Last week, Irina Pop was in Switzerland for the Caux Democracy Forum.
For 5 days, around 270 participants spanning policy, civil society and academia discussed current crises (Ukraine, Gaza, Lebanon, USA, far-right politics in Europe, economic exploitation in Africa, colonialism, occupation, IHL violations, to name just a few) and tried to create connections to work together.
Here are some of the ideas she’s bringing back with her.
1.
In an international political context where rules are bended on a daily basis and impunity to human rights violations is rampant, humanitarian organisations need to hold their ground.
CSOs and INGOs in the international development and humanitarian space are struggling between the imperative to uphold IHL principles and the need for pragmatic accommodation in order to perform their duty on the ground.
In this dilemma, they cannot abandon neutrality and clarity of purpose, but should speak up about violations, even when they are committed by former allies.
2.
The international development and humanitarian system is still deeply and systematically colonial. EU member states “help” African countries by promising them 0.7% of GDP (a target which they fail to reach every year), while at the same time allowing EU-based businesses to extract the resources of those same African countries, often times violating human rights and depleting communities of the resources they could use to “help” themselves.
The recent rollback of CSDDD is a sign that we are on the wrong track.
3.
When the funding and credibility of Global North organisations is crumbling, real partnership is key.
Large NGOs need to shift funds and ownership to local organisations and stop regarding them as “beneficiaries” when they need to be full partners in their own work.
4.
Stories and testimonies of human rights activitsts are essential because they capture the humanity of distant crises.
They are not enough though, the stories need to be told in a context that leads to pragmatic ideas, they should not just inspire, but mobilise.
5.
Dialogue is just words, but it’s also the first necessary step. When people from different backgrounds with divergent interests find themselves in the same room, the other person’s truth becomes more relateble, even if they don’t agree.
Let’s do more of that.