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| Volume 3, Issue 12 -- June 7, 2006 |
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From the JPIC Office When I started working here in the JPIC Office in Washington, D.C., I was told by many that summer months are a bit of a downtime for the advocacy community. But even though Congress is on recess for a week in July and during August, I have found that this summer, as in years past, our office is busier than ever. Last summer we were knee deep in the fight against the Central American Free Trade Agreement, and this summer we are holding our breath to see whether Congress will vote on a similar trade agreement between the United States and Peru. It is expected that Peru will vote on the agreement in June. Trade issues are sharing center stage with the comprehensive immigration legislation that is supposed to go to conference between the House and the Senate in June. Considering the differences between the House and Senate bills, quite a fight is anticipated. Some analysts say that the bill will die and be taken up next year once mid-term elections have passed. We will do our best to keep you informed with the latest developments on these legislative issues. We wish you a pleasant summer!
Migration The Border Working Group sends its second policy piece for the summer series, “Stop the Deaths at the Border,” to members of Congress. This week’s focus is the feminization of migration. Women Face Additional Hardship when Crossing U.S.-Mexico Border United States immigration policy cannot be understood or worked out in isolation from the worldwide movement of people and the driving economic forces behind this movement. The number of international migrants has doubled to 200 million since 1980. Increasingly, women’s international migration is a growing and complex phenomenon raising human rights concerns. Following from this is the disproportionate impact of migration and globalization on the lives of women, who now constitute 51 percent of migrants and who are increasingly migrating without male accompaniment. Most women are driven to migrate out of economic necessity. True reform of immigration policy must broaden to include the root causes of migration. Here in the United States, demand for Mexican labor is not new and is well-documented as far back as the 1890s with Texas cotton growers. Yet, today’s demand is distinctly marked by two new aspects:
It is hard to know in real numbers how many unauthorized people are coming into the United States, but it is known that women are increasingly choosing to cross the U.S.-Mexico border despite the many risks involved to them and their children. In 2003, the Department of Homeland Security reported that women constituted 55 percent of immigrants to the United States. Today, of the more than 11 million undocumented immigrants in the United States, it is estimated that 3 million, or 29 percent, are women between the ages of 18-39 years. Women crossing the U.S.-Mexico border have to worry about more than the harsh physical demands of crossing a vast desert. With the increase in women attempting to cross there has come an increase in women’s physical and sexual assaults, deaths and murder. It is believed that one in three women crossing the border is physically and sexually assaulted. It is harder to know the number of women murdered, as this is not a category investigated or counted by the U.S. Border Patrol. However, a composite picture pieced together through county coroner reports, local newspapers, and nonprofit organizations like “No More Deaths” is providing clearer information on the fate of many women. Likewise, women who survive their attempt to cross are slowly coming forward to tell their traumatic experiences. Accounts of these ordeals are being told to U.S. Border Patrol officers, detention staff, humanitarian aid and service providers, and relatives. Perpetrators are most likely to be gangs on either side of the border, U.S. vigilantes, or “coyotes” whom migrants pay to help them cross. Women migrants do not report crimes against them as often as crimes happen. U.S. immigration law must be crafted so women are not left vulnerable by the pressures to migrate, and further, are protected by law if they do become victims. Current immigration law and policies are not adequate, making vulnerable people, especially women, more vulnerable. Lawmakers must consider what the personal and economic pressures are that push people to take such risks in crossing a border without the protection of governments. Lawmakers are morally obligated to ask what the effects of their laws will be on the most vulnerable. Economic Justice The passage of the U.S.-Peru Free Trade Agreement could be outgoing Peruvian President Alejandro Toledo’s last hoorah. But what kind of damage could it leave once he is out of office? This week we look at environmental impacts of this proposed free-trade agreement. U.S.-Peru Free Trade Agreement and the Environment “We envision trade and investment relationships that . . . secure the earth’s natural environment in all its bounty and diversity for present and future generations.” – Excerpt from Principle 1 of the Interfaith Statement on International Trade and Investment. The Andean region is one of the most biodiverse areas in the world. According to leading environmental groups, there are tens of thousands of irreplaceable indigenous plant and animal species, many already threatened with extinction because of deforestation, mining, expanding agriculture and now oil exploration. Unfortunately, the free trade agreement’s environmental provisions continue the global race to the bottom in terms of environmental protections. Rather than incorporating key existing international treaties for the protection of the environment such as Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD, www.biodiv.org) and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES, www.cites.org), the agreement reverts to the weak and unenforceable provisions included in the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA). The Camisea gas pipeline, an Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) project, provides a devastating example of the potential environmental impacts of the U.S.-Peru Free Trade Agreement. The Camisea region of southeastern Peru is an area of tremendous, yet fragile, biodiversity. In fact, the Camisea region is one of the most biodiverse regions in the world. The region is a remote corner of the Peruvian Amazon that’s home to several indigenous communities, such as the Machiguenga. It is also rich in profitable natural gas reserves. A consortium of energy companies, including U.S.-based Hunt Oil, along with the IDB, came together to tap the Camisea’s gas resources and build a pipeline through the jungle to bring the gas to Peru’s commercial centers. In its first 20 months of operation, there have been five major documented spills, polluting the local environment and affecting the lives of the indigenous communities that live in the region. The pollution has killed many of the fish and animals that indigenous communities depend on for food. According to an article in the Texas Observer, the latest spill on March 4 (involving more than 26,000 cubic feet of fuel) triggered a fire that burned dozens of acres of jungle and cropland. Deforestation from the construction of the pipeline has led to erosion and landslides further impacting the environment. The U.S.-Peru Free Trade Agreement could affect the Camisea region, or in similar cases as oil and gas exploration continues to expand in Peru, in two fundamental ways. On the one hand, corporations are not forced to comply with any minimum environmental standards. Rather, they are asked to comply with a given country’s existing laws, no matter how inadequate. Compliance is enforced through minimal fines that in many cases are more profitable to pay over the cost of adhering to environmental regulations. On the other hand, the trade agreement provides a mechanism for foreign corporations to challenge domestic laws that they deem to interfere with their right to earn a profit. They can sue national governments in secret trade courts for unlimited levels of cash compensation. For instance, in the case of Camisea, the Peruvian government could choose to revoke the operating license of the companies should it find them negligent or willfully noncompliant. Under the trade agreement, the Hunt Oil could then sue the Peruvian government for projected lost profits. The Peruvian government, however, would have no mechanism to force Hunt Oil to pay for the environmental damage it has caused. The Peruvian legislature has begun to consider the free-trade agreement and might even have a final vote by mid-June. Following the election of left-center Alan Garcia on June 4, 2006, outgoing President Alejandro Toledo seems determined to push the free-trade agreement through a lame-duck Congress. Garcia has stated that while he is not opposed to the idea of a free-trade agreement, he would like to renegotiate some of the provisions for the agreement to be more beneficial to Peru. Unfortunately, it does not seem that he will have the chance. It remains unclear what the prospects for the agreement are in the U.S. Congress, and how soon it will begin to consider the agreement. We will keep you posted as things develop. For more information on the Camisea pipeline, visit www.amazonwatch.org/amazon/PE/camisea For more information on the environmental affect of the U.S.-Peru Free Trade Agreement, visit www.sierraclub.org/trade/agreements/peru/peru_cafta.pdf Genetic Engineering Columban Father Ollie McCrossan shares the story of a dream come true for small-scale farmers on the island of Mindanao in the southern part of the Philippines. MASIPAG BIODIVERSITY CENTER: A DREAM COMES TRUE It has long been the dream of farmers of the island of Mindanao in the Philippines to have their own farm center that would serve as a home for alternative farming systems. The dream came true on October 23, 2005, when the Masipag Biodiversity Center (MBC) was officially opened. Like so many of their sisters and brothers around the world, small farmers in the Philippines face an uphill struggle to survive. In the words of one farmer, “When I have paid back my loans for seeds, fertilizer and pesticides, I have very little left to feed my family.” Conventional agricultural practices that rely heavily on fertilizers and pesticides have created a polluted environment and left farmers with huge debts. It’s no wonder that so many farm families have left the countryside to eke out a miserable existence in the big cities. The MBC is an attempt to help the small farmers of Mindanao farm in ways that are both sustainable and viable. Two hundred farmers from all over Mindanao were present during the official opening of the center. On that occasion, Bobby Pagusara, regional director of Masipag, said, “The aims of the MBC are the protection and conservation of our biodiversity, a place where organic farming technologies of our farmers can be displayed, and a center for alternative and renewable energy systems.” The MBC is the first biodiversity center of its kind in the Philippines. Four buildings have been built on the center’s 9.5 hectares of land, including a conference hall for 150 people, a two-story dormitory for 80 people, a kitchen and an administration building. More than 1,000 varieties of rice and 45 varieties of maize collected by farmers are now in cultivation and being conserved. There are three fish ponds, a vegetable garden and a tree nursery, and an area is being prepared for goats, pigs and poultry. A ram pump water system keeps water costs low by using gravity to recycle water to be used at a higher elevation. The pump save energy and doesn’t pollute the environment. Beginning in May 2005, four sons of MASIPAG farmers received theoretical and practical skills during training in sustainable farming at the MBC over five months. In addition to organizing skills, they learned how to breed rice, corn and livestock and how to develop aquaculture. Another group of young farmers have just begun their apprenticeship training. The MBC is still a work in progress. Much needs to be done to put the different components of a diversified farming system in place. For the farmers of Mindanao, the center is already demonstrating that sustainable agriculture does work. The seeds have found a home and a healthful environment is being restored. Yes, the farmers’ dream has come true!
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