Opinion

The gendered impact of mining

13.06.2023, International cooperation

What happens when mining companies enter communities and start mining? Who benefits and who suffers?

The gendered impact of mining

Women push wheelbarrows onto the stockpile of a coal mine at the Duvha coal-fired power station, east of Johannesburg.

© Denis Farrell / AP Photo / Keystone

A report was commissioned by Fastenaktion in 2022 on the gendered impact of mining on workers and mining communities. Using a gender lens, and focusing on Mtubatuba in South Africa, the report maps the differentiated impact of mining as experienced by those who work and live around mine sites.

In Somkhele, where one of South Africa’s largest open-pit anthracite coal mines (Tendele) is located, people’s lives are characterised by dispossession, removal and displacement from ancestral lands, violent demolition of homes, exhumation of ancestral graves, unsympathetic reburials that ignore rituals and culture, and disregard for the dead and ancestors. Crops and livestock are dying because water, soil and air are contaminated. This has led to a displacement of livelihoods and people’s sense of identity. Grazing fields are disappearing as the mine expands and marks communal land as private property. Catastrophic environmental destruction is evident and undeniable after every blast at the open-pit coal mine, as the entire village is enveloped by coal smog, which disrupts social routines in Somkhele.

The environmental destruction is generalised across the villages, as evidenced by contaminated and destroyed water sources, vegetation and soil, and is leading to dire food insecurity and poverty. Additionally, toxic dust results in severe and debilitating health challenges for workers and community members. These include respiratory, eye and skin diseases, affecting both young and old. Parents talked about their children having sore and watery eyes, painful chests and throats, runny noses, headaches, and sinusitis. Traditional healers, who are the first point of call when villagers are sick, can no longer find the herbs they have relied on for generations to heal the sick. Important local herbs and trees have been cut down to make way for the mine and those still able to grow are covered in coal dust which renders them useless.

Those who get jobs in the mines, mainly men, reported working conditions that are not decent. At Tendele mine, most workers are hired through subcontractors and not directly for the mine. Subcontracting has become a cheaper way of organising production as it relegates some of the responsibilities, including statutory obligations, to third parties who often ignore or undercut legal, labour, health, and safety requirements. Characterising the lives of miners, who are mainly men, is over-exploitation at the point of production, low wages, weak-to-no trade union representation, and health and safety challenges. Workers are often encouraged to chase production targets at the expense of their own health and safety. They face arbitrary dismissals, and most lack proper union representation. Without a voice, their associational and bargaining power and workplace citizenship are compromised.

Women absorb the shocks

The impact of the above working conditions on workers and living conditions in communities is distributed in disproportionately gendered ways. In communities, women disproportionately absorb the shocks and externalities since they are socially and culturally tasked with care work and other domestic tasks such as providing food for the family and ensuring that the household sphere is functioning optimally. In the workplace, by virtue of their numerical dominance, men face the brunt of the negative externalities, as they are at the heart of the exploitative system. Men who contract pulmonary diseases are easily purged by the mine based on precarious work contracts. There is little care for their physical health and their ailing bodies after giving the best years of their lives to the mine, and even less care for their deteriorating “invisible” mental health caused directly by their feelings of uselessness due to their inability to provide for their families. These mental health struggles manifest themselves as violence, but that too is disregarded, as violence and tropes of black masculinity have been treated as synonymous for so long.

The sick men, who often carry transmissible diseases, are sent home to be cared for by wives. This is a huge financial cost to families, who frequently have to sell livestock and redirect family savings towards the sick husband’s health care bills. Wives mend what is broken and pick up the pieces from deteriorating health, feelings of failure due to inability to put food on the table in the context of dispossessed ancestral lands, and self-loathing by the now abandoned former miners. Wives and girl children take care of the now sick former miners, and as they pick up the pieces of their dignity and self-worth, they also pick up the diseases that miners bring with them from working on the coalface. At times, they too fall ill, and the cycle continues, or ends when the miner dies.

The general sentiment from interviews and focus group discussions is that the mine has created or heightened poverty in families that were once self-reliant. Only a handful of political elites, local petit bourgeois – the contractors who have mine tenders, truck and taxi owners – a minority, have benefitted. Even for them, things remain precarious, and the cost they pay through their health, land and graves of ancestors is far higher than what they have been able to eke out through mine contracts. In interviews, we consistently heard people say: “They took our land and gave us R420 000 (less than CHF 20 000), diseases, poverty, and a cleaning job”. This, after giving up or being forcibly removed from tracts of ancestral lands. They asked, “How can the mine take away everything that fed us, and only give one person a contract job?” There is thus a resentment in the community, and it manifests itself in protests directed at the mine. These protests, both at work and in the community, have been marked by violence, intimidation of local activists and the assassination of anti-mining and worker activists.

Global solidarity is critical

In conclusion, while mining has been central in shaping South Africa’s social, economic, and political landscape, in the main, experiences of workers and communities have not been positive. The ‘benevolence’ of mining companies and their public relations machinery, which churns out reports with hyper-positive narratives about the impact of mining on economic growth, has not addressed or prevented harm. People’s rights to life, safety, food, water, housing, culture, and to a safe environment have all been undermined. The environmental, social and cultural impacts require urgent and honest attention from those in power. People need avenues of recourse. The mines and the State, in collusion with traditional authorities, cannot continue without being held accountable for the crimes committed in these communities by mining capital. Global solidarity from like-minded organisations and activists is critical, since many other communities across the Global South are facing similar harm from large-scale, global mining companies.

%C2%A9%20Asanda-Jonas%20Benya.jpg

© Asanda-Jonas Benya

Asanda-Jonas Benya is a sociologist at the University of Cape Town, South Africa, and currently a visiting lecturer at the Graduate Institute in Geneva.

Article

When women lead the way to peace

14.06.2023, International cooperation

Since the start of the war in Ukraine, European countries have primarily been upgrading the army rather than stepping up solidarity. Feminist voices are calling for a more comprehensive peace policy – including in Switzerland.

Kathrin Spichiger
Kathrin Spichiger

Assistant to the Director and Communications staff member

Laura Ebneter
Laura Ebneter

Expert on international cooperation

Marco Fähndrich
Marco Fähndrich

Responsible for communications and media

When women lead the way to peace

Citizens demonstrate for their human rights in front of the People Power Monument in Quezon City, Manila (Philippines) on 25 February 2023.
© Francis R. Malasig / Epa / Keystone

It felt like a first when the German Government unveiled a "Feminist foreign policy" in 2021, attracting extensive media attention. Only few knew at the time that, already in 2014, Sweden had become the world's first country to adopt a feminist foreign policy (which it has since abandoned). In the Global South, Mexico was the first country to attempt to reduce structural inequalities and the gender gap in pursuit of a more just and prosperous society. Meanwhile, some 30 countries around the world have launched feminist foreign policies.

In the context of the war in Ukraine, the discussion has taken on new dynamism and again focused attention mainly on peace and security issues. These were already enshrined in Resolution 1325 "Women, Peace and Security", which was initiated by women from the Global South and unanimously adopted by the UN Security Council in 2000. The resolution and its follow-up resolutions called, among other things, for protection from and prosecution of wartime sexual violence against women and girls, and also the effective inclusion of women in conflict prevention, peace processes and post-conflict and post-war reconstruction. Empirical research also shows that women in fact make a key contribution to peace when they are able to play an active part in the processes.

From gender equality policies to intersectionality

Yet, implementing a feminist foreign policy and more especially a peace policy, has so far proved very difficult in the practice of international cooperation, despite the fact that "gender mainstreaming" has become a buzzword and is sometimes even exploited as a means of "pink-washing". For example, former Director of the Women's Development Fund Theo Sowa has been critical of the fact that in 2020, only about 5 per cent of the bilateral development funding available for distribution to different sectors went towards projects and programmes with gender equality as their principal objective. Existing power structures pose a problem, says Uta Ruppert, Professor of Political Science and Political Sociology at the Goethe University in Frankfurt: "Asymmetrical world relations, which are being constantly created and consolidated anew through world trade and financial policy, resource extraction and raw materials policy, through investment and (agro)industrial policy, cannot be fixed with gender equality policies".

The prism through which the relevant issues are viewed is therefore of particular significance. Recent years have brought an increase in the number of studies, including among Alliance Sud member organisations, that are helping to elucidate the full extent of the multiple discrimination (intersectionality) affecting women and girls in the context of political and economic power structures. This trend is also broadening the view to encompass other marginalised groups (e.g., LGBT) and security-related issues. For example, the umbrella organisation of development and humanitarian non-governmental organisations in Germany, VENRO, asserts that the goal of feminist foreign and development policy must be "to overcome discrimination, conflicts, wars and violence within and between societies and to invest in peace."

And what is Switzerland doing?

So far in Switzerland, only isolated voices and parties have campaigned for a feminist foreign policy. This is so even though much remains to be done by way of implementing the National Action Plan (NAP) under Resolution 1325. Anne-Marie Sancar, Programme Officer at the NGO PeaceWomen Across the Globe, says: "Switzerland must take cross-departmental action and provide sufficient resources for working with local and transnational women's rights organisations and experts over the longer term."

Thanks to the adoption of a 2003 Gender Strategy for the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), and to the deliberate promotion of women in the diplomatic corps by former Foreign Minister Micheline Calmey-Rey, Swiss foreign policy now embodies greater sensitiveness to gender issues. Efforts are also under way to promote them in the international arena. For example, one Swiss priority in the UN Security Council is the equal participation by women in peace processes and UN peace missions that can tackle the problems in affected countries.

Feminist peace policy and equal participation by women in peace processes, however, is about much more than women sitting at the table, says Sancar. "Feminist peace-building means striving for transformative, structural change. This calls for the commitment of more men who rethink their roles and do not hamper structural changes that favour greater gender justice." As a recent study shows, patriarchy and its social norms compound many conflicts, and cannot be ignored.

Types of feminism in the local context

Swiss civil society is supporting and monitoring implementation of the Swiss NAP, and is making the case for greater use of the NAP 1325 also as a domestic policy tool, and for it to address the all-round security of women in Switzerland. "A reorientation and redefinition of security is needed in this regard," says Sancar. “Feminist foreign policy is also feminist domestic policy, and in that sense implies a comprehensive security policy! Gender-specific violence, unpaid and underpaid care work and also precarious working conditions here at home must be addressed in the same way as the use of gender-specific violence as a weapon of war."

Such a self-critical approach could also help ensure that a Swiss feminist foreign policy would not focus exclusively on foreign countries and the Global South, thereby reinforcing a colonial pattern. Sancar stresses that "Feminist peace policy invariably relies on context-specific approaches that revolve around local people's needs, ideas and solutions." In this connection, the women’s strike in Switzerland on 14 June was a good opportunity to better understand and more strongly support the various types of feminism in civil society and their contribution to peace.

Article

"We do not want an endless war"

15.06.2023, International cooperation

There is little evidence of a move towards peace in the context of the war in Ukraine. Perhaps because no one knows what "making peace" would mean in this instance.... Interview with Thomas Greminger, Head of the Geneva Centre for Security Policy.

Isolda Agazzi
Isolda Agazzi

Expert on trade and investment policy / Media relations French-speaking part of Switzerland

"We do not want an endless war"

Ambassador Thomas Greminger during an event in Geneva in October 2021
© Martial Trezzini / KEYSTONE

At the organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), Thomas Greminger played a key role in managing the crisis spawned by Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014. Prior positions held included serving as Head of the Human Security Division of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA), and also as Head of the South Cooperation Department of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC). Between 2017 and 2020, Thomas Greminger was Secretary-General of the OSCE. In international Geneva, he is a proven expert on peace in Ukraine.

Alliance Sud: You have been a powerful advocate of mediation and peace promotion in the OSCE framework, especially in Ukraine following Russia's annexation of Crimea. Isn't Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022 proof that those efforts have failed?

Thomas Greminger: In the years 2014 and 2015, we successfully averted the escalation of the crisis in Ukraine; but it has never been possible to eliminate the conflict between Russia and Ukraine and its underlying tensions between Russia and the West. The West has always insisted that NATO is a defence alliance with no interest in attacking anyone, and that many countries were keen to become members out of fear of Moscow. Yet the west has failed to recognize that Russia has harboured legitimate security concerns and an age-old feeling of being threatened by the West, and which has its roots in the age of Napoleon and in Hitler's Germany. While Putin has indeed exploited all this as a pretext for pursuing a revanchist agenda, Russia's security concerns should be treated as legitimate. Lastly, we must admit that no international organisation is in a position to prevent a superpower from going to war – not the UN, not the OSCE.

Is a peace agreement conceivable in the present circumstances? And if so, would that mean surrendering 20 per cent of Ukrainian territory to Russia?

Calls are now being heard for a Plan B. Plan A consists of supporting Ukraine on the battlefield, for as long as it is willing to fight. The dominant opinion at present is that we should await the outcome of the spring offensive for both sides, after which it may be possible to return to the bargaining table to work out a ceasefire and perhaps even a peace agreement. Owing to a range of problems, primarily issues of territory on which neither party is prepared to compromise, that would be a major challenge. It is most unlikely that either of the two positions will prevail, neither that of Ukraine, which wants to liberate all the areas occupied since 2014, nor that of Russia, which is keen to consolidate all the territory it has annexed. We have no wish to reward Putin by approving his redrawing of the map by military means, but nor do we want an endless war. The transitional solution would be the temporary cession of territory similar to what took place between East and West Germany after the Second World War, or between the two Koreas. What is at stake is therefore not the surrender of territory in the narrow sense of international law, but agreeing to a temporary cession, which could be renegotiated under a future Russian government.

What would happen next?

The second issue would be the security guarantees that would be given to Ukraine against future attacks by Russia, and whether the country joins NATO or declares itself a neutral State. The Ukrainian Government would like NATO membership in order so that the country would enjoy the guarantees available under Article 5 of the Washington treaty. It seems politically difficult, however, given the resistance from certain NATO members, and considering that Russia would find NATO membership for Ukraine unacceptable. Then there is the question of compensation in connection with the adjustment of sanctions, and the matter of war crimes. There are four sets of issues that would have to be negotiated in the framework of a peace agreement.

At present, both Heads of State are keen to prosecute the conflict on the battlefield. they have no interest in sitting at a negotiating table, as both believe in a military victory. Should either side develop a different viewpoint, this could change.

Switzerland's renowned good offices seem non-existent in this instance. Are they, and if so, do they need to be reinvented?

The warring parties are showing no interest in traditional arbitration and mediation. Turkey's offer of mediation is based on power interests; the country is playing its role as a regional power, and President Erdogan enjoys access to both Heads of State. That is not the type of mediation that Switzerland or Norway could offer, and even if Switzerland had not adopted sanctions, its services would not be called upon.

According to Russia, sanctions have placed us on the list of "unfriendly" countries; the Syrian Constitutional Committee can now no longer meet in Geneva. But international talks on Georgia are continuing in Geneva, with Russia's participation. The Russians are highly pragmatic, they come to Geneva if they have the feeling that there is something in it for them. This also applies to a whole range of informal dialogue platforms provided by the Geneva Centre for Security Policy (GCSP).

The West is finding it ever more difficult to understand Switzerland's neutrality. Is it still in step with the times?

It is true that our neutrality has come under attack especially from Western countries. But from the standpoint of international Geneva, neutrality is much appreciated by all other countries, including those in the Global South, and Western nations welcome the dialogue frameworks we provide for controversial topics such as the Arctic, Syria, and nuclear weapons. In a highly polarised world, even the West has an interest in neutral States that can provide space for dialogue and negotiations. Neutrality has by no means lost its raison d'être, despite the pressure being exerted on it.

Meanwhile, Switzerland has most unequivocally endorsed the western values of human rights, the rule of law and democracy. In that connection, Switzerland underlines the view that neutrality is not a matter of values. At the same time, it is gratifying that Switzerland has not joined the camp of those providing military support to Ukraine, a move that would undermine the impartiality of a country that is host to so many international organisations.

According to the Ukraine Support Tracker, compared to other countries, Switzerland is not doing much to help Ukraine. Should the country step up its involvement, and if so, how?

In terms of the overall sum of the support being given to Ukraine, Switzerland seems not to measure up particularly well in this ranking, as it also covers military aid (weapons, munitions), which is very costly. It is hardly surprising, therefore, that Switzerland ranks a mere 28th. Things look much better when refugee spending (17th place) is included.

This is an indication that over the near-to-medium term, Switzerland will be under pressure to offset the lack of military support in some other field. By way of burden-sharing, we could find ourselves forced to contribute substantially in other areas such as humanitarian aid and reconstruction in Ukraine. Switzerland will come under growing pressure to do more than is presently the case. There will also be greater pressure to make savings in other areas; many countries in the South are nonetheless suffering as a result of the war and it would be unwise to cut back development cooperation in other parts of the world. Beyond the realm of humanitarian aid, this would enable authoritarian countries like Russia and China to expand their influence in countries of the South.

Should Switzerland authorise the re-export of war materiel?

We would do better to concentrate on the things we do well, as described above! The re-export of weapons will never significantly impact the war in Ukraine. As a country guided by the rule of law, we are required to apply current law. If the Federal Act on War Materiel prohibits this, we cannot permit re-exportation – unless the law is amended. If there is the will to do so, then we can, but it takes time. As things stand, we are bound by current law.

Alliance Sud is calling for a global security policy to avoid future wars. What do you think of this?

In my career I have always stood up for development, peace and security, and constantly underlined the linkages between these fields. As a country whose economy is so internationally oriented, Switzerland is dependent on stable international relations. This also includes fragile States. The countries hardest hit by the consequences of warfare, food and energy insecurity, political unrest, inflation, etc., are fragile States. Economies with below-average development are more vulnerable to ethnic, social and international conflicts. Investment in cooperation reinforces the resilience of fragile States, and can reduce State failure and the potential for conflict, with the result that less people are forced to leave their homelands. Development policy is conflict prevention policy.

Interview: Isolda Agazzi

An independent, federally funded foundation

The Geneva Centre for Security Policy (GCSP) is an independent foundation comprising 53 countries and the Canton of Geneva. The foundation was set up by the Swiss Confederation, which funds 70 per cent of its budget. It is headed by Swiss career diplomats (like Thomas Greminger at present) on whom the Federal Council confers the title of ambassador in that role. It is therefore both international and Swiss in character, but depends on Switzerland's political and financial support, "although we do enjoy a high degree of independence that is respected by Berne", says Greminger. "We abide by the three principles of independence, impartiality and inclusiveness – and this latter principle in regard to gender, geography and political persuasion, as we bring together people with a range of opinions."

Since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, the GCSP has maintained its unbiased and integrative training programme for leaders, in spirit and in practice. Courses are still being run with Russian and Ukrainian participants. The GCSP provides room for informal dialogue and tackles issues relating directly to the war, and indirectly to topics no longer being discussed at government level, such as the nuclear weapons dialogue between the USA and Russia.

Press release

Yes to responsible business!

26.10.2020, International cooperation

Dear reader, please vote "Yes" to the Responsible Business Initiative on 29 November – for the sake of people and the environment, to protect human rights and nature!

 

Yes to responsible business!

Article, Global

Holding business accountable

08.12.2020, International cooperation

Responsible Business Initiative: with the popular majority on its side, the uniquely broad coalition consisting of 130 civil society organisations can feel justifiably triumphant.

Holding business accountable

© Chris Stowers / Panos

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The Alliance Sud magazine analyses and comments on Switzerland's foreign and development policies. "global" is published four times a year (in german and french) and can be subscribed to free of charge.

Global, Opinion

The power of education

22.06.2021, International cooperation

"I want women to be heard and to no longer be treated as the properties of men", says Joyce Ndakaru, Gender Officer at Haki Madini.

I grew up in a very traditional Maasai Boma, where all decisions were taken and all responsibilities assigned by men. As a young girl, before the age of 6, I had to milk cows and goats, collect firewood and sweep the house, wash the dishes and also cook some food. From about 8 years to 12, one is considered to be a growing girl that will become a mother soon, so one’s responsibilities also increase as one prepares to become someone’s wife. Girls can then start herding cows and start cooking heavy food and collecting more firewood.

Boys on the other hand don’t milk, they don’t cook or sweep, because they are men. But they do look after the goats. They also collect stones and play that the stones are their cows or they play that they are getting married. In that way, they prepare themselves to become powerful people, who own lots of cows. Girls do not have time to play, it is actually considered a shame if a girl is seen playing. As a child, I did not know anything about the rights of children, so I did not think it was unfair. I only came to realize that much later in life.

