Monthly Archives: July 2014

Matt Davies is ATD Fourth World's Regional Director for Latin America and the Carribbean. He has worked for ATD Fourth World for over 15 years, and is currently based in Mexico City. This article originally appeared on the blog Together In Dignity. You can learn more about our work in Latin America on the international website, and donate to support ATD teams there. News of President Obama's call for more federal funding to tackle the "humanitarian crisis" of child migrants has attracted a lot of media attention. The US Department of Homeland Security has apprehended 52,000 unaccompanied child migrants crossing the border since last October. What…

The International Movement ATD Fourth World welcomes the latest set of sustainable development goals adopted by the United Nations Open Working Group, but goals could better emphasize reaching the most marginalized and political will was lacking to mainstream human rights throughout the document. The sustainable development goals are a historic agreement and are much more ambitious and comprehensive than the preceding Millennium Development Goals. The International Movement ATD Fourth World congratulates Ambassadors Macharia Kamau and Csaba Kőrösi in their expert co-chairing of this group and looks forward to the opportunity to further engage in the design and implementation of the post-2015…

As part of our continuing work on the evaluation of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), 10 members of ATD Burkina Faso participated on July 10-11, 2014, in an international conference in Ouagadougou entitled, “How to ensure quality education for all.” Hosted by Burkina’s Ministry of Education and two leading poverty research organizations, Jameel – Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) and Innovations for Poverty Action (IAP), the conference was an important recognition of the experience and proposals of ATD’s members in developing quality education strategies with people living in deep poverty for the benefit of all. Read more...

18th July 2014 Dear World Leaders, We write to sound a warning. A warning that 2015 will be a year of huge opportunity, but also of huge risk. What is at stake here could not be greater, for it is not less than the future of our human family and the world upon which we all depend. Two global processes –the replacement of the current UN development framework and the conclusion of a new climate treaty – culminate within months of each other at the end of 2015. They require us to decide which future we want for people and planet.…

ATD, with all other members of the Children’s Rights Alliance, warmly congratulates Emily Logan on her appointment as Chief Commissioner of the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission. Tanya Ward, Chief Executive of the Children’s Rights Alliance, said: “Emily Logan has done an outstanding job as Ireland’s first Ombudsman for Children and we commend her on her many achievements. She established the Office under the Ombudsman for Children Act 2002 and developed it into the highly-respected body that it is today. Through the independent investigation of public bodies, children and their advocates now have a place to go when their rights…

The Government reshuffle means that Dóchas now has to deal a new Minister for Foreign Affairs & Trade, Charlie Flanagan TD, as well as a new Minister of State for “ODA, Trade Promotion and North-South Relations”. To welcome the two new Ministers, and to thank the outgoing Minister, Dóchas has written to all three. You can find here the letter to Joe Costello TD and to Charlie Flanagan TD – a very similar letter has gone out to Sean Sherlock. It is important to build on the strong political support that exists in Leinster House towards the Overseas Aid Budget. Here…

On Sunday morning, July 13, 2014, ATD long-term activist Jacqueline, died peacefully in her sleep. Her commitment was rooted in her experiences as a child, youth and adult, that made extreme poverty intolerable to her.  She too often witnessed injustice. In 2009, on RTE Radio One, Jacqueline explained: "I grew up in poverty. My husband and I have been homeless for the last 15 years.  My husband’s dad wanted a better life for his children. Unfortunately, he died quite young. He was working on the Docks. We went through at least 8 different B and Bs and hostels. We now live…

Here are some examples of ATD's new projects or ideas that are about to take shape as projects... Haiti: Evaluation  of  the  Health  Card  system  that  provides access to health care to over 700 families in link with ATD in Port-au-Prince; the aim is to draw lessons from an experience of more than two decades to inspire a social protection plan on a territorial or country level. France:   A  booklet,  “Daring  to  talk  about  money”  is  to  be created  in  the  framework  of  the  ATD's  Citizens' Universities for Dialogue and Solidarity to allow people who have to live on an…

The French mission to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva has succeeded in bringing together over 100 countries to support a resolution extending the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights. On 26th June 2014, France brought together over 100 countries in Geneva to support a resolution presented to the Human Rights Council with the aim of recognising the challenge posed by extreme poverty around the world and renewing the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights for three more years. The resolution also promotes the implementation of the Guiding Principles on…

Here is an example of a consultation led by ATD in Brazil, with Brasil pela dignidade, Verdejar and Raizes en Movimento. A group in Petropolis welcomes mums and young people from the ATD street library project in order to work on an MDGs evaluation all together (on evaluation and report see here). It was a first attempt to work in this way with adults living in the favelas of Petropolis. A participatory process has been set up in order to think out and decide on the work method from start to finish. Partner associations, some of which are based in Rio…