Human Security for All. Integrated Responses to Protect and Empower People and Communities: A Look at Nine Promising E orts

Transcription

1 Human Securty for All Integrated Responses to Protect and Empower People and Communtes: A Look at Nne Promsng E orts

2

3 Human Securty for All Integrated Responses to Protect and Empower People and Communtes: A Look at Nne Promsng Efforts Human Securty Unt Offce for the Coordnaton of Humantaran Affars Unted Natons

4 Investng n a New Vson of Securty for the 21st Century Introducton The quest for securty perhaps the foremost concern of our tme s a venerable pursut. It dates back to the oldest story ever wrtten, the epc of Glgamesh, n whch a heroc leader strves to protect hs people by buldng a massve wall around ther cty. Today, concerns about external aggresson stll run hgh and rghtly so. But hostle armes are not the only perls menacng the world today. Mllons of men, women and chldren around the globe awaken each day to chronc poverty, nternal conflcts, deadly epdemcs, envronmental degradaton, llteracy and explotaton. These and other adverstes routnely thwart ther aspraton to enjoy freedom from fear, freedom from want and freedom to lve n dgnty. Over the last decade, the nternatonal communty has been workng toward a new and broader concept of securty, drawng nput from a number of governments, non-governmental organzatons and cvl socety groups as well as scholars and other promnent ndvduals. Ths new concept known as human securty calls on states to ensure the survval, lvelhood and dgnty of ther nhabtants. At the same tme, t encourages e orts to equp people to act more e ectvely on ther own behalf. Among those advancng ths new vson s the Commsson on Human Securty, whch was establshed n January Led by Sadako Ogata and Amartya Sen, the Commsson set out to gan a better understandng of the securty threats facng contemporary socetes and to forge a new consensus on these ssues for the 21st century. Recognzng that these challenges have grown more complex, t helped artculate a new paradgm that centers on the securty of people, not states. As defned by the Commsson, human securty seeks to protect the vtal core of all human lves n ways that enhance human freedoms and human fulfllment. As such, t entals both protectng people from crtcal and pervasve threats and empowerng people to take charge of ther own lves. The Commsson noted that protecton and empowerment are mutually renforcng and cannot succeed n solaton. It therefore emphaszed the need for comprehensve, ntegrated, people-centered solutons. Such e orts are no substtute for state securty, t cautoned, but rather a complementary pursut. Human securty represents a fundamentally new way of thnkng about a range of contemporary challenges from hunger, poverty and falng schools to armed conflct, forced mgraton and human tra ckng. Because these ssues are closely ntertwned, human securty emphaszes the need for mult-sectoral responses and collaboraton among all stakeholders. Moreover, t ams to brdge the gaps between securty, humantaran assstance, human rghts and development ad. The greatest threats facng the world today cannot be solved n solaton. They call for comprehensve, ntegrated, peoplecentered solutons a concept known as human securty.

5 The Unted Natons Trust Fund for Human Securty has supported 136 ntatves to protect people from crtcal and pervasve threats and empower them to take charge of ther own lves. Today, human securty ncreasngly appears on the agendas and n the polcy debates of ntergovernmental and regonal organzatons. At the same tme, a growng number of governments, non-governmental organzatons and cvl socety groups are ncorporatng human securty nto ther programmes and polcy prortes. At the Unted Natons, the Human Securty Unt housed wthn the O ce for the Coordnaton of Humantaran A ars has been advancng the human securty concept by admnsterng the Unted Natons Trust Fund for Human Securty, whch was establshed n 1999 wth support from the Government of Japan. By the end of 2005, the Trust Fund had nvested n 136 projects n 66 countres, ncludng 10 projects that were regonal or global n scope. Ther selecton hnges n part on whether they can provde concrete and sustanable benefts to people and communtes threatened n ther survval, lvelhood and dgnty. Other crtera nclude ther ablty to couple protecton and empowerment; to promote partnershps wth cvl socety, non-governmental organzatons and other local enttes; and to mount an approprately mult-sectoral response to the overlappng challenges at hand. In an earler report, Human Securty Now, the ndependent Commsson on Human Securty lad out the conceptual underpnnngs of ths new framework. Ths booklet and a related photography exhbton seek to show ts practcal applcatons and gve t a human face. Between March and June 2006, the Human Securty Unt, a freelance journalst and a team of photographers vsted dozens of project stes, conductng hundreds of ntervews wth local sta and benefcares. From ths multtude of compellng ntatves, they selected nne that reflect the range of ssues, regons and nsttutons nvolved n human securty work around the globe. The stores that follow document these e orts. 3 Some of the projects supported to date have succeeded n moblzng communtes, upgradng slums or ncreasng harvests. Others have made gans n rebuldng war-torn communtes, reformng schools, preventng tra ckng or amplfyng the voces of rural dwellers. Stll others have helped rentegrate refugees, mprove health care and respond to natural dsasters. These are modest steps, of course, and much more needs to be done through contnued collaboraton among UN agences, governments, cvl socety organzatons and other stakeholders.

6 Reducng the Demand for Illct Drugs Afghanstan As the sun beats down on Jalalabad, sx young men an Afghan physcan who helps run the project, a gather beneath a mulberry tree on the banks of the partnershp between the Mnstry of Publc Health Kabul Rver. It s not just the shade they re cravng. and the Unted Natons O ce on Drugs and Crme Jumaddn, a 21-year-old wth a closely cropped (UNODC). One way or another, they contrbute to beard and bloodshot eyes, reaches nto hs pocket almost every problem a ctng our socety. and pulls out the real attracton: a fol packet of 4 opum. Moments later, he s nhalng a spral of smoke through a straght whte ppe. We call t chasng the dragon, says one of hs companons, Zamary, who got hooked four years ago at age 22. At frst t gave me a feelng of euphora, but now I m dependent on t. There s no fun n t anymore. Drug abuse may seem to be the least of Talk of stampng out drugs n Afghanstan tends to focus on reducng supply, and understandably so. A 2005 survey by UNODC found that Afghan poppy felds yeld 87 percent of the world s opum and heron. Poppy cultvaton and processng s a $2.7 bllon-a-year ndustry, comprsng one-thrd of the naton s total economy. The busness model dates back to the mujahedeen, who used profts from drug tra ckng to arm ther resstance to Sovet occupaton. Today, t s regonal warlords and Talban Some drug abusers respond to communty-based treatment and counselng. But to help hardcore addcts, lke these men n Kabul, the project has opened npatent clncs. UN PHOTO/ESKINDER DEBEBE Afghanstan s problems. After all, the naton has nsurgents who compete for the drug trade. weathered decades of occupaton, cvl war and repressve rule. Now t s strugglng to rebuld n Afghans don t just grow and refne poppy. They also the face of a volent nsurgency, severe poverty, vast consume t n rsng numbers. The allure of opum gender dspartes and other acute threats to ts s not easly dsmssed n a land of such hardshps. people and communtes. Snce 2002, the Unted Natons Trust Fund for Human Securty has commtted $9.5 mllon to mtgate such rsks. Much of t supports e orts to rentegrate refugees, safeguard women s rghts, boost agrcultural producton and upgrade urban slums. It can dull the appette, warm the body, numb pan and spark feelngs of rapture, f only for a whle. Not that opum s the only problem drug. The 2005 survey found that, although Islam forbds the use of ntoxcants, 3.8 percent of Afghans use hashsh, alcohol, prescrpton drugs, opum or heron. The u Poppy felds beng harvested n Badakhshan, Afghanstan. The busness model dates back to the mujahedeen, who used profts from drug tra ckng to The Trust Fund has also nvested n a notable e ort to combat drug abuse, a sleeper ssue that plays nto many pressng concerns from health, educaton and lvelhoods to guns, crme and terrorsm. prevalence among adult males s 12.1 percent, but many experts suspect the real fgure s consderably hgher. No less troublng s the growng use of njecton drugs, whch can hasten the spread of HIV/AIDS. arm ther resstance to Sovet occupaton. Today, t s regonal warlords and Talban nsurgents who compete for the drug trade. ZALMAI/UNODC Drugs are a slent epdemc here, says Frba Aabed,

7 Drug abuse may seem to be the least of Afghanstan s problems. But ths sleeper ssue plays nto many pressng concerns from health, educaton and lvelhoods to guns, crme and terrorsm.

