SOLIDAR members and partners advocating for Economic and Social Rights in partner countries

In the framework of the EU funded programme Organising International Solidarity (OIS), SOLIDAR supports its members and partners working and located in Bolivia, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, China/Hong Kong, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Kenya, Mali, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nicaragua, Niger, Pakistan, Peru, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Thailand and Zimbabwe. One of the supporting mechanisms is the Small Grant Facility, which last year was launched in February aiming to provide small funds for SOLIDAR members and partners to implement advocacy actions.

As a result of these actions, several advocacy and monitoring tools were developed, supporting the European Union (EU) on the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs):

1. Strengthening and articulation of Civil Society for political dialogue in defence of the human rights of women at the regional level | Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras and Colombia

The objective of the action was to create joint agendas between women rights defenders for advocacy at the regional level and therefore, to promote their democratic and political participation under self-protection measures at the regional level. After several exchanges among Women Human Rights Defenders, a joint declaration was developed and presented before an online press conference on October 22; as well as before the EU Delegations of Colombia and Guatemala, the European External Action Service and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on November 26.

2. Organising local knowledge and responses to the current crisis in Latin America | Colombia, Nicaragua, El Salvador and Guatemala

With the objective of developing a reflection on the impact of Covid-19 in the region, the action followed the Sustainable Development Goals as a guide and it was particularly aligned with the principles set out in SDG 2 and 17. The report “Diagnosis on the impact of Covid-19 on the local productivity and economy” was developed, which includes 31 recommendations and is currently an advocacy tool for SOLIDAR Network in Colombia El Salvador, Guatemala and Nicaragua. This action also contributed to the institutional and operational capacities of the Network, since it coordinated members and partners from different countries and it developed an exhaustive and collaborative tool to be used for advocacy purposes.

3. Decent Work for all: a worker is a worker | Niger, Senegal and Mali

The action was focused on the organisation of a regional conference, which took place on September 23 and 24 in Niamey, Niger. The conference “Decent work for all” was attended by 36 participants and it addressed the challenges towards decent work and social protection, looking in particular at the situation of migrants. A final declaration was adopted, including a Sub-Regional action plan over two years (2021-2022) covering Niger, Mali and Senegal, which will contribute to the implementation of the Agenda 2030 and, in particular, the promotion of economic and social rights in the countries concerned or the region.

4. Joint advocacy on Social Protection of migrant workers in the greater Mekong sub-region: highlighting issues heightened by the Covid-19 outbreak | Thailand, Myanmar, Cambodia and Hong Kong

The action focused on the development of the publication “Resilience and uncertainty: Mekong migrant workers amid the pandemic downturn”, with the objective of monitoring news related to the impact of Covid-19 on migrant workers, including health-related matters, border closures, social protection policies, amnesty announcements, as well as discrimination against migrants resulting from the pandemic. The action was directly link to SDG 8.8 (protect labour rights and promote safe and secure working environments for all workers, including migrant workers, in particular women migrants, and those in precarious employment).

5. National Stakeholder Conference on “Life After the Pandemic: Facing the New Normal in Work, Health and Human Rights” | Philippines

The action promoted exchanges and consultations among SOLIDAR members and partners in the country, which allowed the development of three policy papers:

1. Paper1: Health, with a strong link to SDG 3, focused on recommendations to increase state support for health workers in general and for Covid-19 responders in particular, including CSOs.
2. Paper2: Decent Work, with a strong link to SDG 8, includes development-oriented policies that also protect labour rights and promotes safe and decent working conditions.
3. Paper3: Human Rights, which connects directly with SDG 16, emphasizes the call to reduce violence in all its forms and promote equal access to justice for all.

They key message in all three papers is the need to build back better and not just return things “as they were”.

6. Ensuring decent jobs for returning migrants in the time of Covid-19 through Skills Matching | Philippines

The action aimed to conducting the skill matching research “Ensuring decent jobs for returning migrants in the time of Covid-19 through Skill Matching”. The action research was preceded by a virtual forum held on June 26, by which members and partners agreed on the focus of the research: the analysis of the skills, education, capacities and aspirations of the returning migrants. Based on the results, members and partners developed different recommendations for migration and labour policies that can assist the community and key stakeholders such as the EU.

7. Citizens’ Voices on Decent Work and Social Protection | Pakistan

The action developed the campaign “Citizens voices on Decent Work and Social Protection”, which took place from 19 to 24 September when members and partners representing discriminated communities came together and participated in a policy dialogue with local authorities responsible for ensuring Decent Work and Social Protection. The key demands of the various stakeholders were documented in a joint statement, which was further shared with different departments, policy makers and media.