/world/asia/16afghan.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss


( Editor's Note- Please note that members in SIA and SIE have recieved letters from their Federations also promoting this cause. SI has other advocacy work "in process" with other Women's Groups- keep waching!)