8 To reduce demand for llct drugs, UNODC forged a partnershp wth the Mnstry of Publc Health n Together, they have developed a set of actvtes to combat drug abuse n sx provnces. The Trust Fund underwrtes ther work n three of them: Kandahar, Badakhshan and Nangarhar, whose captal s Jalalabad. The project operates on several fronts: through communty-based counselng, npatent treatment, job tranng and publc awareness campagns. Jehanzeb Khan, who heads UNODC s drug reducton programme here, says the basc dea s to buld the capacty of the Afghan government and local communtes to deal wth drug abuse before t s too late. As Jumaddn gets hs mornng fx, a few of the doctors and socal workers spearheadng these e orts n Jalalabad approach the rverbank and strke up a conversaton wth hs peers. They come twce a week to counsel the young men, spellng out the The terrble truth s that sooner or later, no matter where they lve, most opum and heron addcts relapse. But the Afghan ntatve betters the odds wth vocatonal tranng n trades lke carpentry and talorng. It taught Azm to repar bcycles. We know some of them wll relapse, says Ajmal Pards, deputy regonal health drector for Nangarhar Afghanstan s drug abuse problem wll only get worse f we don t do somethng n tme, says Jehanzeb Khan. What we re dong s gvng Afghans the means to deal wth the problem. 6 health and socal costs of usng opum and chartng provnce. But f we don t help them fnd jobs, all a path to recovery. Jumaddn vows to kck hs 10-year of them wll. Teenagers from Herat and The stgma attached to drug habt he has plans to marry soon but some Kabul compete n a natonal abuse s far greater for women of hs frends seem more ntent. Zamary has cut hs consumpton by a thrd, to 1 gram a day, snce the counselors began droppng by a month earler. Preventon s another mperatve. Thus the Mnstry of Publc Health has enlsted ts network of 7,000 communty health workers to rase awareness basketball tournament sponsored by the project. By promotng sports, t hopes to than for men. At a workshop n Kabul, traners from a number of Afghan non-governmental organzatons dscuss o er young people a healthy of drug abuse. Together wth UNODC, t has also alternatve to drugs. UN ways to assst female drug Now he s ponderng the next step: checkng hmself traned hundreds of health care professonals, PHOTO/ESKINDER DEBEBE users. UN PHOTO/ESKINDER nto Jalalabad Central Hosptal, where the project socal workers, teachers, mullahs, elders and other DEBEBE has opened an npatent clnc to help addcts get through the agony of wthdrawal. Mohammed Azm, a father of eght, was among the frst 25 users to complete treatment there. He credts the clnc wth turnng around hs lfe. I drove a truck for sx years, but the owner took my keys away when he learned I was shootng up, says Azm, 40. I ve been clean for three months, and now I m workng agan, nfluental communty fgures to take a more actve role n preventng, recognzng and treatng drug abuse. The project s also workng wth the Mnstry of Educaton to add drug awareness to the school currculum and supply chalkboards bearng ant-drug messages. It has even sponsored crcket and basketball programmes to show young people healthy alternatves to drugs. reparng bcycles n the market.

9 Empowerng Women and Grls at Rsk Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala A woman lvng wth HIV n Comayagua, Honduras. Many women n the regon face a trple threat of poverty, dscrmnaton and explotaton, puttng them at heghtened rsk of contractng sexually transmtted dseases. UN PHOTO/ MARK GARTEN As an epdemology nurse n Puerto Cortés, Honduras, one of the busest ports n Central Amerca, Ana Yolanda Zaldívar sees a lot of nfectous dsease. But her nterest n the subject sn t purely professonal. Lke many of the patents she cares for, Zaldívar s lvng wth HIV, the vrus that causes AIDS. She and her husband seemed to be n good health when they marred, but rght after ther son was born her husband fell ll. Sx months later they tested hm for HIV, and he was postve, recalls Zaldívar, now 42. Our dreams and plans crumbled. My baby and I took the test, and I, too, was postve. Sexually transmtted dseases are just one of the perls that wegh heavly on women and grls n Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala. As n much of the developng world, persstent poverty, lack of educaton and proscrbed gender roles put them at heghtened rsk of sexual explotaton, gender volence and alments lke AIDS. These threats are even more acute n the regon s port ctes and border communtes waystatons for salors, truckers and human tra ckers who fuel sexual commerce. Wth support from the Unted Natons Trust Fund for Human Securty, resdents of these communtes are startng to grapple wth the root causes of ther vulnerablty. The ntatve desgned by the Unted Natons Development Fund for Women, or UNIFEM seeks to curb sexual explotaton, promote economc and socal empowerment and mprove the health of women and adolescents a ected by HIV. Ths communty-based work bulds on an earler UNIFEM project (also fnanced by the Trust Fund) to promote gender equty n the poltcal dscourse on HIV/ AIDS n Honduras. The problems of poverty, dscrmnaton and sexual explotaton are tghtly lnked and mutually renforcng, says Teresa Rodríguez, who drects UNIFEM s regonal o ce n Mexco Cty. That s why t s essental to take a comprehensve, ntegrated approach. To ther credt, Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala have all sgned global pacts to stop the worst forms of chld labor and end dscrmnaton aganst women. More sgnfcantly, they ve begun to enact laws and polces amed at fulfllng these promses. But at the communty level, hurtful atttudes and behavors have been slow to evolve. After learnng that Zaldívar s husband ded of AIDS, one fellow parshoner told her the epdemc was God s punshment for snners. In ths context, the ntatve s people-centered approach may o er the best hope for achevng sustanable socal change. One of ts man objectves s to curtal sexual abuse, especally among adolescents. Studes show that half of all sex workers start between the ages of 9 and 13. Thus outreach workers are vstng prmary and secondary schools as well as nformal classes n more remote vllages to nform young people about reproductve health, sexual explotaton and human rghts. Meda campagns renforce these messages through rado, televson and theater. The ntatve also trans teachers, health workers, polce and court o cals to recognze explotaton and abuse and attend to vctms wthout com- 7

10 These problems are closely ntertwned and mutually renforcng. That s why t s essental to take a comprehensve, ntegrated approach.

11 ts hghest rate of HIV/AIDS. Local nsttutons ntroduced a reference card that lets polce, courts, hosptals, schools and non-governmental organzatons share nformaton about each case, helpng them to respond approprately to people s needs. Over tme, actvtes lke these could allow many more women n the regon to buld lves as rewardng as Zaldívar s. Nearly a decade after dscoverng she had HIV, she runs an nsprng busness and heads the cty hosptal s epdemology unt. She even remarred to a man who s open about beng HIV-postve and got pregnant agan. Ths tme poundng ther psychologcal trauma. Vctms of volence can fnd help at hosptals and other local nsttutons wth upgraded counselng facltes. Fndng good jobs for vulnerable women and adolescents s a vtal part of the ntatve. Local economc development agences lke ASEDECHI, the she receved treatments to prevent mother-to-chld transmsson. The baby, lke hs older brother, tested negatve. She herself remans asymptomatc. Another goal of the ntatve s economc and socal empowerment. Workshops held throughout the border regon allow women wth HIV to meet peers and recognze the lnks between gender, poverty, abuse and dsease. The gatherngs help them regan ther dgnty, forge new frendshps and summon Assocaton for Socoeconomc Development and Servces n Chqumula, Guatemala have done market studes to dentfy busness opportuntes n dozens of border communtes. They also run tranng semnars where at-rsk women and adolescents can acqure new vocatonal sklls, learn about busness admnstraton and fnd out how to For me, AIDS s no longer a death sentence, says Zaldívar. It s a challenge. And HIV s not a punshment from God. In spte of t, I can lve lke a normal woman. I can be a wfe, a mother, a daughter, a sster, and I can carry on wth my work lke any other person. 9 the determnaton to carry on wth ther lves. Zaldívar went home from a smlar workshop (part of the earler UNIFEM project) ntent on reachng out to others n her communty wth HIV. I decded not to hde my condton, she says. Indeed, she has gven meda ntervews and spoken at schools and churches on the need to support orphaned chldren and people lvng wth HIV/AIDS. manage credt. And they manage revolvng funds that enable partcpants to save money or take out small loans for busness ventures. Through these actvtes, some 1,600 at-rsk women are creatng safe, economcally vable alternatves to sex work. A thrd component of the ntatve ams to mprove health condtons among those wth HIV. Some of the regon s leadng women s groups are tranng Women attendng a workshop on domestc volence n Valle, Honduras. Smlar gatherngs allow women lvng wth HIV to meet wth peers and recognze the lnks between gender, poverty, abuse and dsease. UN PHOTO/MARK GARTEN Maqulla Geness, the textle factory Ana Yolanda Zaldívar founded n Puerto Cortés, Honduras, o ers jobs and dgnty to women lvng wth HIV. For me, AIDS s no longer a death sentence, says Zaldívar. UN PHOTO/MARK GARTEN Along the way she had a branstorm that has kept her busy ever snce. In addton to her responsbltes at the hosptal, she now manages a small textle workshop where eght women wth HIV earn money sewng school unforms and other apparel. local health unts to attend to female patents wth more senstvty and respect, especally those copng wth sexual volence or HIV/AIDS. Closer coordnaton wth other local nsttutons could also generate better outcomes. A good example arose n the o Ths group of HIV-postve women n San Juan, Honduras, has started an open-ar embrodery workshop to boost ther She makes sure they get antretrovral medcnes and mantan ther health. Ncaraguan provnce of Chnandega, whch has the naton s hghest demand for sexual commerce and ncomes. UN PHOTO/MARK GARTEN

