Individuals, organizations, and governments around the world are developing creative ways to promote and uphold the 30 articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. In recognition of Human Rights Day on December 10th, this conversation highlights solutions to issues ranging from discrimination against refugees to lack of access to sanitation. These solutions — which include online monitoring systems, a thriller feature film, in-home toilets, and activist photography — raise awareness and provide much-needed services for vulnerable communities. Read on to find out more about these initiatives from Nairobi, Jakarta, Dhaka, and Mumbai, and then share your thoughts in the discussion below.
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Katy Fentress, Nairobi Community Manager
The September 2013 Westgate crisis was the most recent in a slew of attacks that have rocked Kenya since it began military operations in Somalia two years ago.
The blame for this and previous attacks has generally been pinned on the Islamist group Al Shabaab, who claim to be retaliating against what for them is an unjust invasion and occupation of their country.
While Eastleigh, a neighborhood in the east of Nairobi that houses most of the city’s Somali immigrants, has borne the brunt of most of these attacks, residents have also experienced a rise in hostility from local Kenyans and harassment at the hands of the police.
Somalis in Nairobi live as urban refugees escaping from harsh realities back home. In their daily lives they invariably are affected to some degree by three overwhelming challenges. These, according to Kenyan-based film producer Vincenzo Cavallo, are discrimination, corruption, and terrorism.
In an attempt to address these three symbiotic challenges, a movie is currently being produced by Cultural Video Foundation (CVF), a Nairobi-based film production company that is run by Cavallo and fellow-filmmaker Alessandra Argenti, with the support of an Italian NGO called the International Committee for the Development of Peoples (CISP) and funding from the European Union.
The aim of the film, named Wazi FM, is to speak out about discrimination against Somali refugees at the hands of police and the connection between this and the rise in terrorist attacks. The film also attempts to send a message on the topic of corruption, as it highlights how it is this widespread practice that allows terrorists to cross the border into the Kenya in the first place.
In Cavallo’s view, in order to prevent future terrorist attacks in Kenya and Somalia, it is essential to find a way for refugee communities and the police to work together on reporting suspicious activities and building trust where at the moment there is none.
With Wazi FM, CVF has attempted to create a Kenyan Somali thriller. Filmed entirely in one location, the film is, according to Cavallo, a surreal take on the genre and one that aims to compete with commercial productions by providing the public with a breathtaking and compelling story.
The aim of the production is to speak to both Kenyans and Somalis about how it is corruption and not immigration that is the main cause of insecurity in the country. Allowing Kenyan authorities to keep on with the extortion, harassment, and targeting of Somalis residents only serves to increasingly marginalize them and to create fertile territory where would-be terrorists and attackers can operate.
Wazi FM was initially conceived as a twelve-episode TV series. Unfortunately, due to budgetary constraints, this was later cut down to a one-off feature film. CVF remains optimistic that they will succeed in broadening the reach of the show and that at some point it will be picked up by a local television channel brave enough to broadcast such a controversial message, or by an international distributor that is keen on covering sensitive topics of this kind.
Countries like Kenya that have signed the United Nations International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights are required to uphold the rights of all people to liberty and security of person. They are also expected to guarantee non-discriminatory minority rights and equality before the law. It is thus imperative that the issue of corruption be adequately addressed both from the bottom up and through institutional processes, in order to guarantee that Kenyan citizens of Somali origin, and Somalis who are living in Kenya, are not subjected to discrimination on the part of those who are tasked with upholding their rights.
Photo credit: Lorenzo Misselari
Widya Anggraini, Jakarta Community Manager
Undang-undang Dasar 1945 Indonesia secara resmi menjamin kebebasan memilih dan mempraktekkan agama dan kepercayaan tiap-tiap penduduk. Namun demikian pemerintah secara resmi mengakui hanya enam agama yaitu Islam, katolik, protestan, buddha, hindu dan konghuchu. akibatnya banyak terjadi kasus kekerasan terhadap minoritas penganut agama dan kepercayaan. Munculnya kelompok-kelompok militan islam misalnya, kerap melakukan intimidasi dan menyerang rumah-rumah ibadah serta anggota-anggota minoritas agama. Human Rights Watch yang sudah melakukan riset di 10 provinsi dan mewawancarai lebih dari 115 orang dari berbagai kepercayaan, menyatakan bahwa 71 diantara mereka adalah korban kekerasan dan pelanggaran. Begitu juga survey dari LSI yang menyatakan bahwa sejak kepemimpinan SBY tahun jumlah kekerasan diskriminasi meningkat dengan rata-rata 150 kasus pertahun dan 65 persen diantaranya adalah kekerasan agama.Dalam rangka menjaga keharmonisan dan keselarasan kehidupan beragama di Indonesia maka telah dikembangkan perangkat lunak yang dapat memonitor berbagai tindak kekerasan atas nama agama dan isu-isu pluralisme. Perangkat ini telah dikembangkan oleh dua institute di Jakarta, The Wahid Institute dan Setara Institute.
The Wahid Institute (WI) berdiri tahun 2004 yang dibentuk sebagai upaya menyebarkan pemikiran islam moderat mantan presiden RI K.H Abdurrahman Wahid dalam mendorong terciptanya demokrasi, multikulturalisme dan toleransi baik di Indonesia maupun di dunia. Beberapa program yang menjadi wilayah kerja WI adalah advokasi kebijakan publik dan minoritas; kampanye islam demokrasi dan pluralisme; pemberdayaan akar rumput; serta monitoring isu keagamaan. Dalam hal monitoring isu keagaan ini WI telah mengembangkan pernangkat lunak untuk memantau isu-isu kekerasan dan konflik atas nama agama bernama Pemantauan Kebebasan Beragama dan Berkeyakinan. Kategori yang terangkum dalam perangkat tersebut termasuk diantaranya intoleransi dan diskriminasi atas dasar agama; kemajuan jaminan perlindungan kebebasan beragama/berkeyakinan serta pelanggaran kebebasan beragama/berkeyakinan. Jadi pada dasarnya perangkat ini bukan hanya melaporkan tindak kekerasan dan pelanggaran dalam beragama namun juga mencatat inisiatif-inisiatif masyarakat yang berupaya melindungi kebebasan masyarakat dalam beragama dan berkeyakinan.
Perangkat serupa juga dikembangkan oleh Setara Institute yang mendesain Case Tracking System (CTS) untuk memantau pelanggaran kebebasan beragama/berkeyakinan di Indonesia. CTS merupakan bagian dari upaya Setara Institute untuk medorong terciptanya kondisi politik yang terbuka berdasar penghormatan atas keberagaman, pembelaan hak-hak manusia dan penghapusan sikap intoleran. Dalam form pelaporan CTS ini disebutkan kontak data pelapor, nama peristiwa, waktu dan tempat kejadian, korban, kerugian, pelaku baik negara maupun non-negara. Semua laporan masyarakat akan dikompilasi dan diolah menjadi data yang bisa diakses umum. Setiap tahun Setara Institute akan melakukan update berbagai bentuk dan jumlah tindakan pelanggaran, sebaran waktunya, grafik korban dan pelaku pelanggaran, serta jenis undang-undang yang dilanggar. Lebih jauh lagi, informasi dari CTS tersebut akan digunakan sebagai bahan laporan tentang kebebasan beragama (Report on Freedom of Religion and Belief) yang dikeluarkan setiap tahunnya serta sebagai materi penyusunan indeks kinerja penegakan HAM (Human Rights Enforcement Performance Index).
Secara keseluruhan kedua perangkat yang diciptakan WI dan Setara Institute diharapkan akan memberikan gambaran tingkat toleransi masyarakat terhadap kebebasan beragama dan berkeyakinan serta menjadi alat advokasi bagi pemerintah untuk mengeluarkan kebijakan yang melindungi kelompok agama minoritas.
Foto: Muslim Academy
Widya Anggraini, Jakarta Community Manager
Since 1945, Indonesia’s constitution formally guarantees the freedom of each citizen to choose and practice their own religion and beliefs. However, the government only officially recognizes six religions: Islam, Catholicism, Protestantism, Buddhism, Hinduism, and Confucianism – consequently giving rise to cases of violence against minority religions and faiths. The emergence of militant Islamic groups, for example, has often been responsible for intimidation and attacks of places of worship as well as members of religious minorities. The Human Rights Watch, which did research in ten provinces and interviewed over 115 people from different faith, stated that 71 of those interviewed were victims of violence and abuse. Another survey from LSI stated that since the current president’s election in 2004, violent discrimination has seen an increase of an average of 150 cases per year, with 65 percent of such cases being those of religious violence. In an effort to maintain the peace and harmonization of religious lives in Indonesia, two software initiatives have been developed to monitor various acts of violence related to religion and pluralistic issues – one by the Wahid Institute and the other by the Setara Institute.
The Wahid Institute (WI) was founded in 2004 to spread the moderate Islamic beliefs of former Indonesian president Abdurahman Wahid, who believed in fostering democracy, multiculturalism, and tolerance in Indonesia and the world. Several programs undertaken by the WI include advocating public policy and minorities, campaigning Islamic democracy and pluralism, grassroots empowerment, as well as monitoring religious issues. In regards to the latter, WI has developed the “Monitoring the Freedom of Religion and Beliefs” software to monitor acts of religious violence and conflict. The categories contained within the software include intolerance and discrimination based on religion, promoting the guarantee of protection offered to religions/ beliefs, as well as the violation of freedoms of religions/beliefs. In sum, this device does not only report acts of religious violence, but also notes community initiatives that seek to protect the freedoms of the public to practice their religions and beliefs.
