Fighting Hunger with Human Rights

Transcription

1 Fighting Hunger with Human Rights FIAN- Netherlands - Annual Report 2014

2 Draft Annual Report Introduction 2. About FIAN Netherlands 3. Organisation and Funding 4. Activities in Partners and Networks 6. Financial report 2

3 1. Introduction It is spring 2015, time to reflect on last year s activities of FIAN Netherlands. This annual report gives you an overview of our most important activities in 2014, the organisations we have cooperated with and the projects we have worked on. A financial report is included in the final section. Corresponding with its vision and mission (see section 2), the Dutch section of FIAN has aimed to raise awareness about the human right to food, especially related to land and water grabbing. Especially in the Global South, access to natural resources is a key prerequisite for small-scale food producers to feed themselves and their families, and hence realise their right to food. Thanks to the efforts of many civil society organisations and activists, we have witnessed a further increase in public awareness around land grabbing and related issues. We have also seen a growing momentum for alternative movements, based on concepts like food sovereignty and agroecology. This has provided us with a good basis to strengthen our work on these topics. For regular updates on our activities, articles on right to food related topics and publications, check or subscribe to our Twitter, Facebook or newsletter. More information on the activities of FIAN worldwide can be found in the annual report of FIAN International, available at FIAN s work in support of the right to food largely depends on external funding and donations. The money we receive is used to run our small office in Amsterdam and organise activities with part time paid staff and volunteers. More details on our staff and finances can be found in sections 3 and 7. You can support our work by becoming a member or by donating. FIAN is recognised as an institution for general benefit. Any donations are therefore tax deductible. Thank you! Warm regards, Mans Schram Chairman of the Board (a.i.) 3

4 2. About FIAN Netherlands FIAN Netherlands is the Dutch section of FIAN International. This membership-based international organisation, with its secretariat based in Heidelberg Germany, is a not-for-profit human rights organisation for the right to food with no political or religious affiliation and has consultative status at the United Nations Organisations. As national section, FIAN Netherlands is a legally registered, membership-based association according to Dutch law with its own elected officials and its ANBI-status is formally recognised. Our mission As national FIAN section, FIAN Netherlands shares FIAN International s vision of a world free from hunger, in which every woman, man and child can fully enjoy their human rights in dignity, in particular the right to adequate food as laid down in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and subsequent human rights covenants, treaties and other instruments. FIAN Netherlands shares and contributes to the Network s mission to expose violations of the right to food wherever they may occur. We stand up against unjust and oppressive practices that prevent human beings from feeding themselves. The struggle against gender discrimination and other forms of exclusion is an integral part of our mission. We strive to support people in their efforts to secure access to those resources required to feed themselves now and in the future. What we do At the national level, FIAN Netherlands contributes to furthering the aims of the FIAN International by identifying, analysing and documenting concrete cases of violations of the right to food and by contributing to awareness raising in the Netherlands on issues related to the right to food. Together with the International Secretariat and other national FIANsections, we respond to requests from groups whose right to food is being threatened or violated, mobilising support for them wherever possible. Instruments in these actions among others are advocacy, public letter campaigns and, wherever feasible, recourse to the law. We advocate for redress and for strengthening international human rights protection. More information on FIAN International s work and its efforts to consolidate the respect, protect and fulfil obligations of states and other duty-bearers in compliance with international human rights treaties can be found at During 2014 FIAN Netherlands worked with three part-time paid staff members: a coordinator, a project officer and a project assistant. In their daily work the staff members were supported by a volunteer for 2 days per week. The (voluntary) board consisted of four members and held monthly meetings that were also attended by the staff. Land is the source of life and freedom, Guatemala Photo: Giorgio Trucchi Get involved FIAN s work for the right to food depends on external funding and donations. You can support us by donating on a yearly basis or just once. Any amount is highly appreciated! Donations are welcome by direct transfer to bank account number NL75INGB on the name of FIAN Nederland. You can find other options to contribute on our website: fian-nederland.nl/get-involved 4

5 3. Organisation and Funding Our work in 2014 was mainly funded by two projects; Hands off the Land financed by the European Commission and Right to Food for All by Oxfam Novib s GROW Campaign. In December, the European Commission awarded support to a new three-year project, publicly titled Hands on the Land (for food sovereignty). This EC DEAR project is the follow up project for Hands off the Land and involves 16 partners in 11 different European countries, including various FIAN sections. Hands on the Land will build upon our campaign against land grabbing and focus on human rights based management of natural resources and the interlinkages between climate change, land and the right to food. Besides highlighting the current problems around land, it will also showcase alternative models of food production like agroecology. This EC project enables FIAN Netherlands to carry on its work on the right to food and related issues, and also provides opportunities for knowledge exchange with partner organizations and invite victims of human rights violations from the Global South. Right to Food for All was also granted follow up funding by Oxfam Novib at the end of the year. This project will allow us to organise awareness raising activities such as the Hungry for Justice film & debate series in the Netherlands in 2015, mainly at universities. For more details on our funding situation, we refer to the financial report in section 7. FIAN Netherlands carried out a range of activities in the Netherlands aiming at raising awareness and capacity building around the right to food. A second focus point was influencing policies related to the right to food, hunger and malnutrition at the national and European level, often in cooperation with other civil society organisations. Visitors of the Hungry for Justice film & debate series. Photo: FIAN Netherlands 5

