16-Peace, Justice and strong Institutions

On of the three objectives of the Fair Green & Global Alliance is to improve trade and investment to advance socially just, inclusive and environmentally sustainable development.

Investment protection and arbitration is one of the most controversial issues included in trade and investment agreements. It undermines democracy and governments’ rights to regulate in the interest of people and the environment. It also costs millions of euros of public money.

In the words of the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, ‘strong civil society organisations make it easier to hear the voice of the people’. FGG believes this is true both within a country’s borders and beyond them. A remote voice can best be heard when the signal is transmitted loud and clear, received loud and clear, and relayed loud and clear. Global cooperation is all the more important given the current context of ‘shrinking space’ for civil society engagement. In many countries, including democratic ones, civil society actors are facing an increasingly hostile environment. The ability to organise, assemble, operate, raise and secure funds, not to mention express dissent, is increasingly limited by repressive policies, laws and practices, including intimidation and violence perpetrated by both non-state and state actors against human rights defenders. This is especially true for groups at the frontlines of the struggle for inclusive, sustainable development: grassroots, community-based, social, economic, political, environmental and gender justice movements. Now more than ever, strong, well-networked civil society actors are needed everywhere around the world to resist this trend.

FGG works to strengthen civil society actors to advocate and lobby for socially just, inclusive and environmentally sustainable societies using what we call a mutual capacity development approach. This publication, which was inspired by stimulating discussions with the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, describes in detail what we mean by mutual capacity development and why we believe it is the most effective approach for fair, green and global change.

A thriving and open civic space is a necessity for civil society actors to exercise their rights, access information, voice their views, organise, engage in and, most importantly, meaningfully influence their world: we need a thriving civil society to fundamentally transform our societies for the sake of people and our planet. However, civic space is under continuous and increasing pressure. We see Bangladeshi unions in the garment industry being repressed, direct foreign investment being prioritised over the land rights of agrarian communities in Myanmar, and many more devastating developments taking place, often negatively influenced by economic actors and factors. One of the greatest opportunities for the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs to facilitate positive change for people and the planet is to protect and expand civic space. The Fair, Green and Global Alliance’s latest publication shows five ways to do so.

CETA is een handelsverdrag tussen Europa en Canada. De manier waarop handelsbelangen worden beschermd in deze verdragen dreigt de grenzen van de democratische rechtsorde te ondermijnen. Daarom moet CETA van tafel, omdat dit verdrag als blauwdruk wordt gezien voor verdragen die Europa sluit met andere landen en regio's op de wereld.

The Fair Green & Global Alliance comprises 6 Dutch organisations and over 1,000 organisations and networks in the global South. Together we work to strengthen the voice of civil society actors in public and political debates. Trade and investment have the potential to contribute significantly to economic opportunities and equality. We focus on the rules determining our international trade and financial system, and establish links between the way in which we have organised our global economy and the effects this has on people and the environment across the world.

The FGG Alliance, broad-based as it is, dedicates resources to the debate around trade and investment agreements. We work with local groups in Latin America on the EU-Mercosur agreement and unite with Indonesian organisations in a critical campaign around the EU-Indonesia Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA). We also focus on the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) between the EU and Canada. The Alliance played an active role in the debate around the – now stalled - Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) between the EU and the US. And we advocate for the abolishment of the – currently predominantly North-North oriented - Energy Charter Treaty. Why do we do this?

De Fair Green & Global-alliantie bestaat uit 6 Nederlandse organisaties en meer dan 1000 organisaties en netwerken in het Zuiden. Samen werken we aan de versterking van de stem van maatschappelijke actoren in het publiek en politiek debat. We focussen ons op de regels die bepalen hoe ons internationale handels- en financiële systeem eruit ziet, en leggen verbanden tussen de manier waarop we onze mondiale economie georganiseerd hebben en de effecten die dat heeft op mensen en milieu wereldwijd.

De brede FGG Alliantie besteedt  tijd  aan het debat  over handels- en investeringsverdragen. Zo werken we met lokale groepen in Latijns-Amerika op het EU-Mercosur verdrag en werken we  samen met Indonesische organisaties in een kritische campagne rond het Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA). Daarnaast richten we ons op het Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) tussen de EU en Canada. Eerder was de alliantie actief in het debat rondom het – voorlopig in de ijskast gezette – Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) tussen de EU en de VS. Ook maken we ons hard voor het afschaffen van het - nu nog overwegend Noord-Noord gerichte - Energy Charter Treaty?  Waarom doen we dat?

Maatschappelijke ruimte staat onder voortdurende en groeiende druk, maar samen kunnen we het tij keren. Volgens de FGG is het van belang de gangbare analyse van civic space uit te breiden en het belang van economische actoren en factoren in repressie en krimpende maatschappelijke ruimte te erkennen. Dat kan bijvoorbeeld gaan over het onderdrukken van Bengaalse vakbonden door de kledingindustrie of het prioriteren van buitenlandse investeringen boven de landrechten van lokale boer(inn)en. In onze nieuwste publicatie laten wij vijf manieren zien waarop maatschappelijke ruimte vergroot kan worden: vijf aanbevelingen aan het Nederlandse Ministerie van Buitenlandse Zaken om samen in actie te komen voor een krachtig en vrij maatschappelijk middenveld.

Op het gebied van internationale samenwerking onderscheidt De Fair, Green and Global (FGG) Alliantie zichzelf met een unieke aanpak. FGG focust zich op het vergroten van de macht en invloed van maatschappelijke actoren, waarmee we op voet van gelijkwaardigheid, nederigheid en respect samenwerken. En samen vanuit mondiaal perspectief structurele verandering stimuleren. Waarmee we duurzame positieve impact realiseren op lokaal niveau.