A similar device, named the Case Tracking System (CTS), was developed by the Setara Institute to monitor violations of religious freedoms. The CTS is part of the efforts of the institute to endorse the creation of open political conditions based on respect for diversity, the defense of human rights, and the elimination of intolerant attitudes. The CTS report form contains contact details, the name of the event, the time and place of the incidents, the victims, the losses incurred, and both the positive and negative contributors to the incidents. All community reports are compiled and processed into data that can be accessed by the public. Every year, the Setara Institute will update the numbers and various types of violations, the distribution of time in between each, the graphs depicting offenders and victims, and the types of laws that were violated. Furthermore, information derived from the CTS will be used as material for reports on religious freedom (Report on Freedom of Religion and Belief) that will be issued each year, as well as for the preparation of the HAM index (Human Rights Enforcement Performance Index).
All in all, both devices developed by the WI and the Setara Institute are expected to serve as both an overview of the level of community tolerance towards religious freedom, and as an advocacy tool for the government to issue laws and policies that will protect members of religious minorities.
Photo: Muslim Academy
লেখকঃ সায়মা সুলতানা জবা, অনুবাদকঃ ফারজানা নওশিন
সব শহরকেই সংখ্যালঘু জাতিদের নিয়ে বিভিন্ন সমস্যার (যেমনঃ সংখ্যালঘুদের অসহযোগীতা) মোকাবেলা করতে হয়, কিন্তু সবাইকে মানবাধিকার লঙ্ঘন সংক্রান্ত সমস্যা এরকম নাটকীয় ভাবে সমাধান করতে বাধ্য হতে হয় না যেমন ভাবে বাংলাদেশ সরকারকে রোহিঙ্গা সম্প্রদায়ের সমস্যা মোকাবেলা করা হচ্ছে। রোহিঙ্গা সম্প্রদায় পশ্চিম মায়ানমারের উত্তর আরকান প্রদেশের সংখ্যালঘু মুসলিম জাতি। ১৯৭৮ সালে মায়ানমার সরকার থেকে তাদের নাগরিকত্ব অস্বীকার করা হয়েছে এবং গত দশ বছরে তারা বিভিন্ন ভাবে ধর্মীয় বৈষম্য এবং মানবাধিকার লঙ্ঘনের শিকার হয়েছে। ২০১২ সালে মায়ানমার বাংলাদেশ বর্ডার বন্ধ করে দেয়ার আগে অনেক রোহিঙ্গা তাদের প্রতিবেশী দেশ বাংলাদেশে নিরাপদ আশ্রয়ের জন্য চলে এসেছে। বর্তমানে প্রায় ২৯০০০ রোহিঙ্গা দক্ষিণ-পূর্ব বাংলাদেশে দুটি ক্যাম্পে রক্ষিত এবং অনুমিত প্রায় ২০০০০০ অনিবন্ধিত রোহিঙ্গা ক্যাম্পের আশেপাশে বিভিন্ন গ্রামে বাস করছে। এই এলাকার উচ্চ দারিদ্র, নিরক্ষরতা এবং কর্মহীনতার হার উদ্বাস্তুদের প্রতি বাংলাদেশীদের একটি বর্ধনশীল শত্রুতা তৈরি করছে। বাংলাদেশ সরকারের মতে মানবাধিকার রক্ষা সংস্থাগুলো শুধু আরো রোহিঙ্গাদের বাংলাদেশে আসার সুযোগ তৈরি করে দিচ্ছে।
রোহিঙ্গা উদ্বাস্তুদের প্রতি ঢাকাভিত্তিক সরকারি প্রতিদ্বন্দ্বিতার মুখে কিছু সৃষ্টিশীল সচেতনতামূলক পদক্ষেপ নেয়া হয়েছে। বিশেষ করে ফটোগ্রাফির মাধ্যমেএকটি বিশাল প্রচারণা শুরু হয়েছে ঢাকা, বাংলাদেশের অন্যান্য অঞ্চল এবং সারা বিশ্বের মানুষের জন্য, এটি দেখানর জন্য যে রোহিঙ্গা কারা এবং এদের অধিকার রক্ষার জন্য কি করা যেতে পারে ।
বাংলাদেশের প্রায় সব রাজনৈতিক, অর্থনৈতিক এবং সংবাদমাধ্যমের মতে ঢাকা মানবাধিকার লঙ্ঘনের প্রতিবাদের জন্য আন্তর্জাতিক সম্প্রদায়ের কাছে একটি শক্তিশালী স্থান। প্রামানিক আলোকচিত্রী সাইফুল হক অমি ঢাকার বাইরে কাজ করেন এবং ২০০৯ সাল থেকে তিনি রোহিঙ্গা সমস্যার প্রতি মনোনিবেশ করেন। অমি নিজেকে একজন আলোকচিত্রী বলার চেয়ে সামাজিক কর্মী হিসাবে বর্ণনা করেন। এখন পর্যন্ত তিনি “বাংলাদেশে আড়ম্বরহীন রোহিঙ্গা শরণার্থী বর্জন ও অস্বীকার” নামে একটি আলকচিত্রের প্রদর্শনী করেছেন। অমি বাংলাদেশের শরণার্থী শিবিরের এই সকল ছবি ব্যবহার করেন উদবাস্তু মানুষের জীবনের কাহিনী তুলে ধরার জন্য যারা নিজেরা নিজেদের কষ্টের কথা বলতে পারে না। উদাহরণস্বরূপ, সাম্প্রতিককালে তিনি এশিয়ান ইউনিভার্সিটি ফর উইমেন-এ (যেখানে ১৪ টি দেশের মেয়েরা পড়াশোনা করছে) তার রোহিঙ্গা শিবিরের আলোকচিত্রগুলো দেখান এবং বর্ণনা করেন যে কেন রোহিঙ্গা শরণার্থীদের সাহায্য করা গুরুত্বপূর্ণ এবং কেন এখানে আন্তর্জাতিক সাহায্য প্রয়োজন।