6 4. Activities in 2014 FIAN Netherlands carried out a range of activities in the Netherlands aiming at raising awareness and capacity building around the right to food. A second focus point was influencing policies related to the right to food, hunger and malnutrition at the national and European level, often in cooperation with other civil society organisations. Hungry for Justice film & debate series Throughout 2014 we organised the Hungry for Justice film & debate series in Amsterdam, Utrecht, Maastricht, Wageningen and Den Haag. The announcements, reports and video impressions of all these events can be found on In the events we mostly cooperated with local partners, NGO s and universities, reaching out to different audiences. In Amsterdam, we worked together with the student organisation for Human Geography of the University of Amsterdam. Forty students joined the lively debate after screening The Dark Side of Green, a film that highlights the precarious situation of the Guarani-Kaiowá indigenous people in Brazil. The four Utrecht sessions in April were organized in partnership with the Land and Rights project (LAR) and the Willem Pompe Institute of Utrecht University with themes ranging from land grabbing and climate change to agroecology and urban farming. Before the summer break we set up the film & debate series at Maastricht University, together with Amnesty International Maastricht Students (A.I.M.S.) and the European Law Students Association (ELSA). On the occasion of World Food Day in October FIAN Netherlands organised the highly successful Food4All festival (subtitled Hungry for Justice) in Wageningen, in partnership with Stichting Otherwise and ILEIA. People actively participated in the discussions with experts and many voiced their appreciation of the festival and to have the chance to learn more about the topics of land grabbing, agroecology and urban farming. A local organic caterer provided little snacks to complement the discussions and screenings. Public at the Movie W Theater, Wageningen. Photo: FIAN Netherlands. 6

7 The final edition of our Hungry for Justice film & debate series took place at the Institute of Social Studies (ISS) in The Hague and was organised together with TNI and the Critical Collective. We screened a number of shorts on land issues, ocean grabbing and alternative food systems. Besides FIAN staff we had Sergio Sauer (University of Brasilia) and Cornelie Quist (International Collective in Support of Fishworkers) as speakers. In total around 500 people attended the Hungry for Justice film & debate series. Public events One of the first big events of 2014 FIAN Netherlands participated in was the Voedsel Anders (Food Otherwise) conference at Wageningen University, with Vandana Shiva, Olivier De Schutter and Pablo Tittonell as keynote speakers. The conference dealt with pressing questions about our food system and offered alternatives to the current industrial food system. FIAN Netherlands supported this important event financially and co-organised three workshops. With more than 800 participants, the conference was a great success and a clear sign of the growing movement that FIAN Netherlands is part of. In May 2014 the Good Food Alliance was launched during the Food Film Festival in Amsterdam. FIAN Netherlands joined forces with Fairfood, Wemos, Youth Food Movement, foodwatch and The Hunger Project to promote the Good Food Agenda 2030, which aims for a more transparent, ecologically sustainable and fair food system. State Secretary for economic affairs Sharon Dijksma was at the launch to receive the agenda. The visit to the Netherlands of the new UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food Hilal Elver proved to be an excellent opportunity to organise a debate at the Rode Hoed in Amsterdam around alternative agricultural models and prevention of land grabbing. Elver elaborated her plans as Special Rapporteur and held a plea for agroecology as an alternative for large-scale agriculture. The event, co-organised with TNI and ActionAid, attracted over 250 people. Sofia Monsalve of FIAN International was invited to share her reflections during the debate. Publications A list of recent publications can be found on our website in the dossiers section. Announcement of the public debate with Hilal Elver. 7

8 Advocacy The efforts of FIAN Netherlands and other civil society organisations to apply the FAO Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests (in the Context of National Food Security) in Dutch policy led to some preliminary results in the form of a multi-stakeholder dialogue. FIAN has been in many preparatory meetings and will participate in one of the working groups that commence in There were three Urgent Actions in 2014, as well as one petition. The first Urgent Action focused on the rights of tenant farmers in Hacienda Matias in the Philippines. The second one concentrated on 3,000 families that see their livelihoods threatened due to intensified flooding after the construction of part of the Laxmanpur Dam. A petition was directed to the Brazillian government, asking it to defend the right to territory of indigenous peoples and traditional communities. Launch of the Good Food Alliance with State Secretary Dijksma. Photo: Roland de Zeeuw This process is facilitated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and counts with participation of various civil society organisations, knowledge institutions, universities and members of the private sector (banks, pension funds, corporations). The dialogue is meant to understand the Tenure Guidelines as an instrument for better land governance and to inform policies on land, both by investors and the Dutch government. The latter is also expected to bring forward the lessons learned to the international level, for example in its discussions at the World Bank. University lectures and workshops In addition to the three workshops organised at the Voedsel Anders conference, FIAN Netherlands gave a lecture about the right to food at the law faculty of the Utrecht University. In the fall FIAN Netherlands also provided a series of lectures at Wageningen Centre for Development and Innovation, highlighting the relation between HIV/AIDS and the right to food. At the Law School of Maastricht University a lecture was given about FIAN s work on concrete cases of violations of the right to food. 8

9 5. Partners and Networks FIAN Netherlands is part of various formal and informal networks that focus on food related issues in the Netherlands. One example is the Voedsel Anders (Food Otherwise) network is one example, through which we supported a conference in Wageningen (see the activity overview in section 4). Another network we are part of is the Good Food Alliance, which was launched in the spring of 2014 and besides FIAN Netherlands consists of Fairfood, YFM, Wemos, foodwatch and The Hunger Project. These NGOs all dedicate themselves to the improvement of food systems worldwide from different perspectives and developed a joint agenda for FIAN international is part of the ETO Consortium, therefore FIAN Netherlands also regularly attends meetings and works on its agenda to advance understanding and application of extraterritorial human rights obligations, for example by organising policy seminars in the Netherlands. The secretariat of the consortium is based at FIAN International in Heidelberg. For more information see As can be read in section 4.3, FIAN Netherlands has been taking part in efforts to advance the implementation of the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests in the Context of National Food Security. For this reason, we have been part of a regular informal dialogue with TNI, Oxfam Novib, ActionAid, Both ENDS, NCIV, Friends of the Earth, SOMO and Amnesty International. The aim of this dialogue is to strengthen and coordinate our joint input into the multi-stakeholder dialogue with the Dutch government and the private sector. A key partner of FIAN Netherlands on the national level is the Transnational Institute (TNI), with whom we have worked together in various European projects. Other organisations in the Netherlands we regularly work with are Otherwise and ILEIA, with whom we have organised several film and debate series and training weekends in Wageningen. On the international level there is a lot of exchange with FIAN International and several national sections of FIAN, such as Germany, Belgium, Sweden and Austria. Within our European projects we also work with various members of La Via Campesina and other organisations, like FDCL (Germany), IGO (Poland), Crocevia and Terra Nuova (Italy) and Ecoruralis (Romania). Through our European projects, we also occasionally work with a number of partner organisations in the Global South. Other organisations we have recently worked with on the national level are Amnesty International Students Maastricht (A.I.M.S.), European Law Students Association (ELSA), RUAF Foundation, NJCM (Dutch section of the International Commission of Jurists), Friends of the Earth Europe and Noticias.nl. We have several academic contacts at the universities of Maastricht, Tilburg, Groningen, Amsterdam, Utrecht and Wageningen. We also cooperate with the International Institute of Social Studies (ISS) in The Hague. The Lands and Rights project (LAR) is an international program with 6 partners in Brazil, Colombia and The Netherlands. FIAN Netherlands is involved in this project on behalf of FIAN International. We have cooperated in several events/conferences organised by the LAR consortium. 9

10 6.Financial report Balance Sheet and Accounts receivables Prepaid Debtors 15,345 6,976 Advances 525 7,457 Bank account 3, Savings account 45,667 1,009 Cash ,306 16,499 Equity last year 2,760 9,120 Result 6,359 5,113 Equity 9,120 14,233 Provision Hands off the Land 7,681 Provision Right to Food for All 43,910 Provision Lands and Rights Project Accounts payable 3,689 1,392 65,306 16,499 Income statement 2014 Expenditures Income Membership fees 595 Donations 255 Miscellaneous 6,985 Administration costs 1,022 Office rent 218 Banking costs 125 Contributions 332 Miscellaneous 1,023 Result ,113 7,835 7,835 10

11 Hands off the Land until ( ) Expenditures Income Hands off the Land 63,635 Salaries 51,427 Public events 9,360 Project planning/evaluation/workshops 4,302 Administration costs 4,867 Computer equipment 653 Provision 6,976 70,611 70,611 Right to Food for All ( until ) Expenditures Income GROW fund Oxfam Novib 43,932 Salaries 32,708 Information material/education and training 862 Public events 5,449 Communication 103 Organisation costs general 3,457 Organisation costs volunteers 300 To income FIAN miscellaneous 1,051 43,932 43,932 FIAN Nederland De Wittenstraat AK Amsterdam tel: +31 (0)