PHA-Exch> Final Peoples' SAARC Declaration
Kamayani
kamayni at gmail.com
Fri Aug 1 21:24:36 PDT 2008
**
*PEOPLE"S SAARC DECLARATION, COLOMBO – 2008 *
*TOWARDS A PEOPLES UNION OF SOUTH ASIA *
*20 July 2008 *
*===========================*
*The South Asian People's Assembly(Colombo, 18-20 July) resolves to issue
the Peoples SAARC Declaration at this gathering of representatives from
SAARC countries.*
We, members of social movements, labour unions, women's groups and civil
society organisations have gathered here in Colombo from 18-20 July 2008, as
part of the process of Peoples SAARC, to forge a vision for a Peoples Union
of South Asia.
This year's People's SAARC culmination in Colombo is the continuum of a
process of more than a decade. The last peoples SAARC gathering in Kathmandu
in March 2007 reaffirmed the South Asian peoples' commitment to creating a
better South Asia free from all forms of discrimination, marginalisation and
domination.
We represent a rich and wonderful diversity of cultures, languages,
religions and a multiplicity of identities and are linked by shared
histories, geographies and cultural practices.
We believe we have the opportunity and strength to transform our social,
economic and political futures to ensure that all our peoples can live in
peace, security and dignity.
For this to become a reality, we must take a collective stand against all
structures of oppression, discrimination and violence facing the people of
the region. We uphold the equality of all countries in the region, and
condemn attempts of any one country to dominate the region. We stand for a
secular, democratic, equal, peaceful and just South Asia. We will ensure
that those who have been traditionally marginalised from political
processes, such as dalits, women, indigenous peoples, ethnic, religious and
sexual minorities, will be in the forefront of this political project.
This involves creating a discourse on democratic and participatory political
processes which respect national and local priorities and take into
consideration the very real inequalities between the different states in the
region. We are ready to take on this challenge through resolute struggle.
We hail the people's movements for democracy and peace and against
dictatorship and monarchy, that are ongoing in the countries in the region
After discussions and debates for three days at plenary sessions and over
thirty workshops we affirm our commitment to achieving the following goals
and aspirations;
1. To build a South Asian identity based on our diversities and common
histories. We Reject bigotry, jingoism and hatred and will work towards
ensuring that enmity between countries is not propagated through instruments
such as the media and education.
2. Resolutely oppose intervention of USA and war exercises both in the
region and elsewhere. Reject the so called War on Terror which is nothing
but an attempt to cover up warmongering by USA and its allies to target
ordinary citizens.
3. South Asian countries to commit to a no-war pact and declare the
region as nuclear-free. This also involves the drastic reduction of defence
budgets and de-militarisation of the region.
4. Free movement of peoples in the region or in other words a visa-free
South Asia
5. Restoration and creation of rail, road and sea-links that meet the
needs of people. Encouraging and facilitating people- to- people contact and
communication in the region.
6. Peaceful and just resolution of all conflicts in the region, including
those on the border, through political negotiations, and revoking so called
national security laws that give a free-hand to state authorities to commit
atrocities against their own peoples.
7. Operationalisation of food sovereignty through building alliances of
women, peasants and agriculture labour. This would involve the creation of
seed and grain banks, promotion of participatory research and sustainable
technologies and the rejection of monopolitistic and environmentally
destructive technologies such as genetically modified organisms.
8. Fisherpeople's right to fish in territorial waters be recognized and
legally protected through proper mechanisms. Innocent fishers incarcerated
for wandering into neighboring territorial waters be immediately released.
9. The right to mobility is a human right. Migrants should be assured of
dignity and right of work as well as physical protection, basic amenities
and adequate wages. The victims of trafficking must be protected, especially
women and children. Similarly, the rights of individuals and communities
subjected to forced displacement due to conflict, disaster, and development
projects should be protected.
10. Ensuring rights of all workers, especially women and dalit workers in
accordance with the International Labour Organisation Convention, United
Nations Covenants and National Constitutions.
11. The setting up of regional institutions and mechanisms such as a
South Asian Tribunal* *of Justice to address human rights violations Those
responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity must be prosecuted.
Protection to be guaranteed for right of dissent, protest and organization.
We call for the immediate release of political, social, media activists and
prisoners of conscience in the region.
12. Recognizing the universality of visibility, opportunity, equal rights
and dignity for all people, including excluded groups and
minorities: ethnic,
sexual, gender and people with disabilities. Recognize the prevalence of
patriarchy, religious extremism and caste based discrimination that deny
human dignity, socio, economic, political equality and justice to the
260 million dalits of in the SAARC countries
13. Achieving Climate justice by ensuring that the burden of adjustment
is borne by the elites. This requires a fundamental departure from the
current industrial and economic paradigm in the region. Also, people's
rights to information, knowledge, skills, housing, education, health, food
security and their organizations must be fulfilled to strengthen their
resilience to hazards such as floods, droughts and cyclones.
14. The creation of alternative regional trade and economic co-operation
frameworks that meet the needs and aspirations of small producers and
labour. This will ensure the defeat of neo-liberal instruments such as the
World Trade Organisation and Free Trade Agreements in the region. (In the
light of current attempts to revive the flawed WTO Doha Round we commit to
work with groups across the region and elsewhere to ensure that no deal
comes out of the WTO Mini-Ministerial Meeting at Geneva from 21-25 July
2008.)
15. Recognition of health, education, housing as basic human rights. The
scaling up of public infrastructure such as housing, health, education and
other civic amenities through democratic sources of development finance. We
urge equitable quality education to all children through common school
system in the region.. We oppose the privatisation of these services and
uphold the principle of basic services for all. We particularly assert the
rights of those affected by disasters.
16. Upholding knowledge commons, rather than monopolies of corporations.
Adoption of free and open source software and open standards in all
e-governance projects. Setting up of a South Asian resources pool for free
software which enables international relations with knowledge sharing.
17. Unconditional cancellation of loans from International Financial
Institutions & bilateral debt.
We call upon Government representatives at the 15th SAARC Summit at Colombo
to seriously address these concerns and demands of the people of the region.
SAARC must be made accountable to the citizens of the countries in the
region.
We celebrate the struggles for democracy and resistance to neo-liberalism
and imperialism in the region and in particular the victory of the people's
movement in Nepal. Our Peoples Union of South Asia is a rainbow coalition of
democratic forces. We pledge to continue to learn, inspire and empower each
other to realise this vision.
=============
*
--
We have to start looking at the world through women's eyes' how are human
rights, peace and development defined from the perspective of the lives of
women? It's also important to look at the world from the perspective of the
lives of diverse women, because there is not single women's view, any more
than there is a single men's view."
-- Charlotte Bunch
Adv Kamayani Bali Mahabal
South Asia Advocacy Coordinator
Women's Health and Rights Advocacy Partnership (WHRAP)
Asian-Pacific Resource and Research Centre For Women (ARROW)
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
website: http://www.arrow.org.my
Mobile-00919820749204
skype:lawyercumactivist
icq-lawyercumactivist
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