De BRUG Launching

The launching was a great success. The program started with an opening speech by GHRD’s director, Mr. Sital. Mr. Sital expressed his gratitude to Cordaid’s partnership in this special event and spoke about the importance of HR for migrants. He said that everyone can become a champion in defending Human Rights at a global level, but migrants, in particular, are better positioned to do so because of their personal experiences and knowledge. Through this they are better placed to address the human rights situations in their countries. After Mr. Sital, Mr. Nimbona from Cordaid took the stage speaking on how De BRUG will help to change the perceptions on development and how HR is closely linked to this new approach. He mentioned that there are already many good instruments on social, political, and cultural rights and that there is also great emphasis on every organization to abide by these. After intensive preparations, the BRUG was launched on Friday the 6th of February 2009 at the GHRD head office in The Hague, the Netherlands. De BRUG is a project of networking among Dutch migrants’ community in the field of HR. The specific aim is to engage them in promoting HR across the world with particular emphasis on their countries of origin. It envisages the building of a bridge between migrants’ organizations settled in the Netherlands and their countries of origin in the field of HR and development.

But these are not enough. There is an urgent need to change the development approach to a rights-based approach. People have the right to a decent life and everything that comes with it. These rights are not something curative but they are already embedded. Unfortunately, there are many governments that are not willing or able to provide for these rights. And this is where the migrants and Diaspora can play a critical role and make a difference. Ms. Anna Innocenti presented on GHRD and De BRUG. She briefly explained the focus areas of GHRD and how the BRUG emerged as part of GHRD’s mission. Then she presented on De BRUG project, explaining its objectives and future plans. The objectives of De BRUG are: the reduction of the gaps between development and HR, the amelioration of contacts between migrants and Diaspora organizations working on HR, the stimulation of migrants’ and Diaspora organizations to promote HR, and equipping the members with the practical tools to advance and protect HR. The activities in the first year mainly include the structural set-up of De BRUG, roundtables, training, distribution of information and organize events.

In light of the upcoming International Women’s Day on the 8th of March, a roundtable was organized on the theme of: “Is Human Rights something for You?” GHRD presented a new approach to observe the IWD as an International Women’s Rights Day among migrants as part of De BRUG. The aim is to focus on making a difference in the plights of women back home and promoting their rights as human rights. Many expressed their willingness to join De BRUG on this.

The program ended with a brief presentation from Mr. Bruce Cerew, who was invited to speak about his new book “War Child”. War Child is an emotional story of tragedy, despair, hope and triumph. It is based on his true life experiences growing up as a child in Africa, his daring escape and his flight to freedom in The Netherlands. Afterwards participants were offered some snacks and it was time for networking.