GCAP Newsletter January 2021 – Message from global Co-Chairs Friday January 29th, 2021

GCAP Newsletter January 2021

Message from GCAP global Co-Chairs for 2021

Dear Colleagues,

2020 was a terrible year, marked by COVID-19. We started the year 2021 with hope of ending the pandemic and a just recovery. From the beginning of the new year it is clear that we need to fight together – for access to vaccines for all, universal social protection and democratic rights.

With our warmest regards and solidarity, we are pleased to share our outlook for 2021 with you!

GCAP global Co-Chairs

Josefa Georgina Muñoz Pavón, Oumar Sow and Paul Divakar

Josefa Georgina Muñoz Pavón
Co-President of Latindadd
Nicaragua

 

COVID-19 exposed the lopsided development model

COVID-19 has unmasked the fallacies of our political and economic model, which benefits the economic elites at national and the global level. On the one hand, they deprive people of their social, political, economic rights, and on the other, influence our identity, diversity, culture and world-view. The pandemic has also laid bare the fragility of our health systems and has pushed millions of people into poverty and deepened inequalities.

Strong political leadership, followed by actions is needed turn the things around. The lives and rights of people, their health and social protection ought to take the centre stage of the revival plans. Envisioning a new production system based on the paradigm of sustainability and inclusion, not on extractivism and exploitation, will go a long way to protect the planet and people. We must involve the historically marginalized groups and the new poor in the policy planning and implementation stage to obtain a just society.

What GCAP will do in 2021

GCAP calls upon its members to fight for tax justice, debt justice and overall social justice. We ought to organize campaigns and social mobilizations to achieve global justice! Health, debt cancellation and social protection are the priorities this year. We will unite our voices and actions for the implementation of the SDGs, especially the inclusion of most marginalized groups. In the campaigns, GCAP will proactively work with social movements like the trade unions, feminist groups, youth, peasants, fishermen, artisans, indigenous communities, women, environmentalists, and migrants, among others. The campaigns will gain from their experiences in various social, wage-related and human rights struggles as well as advocacy with the governments and international cooperation.

 

Paul Divakar
India
Convener of the Global Forum of Communities Discriminated Based on Work and Descent (GFoD)
We the discriminated people

We, the women facing multiple discriminations, communities discriminated on work and descent, indigenous people, migrants and marginalised youth, face new challenges due to the continued restrictions on democratic freedom and civil society spaces. In the aftermath of the global pandemic and amidst the global trend towards fundamentalism, we renew our commitment to continue our struggle for democracy and human rights.

Doing the impossible

As GCAP we must continue to keep our campaigns and struggles alive during these difficult times in line of our vision. Yes, the challenges we now face in the midst of so many deaths, horrifying inequality, and ruthless fascist leaderships seem insurmountable. However, I take practical inspiration from an ancestral saying from the communities discriminated on work and descent (DWD) – Let us continue to do what is possible, and soon, when we look back, we will realise that we have done the impossible!

 

Oumar Sow
Senegal
National Coordinator of GCAP Senegal

Who are the vulnerable?

COVID-19 makes this question even more important: Who are the vulnerable people? How many people and communities are vulnerable? Where are they and what are their needs? How can they be included in processes and speak for themselves? How can the intersectional characteristics of marginalized and vulnerable communities be included?

We must be more ambitious

With more and more people and groups falling into the vulnerable categories during the pandemic, GCAP ought to engage with them. We must redouble efforts to strengthen our solidarity with all groups we work with and create solidarity among these groups. Solidarity was and is key during the pandemic. We also need to be more ambitious. We must accelerate the implementation of the SDGs to tackle major challenges –  poverty, climate change, inequalities and the gender gap: GCAP calls on policy makers and all stakeholders to be part of the Decade of Action. We have just nine years until 2030, to fundamentally transform our world. Radical steps are needed to make the 2030 Agenda a reality. The pandemic should not be an excuse to lower our guards, but an opportunity to speed up the pace. Let´s get going – time is running out!

World Social Forum 2021

The World Social Forum 2021 (WSF) takes place from the 23 to 31 January. Many interesting workshops and events take place, you can find the program here: join.wsf2021.net. We would like to highlight an event on Saturday, organized by the Global Forum of Communities Discriminated on Work and Descent with the Social Justice DWD Task Force of GCAP:

News from Faces of Migration:
Migrants and Refugees are among the most marginalized groups.
The Faces of Migration campaign by GCAP and partners in Europe challenges the existing views on migration. The aim of the campaign is to fight for rights of migrants and refugees and to change public dialogue and policies from “us vs them” to the human beings affected by inequalities that are structural and pervasive. It makes the connection with the Agenda 2030 and the SDGs and how migrants and refugees have to be included to achieve Leave No One Behind. Here you find the most recent publications below: