http://www.imadr.org/Activities/ ja Copyright 2008 Wed, 02 Apr 2008 05:09:16 +0000 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/ http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss The Japanese Trade Union Confederation (JTUC-RENGO) will hold its 79th May Day Central Rally at Yoyogi Park in Tokyo, Japan on April 26, 2008. Over 60 NGOs/non-profits take part in the celebration, which is held under the slogans: "Solidarity Among All Workers — creating a welfare state and a free and peaceful world through striving together for peace, human rights, worker’s welfare and the environment," and "Stop the social disparities!" IMADR will be setting up a booth again this year (Booth No. 15), so please drop by!]]> http://www.imadr.org/Activities/event_archive/join_us_at_may_day_in_yoyogi_p_1/ http://www.imadr.org/Activities/event_archive/join_us_at_may_day_in_yoyogi_p_1/ Event archive Wed, 02 Apr 2008 05:09:16 +0000 Under the theme "realize our differences, from there we can connect with each other," Japanese and Zainichi Korean(*) students will hold together the "ONEKOREA FESTIVAL TOKYO 2008," at Yoyogi Park in Tokyo, Japan on March 30, 2008. Together with Korean food stands and art performances, there will be booths of a number of NGOs at this festival, which is held in the hope that Koreans and Japanese can build together a better relationship and bright future, starting from realizing and understanding the differences between each other. http://www.imadr.org/Activities/event_archive/visit_imadrjcs_booth_at_onekor/ http://www.imadr.org/Activities/event_archive/visit_imadrjcs_booth_at_onekor/ Event archive Tue, 25 Mar 2008 12:45:21 +0000 here (external link)]]> http://www.imadr.org/Activities/event_archive/civil_society_in_asia_to_prepa/ http://www.imadr.org/Activities/event_archive/civil_society_in_asia_to_prepa/ Event archive Mon, 18 Feb 2008 06:26:25 +0000 http://www.imadr.org/Activities/event_archive/armed_conflict_in_asia_attacks/ http://www.imadr.org/Activities/event_archive/armed_conflict_in_asia_attacks/ Event archive Wed, 17 Oct 2007 05:23:35 +0000 Remembrances, comments and thoughts about Atsuko Tanaka-Fox, her life and her work.]]> http://www.imadr.org/Activities/notices/_in_memoriam_atsuko_tanakafox/ http://www.imadr.org/Activities/notices/_in_memoriam_atsuko_tanakafox/ 020)Notices Tue, 25 Sep 2007 04:15:33 +0000 Background In February 2002, after nearly 20 years of civil war, the people of Sri Lanka came close to achieving peace with the signing of a ceasefire agreement between the Singhalese-majority government and Tamil Tiger rebels. Following the election of a new hard-line president, however, the country has once again slid to the brink of civil war. Fresh negotiations were conducted in February and October 2006, but since April 2006, we have observed the abandonment of the peace agreements and the recommencement of war, with air raids, gun battles and indiscriminate attacks by both sides. According to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), over 200,000 people have been internally displaced since April 2006, and 15,000 people have fled to Tamil Nadu, India. IMADR’s Asia Committee (IMADR-AC), based in Sri Lanka, has been working with grassroots partners to ensure that minorities are not left out of the peace building process and post-tsunami reconstruction, and to help empower minorities. IMADR-AC has dispatched fact-finding missions to the East several times in the last year, and hopes to supply essential items such as powdered milk, medicine and dry rations to the camps located in the reachable areas. In Trincomalee, a request has been made for schoolbooks, stationery and clothes for the children. In Batticaloa, there is an urgent need for powdered milk, towels, underwear, sanitary napkins, basins and mats. IMADR-AC requests your help in helping provide basic necessities for those displaced by the Sri Lankan conflict.]]> http://www.imadr.org/Activities/activities/humanitarian_crisis_in_sri_lan/ http://www.imadr.org/Activities/activities/humanitarian_crisis_in_sri_lan/ 010)Activities Thu, 30 Aug 2007 12:16:11 +0000 http://www.imadr.org/Activities/event_archive/japan_2007_imadr_20071067/ http://www.imadr.org/Activities/event_archive/japan_2007_imadr_20071067/ Event archive Sun, 15 Jul 2007 04:49:48 +0000 Japanese Trade Union Confederation (JTU-C) will hold its 78th May Day Central Rally at Yoyogi Park in Tokyo, Japan on April 28, 2007. Various NGOs/non-profits take part in the celebration, which is held in the spirit of promoting peace, human rights, the environment and harmonious coexistence. IMADR will be setting up a booth again this year (Booth No. 33), so please drop by! When: April 28, 2007 (Saturday) Time: 10:00-14:30 Place: Yoyogi Park, Shibuya (Tokyo) For more information, call the 78th May Day Central Rally Steering Committee: (03) 5295-0513 (Japanese only)]]> http://www.imadr.org/Activities/event_archive/join_us_at_may_day_in_yoyogi_p/ http://www.imadr.org/Activities/event_archive/join_us_at_may_day_in_yoyogi_p/ Event archive Wed, 18 Apr 2007 18:28:16 +0000 Exploitative migration caused by neo-liberal globalization Nowadays, neo-liberal globalization tends to be increasingly feminized and informalized, due to the polarization of the global economy where the rich get richer and the poor poorer. This is one of the root causes of exploitative migration including human trafficking and migrant smuggling. The international community seems to deal with this problem in two ways. Firstly, the United Nations is strengthening their policies to clamp down on transnational criminal organizations, which are considered major traffickers. Secondly, the UN is trying to set up a Forum for International Migration and Development, based on the recognition that the Millennium Development Goals cannot be achieved unless international migration is made part of sustainable global development. The clampdown on traffickers and selective immigration policies are not the ultimate solutions Moreover, our concern is that these initiatives may well worsen, instead of improving, the situation. Although it is true to a certain extent that arresting and punishing traffickers has positive consequences for victims of trafficking and smuggling, it also works negatively, often making them collateral victims of excessive surveillance and control. Besides, pursuing international migration for the sake of national economic development, accompanied by the receiving countries’ selective immigration policies, will only benefit skilled labour migration, while aggravating the human insecurity of undocumented migrants. Thus, the UN’s recent efforts to promote a campaign for “international migration and development,” combined with the War on Terror and on organized crime, may accelerate exploitative migration if not correctly guided by the concerned civil societies. We must prevent the international community from encouraging exploitative migration by increasing restrictions on unskilled labor migration while helping criminal organizations go further underground by a sweeping control of informal sectors.]]> http://www.imadr.org/Activities/activities/call_for_the_campaign_against/ http://www.imadr.org/Activities/activities/call_for_the_campaign_against/ 010)Activities Wed, 04 Apr 2007 19:36:56 +0000 Forty-four years ago, Kazuo Ishikawa, a man of Buraku origin (a caste-like Japanese minority), was falsely imprisoned for the murder of a schoolgirl. We ask for your help in calling on the Tokyo High Court to deliver justice by granting a retrial of the case. Visit the Sayama Case website to learn about the Sayama Case and Buraku discrimination in Japan. Last year, the Yoko Tada Foundation for Human Rights awarded Kazuo Ishikawa the 18th Tada Human Rights Prize for his work in the fighting the miscarriage of justice. “We have great respect for Mr. Ishikawa in his 43-year battle,” the award committee said, “We want to show our solidarity with him, in hopes that he will win his third appeal for the retrial and reinvestigation of the Sayama Case and that the false charges against him are dropped.” To date, over one million people have shown their support for Ishikawa by signing the Sayama Case petition. Please join them! Sign the petition here (external link).]]> http://www.imadr.org/Activities/activities/sign_the_sayama_case_petition/ http://www.imadr.org/Activities/activities/sign_the_sayama_case_petition/ 010)Activities Wed, 14 Feb 2007 16:34:39 +0000 --> IMADR-JC proudly supports the Feminist Active Documentary Film Festival. When: March 3, 2007 (Saturday) From 2pm Where: Yokohama YWCA (external link) Tickets: 1,000 yen per program, 2,500 for full-day pass * Please note that most films (other than those produced in the US) are shown in Japanese or with Japanese subtitles. For more information visit the FAV website (external link) Line-up: Program A (14－15:30) In Between Four short films from Japan, Korea and the US on the theme of women's struggles when their identites are torn apart due to their race, sexuality, and 'ableness.' Program B (16-18:00) Camouflage Three short films from the US and Japan on the theme of militarization. Program C (18:30-20:00) Harimano A film from Chechnya on the after-effects of war expressed by childrens' paintings, and a film by a Belgium-based filmmaker depicting post-war Japan through a personal experience.]]> http://www.imadr.org/Activities/event_archive/feminist_active_documentary_fi/ http://www.imadr.org/Activities/event_archive/feminist_active_documentary_fi/ Event archive Wed, 07 Feb 2007 11:31:52 +0000 Combating Caste and Descent-Based Discrimination in Africa and Asia Venue: Access Gate 7 IN - Lower, World Social Forum 2007 Date & Time: 8:30-11:00am, January 22, 2007 (Mon) Chair: Nimalka Fernando, President, IMADR (Sri Lanka) Speakers: Penda Mbow, Professor, Université Cheikh Anta Diop, Dakar (Senegal) Burnad Fatima Natesan, IMADR, SRED (India) Magimai Appakuttai, Tamil Nadu Dalit Women’s Movement (India) Seiro Ikeda, Buraku Liberation League (Japan) Peter Prove, The Lutheran World Federation (Switzerland) Outline and Objectives: The International Movement Against All Forms of Discrimination and Racism (IMADR), an international non-governmental human rights organization based in Japan, will hold a round-table discussion on the struggle against caste and descent-based discrimination in Africa and Asia. The event will bring together prominent activists from the field from different countries and regions with different backgrounds and experiences. Rather than focusing on presenting the current situation and its history, the Round-table aims to share experiences, successes and challenges in a process of fighting this discrimination which IMADR believes will materialize future joint work. Discrimination based on "work and descent" continues to be experienced by more than 260 million people worldwide. The key features or bases of this form of discrimination are descent (i.e. group membership by birth), work (i.e. occupational specialization or other connection with type of work or functional role in society), and concepts of purity and pollution. Among the communities severely affected are the Dalits (known as the "untouchables") of South Asia, in Nepal, Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka and Pakistan, an estimated three million Burakumin in Japan, "caste people" in West Africa and various communities in other African countries. Caste discrimination can also be found among the widespread Indian Diasporas. A few governments - notably those of India and Japan - have taken important constitutional, legislative and administrative measures to address this form of discrimination. However, many of these measures are still waiting for implementation and practical impact, and discrimination and exclusion continues to be experienced in the daily lives of many members of these communities. For further information please contact: Nozomi Bando, Program Officer, IMADR In Nairobi, Kenya: SIRONA HOTEL (Between January 20-24, 2007) P.O. Box 30425, 00100 Nairobi GPO Phone: +254-20-675-2686 Fax: +254-20-374-2730 E-mail: imadrwsf[at]hotmail.co.jp / nbando[at]imadr.org (please send to both accounts) IMADR International Secretariat Phone: +81-(0)3-3586-7447 Fax: +81-(0)3-3586-7462 E-mail: imadris[at]imadr.org]]> http://www.imadr.org/Activities/event_archive/wsf_event_combating_caste_and/ http://www.imadr.org/Activities/event_archive/wsf_event_combating_caste_and/ Event archive Thu, 18 Jan 2007 15:36:43 +0000 Mainstreaming the Combat against Exploitative Migration Including Human Trafficking: Challenges in Africa and Asia Date & Venue: Strategy Meeting, January 21 2007 (Sun) Part One 2:30-5:00pm & Part Two 5:30-8:00pm (2 slots), Access Gate 24 IN C - Upper Panel Discussion, January 23 2007 (Tues) 11:30-2:00pm, Access Gate 10 IN - Upper Chair: Kinhide Mushakoji, Vice-President, IMADR/Former Vice-Rector, United Nations Univ. (Japan) Main Participants: Bisi Olateru-Olagbegi, Executive Director, Women's Consortium of Nigeria (WOCON) (Nigeria) Samir Amin & Bernard Founou, Third World Forum (Senegal, to be confirmed) Renu Rajbhandari, Chairperson, Women's Rehabilitation Center (WOREC) (Nepal, TBC) Burnad Fatima Natesan, President, Tamil Nadu Women’s Forum (India) Nimalka Fernando, President, IMADR/Lawyer (Sri Lanka) Various activists/specialists/researchers from Africa and Asia [TBA] *Working Languages: English and French Outline and Objectives: Nowadays, neoliberal globalization tends to be increasingly feminized and informalized due to the polarization of the global economy, where the rich get richer and the poor poorer. This is one of the root causes of exploitative migration, which is not addressed properly by UN initiatives on international migration and development and is, in fact, worsened by the fight against criminal organizations ignoring the human insecurity imposed on undocumented migrants treated as “illegal” by the receiving States. The people of the global South must unite their forces in denouncing the insufficiency of these approaches of the international community, which avoid facing the true problems involved in the increasing human insecurity generated for all the victims of exploitative migration, especially the women and children victims of human trafficking. This is why we believe that the social movements in Africa and Asia that are combating exploitative migration, especially human trafficking, must develop together a campaign with the support of their counterparts in the other regions throughout the world, in order to mainstream their activities which should not be left only to feminists and human rights activists, but should become the concern of all social movements, of all the citizens, and all of the State and corporate actors of the world. To this end, IMADR at the WSF 2007 will hold a Strategy Meeting for activists, followed by a Panel Discussion, to mainstream the combat against exploitative migration, especially human trafficking in the Asian and African regions. The Strategy Meeting is held as a starting point of a process of dialogue in sharing information, preparing a Counter Report, and in developing joint advocacy and joint awareness-building activities, i.e. launching an International Campaign against Exploitative Migration and Human Trafficking. The meeting has three objectives. Firstly, it will discuss how movements in Africa and Asia, working at the grassroots, national and regional levels, can share their experiences and best practices, and cooperate in outreach into the receiving countries to fight for the human rights and human security of their exploited sisters and brothers. Secondly, the meeting will address the need to call upon other social movements fighting in Africa and Asia against neoliberal globalization, and call upon them to include in their plans of action the problems of the insecurity of exploited migrants, especially those who are trafficked. For example, social movements and NGOs working in conflict regions in support of refugees must be called upon to develop activities to prevent the act of trafficking originating in refugee camps. Those working on HIV/AIDs should be called upon to include in their priorities the health problems of trafficked women and children. Those working on minority issues should address the cases where recruiters target people belonging to vulnerable groups. And those working on poverty alleviation should address the cases where “illegal” migration and trafficking is chosen as a means to survive in situations where the rich-poor gaps widen. Thirdly, the meeting will discuss the need to join forces in producing an Afro-Asian Counter Report to the UN Secretary-General’s 2006 Report on “International Migration and Development,” addressing the rights, dignity and security of undocumented migrants, especially those smuggled or trafficked. The Counter Report should also address the responsibility of different actors of the receiving countries, including the State, the corporate sector, the media and citizens, to invest in programs for the promotion of the rights and dignity of the exploited migrants and returnees/survivors, as well as for the co-development and common security between the civil society and migrant communities, and between the community of origin and destination of the exploited migrants. At the Panel Discussion, the outcomes of the discussions at the Strategy Meeting will be presented to a wider audience. Following a call to join our International Campaign against Exploitative Migration and Human Trafficking, panelists will be sharing their concrete experiences of working to reduce the insecurity of migrants or trafficked women and children, together with other issues such as HIV/AIDs and refugee protection. The floor will then be open to think together about effective ways to mainstream the combat and bring about just and sustainable migration. For further information please contact: Yuriko Hara, Under Secretary-General/Program Manager, IMADR E-mail: imadrwsf[at]hotmail.co.jp / yhara[at]imadr.org (please send to both accounts) SIRONA HOTEL, Nairobi, Kenya (Between 19 and 25 January 2007) Phone: +254-20- 6752686 Fax: +254-20-3742730 IMADR International Secretariat 　Contact person: Setsuko Arai, Program Assistant E-mail: imadris[at]imadr.org / sarai[at]imadr.org Phone: +81-(0)3-3586-7447 Fax: +81-(0)3-3586-7462]]> http://www.imadr.org/Activities/event_archive/wsf_event_mainstreaming_the_co/ http://www.imadr.org/Activities/event_archive/wsf_event_mainstreaming_the_co/ Event archive Wed, 17 Jan 2007 15:44:29 +0000 Asian Voices Against Racism - for the Protection of the Rights of Minorities in Asia Venue: Access Gate 8 IN - Lower, World Social Forum 2007 Date & Time: 5:30-8:00pm, Monday, 22 January 2007 Chair: Nimalka Fernando, President, IMADR (Sri Lanka) Speakers: Salima Sarwar, ACD (Bangladesh) , Rita Manchanda, SAFHR (India) Vasudeva Nanayakkara (Sri Lanka), Mr. Bonnie Mendis (Pakistan) Voices of the affected: Hon. Mano Ganeshan, Civil Monitoring Committee (Sri Lanka) Moulawi Karim, IDP Protection Movement (Sri Lanka), Ms. Gita Dass (Bangladesh), and several other representatives from Thailand, Burma and the Philippines and Africa will speak. Outline and Objectives: The International Movement Against All Forms of Discrimination and Racism (IMADR), an international non-governmental human rights organization based in Japan, will hold a PEOPLE’S FORUM to share the struggles and issues faced by the minorities in the Asia/Africa region. The event will bring together prominent activists from the field of different countries and regions with different backgrounds and experiences. The PEOPLE’S FORUM aims to share experiences, successes and challenges in a process of fighting day to day racism and discrimination. We will focus on the following: · Bringing out certain commonalities in the state of the minorities in the South Asian Region, and discussing the problematic of defining minorities. · Addressing issues of human rights violations, discrimination of minorities by presentation of case studies- India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal. · Drawing attention to threats posed to human security by large scale displacement. · Addressing the violation of Women’s human rights in conflict situations. · Addressing issues relating to the protection of minorities through self-government and autonomy arrangements. For further information please contact: Ms. Nimalka Fernando IMADR Asia Committee (Colombo, Sri Lanka) Tel : +94 11 5365100 , Fax : +94 11 2682505 E-mail : imadr[at]slt.lk / imadrn[at]sltnet.lk Nairobi, Kenya : (Between January 20-25, 2007) HOTEL AFRICA MAISON, Garden Estate, Kasarani. Phone : +254-20-513329, +254-725-300290 Ms. Yuriko Hara IMADR-IS (Japan) SIRONA HOTEL (Between January 20-24, 2007) P.O. Box 30425, 00100 Nairobi GPO Phone: +254-20-675-2686 Fax: +254-20-374-2730]]> http://www.imadr.org/Activities/event_archive/wsf_event_asian_voices_against/ http://www.imadr.org/Activities/event_archive/wsf_event_asian_voices_against/ Event archive Tue, 16 Jan 2007 14:31:29 +0000 In October 2006, IMADR’s Sayama International Solidarity Campaign Site was launched. The comprehensive website introduces the Sayama Case and aims to increase international awareness of Buraku discrimination, strengthen ties between organizations worldwide that are fighting racial discrimination in the administration of justice, and put international pressure on the Japanese government to change the way suspects are treated. Join the struggle against racism in the administration of justice by visiting the Sayama International　Solidarity Campaign website, and signing the website’s online petition (external link).]]> http://www.imadr.org/Activities/event_archive/sayama_international_solidarit/ http://www.imadr.org/Activities/event_archive/sayama_international_solidarit/ Event archive Mon, 02 Oct 2006 15:22:59 +0000