We want to share the invitation sent to many groups to take part in a workshop next Saturday 6th April. Maybe we have not reached all possible groups or people interested in this initiative, that’s why we post the invitation and feel welcome to join the workshop. For it Registration is needed.
Dear friends and colleagues,
We hereby cordially invite you to a first participatory workshop to exchange ideas about and plan a Public Hearing on Human Rights and Health in the context of the international Permanent Peoples’ Tribunal on the Violations of the Human Rights of Migrant and Refugee Peoples.
Date: April 6 th 2019, 11 am – 5 pm
Location: Jugendkulturzentrum PUMPE, Lützowstr. 42, 10785 Berlin-Mitte
Year after year, we have witnessed Europe’s policy of exclusion being constructed– a policy that has resulted in a sweeping rollback of people’s human rights. We have also seen the growth of right-wing populist and
racist ideas that are becoming more and more socially acceptable all over Europe. We are constantly hearing of the deadly consequences of these policies and appalling human rights violations affecting health and the
physical and mental well-being of migrants and refugees during their journeys to Europe as well as after their arrival in Germany. Although some of them have been made public and are well-documented, political and legal consequences are rare.
Inspired by solidarity between migrants, refugees, human rights organisations and other social movements towards equality and an inclusive society, more than 30 migrant and refugee organisations launched the Permanent Peoples’ Tribunal (PPT) on the Violations of the Human Rights of Migrant and Refugee Peoples in Barcelona in 2017. This has been endorsed by 100 movements, networks and organisations from different European countries.
Since the launch, five hearings on diverse issues have been held in several European cities with the aim of giving greater visibility to migrants and refugees from all backgrounds as subjects of fundamental human rights; identifying, assessing and passing judgement on the chain of co-responsibility in the violation of their rights; to urgently identifying and promoting appropriate mechanisms to give them access to justice. For more information on past hearings: https://transnationalmigrantplatform.net/migrantppt/
As a growing coalition of activists, refugee, health and human rights organisations, we wish to build on this experience and the framework of the PPT and therefore call for a public tribunal hearing on the issue of Human Rights and Health to be held in Germany in early 2020. For more detailed information see the project outline attached.
The PPT is a grassroots process that is being built by and with the people most involved and most directly affected. We believe that it’s important to count on as many voices as possible to bring different perspectives and experiences together. In this regard, this coalition makes a strong call to address
connections between the crisis of health care and its effects on the rights of migrants, refugees and citizens alike in the context of the politics of exclusion, austerity regimes and neoliberal restructuring.
The PPT aims to facilitate migrant and refugee movements in developing new alliances with other social movements and with academia as well as the health, art and other related sectors.Why health?
Health is a basic need of human beings and social communities. We use a holistic approach to health issues which goes beyond only health care to include social and political conditions for health. The human right to health means that everyone has the right to the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, including access to all medical services, sanitation, adequate food, decent housing, healthy working conditions, and a clean environment.
We think that the precarious developments described above affect not only migrants and refugees but all of us and our democracy in multiple ways. We fear that the “necropolitics” on the Europe’s borders which deliberately let people seeking refuge in Europe die at sea or in the desert, as well as the criminalization of solidarity, are compromising our collective health as societies. Violence becomes normalised, social relations dehumanized, democratic and equalitarian values weakened and empathy and civic engagement are punished. But we also think that the issue of health can bring the struggle of refugees and migrants closer together with other social movements.
The workshop
We therefore invite you to participate in an initial participatory planning workshop in which we aim to:
1. exchange information and experience on the PPT framework and hearings on migration
2. jointly define the focus for the hearing
3. broaden the coalition (various forms of participation are possible)
4. agree on next organisational steps for the hearing.
We would also like to move beyond simply denouncing human rights violations within this context and to present and discuss initiatives, model solutions and pilot projects that have successfully addressed the pressing practical problems that refugees and migrants face, thereby not only strengthening their health and well-being but also democratic and humanistic values in society.
We are happy to announce the participation of Gianni Tognoni, secretary general of the Permanent Peoples’ Tribunal (Lelio Basso Foundation, Rome) and Brid Brennan (Transnational Institute/ European co- convenor of the Permanent Peoples’ Tribunal on the Violations of the Human Rights of Migrant and Refugee Peoples, Amsterdam, tbc).
We very much look forward to your participation in the workshop! If you have any questions or need financial support to cover your travel expenses to Berlin, please do not hesitate to contact or write us a mail at registration-tribunal-bln@riseup.net
To register, please fill in this online form by March 31st, 2019.
Best regards,
Women in Exile e.V.
Borderline Europe e.V.
IPPNW Germany – Internationale Ärzte in Sozialer Verantwortung e.V.
Yaar e.V.
Medibüro Berlin
Aktionsbündnis “Gemeinsam für Demokratie und Menschenrechte“
