Good news – an independent process has been announced to resolve complaints from communities in Uganda, where people claim they were kicked off their land as a result of a land grab.
Thousands of GROW campaigners have been pushing since October for justice on this issue, which involves the UK-based New Forests Company (NFC) – and this is an important first step in making sure people’s voices are heard. Oxfam welcomes NFC’s agreement to participate. Their sustained engagement will be crucial for the process to work.
What the process means
Towards the end of 2011, communities in Uganda, along with Oxfam, wrote to the Compliance Advisor/Ombudsman (or CAO) about the impacts of the land grab.
Why the CAO? Well, they handle complaints from communities affected by investments made by the International Finance Corporation (or IFC) – the World Bank’s private sector arm. And the IFC invests in a fund which has a stake in NFC.
This means that an impartial, independent body will now spend time reviewing the situation in detail, before proposing an agreed way forward.
And that’s an important first step towards justice for thousands of people in Uganda.
What happens now
As soon as more details emerge about the results of this process that we are able to share, we’ll post them here.
Because land grabs are one of the major issues GROW campaigners around the globe are determined to tackle.
Six months ago Oxfam launched our biggest ever Africa appeal in response to the drought t in East Africa. Thanks to your generous response the public all over the world donated around $32 million to Oxfam. This response has saved countless lives and Oxfam continues to provide emergency and long-term support to nearly 3 million affected people across the region, helping them recover and cope with future droughts.
The crisis is one of the worst we have faced in many years – over 13 million people have been affected, thousands have died, and many families have lost their livelihoods. The situation remains extremely concerning, especially in Somalia. However, your help has gone a very long way. Thank you
On the eve of the 2012 African Cup of Nations, more than 25 footballers including Seydou Keita from Mali, Charles Kaboré from Burkina Faso, Demba Bâ from Sénégal and Lawali Idrissafrom Niger have spoken out in solidarity with millions of people facing hunger across their region. They are appealing to the international community to work together so that “We CAN avert a major food crisis”.
Mali and Barcelona football star Seydou Keita added: “If we act now we could save the lives of women and children who are always the first victims of food crises. If we act urgently, millions of children will be saved from malnutrition and will have the chance to grow healthily and to succeed at school.”
Photographer Alejandro Chaskielberg visited Turkana in Northern Kenya with Oxfam to mark six months since an appeal was launched over severe drought in the region. Alejandro specialises in moonlight photography.
Thousands of lives and millions of dollars lost due to late response to food crisis in East Africa
Lessons learnt can help prevent future disasters and save lives
Thousands of needless deaths occurred and millions of extra dollars were spent because the international community failed to take decisive action on early warnings of a hunger crisis in East Africa, according to a new report by the international aid agencies Oxfam and Save the Children.
Oxfam Ireland is seeking an intern as part of our Colleges Project. The aim of this project is to establish permanent Oxfam societies in colleges on the island of Ireland.
The successful candidate will:
Have experience in setting up, running and being a member of societies, campaign groups or other relevant bodies.
Have experience of working as part of a team and on their own initiative.
Have an understanding of short-term project work.
Be knowledgeable of the overseas development and/or charity sectors.
Be comfortable with working to deadlines.
Be committed to Oxfam’s vision of a just world without poverty and injustice.
The role will be based in Dublin but will require travel to Belfast and also a commitment of 2-3 days per week for roughly 4 months.
To apply, please send your curriculum vitae and a cover letter to david.moriarty@oxfamireland.org.
The new head of the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation, José Graziano Da Silva, previously led Brazil’s successful Fome Zero (Zero Hunger) programme. To find out more about this and other Brazilian initiatives, have a read of this Oxfam case study from 2010.
For a discussion on the new appointment, watch this Aljazeera clip, which features contributions from Oxfam’s Duncan Green:
