Get Organised for Human Rights (1-8 July 2009), Bangkok, Thailand – In partnership with the Four Regions Slum Network of the Assembly of the Poor, Thailand, Dignity International will organise the second “Get Organised for Human Rights” Learning programme aimed at community organisers and social movement leaders from different parts of the world. The programme will build on: the achievements and partnerships forged at the 1 st Get Organised for Human Rights Learning Programme organised in partnership with the Nairobi People's Settlement Network and Hakijamii Trust in June 2008 in Nairobi, Kenya. The programme will aim to sharpen knowledge and understanding of human rights and how the daily struggles of the communities are intricately linked with human rights and how human rights framework can provide a solid moral and legal ground for social and economic struggles. The programme will also aim to sharpen community organising skills with a special focus on human rights; as well as strategise together to fight poverty locally and globally. For the report of the first GET ORGANISED FOR HUMAN RIGHTS PROGRAMME IN 2008 CLICK HERE>>> For more information on the second GET ORGANISED FOR HUMAN RIGHTS PROGRAMME in July 2009 contact getorganised@dignityinternational.org

(Geneva, 20-24 April 2009) - The UN Durban Review Conference (DRC) to assess progress made since the 2001 World Conference Against Racism (WCAR) brought almost all governments and more then 2000 NGO participants together in Geneva. The political game show of States concluded with a consensus document on minimum re-commitments on what to do since the World Conference on Racism (WCAR). The essence of what transpired was aptly captured by Aisha Gilani from Forum Asia who said “The DRC was emotional in the sense that the voices of those that came from the ground experience, was largely left unheard. They brought with them passion, wounds, depth but this was not given the weight and value that it deserves.”

Dignity International joined forces with Forum Asia and other NGOs to advance voices of communities afflicted by racism and racial discrimination. At a joint NGO meeting Forum Asia, Dignity and other NGOs brought global attention to the issues of racism and racial discrimination that affects particular groups in Asia namely the Tamils issue in Sri Lanka, Tibetan issues, Dalits and the Rohingyas, while also giving visibility to the Indigenous peoples, migrants workers and minorities in Asia. It highlighted the gaps between the Durban Plan of Action (DDPA) and the Durban Review Conference (DRC) in handling these affected peoples since the 2001 Anti Racism conference in Durban. The joint NGO event also served as a meeting of the Asian NGO Caucus attending the DRC. The Asian NGOs organized daily briefings, organised a meeting with the Special Rapportuer on Contemporary Forms of Slavery and a strategic discussion following the DRC and also sent a memorandum on disallowing the accreditation of some NGOs to the DRC,

For more on the NGO event, CLICK HERE>>>

On Friday 24th, Dignity International submitted a statement to the conference where we urged governments to become human rights based governments and use the Durban Plan of Action as a tool for the eradication of racism. To read the full statement, CLICK HERE >>>

For the conference website CLICK HERE>>>

To read the final outcome document CLICK HERE>>>

From 7-10 April 2009 in the beautiful Rockefeller Foundation villas in Bellaggio in northern Italy, Project on Women’s ESC Rights (PWESCR) organised a global dialogue on “human dignity”. The gathering brought together a group of human rights practitioners and professionals from other disciplines including economists and policy makers. Aye Aye Win of Dignity International participated in the gathering.

For further details and report of the gathering, contact Emma Sydenham at esydenham@pwescr.org

To know more about PWESCR CLICK HERE>>>