I was lucky to be able to go to school. I was actually not taken to school because I was loved, but rather as a punishment, as I was not very good at milking or looking after the goats. I was afraid, that the cows would kick me and whenever I had to herd goats, I always lost a few. I also did not like collecting firewood and went to collect it crying. So my father decided to take me to school in order to be disciplined. He thought I would learn to be a better child, because I would have to follow the teachers’ orders and I would receive corporal punishment. But I really liked school and I was actually performing very well. I was always the best in my class from class 3 up to class 7. My father however never intended for me to go on to Secondary School, he thought Primary School would be enough punishment. By the time I finished Primary School, he had also received many offers for me and he had actually chosen a man that was older than himself (about 60 at the time) to marry me.

I was going to get married, when I think the grace of God actually passed into my life. There is a school known as the Maasai Girls Lutheran Secondary School and they were going around Maasai villages, looking for poor Maasai girls at risk to be married off. They invited me and some other Maasai girls from other villages to sit a written exam. I did very well in the exam and was the only one among the group to be selected to go to Secondary School. They had actually planned to choose more than one girl, but I was the only one who passed the exam. However, the others did not fail because they were not smart enough, but because their families had advised them not to do well. I was actually also advised to make sure I would not pass the exam and I had promised my family that I would just write down illegible things, but in the end, I did not keep my promise, while the other girls kept theirs.

After passing that exam, the teachers asked me, if I thought that my parents would allow me to go secondary school. I felt very uncomfortable and told them in a very low voice: “No, I don’t think my parents would allow me to go. Can you help me?” So, they came with me to my village to tell my family that I was chosen to go to secondary school. I was very scared and thought that my parents might kill me, because I remembered a time, when the primary school teachers had asked me to write down my young sisters’ name, so she could be enrolled in school. When my father found out what I did, he punished me and chased me out of the house. My sister was never allowed to go to school and now leads a very tough life.

But the teachers and I that day told my family that I had passed the exam. My family was very angry with me and told me that I was a disgrace, that I was disrespecting my community and abandoning my culture. I tried to plead with them, but in the end my father said that I was no longer his child and they ripped all my Maasai ornaments off me and let me go. My mother could not say anything, because she is a woman and has no power.

So, I went to school with nothing and stayed there without any visits for several years. I could also not visit my family, since my father would surely marry me off, if I went home. It took him a long time to accept that I was not coming home, but after a few years he came to visit me at school one day. He told me that they had decided that I could finish secondary school and asked me to come home during the school breaks, promising that they would not marry me off. Even though he kept his promise and did not marry me off, my family tried everything to discourage me from going to school and to make school look like hell. They were telling me that my class mates all had several children by now, that they all had their own homes and families and that I was lost and did not even know my culture. Although, they could read my name in the newspaper every year, as I came out top of the class year after year, they kept up the pressure and did not support me financially in any way.

Thanks to an anonymous sponsor, I was able to finish Secondary School. After that, I did not know what to do, as it is expected that after Secondary School, your family helps you through university. But again, I was very lucky, as Reginald Mengi, the former owner of IPP News, was a guest of honour at our graduation ceremony. During his speech, he asked, how many of us would like to go to university to study journalism. Me and some others raised our hands, not knowing what he had in mind. He took down our names and then paid for our university fees. With that help he took me to where I am today - a degree holder, a program officer with over 9 years experience gained working for different NGOs in Tanzania, a gender activist and a responsible mother and role model for my family and the Maasai community, especially for Maasai women.

Today, my village and my family are all proud of me. My former class mates, who are grandmothers by now, because they were all married at 12 or 13, admire me. Back then, they were laughing at me and telling me that I was disrespecting my parents, but now they all wish that they could also have gone to school. They tell me that I am very lucky to be able to look after myself, while they depend on their husbands for everything. They even tell me that I look much younger than them, because of the lifestyle I have. Many are now sending their kids to school, taking me and some others who have gone far, as role models and telling their kids to be like us. Even my dad is proud of me now. I send money to support him,my siblings and other family members. Although none of my father’s other daughters have been allowed to go to school after me, some of my brothers are sending their girls to school.

Slowly, things are changing, although many of the girls who go to school now still end up getting married and leading a traditional life, but if you look at them, you can nevertheless see some differences. They are smart, they look after their children better and cook healthier food. Some men are realizing the value of having an educated wife. I just wish for all Maasai to be enlightened and take their boys and their girls to school and to realize that allowing their daughters to go to school is not a bad thing and does not remove them from being Maasai. I also dream ofone day  opening my own NGO called “Maasai Women’s Voice” to raise the voices of marginalized Maasai women, who have been oppressed for many years. I want to establish a platform, where their contributions and their voices will be appreciated. I want women to be heard and to no longer be treated as the properties of men.

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The Alliance Sud magazine analyses and comments on Switzerland's foreign and development policies. "global" is published four times a year (in german and french) and can be subscribed to free of charge.

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Constant flux

24.06.2021, International cooperation

The only constant in life, as Heraclitus taught us, is change. Yet, it was almost 13 years ago now that I took up my first position at Alliance Sud. For family reasons, the time has now come to say farewell.

Constant flux

© Daniel Rihs / Alliance Sud

In 2008 when I assumed responsibility for area of «tax policy» at Alliance Sud, Finance Minister Hans-Rudolf Merz still believed that Switzerland’s banking secrecy was as immovable as the Gotthard Massif. Nothing stood in the way of tax evaders and corrupt dictators in developing countries who wanted to conceal their fortunes in Switzerland. Then came the global financial and economic crisis, which sounded the death knell for many of the Millennium Development Goals that should have been attained by 2015; on the other hand, however, it gave fresh momentum to the fight against tax evasion.

Suddenly, even the powerful industrial countries were keen to crack down on tax offenders. They urgently needed more government revenues to pay for their multi-billion bailout packages for banks. For its part, however, Alliance Sud had to fight on for years until Switzerland finally extended automatic information exchange in tax matters to developing countries. It is still campaigning against the deplorable incentives available to multinational corporations to shift their profits from poor countries to Switzerland, largely untaxed.

When in 2015 I succeeded Peter Niggli as Director of Alliance Sud, the Sustainable Development Goals were just taking the place of the Millennium Development Goals. Through the 2030 Agenda the rich industrial countries committed to a course of action geared not merely towards short-term national interests but to the long-term well-being of humanity and the planet. This makes it all the more surprising today to witness the degree of exasperation with which some Federal Councillors and Parliamentarians greet NGOs that get involved in Swiss policy in order to promote respect for human rights and the protection of the environment.

Then, as now, Alliance Sud was a political irritant. We should not be impressed by the latest tit-for-tat responses to civil society for taking an active interest in development policy. Now more than ever, socially equitable and environmentally sustainable world development calls for a Switzerland that aligns all policies coherently with this goal – from foreign to economic policy, and including climate policy. The Alliance Sud team, member organisations and allies will continue to advocate for this cause in the future, with dedication, indefatigable commitment and the power of the right arguments. I take this opportunity to thank them from the bottom of my heart for the wonderful cooperation we have had.

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The Alliance Sud magazine analyses and comments on Switzerland's foreign and development policies. "global" is published four times a year (in german and french) and can be subscribed to free of charge.

Multilateral cooperation

Multilateral cooperation

Alliance Sud espouses values-based and people-centred multilateralism. Running counter to this are national self-interest – including that of Switzerland – and continued Northern dominance in many multilateral organisations. This must be overcome.

What it is about >

What it is about

There is no doubt that pressing global problems cannot be solved without effective multilateral organisations. They too are part of an indispensable system of international diplomacy and dialogue. The self-interest of member states often takes priority, however. The interests of the North dominate many multilateral organisations, especially outside the UN system; this is blatantly obvious in the decision-making and management structure of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.

Alliance Sud espouses values-based and people-centred multilateralism. This means that the interests of the Global South and civil society must carry much more weight in multilateral organisations. Switzerland also selfishly pursues its own interests in matters of multilateral trade, finance and tax policy. This must be overcome; Switzerland must use its influence in multilateral organisations to boost human rights and advance the implementation of the 2030 Agenda.

Development cooperation

Development cooperation

Development cooperation on a partnership basis contributes effectively to sustainable development and peace in the world. This will first require the "localising" and "decolonising" of traditional "development aid". Alliance Sud champions development cooperation that is geared towards partner country priorities and strengthens civil society organisations. 

What it is about >

What it is about

There are ever more insistent calls, chiefly from civil society in the Global South, for development cooperation and humanitarian aid to be fully decolonised, geared towards the priorities of partner countries, and for cooperation to take place on a partnership basis.

It will need unrelenting efforts to break down existing patterns of funding, knowledge generation and cooperation, to share decision-making power, and to make room for non-Western patterns of thought and action. Lastly, racist images, jargons and behaviours need to be recognised and eliminated. Through its work and communication, Alliance Sud works towards overcoming unequal power relations and practices.

International cooperation

International cooperation

Alliance Sud advocates for effective and efficient international cooperation that is consistently geared towards the needs of local people and strengthens civil society.

What it is about >
© Joe Saade / UN Women

Development cooperation

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© Delia Berner

Multilateral cooperation

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What it is about

Alliance Sud is committed to international cooperation that is guided by the fundamental statutory mandate, namely to "assist in the alleviation of need and poverty in the world and promote respect for human rights and democracy, the peaceful coexistence of peoples as well as the conservation of natural resources" (Art. 54, Swiss Federal Constitution). Among other things, this calls for a resolute focus on the world's poorest and most vulnerable people. Yet, new tasks and instruments of Swiss international cooperation (IC) – such as climate finance or growing cooperation with the private sector – could undermine the focus on the poorest and most disadvantaged. It must be ensured that these new IC tasks are also aligned with the fundamental statutory mandate and are in essence geared towards alleviating need and poverty in the world.

Publikationstyp
Switzerland – Mozambique, bad governance
, Switzerland – Mozambique, bad governance
International cooperation

The credit scandal facilitated by Credit Suisse in Mozambique has clearly revealed to that country’s citizens the contradictory nature of Switzerland’s role in reducing poverty and inequality.
Communications: from means to programme
, Communications: from means to programme
International cooperation

It is a topsy-turvy world. The emerging challenges call for a radical worldwide rethink. Development organisations too are being challenged: not just in terms of their programme but also in their corporate communication. By Jörg Arnold, Fairpicture
Civil society, the new historical subject
, Civil society, the new historical subject
International cooperation

Jean Ziegler, author of the book titled «Was ist so schlimm am Kapitalismus – Antworten auf die Fragen meiner Enkelin», urges NGOs and social movements to create a new social world order based on rights, solidarity, reciprocity and complementarity.
Fifty years of advocacy for solidarity
, Fifty years of advocacy for solidarity
International cooperation

Alliance Sud has been working for a Switzerland of solidarity for 50 years. Our President Bernd Nilles looks back - and into the future.
Reimagining Africa
, Reimagining Africa
International cooperation

The world is jaded by the multiple planetary emergencies upon us. These emergencies are compounded by the widespread failure of leadership at both the public and private sector levels.
Andreas Missbach becomes new Director of Alliance Sud
, Andreas Missbach becomes new Director of Alliance Sud
International cooperation

The Board of Alliance Sud has elected Andreas Missbach as the new Director. He takes over from Mark Herkenrath, who left Alliance Sud at the end of July. Andreas Missbach will take office on 1 January 2022.
Constant flux
, Constant flux
International cooperation

The only constant in life, as Heraclitus taught us, is change. Yet, it was almost 13 years ago now that I took up my first position at Alliance Sud. For family reasons, the time has now come to say farewell.
«We still have a far way to go»
, «We still have a far way to go»
International cooperation

Mark Herkenrath is an adjunct Professor of Sociology at the University of Zurich and has conducted research, among other things, on the development implications of economic globalisation and on civil society opposition in Latin America and the USA to the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA). Prior to taking over the directorship of Alliance Sud in 2015, he had already been a member of its team since 2008, with responsibility for the area of international finance and tax policy.
The power of education
, The power of education
International cooperation

"I want women to be heard and to no longer be treated as the properties of men", says Joyce Ndakaru, Gender Officer at Haki Madini.
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