12 Brngng Energy Servces to Rural Communtes Senegal, Burkna Faso, Ghana and Gunea In rural areas throughout the developng world, much as t consumes. Whle e orts are under way t s not uncommon for women to spend four, fve or to extend the power grd to promote development sx hours a day gatherng frewood and collectng n rural areas, these costly endeavors could take water. It s a heavy burden, and one the women of decades to reach fruton. In the meantme, wth sup- Bantantnntng, a remote vllage n eastern Senegal, port from the Unted Natons Trust Fund for 10 have been glad to shed. Ther fortunes began to mprove a few years ago when they formed a local women s assocaton. Together, they went on to acqure a small deselpowered devce that s lghtenng ther workloads, lftng ther ncomes and slowly transformng ther lves. They use the energy t produces to pump water, grnd gran and make jam to sell at the market n Tambacounda, the nearest cty. Roughly 1.6 bllon of the world s poorest people Human Securty, Senegal and three other West Afrcan natons Burkna Faso, Ghana and Gunea are embracng a qucker, cheaper alternatve that starts at the communty level. Desgned by the Unted Natons Development Programme (UNDP), ths regonal project seeks to expand access to modern energy servces n rural areas. One of the technologes avalable to these communtes nvolves a versatle apparatus known as a multfunctonal platform, or MFP. Essentally, t s a 10-horsepower engne wth belts that drve Wth the ntroducton of multfunctonal platforms, or MFPs, women and grls no longer spend so much tme gatherng frewood and water. These women n Bantantnntng, Senegal, use the tme they save to produce mango and sweet potato jam, whch they sell n the town of Tambacounda. UN PHOTO/EVAN SCHNEIDER have no access to electrcty or other forms of com- varous tools, such as a cereal mll, a seed press or a mercal energy. Some 2.4 bllon people stll burn battery charger. When connected to an electrc tradtonal bomass wood, crop waste and anmal alternator, t can generate electrcty to pump water, dung for cookng and heatng, whch depletes lght homes and refrgerate vaccnes. forests, pollutes the ar and causes respratory alments. The lack of e cent mechancal power also weakens productvty and lmts opportuntes to earn money through small-scale enterprses lke food processng, carpentry and weldng. Indeed, experts say the absence of modern energy servc- MFPs run on desel, but women are the real drvng force. When UNDP ntroduces the devce to new communtes, t makes a pont of workng through local women s assocatons. Women are the best vector of change, says Laurent Coche, who coord- u A woman n West Afrca grndng gran wth a multfunctonal platform, or MFP. Essentally, t s a 10-horsepower engne wth belts that drve varous es ncludng electrcty, clean cookng fuels and mechancal power s not just a symptom of poverty, but also a major factor n perpetuatng t. nates the regonal project. If you re workng through women, the mpact you have on socety and development s much bgger. Also, n Afrca tools, such as a cereal mll, a seed press or a battery charger. UNDP women and the people who are dependent on Paradoxcally, Afrca produces 7 percent of the them are far more vulnerable than other groups. world s commercal energy more than twce as

13 The lack of modern energy servces n rural areas s not just a symptom of poverty, but also a cause. A smple desel-powered devce lets women generate power locally, savng tme and boostng ncomes.

14 It costs nearly $9,000 to construct and nstall one Envronmental Development Acton n the Thrd MFP, a sgnfcant sum n most vllages. The women s World n Senegal that regularly share ther exper- groups pay 60 percent themselves, and the project ences and learn from each other s successes and covers the rest. In partnershp wth other ad groups setbacks. Wth ts regonal focus, the project makes and servce organzatons, UNDP provdes tranng t possble to share lessons across borders through to help the women develop ther busness and workshops, phone calls and e-mal. entrepreneural sklls and to teach local artsans how to buld and mantan the equpment. The women The project s also havng an mpact on the polcy are not only producng and dstrbutng energy, envronment. Natonal energy polces n the regon but also buldng ther own capacty as busness have tradtonally taken a top-down approach, owners and managers. favorng large nfrastructure projects over communty-led ntatves. Through outreach and advocacy, In Bantantnntng, Coumba Konte and her peers UNDP and ts partners are rasng awareness of the have been usng ther MFP to grnd mllet, corn and lnks between poverty and the lack of modern energy peanuts and to make jam from mangoes and sweet servces n rural areas. They are also buldng support potatoes. The money they have earned has helped for projects that enable rural communtes to oper- pay for lteracy classes and supported a local health ate and manage ther own energy servces. clnc; the mdwfe there delvered Konte s son earler ths year. One breakthrough came n 2005, when Burkna Faso made the use of MFPs a core element of ts 12 UNDP s e orts to make energy servces and MFPs more wdely avalable n the regon buld on an ear- natonal poverty reducton strategy. It projects that 400 local energy producers most led by women ler plot project n Mal, where about 500 vllages wll be up and runnng by 2008, employng 4,000 are now usng them. An mpact study conducted people and beneftng some 500,000 vllagers there n 2001 found that ntroducng these machnes through local women s assocatons led to a notceable reducton of poverty. They also mproved water qualty by reducng relance on contamnated wells. They mproved servces at local health facltes by allowng refrgeraton of vaccnes and medcatons. They enabled more grls to attend school by easng the burden of domestc work. And they created jobs for rural blacksmths, carpenters and mechancs. across the country. More recently, the Economc Communty of West Afrcan States endorsed a proposal to make access to rural energy ncludng MFPs a part of ts poverty reducton strategy. If they only nvest n electrfcaton, they ll mss a majorty of the rural populaton, most of all the rural poor, says Coche. That s why t s crtcal to back local energy producton n remote, rural communtes. Women pumpng water wth help from a multfunctonal platform n West Afrca. When connected to an electrc alternator, MFPs can generate electrcty to pump water, lght homes and refrgerate vaccnes. UNDP The entrepreneural sprt s alve and well n Bantantnntng, where ths woman earns extra money sewng clothes n the tme she saves as a result of her group s MFP. UN PHOTO/ EVAN SCHNEIDER The Trust Fund s contrbuton s helpng MFPs catch on elsewhere n West Afrca. To ad ther expanson, UNDP has bult a network of local and natonal partners such as the Kumas Insttute of Technology and Envronment n Ghana and

15 Protectng Women and Chldren from Human Traffckng Camboda and Vet Nam A father and daughter lvng on the edge of a vast garbage dump n Phnom Penh. Extreme poverty puts chldren at even greater rsk of human tra ckng. KAZUO TASE Tet Lykor s one of the lucky ones. Whle other young women left her vllage n Camboda s Kampong Cham provnce lured by promses of good jobs and a better lfe Tet stayed home. One of her peers ended up n a garment factory n the captal, Phnom Penh, workng long hours on her feet and growng sknner by the day. Another found herself n a wood factory n Vet Nam, breathng toxc fumes and battlng a case of typhod. A cousn who left for Thaland three years ago hasn t been heard from snce, sowng fear among famly members that she may have been forced nto prosttuton. Brokers come from outsde the vllage and look for people who are llterate or naïve, says Tet, a buoyant 20-year-old who overcame the odds. They promse to get you a good job where you can make a lot of money. Then they persuade you to put your fngerprnt on a contract you can t read. The Internatonal Labour Organzaton (ILO) has a name for ths knd of actvty: human tra ckng. Loosely defned as relocaton plus explotaton, ts worst forms nclude forced prosttuton, human slavery and organ harvestng. But t takes other shapes, too, as profteers use coercon, decepton and volence to prey on the vulnerable. Some vctms are sold to tra ckers by relatves or supposed frends. But the ILO says most human tra ckng occurs n the course of voluntary but unnformed mgraton. Young women and chldren n extreme poverty typcally face the greatest rsk. If we don t help, they wll move, says Veng Tong Ratha, an ILO project coordnator n Camboda. And f they move, they are lkely to be exploted. The agency estmates that nearly 2.5 mllon people worldwde are vctms of forced labor as a result of tra ckng, wth more than half comng from the Asa-Pacfc regon. Stronger labor standards and the ntegraton of undocumented mgrants could ease the gravtatonal pull n recevng countres lke Thaland, Malaysa and Chna. But acton s needed on the supply sde, too. Wth support from the Unted Natons Trust Fund for Human Securty, the ILO has been lghtng the way. These e orts began n 2000, when the agency launched a three-year plot project to combat tra ckng at the communty level n the Mekong subregon. The dea was to rase awareness, moblze and empower communtes, lft ncomes and ncrease food securty so that people at rsk were better equpped to protect themselves. The Trust Fund s contrbuton made t possble to contnue ths work n sx provnces three n Camboda and three n Vet Nam for three more years. Workng wth natonal labor mnstres, the agency dentfed places wth hgh rates of outmgraton and dsappearance lke Tet s vllage, Korng Kang. The vllage s home to barely 900 people, but not long ago t saw 53 youth 42 of them grls leave n a sngle year. In each of nearly 50 partcpatng communtes, project sta asked resdents to set ther own prortes through vllage development 13

16 commttees. Some concluded that learnng anmal To foster vable lvelhoods, the ILO partnered wth husbandry and establshng communal rce banks the provncal labor department and a local develop- would help them gan food securty. Others ment group. Together, they have provded tranng emphaszed busness development and mcrocredt to help local resdents acqure vocatonal sklls, learn servces. about busness management, obtan access to credt and ncrease ther ncomes. Tet took a yearlong Many vllages set up nformal educaton programmes sewng course, then opened a shop wth three fellow n lteracy, math and chld rghts. In Camboda, the graduates, makng clothes for vllage resdents. courses have enrolled more than 700 chldren who no longer attend school. I learned that we have One of her busness partners s Horng Sok Ha, 19, the rght to survve, says Horn Saray, 14, of Korng who returned from the Vetnamese wood factory Kang. We have the rght to develop, the rght to be and reganed her health. Another s Pa Koun Chab, protected and the rght to partcpate n socety. 22, who came back after 18 gruelng months at a Several partcpants have snce resumed ther formal Chnese garment factory n Phnom Penh. We were schoolng. Among them s Loeung Ing, 12, who forced to work overtme, Pa recalls. We had to dreams of becomng an attorney. I want to be part stand all the tme, workng 12 hours a day, 6 days a of the justce system, she says. I want to make week. All of us were gettng sknner and sknner. the tra ckers come under the law. Workng condtons are much better here. We lke beng our own boss. On both sdes of the border, the project has support- 14 ed campagns to rase awareness about the nature of tra ckng and the trcks brokers use. Makng use Indeed, the tde may be turnng n communtes lke Korng Kang. The brokers don t come to our vllage of street shows, compettons, forums, newspaper anymore, says Tet. Everybody s aware of the columns, posters and leaflets, the campagns have dangers now. We know how they operate, and we Pa Koun Chab returned home after 18 gruelng months n a Phnom Penh garment factory, where she worked 12 hours a day, sx days a week. It was very hard work, she says. When we felt sck and wanted to leave early, we were forced to keep workng. KAZUO TASE A grl makes her way home from school n Korng Kang. Not long ago, 53 youth left the vllage n a sngle year, lured by false promses of good jobs and a better lfe. The ILO supports nformal educaton programmes that help at-rsk youth enter manstream schools. KAZUO TASE also addressed gender nequtes, dscrmnaton and HIV/AIDS ssues that can heghten the rsk of explotaton. So far, these messages have reached an estmated 20,000 vllagers n Camboda and Vet Nam. That fgure doesn t even count vewers of a prme-tme documentary about tra ckng, the result of a partnershp between the ILO and Vet Nam s natonal televson network. But awareness only goes so far n communtes plagued by chronc poverty. In Korng Kang, many people lack marketable sklls, workng captal and saleable products. Even farmland s scarce, gven all the landmnes left behnd after decades of war. don t fall for ther trcks. u Phnom Penh has become a major destnaton for young Cambodans, who leave ther vllages behnd and pursue work n urban garment factores. But wages are low and lvng condtons can be harsh. These famles resde n a part of the captal wth lttle sewerage, electrcty or other publc servces. KAZUO TASE

17 The dea s to rase awareness, moblze communty groups, lft ncomes and ncrease food securty so that people at rsk are better equpped to protect themselves.

18 Expandng Access to Qualty Educaton Kosovo 16 One day last Aprl, Mustafe Kasap watched 22 boys race up and down a football ptch n southwestern Kosovo, slppng an occasonal shot past the opposng goalkeeper. It was the knd of match chldren all over the world play each day, wth one bg d erence: the boys on the vstng team were ethnc Albanans, whle ther vctorous hosts were ethnc Serbs. Ethnc and relgous d erences stll haunt Kosovo, where 2 mllon nhabtants are slowly mendng the damage wrought by a decade of unrest and war. Now an autonomous provnce of Serba, t has been admnstered by the Unted Natons snce the war ended n Talks are under way to resolve ts formal status, but whatever ther outcome, lngerng tensons between the Albanan and Serb populatons rase questons about what knd of place Kosovo wll be. Kasap, a Kosovar Albanan who drects a prmary school n Rahovec/Orahovac, holds out hope for a peaceful, pluralst socety. The football match played last sprng n a nearby Serb communty rea rmed hs optmsm. I notced there was a Serban grl who approached my son afterward, he says. They talked for a whle and she wrote down hs name and phone number. The chldren do not have prejudces. Not yet, anyway. But lke people everywhere, some are sure to adopt the bases of ther parents and peers as they grow older. Educaton s often the best antdote to such stereotypes, yet 45 percent of Kosovo s schools were destroyed or severely damaged durng the war. Meanwhle, hundreds of thousands of dsplaced famles have put a stran on urban schools, leavng some rural ones undersubscrbed. Moreover, outmoded currcula and antquated teachng methods have dscouraged creatvty, crtcal thnkng and openness to cultural d erences. Wth support from the Unted Natons Trust Fund for Human Securty, chldren throughout Kosovo are now ganng access to qualty educaton regardless of ther ethncty, relgon or gender. Led by the Unted Natons Chldren s Fund (UNICEF), ths sxyear campagn has rehabltated 116 schools and rebult 22 others from the ground up. It has also helped retran teachers, boost parental nvolvement and reform educaton polcy and plannng at the state level. Over tme, these revtalzed schools could greatly reduce llteracy and poverty, ad rentegraton of dsplaced famles and curb dscrmnaton keys to a secure future for all Kosovars. E orts to restore access to educaton began soon after the war ended. Frst, UNICEF conducted a rapd assessment to gauge the condton of school nfrastructure and dentfy large populaton shfts fueled by the conflct. It then rebult the schools that su ered the worst damage and suppled many others wth basc learnng materals, furnture, and upgraded water and santaton systems. Years of dsnvestment and strfe took a toll on lesson plans and teachng methods, too. For nearly Chldren on ther way to a newly constructed school n the vllage of Obre Epërme/ Gornje Obrnje. The runs of ther old school can be seen n the background. UNICEF u Chldren playng soccer outsde a newly constructed prmary school n Semetsht/Semet ste. Nearly half of Kosovo s schools were destroyed or severely damaged durng the war. The project has snce rebult 22 schools from the ground up and rehabltated 116 others. UNMIK/AFRIM HAJRULLAHU

19 Over tme, these revtalzed schools may play a pvotal role n reducng llteracy and poverty, rentegratng dsplaced famles and curbng dscrmnaton keys to a secure future for all Kosovars.

20 a decade, the Serb mnorty attended state-run o cer n the Mtrovcë/Mtrovca regon, home to schools whle the Albanan majorty cobbled many Kosovar Serbs. We need to show that we re together a parallel system often holdng classes not gnorng them that we treat all enttes n prvate homes. Now the stuaton s largely equally and run the same programmes here as n reversed: most Serb schoolchldren opt out of the the majorty communty. manstream schools, attendng classes pad for by the Serban government n Belgrade and taught, Down n Rahovec/Orahovac, most students are n many cases, n prvate homes. Albanans. But because of a concerted outreach e ort, Roma, Ashkala and Egyptan chldren (dstnct In the 1990 s, both systems pushed natonalst groups often lumped together as Gypses ) now currcula that played up old grevances. To brng edu- comprse 12 percent of the student body at the school cators up to date, UNICEF s workng closely wth Kasap drects. Sadly, ncluson stops there. We re more than 150 Albanan and Serb schools throughout stll concerned about not havng any Serb chldren Kosovo. In partnershp wth natonal and nterna- attend, he says. But t s a long process. We have tonal ad groups, t has traned nearly 1,000 teachers to negotate wth parents, teachers, the munc- to replace lectures wth nteractve dscussons and palty and the Serb communty. But there are other group learnng and organzed 60 parent-teacher ssues, ncludng poltcal pressures and fnancal assocatons to foster communty partcpaton. ncentves, that prevent them from attendng. UNICEF s workng wth the Mnstry of Educaton, Intmdaton also plays a role. Most Serbs lve 18 Scence and Technology to modernze the school system n other mportant ways. Its gudance and n enclaves and lack the freedom to travel safely. Seven years after the war ended, casual threats and techncal support helped the mnstry ntroduce sporadc waves of volence contnue to traumatze standards for preschool educaton and develop sub- many schoolchldren. In an attempt at reconclaton, ject currcula for prmary and secondary schools. some Albanan and Serb schools are organzng Gven the hgh drop-out rate for grls, the campagn also launched 180 local ntatves to promote women s lteracy and advsed the mnstry on the desgn of a formal currculum for such programmes. The toughest challenge s creatng multethnc schools. Language barrers are one factor. Resdental patterns are another, as Albanan and Serb populatons gravtate to separate neghborhoods. Untl the poltcal clmate mproves, allowng the school systems to be unfed, UNICEF s makng sure ts campagn reaches students of every ethncty. Our presence here n the north s an entry pont nto multethnc events, such as art exhbtons and football matches. They are also nstructng students n conflct resoluton, human rghts and lfe sklls to help them regan a sense of normalcy after years of war and conflct. Through the newly formed parent-teacher assocatons, the tranng reaches adults, too. Our goal s a unfed, ntegrated school system, says Agm Rraq, a mnstry o cal who oversees schools n the southern regon of Przren. Qualty educaton s one of the precondtons for makng that happen. There are 65 households n the vllage of Mahalla Sop, but only two local women have a secondary educaton. A lteracy class sponsored by UNICEF helps young women and grls gan lteracy. If I had to, I would sell my land to keep my daughter n school, says the nstructor, Fetje Përtesh. UNMIK/ AFRIM HAJRULLAHU The lteracy classes are now avalable n 19 muncpaltes throughout Kosovo. To make t easer for women to attend, UNICEF provdes day care to ther young chldren whle classes are under way. UNMIK/ AFRIM HAJRULLAHU the communty, says Momclo Arlov, a UNICEF feld

21 Protectng and Empowerng the Dsplaced Colomba The vllage of Unón Embera les deep n the Chocó better ther hand. From Chocó n the north to ranforest of northwestern Colomba, eght hours Narño and Putumayo n the south, the agency and uprver from the Carbbean coast. Home to 400 ts partners are workng to strengthen cvc partc- members of the Embera trbe, t also stands near paton and advocacy so that at-rsk and dsplaced the front lnes of a protracted nternal conflct that populatons can defend ther rghts. Ths ntegrated has clamed tens of thousands of lves and uprooted response, launched wth support from the Unted mllons of people n the last decade alone. The Natons Trust Fund for Human Securty, seeks to Embera, hemmed n by armed mltants and ncreas- balance state protecton wth grassroots ngly unable to go about ther daly lves, may also empowerment. be forced to flee. It s crtcally mportant to mantan our cultural dentty and tradtonal lvelhoods, Snce the conflct erupted n 1964, clashes between says Julo César, the vllage leader. Ths s the only government forces, leftst guerrllas and rght-wng way for our communty to stck together, resst ds- paramltares have clamed at least 150,000 lves. The future s uncertan for Colomba s Embera people. Armed mltants threaten ther survval, tradtonal lvelhoods and dgnty. Some 3.5 mllon people have taken flght wthn Colomba, often settlng n urban slums. Indgenous groups face the greatest rsk of dsplacement. UN PHOTO/MARK GARTEN placement and protect our land and anmals. Sadly, the odds are aganst them. More than 45,000 Colombans are regstered as refugees or asylum seekers n neghborng countres. As many as 3.5 mllon others have taken flght wthn Colomba, often settlng n urban slums. Except Sudan, no other country has a larger dsplaced populaton, accordng to the O ce of the Unted Natons Hgh Commssoner for Refugees (UNHCR). These numbers are extremely worryng, sad Judy Cheng- Hopkns, a senor o cal at the agency, whle Related acts of volence and ntmdaton ncludng kdnappng, sexual explotaton and tra ckng n guns and drugs have fueled wder upheaval, drvng mllons of Colombans from ther homes. Women and chldren bear the brunt of ths msfortune, accountng for three out of four refugees and nternally dsplaced persons, or IDPs. Rosa, Juan Carlos and ther four chldren ended up n Soacha, a vast slum n the hlls south of Bogotá. Lvng condtons are grm, but that hasn t slowed the nflux of newcomers escapng worse perls 19 vstng the regon n June 2006, especally because back home. Armed groups asked us to pay $20 a they show no sgns of abatng. month as tax for rasng plantans, Rosa recalls. Otherwse they sad they would kll or kdnap our Even f rval factons negotate an end to the chldren. We had no opton but to flee. conflct, the challenges of ntegratng the dsplaced or helpng them return home may last a full gener- UNHCR s assstng IDP assocatons throughout aton. But a broad campagn led by UNHCR could Colomba so that she and her peers can advocate enable the Embera and other vulnerable groups to more e ectvely on ther own behalf. In partner-

22 shp wth Opcón Legal, a non-governmental organ- atons and fnd a bgger home for the 12 other zaton, t provdes techncal expertse and tranng famly members lvng wth them. to about 100 IDP groups natonwde. Equpped wth sold leadershp sklls and renewed confdence, E orts are also afoot to assst ndgenous groups, these groups are negotatng wth local o cals to who face the greatest rsk of dsplacement. In Unón gan better access to health care, educaton and Embera, routne threats from varous armed actors other basc servces. What s more, they re acqurng keep resdents from huntng or fshng or gong the poltcal credblty to nfluence publc polcy at up and down the rver to get food for ther famles. the natonal level. The psychologcal stran caused by ths ntmdaton, whch ncludes threats to recrut Embera youth Wth support from UNHCR, legal ad centers at as chld solders, s erodng the communty s dentty several unverstes took on the cases of 5,800 ds- and self-esteem. It also may have prompted a spate placed people n 2005, and a specalzed unt of the of 19 teen sucdes snce The guerrllas and Natonal Regstry provded dentfcaton cards to the paramltares are all around here, says Ulyses, 98,300 people lvng n remote, vulnerable commu- who lost a brother and a close frend to sucde. ntes. UNHCR also opened a center n Soacha Young people receve lots of threats. Sometmes, called the House of Rghts, where people lke A.B. when they say they want to kll you, you thnk t s hs back scarred by mltants who have repeatedly better to kll yourself than to wat for them tracked hm down and accused hm of adng the to kll you. enemy can fnd nformaton and advce. 20 Communtes as remote as Unón Embera may le Economc stablty s another prorty n dsplaced beyond the reach of state protecton. But UNHCR communtes, where jobs are scarce and resources s workng wth local assocatons of ndgenous lmted. A study commssoned by UNHCR found and Afro-Carbbean IDPs as well as one country- Polce o cers on patrol n Soacha, where armed mltants have been known to track down nternally dsplaced people accused of sdng wth the enemy. KAZUO TASE Colombans dsplaced by the decades-long conflct fnd nformaton and advce at the House of Rghts n Soacha. Even f rval factons brng an end to the conflct, the challenges of ntegratng the dsplaced or helpng them return home may last a full genera- u Lvng condtons are tough n Soacha, a vast slum n the hlls south of Bogotá. But that hasn t slowed the nflux of newcomers escapng worse perls back home. A new mcroenterprse loan fund helps entrepreneurs lke ths food vender expand ther busnesses. KAZUO TASE a hgh demand for mcrocredt servces n urban settlements lke Soacha. The agency followed up by launchng mcroenterprse loan funds desgned to lft ncomes and buld lvelhoods. In keepng wth the study s fndngs, t combnes these fnancal servces wth psychosocal therapy, vocatonal tranng and prmary educaton. After arrvng n Soacha early last year, Edgar Manrque and hs two sons went nto busness makng cleanng products and sellng them doorto-door. To get the venture gong, they each borrowed $185 through the loan fund. Now, havng pad o the loans n b-weekly nstallments, they are negotatng a larger loan to expand oper- wde group, the Natonal Indgenous Organzaton to buld a broad movement to secure ndgenous rghts. Together wth partners lke Opcón Legal, these groups have convened tranng workshops n human rghts, nternatonal humantaran law, ndgenous legslaton and partcpatory decsonmakng. In tme, they may be able to meet ther own needs and defend ther own rghts ncludng the rght to be protected by the state. We are gettng by wth the assstance of others, but we need to be stronger, says Julo César. At the same tme, we hope that the state extends stronger protecton for the ndgenous people under threat. ton. KAZUO TASE

23 Even f rval factons negotate an end to the conflct, the challenges of ntegratng the dsplaced or helpng them return home may last a full generaton.

