Publications

A research report by the Maasai International Solidarity Alliance (MISA)

The Maasai International Solidarity Alliance (MISA) is an international alliance standing in solidarity with the Maasai of Northern Tanzania. We bring together international faith-based organisations, human rights organisations, international aid and development  organisations, as well as grassroots organisations, individual activists, researchers and lawyers representing the Maasai in several land cases. Our alliance includes, among others, the Africa Europe Faith Justice Network (AEFJN), Agrecol Association for AgriCulture & Ecology, Coalition of European Lobbies for Eastern African Pastoralism (CELEP), Center for Agroecology, Water and Resilience (CAWR) at Coventry University (UK), CIDSE - International family of Catholic social justice organisations (International), Indigenous Movement for Peace Advancement and Conflict Transformation (IMPACT), FIAN International, FINAL GOVERNANCE, KOO (Koordinierungsstelle der Österreichischen Bischofskonferenz - Coordinating Office of the Austrian Bishops’ Conference), Gesellschaft für bedrohte Völker (Society for Threatened Peoples), IDINGO - Integrated Development Initiatives in Ngorongoro, Misereor, PALISEP, PINGO’s Forum (Pastoralists Indigenous Non-Governmental Organisations), PWC (Pastoral Women’s Council), TEST (Traditional Ecosystems Survival Tanzania), UCRT (Ujamaa Community Resource Team) and Welthaus Graz. Our main objective is to put an end to the human rights violations facing the Maasai of Northern Tanzania.

CIDSE, the international alliance of Catholic social justice organisations, is extremely concerned about the approval of legislative measures in Peru that jeopardise the support for the poorest and most vulnerable peoples and populations and undermine access to justice in cases of violations of human rights and collective rights.

Publication

No access! Why our global food system puts the poor at a disadvantage. And how we can create good markets for good food.

The “Global Food Poverty Gap” study shows how much income people lack in order to be able to afford a balanced diet. 3.1 Billion people cannot afford a healthy diet in 2022 and the global gap amounts to USD 2.59 Billion. However, this corresponds to just 1.86 percent of the global gross domestic product. The study shows how the poverty gap developed over time and how it differs among countries.

Better markets for food are one way to address the issue. Examples from Brazil, India, and Uganda present the different barriers people face, what civil society organizations are doing to improve the situation, and how better policies could contribute to the progressive realization of the right to adequate food and nutrition.  

Publication

The importance of camelid herders for the conservation of our world's rangelands is increasingly recognized internationally. To mark the International Year of Camelids (IYC), this thematic dossier introduces camelid pastoralists, how they sustainably manage rangelands in the Andean highlands, East Africa and Mongolia, and why the global community should support camelid pastoralism for a resilient future of our planet.

• Publisher: Misereor, League for Pastoral Peoples, DITSL
• Pages: 20 
• Responsible in terms of the law: Sabine Dorlöchter-Sulser, Rural Development Specialist at Misereor (sabine.dorloechter-sulser@misereor.de)

Publication

This study aims at giving fresh impetus to the debate in a threefold manner: firstly, it provides an overview of the legal  framework conditions with regard to PSS at the international level. Secondly, it analyses national legislation of countries (India, Brazil, Ecuador, Italy and Ethiopia) which have attempted to legally recognise peasant varieties or PSS. Thirdly, it presents two examples of countries (Mali and Uganda) where civil society actors advocate for the recognition of PSS. 

Report

Compared to the years during the COVID-19 crisis, in some countries of the Global South the debt situation has slightly eased. For most countries there, however, the debt situation remains tense. In 130 of the 152 countries surveyed in the Global South, the debt situation is at least slightly critical; in 24 of these countries, the situation is very critical. Overall, 55% of the countries surveyed are critically or very critically indebted – in contrast to only 37% before the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2024, countries in the Global South have to make more debt service payments to their external creditors than ever before. For 45 countries, more than 15% of government revenue flows into debt servicing.

• Published: 15 April 2024
• Editors: Misereor and erlassjahr.de

Stories from the Panguna Listening Project

From 1989 to 2001, Bougainville experienced a violent conflict directly connected to the Panguna Mine. The Panguna Listening Project (PLP) is an initiative of the Catholic Diocese of Bougainville seeking to make the voices of the people heard in the Panguna mine affected areas.

Publication

This study explores the vulnerabilities, traumatization processes, and Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) interventions in the selected
conflict-affected regions of Amhara, Oromiya, and Tigray, with a particular focus on the role of Church-based organisations. Using qualitative and participatory methods, the research highlights the need for scaling up MHPSS efforts, emphasizing best practices and locally-led initiatives, and culminates in recommendations for enhancing MHPSS in these regions.

• Publisher: This qualitative study is the result of a participatory and collaborative effort by three German-based organisations: Brot für die Welt (Bread for the World), Caritas Germany and Misereor with their partner organisations (in alphabetical order): Daughters of Charity in Mekelle, Diocese of Adigrat, Ethiopian Catholic Secretariate, Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus – Development and Social Service Commission (EECMY-DASSC), Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church – Development and Inter-Church Aid Commission (EOTC-DICAC), St Mary’s College Wukro; with support from Tium Debessay (Don Bosco Salesians).
• Publication date: August 2024
• Number of pages: 75

Publication

Dirty Profits 6 report released by Facing Finance highlights the investments of ten European banks in ten transnational extractive companies like for example Glencore, Vale, Rio Tinto and others, variously which continually violate human rights and the environment. Violations cover contamination of land, water and air; silencing community activists using violence, threats and intimidation; labour violations and forced labour; and failure to provide the remedy communities deserve.  The Dirty Profits 6 report shows that the ten selected European banks alone provided capital of over €100 billion to these 10 extractive companies between 2010 and 2017. Most banks, particularly those that made the most capital available, are not taking strong enough action to ensure that mining and extractive companies respect human rights and environmental concerns. The authors of the report expect banks to take responsibility for human rights and environmental concerns in their decision making, e.g. by improving transparency and making public all relevant information related to engagement and by taking a proactive approach to identifying non-compliant companies.