অমির কাজ দেখায় যে রোহিঙ্গাদের মানবাধিকার রক্ষা একটি চরম অস্বীকৃত সমস্যা এবং শহর কেন্দ্রিক এই প্রচারণা প্রমান করে যে এটির দ্রুত সমাধান জরুরি, যদিও এই প্রচারণা এখনো সরকারের সিদ্ধান্তের বিরধিতা করতে রোহিঙ্গাদের উপর উপযুক্ত রাজনৈতিক মনোযোগ আকর্ষণ করতে পারে নি। তারপরও সৃজনশীল উপায়ে রোহিঙ্গা সমস্যার সমাধানের চেষ্টা, যা অনেক নাগরিকদের দৃষ্টি আকর্ষণ করে, একটি গুরুত্বপূর্ণ পদক্ষেপ। বিশ্বের সকল আলোকচিত্রীরা এবং অন্যান্য মিডিয়ার সদস্যরা তাদের গৃহীত আলোকচিত্রসমূহ অন্যান্য প্রমান প্রদর্শনীর মাধ্যমে সংখ্যালঘু জাতিদের প্রতি বৈষম্যর বিরুদ্ধে কাজ করতে পারে যখন সরকার নীরব থাকে।
Photo credits: Saiful Huq Omi
Saima Sultana Jaba, Dhaka Community Manager
Nearly all cities deal with the issue of incorporating ethnic minorities, but not many are forced to deal with a human rights violation as dramatic as the treatment of the Rohingya community in Bangladesh. The Rohingya are a Muslim ethnic minority from the northern Arkan state of western Myanmar. In 1978, they were denied their citizenship by the Myanmar state, and in recent decades they have faced religious discrimination and widespread human rights violations. Many Rohingya fled into neighboring Bangladesh for safety, until the Bangladesh government closed its borders in 2012. At present, nearly 29,000 Rohingya refugees reside in two camps in south-eastern Bangladesh, and the government has estimated that another 200,000 unregistered refugees live in villages outside of these camps. The high rates of poverty, illiteracy, and unemployment in this district have contributed to a growing Bangladeshi hostility towards the refugees, and the Bangladesh government has argued that humanitarian aid organizations only create a ‘pull factor’ for more Rohingya to enter Bangladesh.
In the face of such government antagonism toward the Rohingya refugees, some creative awareness-raising initiatives have recently emerged. Photography, in particular, has been marshalled to create wide-reaching campaigns aimed at showing citizens in Dhaka, throughout Bangladesh, and in other regions of the world just who the Rohingya are and what can be done to promote their rights.
As the hub of nearly all political, economic, and media outlets of Bangladesh, Dhaka is a powerful place to portray human rights violations to the international community. Documentary photographer Saiful Huq Omi works out of Dhaka and began to focus on the Rohingya issue in 2009. Rather than describing himself as a photographer, Omi explains that he is an activist. To this end, he has toured with a photography campaign entitled, “The Disowned and the Denied: Stateless Rohingya Refugees in Bangladesh.” Omi uses his photos from Bangladesh refugee camps to capture the stories of people who have been deemed ‘voiceless’, and to share these stories. This fall, for instance, he gave a talk to university students from fourteen different countries at the Asian University for Women in Bangladesh, in which he used his photographs to describe the plight of the Rohingya and the importance of international campaigns to support their need for statehood.
Omi’s work shows how, especially for a human rights issue as extreme and unacknowledged as that of the Rohingyas, urban-based, creative awareness campaigns can be vital for emphasizing urgency and fostering change. Such campaigns have not yet given the Rohingya issue in Bangladesh sufficient political attention to hold the government accountable for its actions or to force needed collaboration between NGOs in the national and international sectors. Yet creative efforts to raise awareness and put a personalized face on an issue that is obscure to many citizens are a crucial first step to addressing such complicated human rights violations. Like photographers and members of the media in Dhaka, artists in other cities around the world can play a powerful role in initiating change by speaking out and providing visual material to document abuse towards minorities when the government is silent.