24 Gvng Voce to the Voceless Afrca and Afghanstan Whle others scour the local market for staples lke places where roads are bad and lteracy s low, where cornmeal and cookng ol, João Bernardo Golombole electrcty s scarce and batteres are prcey. We ve looks for news and nsght. Decades of armed handed out 2,000 wnd-up rados n Angola alone. conflct have taken ther toll on Angola, and towns lke Seles, n the coastal provnce of Cuanza Sul, Best of all, the communcaton flows two ways: are stll pckng up the peces. Golombole wants to not only keepng vulnerable populatons nformed know how they re dong. Pluggng a mcrophone but also conveyng ther concerns to fellow ctzens nto hs palm-szed mndsc recorder, he crouches lvng hours away. The Unted Natons Trust Fund 22 n the dust besde a vendor named Mara. She tells hm of the drought that has runed the harvest, and how she now makes charcoal to support her famly. The ntervew later ars on natonal rado, carryng Mara s words far and wde. Communtes lke Seles rarely make the news n Angola, but a new rado broadcastng ntatve s slowly changng all that. Now fully operatonal n seven Afrcan natons plus Afghanstan, the ntatve s among the latest o erngs from the Integrated Regonal Informaton Networks (IRIN), a multmeda news servce run by the Unted Natons O ce for the Coordnaton of Humantaran for Human Securty supports the rado ntatve so that at-rsk people and communtes can access vtal nformaton and use t to address crtcal challenges. IRIN s coverage of these places also serves as an early warnng system, alertng the outsde world to pressng needs and emergng threats. IRIN started n the wake of the 1994 genocde n Rwanda, as a way for humantaran organzatons workng there to share nformaton. Soon t began publshng ts own news and analyss and makng documentary flms, mostly n Englsh. The rado ntatve began n 2001 n Somala. It then added coverage, n local languages, n Afghanstan, Angola, IRIN s programmng not only keeps vulnerable populatons nformed but also conveys ther concerns to fellow ctzens lvng hours away. Rado s the cheapest, most readly avalable source of nformaton n these areas, says Dalton. It reaches places where roads are bad and lteracy s low, where electrcty s scarce and batteres are prcey. IRIN PHOTO u Khatera (left) and Feroza, two asprng reporters n Mamana, Afghanstan, learn to use a mndsc recorder. Half of the Afghan journalsts IRIN trans are women. IRIN PHOTO Chldren n Angola lsten to a wnd-up rado. IRIN has dstrbuted 2,000 of these devces, whch are powered by a clockwork mechansm and a solar panel, n remote parts of Angola. IRIN PHOTO A ars. Lke IRIN s webste, whch carres topcal Burund, Côte d Ivore, Lesotho, Lbera and Sudan. reports by veteran journalsts and ad workers, the rado ntatve o ers tmely, credble coverage of In Afghanstan, IRIN Rado holds workshops where communtes facng perls lke hunger, dsease, local journalsts half of them women upgrade hatred and war. ther sklls and explore ways to cover the ssues most relevant to ther audences. After decades of In locatons lke these, televson and the Internet represson and strfe, the naton s stll adjustng are not yet up to the task. Rado s the cheapest, to the dea of an ndependent press. Many unver- most readly avalable source of nformaton n these stes here stll teach the old Sovet methods, says areas, says Mark Dalton, a veteran ad worker who Sayed Abdul Rahm Rahman, 24, a rsng star among s IRIN s representatve n New York. It reaches IRIN s Afghan journalsts. From IRIN we ve learned

25 Sedqa, an IRIN strnger who reports for Rado Zohra n Afghanstan, ntervews a man lvng n the runs of a government buldng n Kunduz cty. Although dsabled, he s the breadwnner for hs famly of nne. IRIN PHOTO Better communcaton between remote communtes and urban centers s a crtcal factor n achevng human securty. Rado provdes a way for vulnerable groups to say, Ths s what we thnk s mportant.

26 how to do shorter, more accurate peces that pres- erful representaton of lfe n the camps. It s been ent more than one pont of vew. an eye-opener for Burundans back home, many of whom nurse grudges aganst those who fled. I Snce 2004, IRIN has produced more than 50 pro- ddn t know they stll spoke Krund! sad one lsten- grammes n Afghanstan. They ve ared, n Dar and er n Burund. Another fan of the show added: Pashto, on ndependent statons across the country. I have learned not to blame a whole ethnc group Recent subjects nclude chld solders, declnng for what some have done. wheat harvests, polo eradcaton, busness nvestment, HIV preventon, drug abuse and problems Buldng on the soap opera s success, IRIN co-hosted facng returnng refugees. We try to reflect the a seres of publc debates on related ssues, such as concerns of ordnary people and nvestgate what s land and property dsputes nvolvng returnees and gong on n ther communtes, says Mchael the rghts of wdows and orphans. What s more, t Dwyer, a former reporter for the Australan Broadcastng Corporaton who now runs IRIN s studo n Kabul. Ths approach s startng to catch on, as statons beef up ther own coverage of humantaran ssues. provded tranng to Burundan journalsts amed at mprovng coverage of these ssues. Smlar workshops n Angola helped IRIN develop a network of 19 strngers, or local correspondents, Up-and-comng journalsts attend a tranng sesson n Buchanan, Lbera. The sesson covered many sklls needed 24 Most of IRIN s rado work s n Afrca, where t s extendng ts reach to cover nne addtonal countres: Democratc Republc of Congo, Gunea, Gunea-Bssau, Kenya, Namba, São Tome and Príncpe, Serra Leone, Tanzana and Uganda. ncludng Golombole. A former combatant, he now runs a landmne awareness programme n Cuanza Sul for Afrcare, the nternatonal ad group. As he travels the provnce, he takes the opportunty to record ntervews wth ordnary ctzens usng equpment donated by IRIN. Lke Mara, the char- to comple reports for broadcastng, ncludng feld-based reportng, the use of mndsc recorders and mcrophones, scrpt wrtng, studo recordng and computer edtng. IRIN PHOTO In Somala, t makes ready-to-ar programmes coal vendor, they hope ther voces wll carry far on on the peace process, health, educaton, refugees Rado Naconal de Angola, whch often broadcasts and dsplaced people. In Côte d Ivore, t helped Golombole s reports. reporters at Rado Lepn cover a land dspute between two rval communtes, helpng to defuse Better communcaton between remote commun- the stuaton before opportunsts could use t to tes and urban centers s a crtcal factor n achevng fuel ethnc tensons. human securty n places lke Angola, Burund and Afghanstan. The ablty to get relable nformaton, A popular soap opera set n the refugee camps of and to express ther own needs and concerns, s western Tanzana, home to some 192,000 uprooted a new thng for many people, says Dwyer. Rado Burundans, also bears IRIN Rado s mprnt. Called provdes a way for them to say, Ths s what we Tuyage Twongere ( Let s Talk n Krund), t s a want, what we thnk s mportant. co-producton wth JRS-Rado Kwzera n Ngara, Tanzana. Lsteners say the drama, whch ars twce a week on both sdes of the border, delvers a pow-

27 Moblzng Rural Communtes Tmor-Leste One of the world s newest countres, Tmor-Leste, may Wth support from the Unted Natons Trust Fund for also be the poorest. Snce t ganed ndependence Human Securty, 20 households n Maubsse vllage from Indonesa n 1999, expectatons of democratc have banded together to forge a better future. reform and economc growth have run hgh on the eastern half of ths rugged Pacfc sle. But the slow They began wth a small nursery, growng seedlngs A mother and two daughters n Maubsse, where 20 households have banded together to restore nearby woodlands, boost crop yelds and generate addtonal ncome. The group has become a forum where communty members can set ther own prortes for development. NORIKA FUJIWARA pace of change, especally the lack of jobs, has bred frustraton among the naton s 1 mllon nhabtants, possbly fuelng the spasm of volence that erupted n Aprl. Accordng to the Internatonal Monetary Fund, whch calculates ther gross domestc product at $400 per capta, the Tmorese have less purchasng power than any other country on earth. Formally known as the Democratc Republc of Tmor-Leste, the naton s workng hard to buld democratc nsttutons, promote busness nvestment to help restore nearby woodlands, boost crop yelds and generate addtonal ncome. Later they set up a savngs and loan fund to help them manage ther money more e ectvely. Most notably, though, the group has become a forum where communty members can set ther own prortes for development. Before we were only separate ndvduals dependng on the government, says José Mara Madera, 40, who heads a smlar group n Aubeon vllage. Now we all work together to meet the needs of our fam- 25 and modernze schools. But ts greatest hope les n les and to fulfll our vson for the communty. ts people. Despte low ncomes, low rates of lteracy and low lfe expectancy, there are sgns of a cvc Snce 2002, nearly 450 men and women n the cen- awakenng, as grassroots groups seek greater con- tral dstrcts of Anaro and Manatuto have followed trol over forces that shape ther lves. sut. They ve formed 24 self-help groups n a bd to promote sol conservaton and reforestaton; boost Ths country s not free because t was gven to us agrcultural producton; ncrease food securty and by someone, says Orlando Mendonça, 45, who ncomes among poor households; and mprove lves wth hs wfe and two chldren near the foot of health and nutrton n ther vllages. Mount Ramelau, whch rses nearly 3,000 meters above sea level. It s free because we fought for t. Now we have to fght for our lvelhoods as well. Ths tme the foe s a legon of nterlnked threats: deforestaton, sol eroson, crop falure, malnutrton, poverty, llteracy and gender bas. But Mendonça and hs neghbors are ntent on turnng the tde. The groups are part of a broad campagn to buld cvc partcpaton and self-relance. Desgned by the Unted Natons Development Programme (UNDP), the far-reachng project apples the prncples of communty organzng to moblze and empower rural vllages, where 80 percent of the Tmorese populaton gets by on subsstence farmng.

