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The World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) invites nominations for participation in the Asian Regional Seminar on addressing the economic, social and cultural root causes of torture and other forms of violence to be held in Manila, the Philippines from 26 to 30 October 2009. The Asian Regional Seminar is being organised with the Philippines Alliance of Human Rights Advocates (PAHRA), and it is the third of three regional seminars on this issue scheduled as part of a project supported by the European Union.
OMCT research has demonstrated the strong links between failure to respect economic, social and cultural rights and violence, including torture, cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment, summary or arbitrary executions, forced disappearances, violence against women and violence against children. And it has also shown that acting on those root causes can reduce violence.
Objectives
The principal objective of the Asian Regional Seminar is to help NGOs prepare action files for submission to the UN or other organisations, and/or elements for inclusion in alternative reports for submission to UN Treaty Bodies containing recommendations for practical action to stop or prevent torture and other forms of violence by dealing with their economic social and cultural root causes. An important objective for OMCT is to build partnerships with NGOs to work together on these issues over the long term. The seminar, in particular, will seek to:
The seminar’s work will be built principally around a discussion and refinement of draft action files or elements for alternative reports prepared in advance by each participant in order to ensure that the participants leave the seminar with practical action to take on returning home. Particular emphasis will be placed on the potential for human rights and development NGOs to bring about change through collaborative projects. In addition, participants will be encouraged to exchange experiences and challenges and describe the methods that they have used to address the seminar’s issues.
Eighteen representatives from Asian NGOs will be selected to participate. Nominations are invited from members of OMCT’s SOS-Torture Network and other NGOs working closely with OMCT. Nominations are also invited from NGOs active in the fields of economic, social and cultural rights and development that wish to address the economic, social and cultural root causes of violence from their own perspective. Organisations combating torture and those working for economic, social and cultural rights and development may wish to submit joint nominations (2 participants) with a view to working together in the future on these issues.
Organisations
wishing to nominate a participant are requested to provide a short
explanation of the relevance of participation in the seminar to their
work and to explain what the organisation could bring to the seminar’s
discussions. The participants selected to take part in the regional
seminar must prepare and submit in advance of the seminar a 5 to 10 page
paper addressing the economic, social and cultural root causes of torture
and other forms of violence in their country. This paper should include
the elements for an action file or for elements for inclusion in an
alternative report; joint approaches by human rights and development NGOs
are encouraged. The annexes to this note provide information on these
issues and further guidance is available on request from OMCT.
Submitting nominations
If your organisation would like to nominate a participant, please submit the nomination on the form below to OMCT before 17 August. Participants who have been selected will be informed by 15 September.
OMCT will cover travel costs (including visa fees) and living expenses in accordance with OMCT’s established practice. The seminar will be conducted in English. Nominations should be sent by email to Tom McCarthy (tmc@omct.org) and Lisa Knox l.knox@int.omct.org or by fax to +41 22 809 49 29
Geneva, 23 July 2009
[1] See www.omct.org for the report on the African regional Seminar, Maputo, Mozambique, 7 – 11 May, 2008
[2] See the OMCT publication “Attacking the Root
Causes of Torture, Poverty, Inequality and Violence: an Interdisciplinary
Study” (Geneva, September
2006), and the Report of the International Conference “Poverty, Inequality
and Violence: Is there a Human Rights Response?” (Geneva, 4 to 6 October 2005)
both available at www.omct.org.
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