Photo credits: Saiful Huq Omi
Carlin Carr, Mumbai Community Manager
At a recent sanitation roundtable discussion at the Observer Research Foundation (ORF), a public policy think tank in Mumbai, Chairman Sudheendra Kulkarni said that Mahatma Gandhi believed sanitation was more important than political independence. In 2010, the UN declared access to sanitation a human right. Despite the increased emphasis, says Dhaval Desai, a senior researcher at ORF, the two are rarely linked. “If one agrees that there is a connect between lack of access to clean and hygienic sanitation and global statistics on poverty, malnutrition, infant mortality, maternal health, diseases, education, and gender, then it is impossible to deny sanitation as an intrinsic human rights issue.” Desai, who specializes in water and sanitation issues, discussed with us the importance of this human rights issue and some promising ways forward.
What is the current situation in Mumbai?
The current situation in Mumbai is as bad as it is in the rest of India. Media reports quoting Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) data have shown recently that Mumbai has a provision of 10,381 public toilet facilities for its total population of nearly 13 million. Thus, against the WHO norms of availability of one toilet seat per 50 people, Mumbai has one toilet seat per 1,200 people. The situation is worse when you look at availability of public conveniences for women. Only 3,181 toilet seats of the total are for women, giving a ratio of one toilet seat per 1,800 women.
Can you paint us a picture of what a typical slum dweller deals with each day in this regard?
The situation is not as bad for men as it is for women and young girls. With a poor ratio of toilet seats to population, it is common to find long queues of men and women — with dabbas (water cans) in their hands, since many toilets do not have any running water — outside community toilet blocks, waiting for their turn. Many have to walk long distances from their homes to reach the toilet block.
But this is only in slums where the toilets are maintained well and are usable. The condition of many community toilets is so pathetic that they are simply unusable. It is in such slums where open defecation is actually the preferred option. But this is also where the women and young girls become most vulnerable and are forced to venture out for their daily ablutions, looking for secluded spots in the neighbourhood under the cover of darkness. For the children, on the other hand, defecating in the open is an extremely common phenomenon, just a ‘way of life’.
You recently held a roundtable discussion on sanitation at ORF Mumbai and came to a consensus that every home should have a toilet rather than community toilets. Why this is the best option and is it feasible?
Access to toilets inside slum homes is the best and possibly the easiest and most scalable of options. There are examples of slum pockets across Mumbai where toilets do exist inside homes, and each of these slums tells an inspiring story of how toilets have actually brought about a silent social revolution in the lives of the residents. All of these toilets are as well-maintained as one can find in any good corporate office or an affluent home. The only difference is that these toilets and bathrooms do not have ‘designer’ fittings and toiletries.
Slum improvement programs undertaken by organizations like Shelter Associates, a Pune-based NGO, on behalf of the State Government in the towns of Sangli and Miraj have also focused on provision of toilets inside homes as being the easiest and most feasible option.
Could you tell us about one or two interesting sanitation initiatives in Mumbai?
The Tulshetpada slum in Bhandup, a northern suburb of Mumbai, has witnessed a silent social revolution thanks to provision of toilets inside homes, by far the most striking sanitation initiative in the city. The other amazing success story is of the community toilet run by a community-based organization called Triratna Prerana Mandal (TPM) in the western Mumbai suburb of Santacruz. TPM took over the management of the toilet in 2001 under the MCGM’s Slum Sanitation Program, but has taken this work to high levels of social transformation. They run a self-help group for women, offer vocational training to the youth of the slum, run computer training classes on the terrace of the toilet, which also has a community kitchen preparing midday meals for 3,000 school children. The toilet gets all its water from a rainwater harvesting system and is powered 100 percent by solar energy. TPM’s community toilet is a glorious example of a toilet’s power of transformation. If only Mumbai can have hundreds more Tulshetpadas and TPMs.
Photo credit: CDC Foundation
El agua de Bogotá es potable y deliciosa, algo excepcional en las grandes ciudades de América latina. Esto se debe a su proximidad a abundantes fuentes de agua, especialmente los páramos de Chingaza y Sumapaz, y a una buena gestión del recurso. La mayor parte del agua consumida actualmente proviene de la represa de Chingaza, ubicada a unos 50 kilómetros de Bogotá. Sin embargo, la misma proximidad de la mega urbe supone un riesgo para los frágiles ecosistemas de los páramos: Sumapaz comienza en el mismo término municipal de la capital. Aunque la capacidad de suministro actual se estima suficiente a medio plazo, a largo plazo será necesario construir nuevas represas y canalizaciones, proyectos técnicamente complejos y que probablemente generarán fuertes controversias por su impacto ambiental. Leer más o discutir.
Hay muchas cosas positivas que esperar para el año 2014 en Colombia. Se prevé que el crecimiento económico siga siendo vigoroso, al tiempo que las conversaciones de paz pueden acabar con un conflicto armado que ha durado ya varias décadas. Estas circunstancias presentan un escenario sin precedente para aliviar los problemas de pobreza y desigualdad que sufre el país. Bogotá y Cali, las dos ciudades que seguimos en este blog, tienen iniciativas en marcha que pueden ofrecer soluciones concretas a estos dos problemas. Sin embargo, la incertidumbre es también elevada, tanto a nivel nacional como local. Por un lado, los resultados de las conversaciones son inciertos. Por otro, las elecciones presidenciales que se celebrarán en su primera vuelta en mayo también resultarán en una ralentización de la administración central. Aunque se espera que Juan Manuel Santos ganes la reelección, cualquier cosa puede suceder en la política colombiana, y un cambio en la presidencia puede decelerar aún más el ritmo de las reformas. Leer más o discutir.
