Programs – Responding to the Challenges of a Changing Region

Thematic Priority: Indigenous Peoples, Human Rights and Advocacy in the Asia-Pacific Region

Next Program: August, 2008 in Batchelor, Australia

"The power held in the coming together of people with heart, compassion, and the drive to be part of positive change is immeasurable. It would be impossible to ever really know the small and vital happenings that will be borne in the future from these friendship and networks. It was a huge privilege to not only meet such knowledgeable presenters but to learn with and from such amazing participants from all over the world." Participant Evaluation, 2007.

Purpose of Project:

• To develop awareness and understanding of international human rights law, with an emphasis on the human rights standards and mechanisms most relevant to Indigenous Peoples
• To improve practical skills in lobbying and advocacy, including use of new information and communications technologies and working with the media
• To provide opportunities for Indigenous advocates across Australia and the Asia-Pacific to share and learn from each other’s experiences and to build networks across the region

Background:

Each year since 2004 the Diplomacy Training Program has organised and facilitated a regional capacity building program for Indigenous Peoples’ advocates.  The programs provide a rare opportunity for exchanges and sharing of knowledge among Indigenous advocates in Australia and the Asia-Pacific region. 

In Australia and across the Asia-Pacific region, Indigenous communities face particular challenges to their human rights, and to their rights as Indigenous Peoples.  In September 2007 the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples was adopted by the United Nations.   This marked a significant milestone in global efforts to recognise and protect the rights of Indigenous Peoples.  This year’s program will explore the implications for policy, practice and advocacy.

Through expert presentations and offering opportunities for sharing of participants’ experiences the program will look at the impacts of mining, forestry and national parks on Indigenous Peoples.  Increasing tensions over land and resource use threaten Indigenous communities, and can lead to conflict.  The potential for international standards and policy approaches around the rights-based approach to development to make a difference will be examined.  Experiences of engaging with the corporate sector over mining and forestry issues in different countries can be exchanged.  A new generation of Indigenous advocates need the skills and knowledge to build on the gains already made and to strengthen their networks of support.

Documents:

Brochure – Application Form – Report – Participant Feedback

Thematic Priority: Regional Migrant Workers’ Rights and Advocacy in the Asia-Pacific Region

Next Program: October 22-30, 2008 in Manila, the Philippines

"The best thing about the training program was the friendly atmosphere in which the sessions were conducted. It was a wonderful learning atmosphere. It opened us to learn quickly and pleasantly." Participant Evaluation, 2007.

Purpose of Project:

• To build wider awareness of the UN Convention on Migrant Workers’ Rights among NGOs and National Human Rights Institutions
• To build the capacity of NGOs and National Human Rights Institutions to work together to promote and protect the human rights of migrant workers
• To enhance the capacity of key NGOs and trade unions to network with each other around implementation of the Convention and other relevant standards
• To provide an opportunity for participants to share perspectives and experiences, and to identify challenges to migrant workers rights

Background:

The management and treatment of people moving across borders to live and work represents one of the key policy and human rights challenges of the economically dynamic Asia-Pacific region in the 21st Century. According to UN estimates there are between 5-7 million migrants from South and East Asia living in countries other than their own, whether elsewhere in the region or beyond, in the Middle-East, and Europe. More and more of the migrant workers are women.

This movement of people is vital to the economies of the region. Yet the human costs are high, with migrant workers vulnerable to abuse of their rights by both employers and government officials. Many migrant workers are forced to live in marginalised and vulnerable situations with uncertain protection under the law. They are often subject to intolerance and discrimination in the societies in which they seek to make a living. Where policy and practice deny the rights of migrant workers, human traffickers step in.

Migrant workers today are among the most vulnerable communities in the region. The promotion and protection of their human rights is one of the region’s most pressing human rights challenges. The Diplomacy Training Program has held three programs on these issues since 2004 in partnership with Migrant Forum Asia. These programs in Indonesia, Bangladesh and Malaysia have built wider awareness of relevant standards, strengthened the capacity of organisations working on the issues and fostered greater collaboration between trade unions, migrant workers, human rights NGOs, women’s organisations, National Human Rights Institutions and governments.

Documents:

Brochure – Application Form – Report (2007) – Participant Feedback

Thematic Priority: Human Rights Advocacy and Business

Next Program: June 23 -27, 2008 in Manila, the Philippines

"I feel it will take my work in new and exciting directions. The networks, knowledge and tools provided are invaluable." Participant Evaluation, 2007.

Purpose of Project:

• To explore the practical application of international standards on human rights and business, and commitments to corporate social responsibility in the region
• To develop the capacity of NGO advocates to engage effectively with the corporate sector and to hold corporations accountable to key standards
• To assist the development of a network of NGO advocates in the Asia-Pacific Region with specialist knowledge and skills on corporate campaigning and human rights

Background:

One of the key trends associated with processes of globalization is the growth of transnational corporations and the increasingly central role of the corporation in the lives of individuals and societies.

The private sector is a key driver of economic development in the Asia-Pacific Region. For many workers, including migrant workers, and for many communities, the actions of corporations have the most immediate impact on their human rights. The extractive industries of mining and forestry are having a major impact on the environment and on the traditional livelihoods of communities across the region. They respond to the hunger of booming manufacturing industries that are drawing millions of workers from rural areas and across borders to work long hours in often unsafe conditions. As governments retreat from many areas of key service provision – from prisons, to health-care, and key utilities such as water and electricity – so the role of corporations grows. The need to establish what human rights responsibilities companies have, how they can implement them and how they can be held accountable, have therefore emerged as major human rights challenges.

