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	New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition in Africa raises concerns by FIAN International, agencies   May-June 2012   Two weeks before the G7 Summit of June 4, 5 in Brussels, FIAN International raises grave human rights concerns about the G8 initiative "New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition in Africa" in a policy paper published today.   Titled "G8 New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition in Africa: A Critical Analysis from a Human Rights Perspective", the policy paper argues that this initiative ignores general human rights principles and contradicts a human rights-based framework in key issues relevant for those most affected by hunger and malnutrition: small-scale food producers.   FIAN calls on the G8 governments to stop this public-private partnership initiative that includes more than 150 companies - among them the biggest transnational corporations in the food and agriculture sector.   Moreover, FIAN highlights the G8 initiative also ignores general human rights principles, like effective participation, and lacks human rights risk analyses and reference to adequate accountability mechanisms.   FIAN criticizes the G8 initiative as bluntly equating the opening of agriculture and food markets to foreign investors with combating hunger and malnutrition. An explicit expression of this erroneous understanding is the "success" indicators of the initiative: in most of the New Alliance Cooperation Frameworks for countries, the World Bank Doing Business Index and "increased private investments" are the key indicators. This alone shows the initiative is excessively biased towards the corporate sector.   FIAN"s policy paper directly contrasts policy actions of the G8 initiative in four key areas: seeds, land, social protection/income, and nutrition with a human rights framework. The results speak for themselves:   For example, where the UN-Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food asks governments to implement farmers rights (as defined in the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources), the G8-led initiative pushes for the "implementation of national seed regulation" for greater private sector involvement.   Similarly, where the human right to adequate food and nutrition includes improved access to land for small-scale food producers "to feed oneself" and for those groups directly affected by land grabbing, the corporate-driven agenda of the G8 initiative is concerned about an easy and cheap process of land allocation for investors.   An increase of private sector involvement is furthermore evident in the area of social protection - an area which has traditionally been the sole responsibility of the state. The role of the state in relation to social protection is reduced through the creation of a climate beneficial to foreign investment by formulating corporate-friendly policy frameworks and opening up social protection-related areas to private investors.   Also, the income-generating measures propagated by the G8 need to be assessed carefully due primarily to the fact that the strategy of the Alliance is geared toward land acquisition for private corporations focusing on large-scale, capital-intensive, and extensive agriculture which requires reduced labor input.   Furthermore, the G8"s simplistic understanding of the nutritional dimension of food production has resulted in the proposal of a limited economic model. It neglects the fact that food and nutrition security does not simply entail the increase of caloric intake, but rather a consistent access to diverse and nutritious diets (in terms of quantity and quality), culturally-adequate food, the recognition of the important role of protecting women"s rights and their nutrition, as well as access to basic public services to ensure nutritional well-being and human dignity.   In conclusion, FIAN"s policy paper fundamentally questions the legitimate role of the G8 in regards to food security and nutrition. It reiterates the demand that G8 countries implement the decisions by Committee on World Food Security (CFS), such as the Guidelines on the Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests, and do not sideline and weaken the CFS as the foremost legitimate and democratic multilateral governing body on food security and nutrition with such an initiative.   http://www.fian.org/news/article/detail/new_alliance_for_food_security_and_nutrition_in_africa_raises_concerns/ http://www.wdm.org.uk/food-and-hunger/call-g8-civil-society-organizations-their-governments-new-alliance-food-security-and# http://www.fian.org/news/newslist/ http://www.fian.org/library/right-to-food-journal/
	Inheriting the Struggle for Truth by International Center for Transitional Justice   Why Truth About the Past Matters to Youth Today.   Disappearances, killings, torture, displacement, and repression. The repercussions of these terrible crimes are felt long after they are committed. Yet, politicians are often reluctant to carry out the difficult work of uncovering the truth about past atrocities, claiming that the society cares only about the future. But in reality, the burden of a past filled with human rights violations weighs heavily on societies, and in particular on youth.   In recognition of March 24, the International Day for the Right to the Truth Concerning Gross Human Rights Violations, ICTJ asked young advocates in six countries why seeking the truth about the past matters to them. We are honored to present Elsa Saade of Lebanon, Ghada Louhichi of Tunisia, Julián Barajas of Colombia, Prativa Khanal of Nepal, Tamara Cremo of Canada, and Touré Issoumaila of Cote d’Ivoire with a platform to be heard globally on this issue. What they have to say concerns us all.   Common to all of them is a practical interest in the truth about the past: if the facts are unknown and the causes left unaddressed, how can they be sure that the same violence won’t be repeated?   Knowing the truth, says Touré, is fundamental “to living in tranquility.” When political violence erupted after the 2010 elections in Cote d’Ivoire, he vividly recalls that people were terrified. “I was afraid of dying,” Touré says, “of seeing myself beaten like a dog in the street.” What tranquility can there be in his country if government and society were to act as if nothing had happened, and the facts were never explained?   The young may experience the consequences of violence even if the abuse was not suffered directly by them. Tamara, of Canada, knows that her grandmother was taken away from her family to live in “Indian Residential Schools,” where she was forbidden to speak her language or to use her traditional name, and where she was told she was worthless. Generations later, Tamara still feels that fear in “seeing the ongoing effects of residential schools in communities today.”   Prativa, of Nepal, speaks to the relentless worry and doubts caused by cases of enforced disappearance. She explains that “the families of victims are forced to endure continued mental trauma for years after the incident has passed; whenever there is a knock at the door late at night, these families continue to hope that it might be their beloved sons, daughters and fathers returning home. To resolve this issue once and for all, it is imperative that the State seeks the truth about what happened.”   At the same time, these youth acknowledge that the truth may be hard to hear. As Elsa, of Lebanon, shares, “I’m ready for the truth, to find out whether [he] died violently or in peace. I prefer to know and live knowing than to have my heart die waiting.”   Another common theme in the discussion is the potential of truth seeking to facilitate mutual recognition in a divided society. According to Julián, of Colombia, official silence shows a lack of respect for victims. In his view, “To stop hiding the truth and to shed light on the acts of cruelty that have taken place can create a higher social consciousness…a society that promotes respect for others.”   In Tunisia, Ghada recognizes that some politicians say that the country is not prepared for the truth and that it’s “not the right time.” The fact is, she reminds us that her country is going through momentous transformation and that some victims of yesterday’s oppression are now parliamentarians and policymakers, who have made the historic decision to create a truth commission.   Building a new life sounds like an empty formulation when fear is still present and the consequences of past abuse are visible through marginalization and poverty. Moreover, the anxiety that untreated conflicts may reemerge, just as violent as before, haunts young activists, who are looking for new ways to address social trauma.   Societies have the right to know the truth about past abuses, and within societies, the young have a unique interest in the facts being revealed and examined. Elsa, urges us to “keep it in your mind: an incomplete past leads to a broken future —know the truth.” As ICTJ marks the International Day for the Right to the Truth, we invite you to join the voices of these six youth in their calls for truth.   * The International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ) is an international non-profit organization specializing in the field of transitional justice. Visit the related web page
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