Colombia no ha escapado del castigo del HIV. Según datos del Sistema de Vigilancia Epidemiológica (SIVIGILA), al que deben ser reportados todos los casos identificados, desde el año 1983 hasta el 2011, último del que se disponen datos completos, se conocen 86.990 casos de HIV/Sida, de los cuales 10.676 han fallecido. En Bogotá se han detectado hasta septiembre del 2013 23.330 casos, un 40 por ciento del total a nivel nacional. Sin embargo, es importante destacar que esto se debe a su elevada población, como lo ilustra que en el 2011 se reportaron 8,7 casos por 100.000 habitantes, mientras 8 departamentos superaban 20 casos por 100.000 habitantes, y los dos en cabeza, Barranquilla y Quindío superaban 30. Leer más o discutir.
Uno de los principales frenos al desarrollo de los asentamientos irregulares es la falta de títulos de propiedad por parte de sus ocupantes. En Colombia, donde los conflictos armados que se prolongan desde hace décadas han sumado un número significativo de desplazados por la violencia a los flujos migratorios observados en toda Latinoamérica, este problema tiene una especial gravedad. Para atajar este problema en el año 2005 se aprobó una ley que permitía la transferencia gratuita de predios fiscales, o de titularidad pública, que hubieran sido ocupados antes de 2001. El alcance de esta ley deja fuera del proyecto de titulación a los asentamientos edificados sobre predios de propiedad privada. Leer más o discutir.
La situación de los habitantes de la calle se considera como uno de los problemas más complicados de resolver en las grandes ciudades latinoamericanas. Según un censo elaborado en 2011 por la Secretaría de Integración Social (SIS), en Bogotá se identificaron 8.385 habitantes de calle, un 86.9 por ciento de los cuales son hombres, y el 8.4 por ciento son menores de 18 años. El 17.9 por ciento son jóvenes entre 19 y 25 años, y el 38.9 por ciento son adultos entre 26 y 40 , quedando un 32 por ciento, de adultos mayores. Otro dato interesante de este sondeo es que el 58 por ciento se dedica a la recolección de objetos de reciclaje, el 34 por ciento a mendigar, el 28 por ciento a servicios no cualificados y el 10.7 por ciento a delinquir. Aunque es posible que estas cifras no recojan el número total de habitantes de la calle, quizá en una proporción considerable, sí que son reveladores en su estructura demográfica y en sus ocupaciones. Leer más o discutir.
Bogotá ha ganado el premio a liderazgo urbano en su categoría de transporte. Los premios, de los cuales este año se celebra su primera edición, son otorgados por el grupo C40 y por Siemens, a través de su fundación Crystal. El premio de liderazgo en transporte busca identificar proyectos o iniciativas que mejoren la situación medioambiental, medidos en términos de fomento de cambio en los modos de transporte y de la reducción de la emisión de gases causantes del efecto invernadero. Leer más o discutir.
La concesión de subsidios a las poblaciones más desfavorecidas, sobre todo en el ámbito de los servicios públicos, es un mecanismo ampliamente utilizado en América latina para combatir la fuerte desigualdad social. En Colombia se ha utilizado un mecanismo singular: la división de las ciudades en estratos. Esta idea, que se empezó a considerar en los años 80, se comenzó a aplicar en las grandes ciudades a partir de la aprobación en 1994 de la ley de Servicios Públicos. Aunque el marco legal es estatal, las ciudades tienen un amplio margen a la hora de escoger los criterios concretos para determinar la estratificación dentro de sus perímetros urbanos. Bogotá se dividió en 6 estratos, el máximo permitido por la ley. El estrato 6 refleja un mayor poder adquisitivo, y el 1 el menor poder adquisitivo de la ciudad. Los residentes de los estratos 5 y 6 pagan una sobretasa en los servicios públicos, que se utiliza para subsidiar, de forma decreciente, los costes de los servicios para los residentes en estratos 1 a 3. En el estrato 4 los residentes pagan el precio real de los servicios. También se aplica una sobretasa si se supera un volumen máximo establecido. Leer más o discutir.
Bogota’s historic center is spectacular. Beautiful and surprisingly well-preserved colonial buildings flank the narrow, cobbled streets. At the end of the steep ascent one can see the Cerros Orientales, the imposing mountains that rise abruptly 600 meters above the city. This sight is unusual in a city that, despite being located in the Andean range, tends to focus its attention on the flat savanna where most of its urban sprawl is located. Unfortunately, the historic district has suffered from gradual but steady decay during the last few decades. The main colonial and republican landmark buildings are generally well maintained, but most of the area suffers from problems such as severe lack of economic development, crime, near total lack of green spaces, degradation of low-income homes, and strong social inequality. Read more or join the discussion.