The program will build on the success of the Diplomacy Training Program’s first and second programs on this theme in September 2006 and August 2007. It will provide an opportunity for advocates to exchange experiences, learn from one another and build knowledge and skills to engage effectively with the business community. It will develop the capacity of advocates in the Asia-Pacific region to apply new and emerging standards such as the OECD Guidelines on Multi-National Enterprises and the UN Norms on Human Rights and Businesses – as well as Industry Codes of Conduct. It will enable NGOs in the region to play a more active and effective role in the international policy dialogue on these issues.

Documents:

Brochure – Application Form – Report – Participant Feedback

Thematic Priority: International Trade and Human Rights

Next Program: March 28 - April 4, 2008 in Malaysia

"The training has built my capacity and knowledge on how trade impacts negatively on our rights to food and health. [It has also shown me] how to use good strategies to effectively advocate for, educate and mobile people against trade injustices." Participant Evaluation, 2005.

Purpose of Project:

• To explore how international standards on human rights might be of practical use to advocates concerned about the impact of trade agreements on access to medicines, and the human rights obligations of government
• To develop the capacity of NGOs to identify and address the human rights issues affected by trade agreements
• To facilitate greater communication and collaboration between networks working on trade and human rights issues

Background:

International trade is one of the key drivers of development and change in the Asia-Pacific region. Increasingly this trade is regulated by binding bilateral and multilateral trade agreements. These agreements define and constrain government regulation in relation to the private sector and affect important aspects of policy – including in areas that impact directly on human rights. Many advocates for social justice are concerned that international trade agreements are unfair and can have a negative outcome for vulnerable and marginalized communities.

These vulnerable communities include those living with HIV/AIDS whose lives and health depend on access to affordable medicines. They also include workers in agriculture and in textile and manufacturing industries whose livelihoods are profoundly affected by changing tariff regimes and the regulatory environment they operate in.

There is growing interest in exploring the relationship between trade and human rights agreements. International trade agreements have emerged largely in parallel with the development of international human rights standards. Recently more focus has been given to exploring how the human rights responsibilities of governments can be reflected in negotiations on trade.

In September 2005, the Diplomacy Training Program conducted its first program on Trade, Human Rights and the World Trade Organisation (WTO). The program took place in Cambodia in the lead-up to the WTO Ministerial in Hong Kong in partnership with Oxfam’s International Youth Parliament and with the contribution of Focus on the Global South. The positive evaluation of this program and the proliferation of bilateral free trade agreements has encouraged the Diplomacy Training Program to organise a further regional capacity building program on these issues.

Documents:

Schedule – Report – Participant Biographies

Special Programs

Special Program for the People of Burma in Australia

Ongoing Program

Next Program: 2008, Australia (TBC)

"I am hungry for knowledge of how to help my people and I am very appreciative for this opportunity to learn"  Participant Evaluation, 2007

Participants:

Burmese community organizations nominated 35 community members and advocates to receive training during 2007.

Timing and Location:

Australia – July - December 2007

Purpose of Project:

• To develop the skills and capacity of Burmese human rights advocates living in Australia
• To enable Australian-based Burmese advocates to engage effectively with the Australian government and community in relation to human rights issues in Burma and Burmese refugees
• To facilitate increased networking between Australian-based Burmese advocates and Burmese advocates working internationally

Background:

Australia is home to thousands of Burmese refugees who have arrived since the democratically elected government of Daw Aung Suu Kyi was overthrown by the Burmese military in 1988.

Since its first course in 1989, the Diplomacy Training Program has worked to develop the knowledge and skills of Burmese human rights advocates. Continuing harsh repression in Burma makes it impossible for DTP to provide support to Burmese based human rights advocates. There have, however, been Burmese advocates on most if not all of the Diplomacy Training Program’s annual courses and more recently there have been Burmese participants on DTP’s courses on migrant workers, Indigenous Peoples, and Business and Human Rights. Many of these participants have come from Burmese refugee communities living on the Thai-Burma border.

As was the case with East Timor, the international community, including Australia, has a vital role to play in promoting respect for human rights in Burma and in encouraging action to restore democracy there.

The Diplomacy Training Program and the Australian based Joint Action Committee for a Democratic Burma would like to build on this past record by developing a program focused on developing the capacity of Burmese advocates living in Australia. The program will be jointly developed with Burma Office based in Sydney, JACDB and its members. It will include a number of elements including facilitating participation of Australian-based Burmese advocates on DTP’s courses, implementation of tailored one-day and two-day courses focussing on media skills and advocacy in the Australian environment and on relevant regional and international developments.

Documents:

Brochure - Schedule - Participant Biographies

Application Forms

• 3rd Human Rights Advocacy and Business
• Special Program on Timor-Leste
• Special Program on Burma
• 5th Regional Indigenous Peoples and Human Rights Advocacy Course
• Disability and Human Rights
• 5th Migrant Workers Rights in the Asia-Pacific
• 18th Annual Regional Human Rights and Peoples Diplomacy Course

* Applications for 2008 programs are now closed. Stay tuned for new applications and updates in early 2009.