28 Together wth the Mnstry of Agrculture, Forestry and Fsheres, UNDP and the Unted Natons Offce of Project Servces (UNOPS) have convened dozens of tranng workshops on sustanable farmng, commercal hortculture, organzatonal management and accountng. So far, the groups have opened 21 commercal nurseres and rased two mllon tree seedlngs. They have replanted many of the trees n upland areas through a natonal reforestaton programme and sold others for proft. Some groups have also ntroduced new strans of rce to make ther paddes more productve. As a result, ther yelds rose wthn two years to 6.5 tons per hectare, a 300 percent ncrease. If used on a wder scale, these new varetes could help Tmor-Leste, whch lves on rce, ease ts relance on mports. The Mau-Ulo group s one of many that have started savngs and loan funds for ther members, who put asde $12,000 an average of $27 each n less than a year. If we keep the money at home t wll dsappear, says Albertna do Carmo, who sews textles for a lvng n the vllage of Dare. We have more securty when we put our money n the group. As ther balances grow, the groups extend credt to worthy borrowers. Marcana dos Santos, who learned to read and wrte from other women n her group, took out a loan to open a food kosk n Mulo vllage, where she now sells rce and noodles. Orlanda de Araújo borrowed money to send her chld to school. Rosa Barbosa, a wdow wth a troublng cough, went to see a doctor n Dl. So far, repayment rates are mpressvely hgh. 26 Yet gettng agrcultural products, textles and other goods to the market remans a dauntng challenge. Outsde of Dl, the captal cty, roads are often wndng, steep and rough, and buses are nfrequent. As part of the project, UNDP and UNOPS enlsted a marketng expert to fnd ways to brdge the gaps between demand and supply. Plans are now under way to ntroduce modern marketng strateges that lnk producton, storage, transport and dstrbuton. Resdents of Mau-Ulo vllage n Anaro set up a nursery after attendng a workshop n The frst year they rased 23,316 tree seedlngs, whch they sold for $5,330. After renvestng some of the earnngs, they rased 94,060 seedlngs the second year, reapng $28,218 n revenue. The money has allowed them to upgrade the nursery, rear goats and other lvestock, buld a fshpond and remunerate group members for ther labor. The project s most profound mpact s the way selfhelp groups call on members to artculate a shared vson for the future. Tacked to the walls of ther meetng spaces are neatly drawn maps dentfyng homes, churches, wells, felds, streams and other communty assets. Close by are charts and lsts outlnng ther aspratons. The women s group n Mulo wants each member to read and wrte by By 2015, they am to upgrade ther homes, buy a generator to share and make sure each chld completes junor hgh school. The lst s lke a local verson of the Mllennum Development Goals, a compass to gude ther quest for a better lfe. Before I ddn t know how to work n a group or save money, says Mendonça, who drew up a comparable set of goals as leader of the self-help group n Maubsse. Now we have those sklls. We know how to ncrease producton through upland sol conservaton. Not only that, but we can plan for our chldren s future. The self-help groups have taught ther members how to ncrease agrcultural producton, conserve a fragle ecosystem and save money. Not only that, Mendonça says, but we can plan for our chldren s future. NORIKA FUJIWARA Albertna do Carmo learned to read and wrte from others n her self-help group n Dare vllage. She has also been able to save some of the money she earns by sewng textles. We u have more securty when we put our money n the group, she says. UNDP/KYM SMITHIES u A self-help group plants tree seedlngs n Maubsse. Deforestaton s one of several closely lnked threats facng Tmor- Leste, along wth sol eroson, crop falure, malnutrton, poverty, llteracy and gender bas. UNDP/KYM SMITHIES

29 The self-help groups are part of a campagn to help people exercse greater control over the forces that shape ther lves. They serve as forums where communtes can set ther own prortes for development.

30 Stablzng Refugee Host Communtes Tanzana Decades of strfe have taken a severe toll on the of a jont o ce n Kgoma cty, meetng regularly and Great Lakes regon of Afrca, not only clamng ml- sharng nsghts about ther work. The programme lons of lves but also tearng apart communtes gets support from the Unted Natons Trust Fund and dsplacng people on a colossal scale. Snce for Human Securty, whose latest fundng gudelnes 1993, the volence has drven at least 600,000 emphasze such mult-sectoral approaches. 28 Burundans and Congolese nto northwestern Tanzana. Ths nflux of refugees has compounded many problems n the Kagera and Kgoma regons, ncludng arms tra ckng, food nsecurty, lack of educaton, the spread of HIV/AIDS and the destructon of envronmental resources. Yona Rukwakwa grew up n the Kgoma regon, but he managed to escape much of ths upheaval. The reason: he was n prson, servng a 15-year sentence for volent crmes he commtted as a gang member. Ths programme s unque for Tanzana, as t brdges the gap between humantaran assstance and long-term sustanable development support, says Joachm von Bonn, who coordnates the jont programme. At the same tme we try to put nto practce the UN reform vson to act as one Unted Natons nstead of each agency workng on ts own. One component of the programme seeks to reduce Snce 1993, volence n the Great Lakes regon has drven at least 600,000 Burundans and Congolese nto northwestern Tanzana. Ths young grl s on a boat wth her parents returnng home to the Democratc Republc of Congo. UN/JULIE PUDLOWSKI Yet snce hs release n 2005, Rukwakwa has been the number of small arms and lght weapons n set on mendng hs ways. He now owns a small the area, whch put resdents at heghtened rsk of shop n Kbondo town, sellng fresh bread, soap and armed volence. To that end, the Unted Natons other wares. He also leads a self-help group for for- Development Programme (UNDP) has teamed up mer prsoners who are ntent on earnng an honest lvng by pursung busness ventures of ther own. We named our group Mkomboz, says Rukwakwa, 40, usng the Swahl word for redeemer. Mkomboz grew out of a comprehensve e ort to brng stablty to the communtes hostng refugees n northwestern Tanzana. Together, sx Unted Natons agences have developed a coordnated response amed at reversng the prolferaton of small arms, safeguardng natural resources, mprovng food securty and fosterng lfe sklls among vulnerable populatons. The agences operate out wth Dstrct Defense and Securty Commttees (DDSCs), whose members nclude the dstrct commssoner, the dstrct securty o cer and other law enforcement o cals. Together, they have enlsted relgous leaders, rado broadcasters, exprsoners and crme vctms n a campagn to collect and destroy llct guns. In ts frst three months, the campagn brought n 1,863 pstols, rfles and sub-machne guns n the Kgoma regon alone. Because low ncomes fuel the demand for weapons, UNDP and the DDSCs also promote lvelhoods that o er vable alternatves to crme. They convene u Cvlans traned to assst local polce on a celebratory march n Kbondo regon, where law enforcement budgets are stretched thn. The programme desgnates one man and one woman from each street as communty lasons. They do not carry guns, but help protect ther neghborhoods by knowng the law and keepng n close touch wth the polce. UN PHOTO/EVAN SCHNEIDER

31 Sx UN agences have developed a coordnated response to help mtgate the threats facng refugee host communtes n northwestern Tanzana.