According to the WHO, more than 450 million people worldwide suffer from mental disorders. These illnesses are particularly common, and are especially destructive among the poor, those with chronic health conditions, minority groups, and communities exposed to conflict and disasters. Moreover, almost 75 percent of the Global South’s mentally ill remain untreated. In honor of World Mental Health Day (October 10th), read on to find out what is being done to resolve this issue in Bangalore, Cape Town, Accra, Bogotá, and São Paulo, and then join the discussion below.
In Bangalore, the Richmond Fellowship Society has been operating services since 1986, though it is part of the world’s largest global charity network focusing on mental illness. The organization says that over 10 million people in India suffer from schizophrenia, “while the figure for those suffering bipolar affective disorder, depression and anxiety disorders stands at a colossal 150 million.” While the numbers cut across socio-economic status, the poor, especially the homeless, are inordinately affected. Experts estimate that by 2020, mental health disorders will be the second leading cause of disability and death. The World Health Organization (WHO) has created a comprehensive Mental Health Action Plan 2013-2020 to increase awareness and services.
Within such harsh conditions, one notable project on the Cape Flats is the Sultan Bahu Drug Rehab Centre in Mitchell’s Plain, which has achieved the highest drug addiction recovery rate (87 percent) and retention rate (83 percent) in the entire province (its three drug rehab centres in the Western Cape also form some of the only internationally accredited facilities of their kind on the continent). This is all the more remarkable given that most rehab centers have a success rate of less than 3 percent.
The Rehab Centre is a social outreach project of the Sultan Bahu Centre (SBC), a faith-based NPO which provides a wide range of social projects throughout the country, and its achievements have not gone unnoticed by Provincial Government. To improve service delivery to the poor, the government has increasingly recognized the need for partnerships with other stakeholders, such as faith-based organisations (FBOs) or NGOs. Thus, the Department of Social Development in the Western Cape recently announced that the Rehab Centre would be awarded the first pilot outpatient opiate replacement program in the country, which allows patients “a fine line of functioning” not based on intoxication and withdrawal. With this the SBC will form one of the beneficiaries of the R87 million (US$ 8.7 million) pledged to fight the province’s drug scourge. Moreover, National Government has requested that it provide rehab programs throughout the country.
The stigma associated with mental health issues stresses some family members, who then fail to associate with such patients even after treatment, making their integration into their families very problematic. Some relatives ultimately abandon their family member in state institutions in order to limit the negative perceptions others will have towards them.
Existe una vinculación estrecha entre trastornos mentales, consumo de estupefacientes y los habitantes de la calle. Según el estudio de la SIS, en Bogotá el 68.1 por ciento consumen bazuco y el 80.5 por ciento de ellos lo hace todos los días. Además, el 64.6 por ciento consumen marihuana, el 63 por ciento de estos de forma diaria. Aunque la Secretaría de Salud de Bogotá reduce la incidencia de este tipo de problemas al 30 por ciento, y es muy difícil establecer una cifra exacta, es sin duda demasiado elevada. La falta de acceso a los sistemas de prevención y tratamiento agrava aún más los problemas de los habitantes de la calle, que se ven forzados a acudir a las salas de emergencia en momentos de crisis, poniendo una fuerte sobrecarga en estas salas, que en todo caso no están preparadas para solventar los problemas de fondo de este colectivo.
Para atender o grande desafio da atenção à saúde mental, o governo brasileiro vem apresentando avanços importantes liderados pelo Ministério da Saúde. No tema regulatório, o ministério aprovou no ano 2001 a Politica Nacional de Saúde Mental que estabelece importantes orientações de política afastando-se das hospitalizações e dando prioridade aos serviços de terapia e reintegração social. Adicionalmente, a legislação orienta que os municípios são as unidades encarregadas de providenciar os serviços de saúde mental no seu território.
According to the International Labour Organization, over 70 million young people worldwide are unemployed. This issue is particularly prevalent in the Global South, where youth are twice as likely to be unemployed or trapped in low-quality jobs, limiting development and social mobility. Governments and NGOs have responded with educational initiatives, skills-training projects, confidence-building programs, and a fund to encourage entrepreneurship. Read on to learn about four successful approaches in Cali, Nairobi, Bangalore, and Rio de Janeiro, and then join the conversation below.
Para mitigar este grave problema, existen varias iniciativas tanto públicas como privadas destinadas a mejorar la preparación de los jóvenes. Jóvenes en Acción, un programa de ámbito nacional, prestará asistencia financiera para que puedan completar estudios a unos 4 000 jóvenes caleños. La formación debe ser en carreras técnicas o tecnológicas, aunque también se cubren cursos de capacitación y emprendimiento. El programa está destinado a jóvenes entre 16 y 24 años, que hayan culminado el bachillerato, y que pertenezcan a la Red Unidos, sean víctimas del conflicto armado y/o desplazamiento o beneficiarios de Familias en Acción (Red Unidos y Familias en Acción son programas destinados a ayudar a familias en situación de pobreza). La ayuda económica consiste en un estipendio bimensual de 200.000 COP (unos 100 US$), y se les exige estar bancarizados, algo que también redunda positivamente en su integración en el mercado de trabajo.
The aim of the Uwezo fund is to address the massive unemployment problem that affects the country, by encouraging entrepreneurship and expanding access to credit. The idea is to generate opportunities for self-employment and to enhance economic growth by investing in community-driven alternative frameworks to development and focusing on youth/women’s groups and savings chamas as drivers of the country’s economy.
While many initiatives have been launched under the NSDC, focusing on building a range of technical and artisanal capacities, an organization in Bangalore focuses on skill-building alongside “potential realization” initiatives. The Promise Foundation‘s research has found that while lack of skills is a major factor that contributes to underemployment or lack of employment with youth, so too does their confidence in their own abilities and job prospects. The organization’s unique method applies behavioral sciences to economic and social development.
Uma causa do fenômeno “Nem-Nem” é a desigualdade e a pobreza. A grande maioria da população carente urbana não tem oportunidade de receber educação de qualidade e porem fica desmotivada e descomprometida dos estudos. Não surpreende que as maiores taxas de abandono escolar sejam entre as populações de baixa renda.
Land titles have a big impact on the lives of the poor: without them, residents of informal or marginalized communities are in constant fear of relocation or demolition, and are prevented from benefiting from the land’s productive uses. Housing tenure gives slum residents a guaranteed right to the land and their properties, and enables them to make investments that improve their living conditions. The following articles describe four initiatives in Bogotá, Rio de Janeiro, Johannesburg, and Bangalore that are working to resolve the tricky issue of land titling. Read on to learn more, and then join the discussion below.
Uno de los proyectos mas exitosos dentro de este programa se está realizando en Bogotá. Se trata de un asentamiento informal extendido sobre 70 hectáreas en las localidades Álvaro Uribe Uribe y Suba, y en el que vivían más de 5.000 familias. El proyecto fue lanzado en 2008 y en la actualidad se han entregado ya 4.200 títulos. El proyecto es singular por su tamaño, es el mayor de Colombia, y por el alto porcentaje de éxito conseguido con el mismo. Alejandro Quintero, coordinador del Grupo de Titulación y Saneamiento Predial del Ministerio de Vivienda considera que el proyecto constituye un modelo a seguir en otras ciudades, y ya tienen previsto aplicarlo en a Cúcuta y Melgar.
Minha Casa Minha Vida está focado em apoiar famílias de baixa renda na aquisição de moradia nova e na provisão do seu título de posse. O programa foi criado em 2009 e conta com a liderança e financiamento do Ministério das Cidades. Este ministério tem construído mais de um milhão de unidades habitacionais no Brasil e tem previsão de entregar mais dois milhões até 2014. Especificamente no Rio, Minha Casa Minha Vida é liderado em parceria pelas secretarias de habitação dos governos estadual e municipal; até hoje já fizeram entrega de mais de 60 mil moradias novas construídas em espaços regularizados, garantindo condições legais, habitacionais e ambientais adequadas.
Reflecting global trends over the last decade, however, a more flexible approach is also emerging, as represented by the Urban LandMark (Urban Land Markets Programme Southern Africa) programme, which advocates for opening up more officially recognised channels of land supply as a primary means for improving the pro-poor access to and functioning of urban land markets, and the benefits that flow from it. Based in Pretoria, the programme was set up in 2006 with funding from the UK’s Department for International Development (UKaid), and is now hosted at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research in South Africa.
A third important — though not emphasised — aspect of the incremental approach is the potential role accorded to space; for recognising local practices also means engaging the socio-spatial relationships that underpin them. Since municipal registers of informal settlement occupants have already been found to play a role in the land market, by linking it to the actual spaces through which practice occurs (e.g. layout plans), they may become an important hybrid resource for tenure security, and economic and social functions.
Yet housing tenure is a complicated issue. India’s most recent policy to tackle urban poverty and create “slum-free cities,” Rajiv Awas Yojana (RAY), recognizes the importance of tenure in creating inclusive cities, but has run into obstacles. RAY’s main tenet is “the security of tenure through entitlement.” In order to enforce this, the policy states that no Central Government support will be given to states which do not give legal entitlement to slum dwellers. The progressive mandate, however, has been less than well received from local governments, leaving RAY in a state of stagnation. “Rajiv Awas Yojana (RAY) has failed to take off, with states expressing reluctance to comply with mandatory provisions for availing central funds under the scheme such as according property rights to slum dwellers and earmarking 25% of the municipal budget for spending in colonies and slums where the urban poor live,” says a 2012 article in the Hindustan Times. Policymakers have had to revisit the strict mandates to encourage movement with the scheme.