32 workshops throughout the two regons where vul- and process food. Much of ths work takes place nerable men and women learn how to form self- through agrcultural extenson projects that buld help groups, develop entrepreneural sklls and gan vocatonal and lfe sklls. It has enabled people lke access to mcrocredt. Rukwakwa formed Mkomboz Staml Yasn, an 18-year-old n Kandaga vllage, to wth several other ex-prsoners after takng part n produce more food, generate addtonal ncome and one of these sessons n Some of hs peers took mprove the health of ther famles. Altogether, t out a loan to open a garage, just around the corner reaches an estmated 15,000 famles. from hs shop, where they repar cars and trucks. Several former prosttutes started a group of ther A fourth component of the programme focuses on own, Wmana, and opened a restaurant nearby. envronmental securty. Access to safe water and use of proper santaton s as low as 40 percent n north- A second component of the programme addresses western Tanzana. The e ects of forced mgraton the low rate of school enrollment n Kagera and from neghborng countres have put an addtonal Kgoma, whch has longterm mplcatons for the stran on land and water resources. UNICEF s work- regon s socoeconomc development. Through ng wth a non-governmental organzaton known as complementary basc educaton courses developed TWESA, short for Tanzana Water and Envronmental by the Unted Natons Chldren s Fund (UNICEF), Santaton, to protect and rehabltate these envron- many adolescents have begun catchng up wth mental assets. Together wth UNDP and local govern- ther peers and enterng formal schools, often for ment, they are also developng laws to mprove water the frst tme. The courses also develop lfe sklls to supply and santaton. Because of these e orts, 30 help students avod such perls as HIV/AIDS. every vllage n Kbondo dstrct has passed a set of envronmental by-laws a frst n Tanzana. Julet John, now 16, had been workng as a domestc servant n Rulenge vllage snce she was seven years old. Puttng n 17-hour days, she had no tme for study or play. But n 2001 she was able to reduce her workng hours and attend a basc educaton course sponsored by UNICEF. After three years of study, she passed a natonal examnaton allowng her to enter grade fve at an ordnary prmary school; she just completed her frst year there. In each aspect of the programme, the O ce of the Unted Natons Hgh Commssoner for Refugees (UNHCR) works closely wth the other agences to ensure that UN support follows a cohesve strategy. In the long run, all sx UN agences hope to scale back ther roles n the regon. Accordngly, a core prncple of the jont programme s to help local government and communtes develop the capacty to dentfy, protect and empower vulnerable groups n a tmely Chldren brushng ther teeth at a water pump n Kgoma, where UN agences are workng wth government and cvl socety groups to mprove water supply and santaton. UN/JULIE PUDLOWSKI u A farmer tendng hs feld n Tanzana, where UN agences are workng together to promote better ways to rase lvestock, grow crops, store harvests and process food. UN/JULIE PUDLOWSKI A thrd element of the programme seeks to mprove and e ectve manner n the future. Ths programme food securty at the household level. Three agen- s unque n combnng the techncal knowledge, ces the Food and Agrcultural Organzaton (FAO), mplementaton capactes and comparatve advan- the World Food Programme (WFP) and the Unted tages of sx UN agences, says von Bonn. If we Natons Industral Development Organzaton succeed n transferrng ths know-how to the people (UNIDO) are workng together to promote better lvng n these fragle communtes, t could ensure ways to rase lvestock, grow crops, store harvests ther survval, lvelhoods and dgnty.

33 The Unted Natons Trust Fund for Human Securty A Bref Overvew The Unted Natons Trust Fund for Human Securty was establshed n March 1999 wth the express am of promotng human securty. It does so prmarly by fnancng e orts by UN agences and ther partners to mtgate threats to vulnerable people and communtes around the world. The Trust Fund has undergone several changes durng ts frst seven years, as ts operatons have matured and as the concept of human securty has ganed greater clarty. Along the way, t has benefted from the gudance of two nfluental bodes: frst the ndependent Commsson on Human Securty and later the Advsory Board on Human Securty. The ndependent Commsson was formed n response to an appeal by Secretary-General Kof Annan at the UN Mllennum Summt n September The Secretary-General called on the global communty to advance the twn goals of freedom from fear and freedom from want. The Commsson, whch was chared by Sadako Ogata and Amartya Sen, set out to further ths cause by: Followng two years of research and dalogue, the Commsson submtted ts fnal report n May Ttled Human Securty Now, the report recommended that human securty be manstreamed wthn the UN system. The report also called for the creaton of the Advsory Board on Human Securty, whch frst met n September Its ongong msson s to advse the Secretary-General on the management of the Trust Fund as well as the promoton and advancement of human securty. At the recommendaton of the Advsory Board, the Human Securty Unt was establshed wthn the O ce for the Coordnaton of Humantaran A ars n May The Unt s man objectve s to ntegrate human securty n all UN actvtes. By combnng the management of the Trust Fund wth promoton and dssemnaton actvtes, the Unt plays a pvotal role n translatng the concept of human securty nto concrete actvtes and hghlghtng the added value of the human securty concept as recommended by the Commsson. 31 udevelopng the concept of human securty as an operatonal tool for polcy formulaton and mplementaton; uproposng a concrete programme of acton to address crtcal and pervasve threats to human securty; and upromotng publc understandng, engagement and support of human securty and ts underlyng mperatves. The Advsory Board also proposed revsng the Trust Fund s prortes to strengthen coordnaton wthn the UN system and acheve better results on the ground. The new gudelnes, whch were ssued n November 2003 and amended n February 2006, set clear parameters and crtera for decdng whch projects to support. Notably, they requre mplementng agences to employ a protecton and

34 32 empowerment framework; to take a mult-agency, mult-sectoral approach; and to work n partnershp wth cvl socety. These dstnctve qualtes allow the Trust Fund to be more e ectve n curbng threats to human securty. The new gudelnes also call on the Trust Fund to avod duplcaton wth exstng programmes and actvtes supported by the nternatonal communty. Together, these changes have resulted n a more vgorous and transparent method for evaluatng and approvng human securty projects, speedng the revew of proposals from an average of 18 months to an average of 6 months. As of 31 December 2005, the Trust Fund had supported 136 projects n 66 countres, ncludng 10 projects that were regonal or global n scope. From 1999 through 2004, most projects addressed a sngle thematc area, such as health, agrculture or communty development. Meanwhle, n 2005, n lne wth the recommendatons of the Advsory Board, most of the 23 projects approved were mult-sectoral, wth a growng amount of resources allocated to Afrca. Moreover, the projects funded n the last two years have focused ncreasngly on rehabltaton and rentegraton of refugees and nternally dsplaced persons n post-conflct stuatons and other humantaran dsasters; empowerment and capacty buldng of local communtes; enhancement of health care servces and mprovement of educatonal opportuntes and tranng, especally for grls, women and the most vulnerable; strengthenng of economc and food securty as well as the promoton and dssemnaton of the human securty concept. There has also been a concerted e ort by most of the applcants to acheve greater mult-agency collaboraton. To learn more about human securty ncludng the work of the Trust Fund, ts Advsory Board and ts current fundng gudelnes vst Number of projects by regon ( ) Total Afrca Asa and Pacfc Eastern Europe and Central Asa Latn Amerca and Carbbean Mddle East Regonal or global Total

35 Copyrght 2006 Unted Natons Reproducton of ths publcaton wthout pror permsson from the copyrght holder s authorzed only for educatonal or other noncommercal purposes. acknowledgments Ths publcaton was made possble through fnancal support from the Ford Foundaton and the Human Securty Unt at the O ce for the Coordnaton of Humantaran A ars n the Unted Natons. It also benefted from the treless assstance of Unted Natons sta at headquarters and n each of the locatons featured, ncludng many who are workng on projects that could not be profled here due to lmtatons of space. Above all, thanks are due to the thousands of people who, despte the daly challenges they face, welcomed us nto ther communtes and took the tme to share ther experences, concerns and aspratons. Ths publcaton s dedcated to them. Human Securty Unt Cover Photography Front Cover: Cambodans of all ages pause one afternoon along the man street n Korng Kang vllage, whch s puttng a stop to human tra ckng. (KAZUO TASE) Back Cover: Clockwse from top: A woman n Mwanza, Tanzana (JULIE PUDLOWSKI); Grls n Mulo vllage, Tmor-Leste (UNDP/KYM SMITHIES); A man n Jalalabad, Afghanstan (UN PHOTO/ESKINDER DEBEBE); Boys n Rahovec/Orahovac, Kosovo (UNMIK/AFRIM HAJRULLAHU). For more nformaton, please contact Human Securty Unt O ce for the Coordnaton of Humantaran A ars Unted Natons New York, NY 10017, USA Phone: +1 (917) Fax: +1 (917) Kazuo Tase, Chef; Mehrnaz Mostafav, Programme O cer and Project Manager; Jennfer Serunjog, Fnancal Management O cer; Juny Xu, Fnance/ Programme O cer; Mayum Watabe, Assocate Programme O cer; Guyatr Henrquez, Admnstratve Assstant; Jeremy Shusterman, Consultant. Lead Wrter/Edtor Chrstopher Reardon, freelance journalst Desgn and Producton Susan Evans, Lauren Udelhoven, Desgn per se, Inc. Image Management Thomas Fuhs Prntng Alvn J. Bart & Sons

36 Unted Natons The greatest threats facng the world today cannot be solved n solaton. They call for comprehensve, ntegrated, people-centered solutons a concept known as human securty. At the Unted Natons, the Human Securty Unt, housed wthn the O ce for the Coordnaton of Humantaran A ars, plays a pvotal role n translatng the concept of human securty nto concrete actvtes. Through the UN Trust Fund for Human Securty, the Unted Natons promotes ntegrated responses that help protect and empower people and communtes threatened n ther survval, lvelhood and dgnty.