Human rights

Foundation Caucasus Environment (FCE) is founded in 1998 in Georgia. FCE is a nongovernmental, nonprofit public organization with professional staff on environment and education. The organization is oriented on sustainable development and social issues and its activities cover the Caucasus region. At the same time FCE is a member of several international networks, just like the National Platform of Eastern Partnership in Georgia https://eap-csf.ge and acts as a coordinator of Working Group 3 of this platform: https://eap-csf.ge/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=298&Itemid=1396&lang=en-GB.
Moreover FCE is a member of the big international network Women in Europe for common Future (WECF) WECF http://www.wecf.eu. Furthermore FCE coordinates the Global Education Week (GEW) of the network of North-South Centre (NSC) of Council of Europe https://www.coe.int/t/dg4/nscentre/GE/GEW-NETWORK_en.asp#TopOfPage.

The organization holds the GEW once a year in Georgia. The Global Education program in Georgia is updated every year according to the themes and comments which are developed at the GEW seminars. These seminars are organized by the NSC of the Council of Europe with participation of all national coordinators of GEW network. The organization’s target groups are schoolchildren and teachers, university students, lecturers, women groups, refugees and Itinerary Displaced Persons (IDPs) from the conflict areas of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. The permanent staff of FCE is 7 person and about 50 volunteers (students, schoolchildren and teachers, women groups, farmers, fishermen scientists, etc). Donors of the granted projects are EU, USAID, Eurasia Foundation, different countries' embassies in Georgia, among others.

Some recent implemented projects are:

1. "Integrated Hotspots Management and Saving the Living Black Sea Ecosystem HOT BLACK SEA", financed by EU BSB ENI CBC, 2013-2016; (team leader)
2. "Identification, Management and Sustainable Usage of the Eutrophicated areas of the Black Sea Coastal Zone", financed by UNEP GEF SGP (the project coordinator) https://www.facebook.com/foundationcaucasusenvironment, 2014-2015
3.   "Strenghening the Women Action for Sustainable Energy Development in Gali and Zugdidi Regions of Conflict areas of Abkhazi"

Weltfriedensdienst (WFD) is a development policy-related organisation headquartered in Berlin. It was founded in 1959, when the German federal government started its rearmament again, ten years after the ending of world war two. Weltfriedensdienst commit itself to reconciliation work in countries that had been victims of German fascism and in believe that there is only a way to peace with less weapons in the world. In the 1960s, WFD started to focus also on countries of the South. Since 1971, WFD has been one of six development services approved by the German federal government. Trained development and peace workers have been supporting grassroots initiatives in Africa, Latin America and Palestine.

Focal points of the collaboration with partners in the South are the advancement of women, professional training, environment protection and resource conservation, as well as civil peace service. In terms of collaboration, one of WFD's main concerns is to develop a sense of partnership with grassroots initiatives and NGOs.

In Germany, WFD raises awareness of problems in the South and helps to overcome prejudices by promoting several projects and by concentrating on development policy-related work in the areas of lobbying, education and public relations. The peaceXchange project that was running in Germany is one example of WFD's EU awareness work. It was designed to raise awareness of ways of achieving non-violent conflict resolution that have been developed in countries of the South. This three-year project, in collaboration with Austrian, Czech and Polish partners, mainly addressed young people. Currently WFD starts a new EU and also EU supported project "Global Generation" in collaboration with Hungarian and Austrian partners. This time it will take place not only in Germany, but also in the other project countries. In Germany, Weltfriedensdienst also focus on promoting partnership projects. A total of 60 partnerships support projects in Africa, Latin America and Palestine through various campaigns. Further advancement of WFD's work would not be possible without the dedicated volunteers, as members and partners of WFD who are on the board, work on the advisory committees of individual projects and in various project teams. Passive members, who cannot work actively for the association, but wish to support WFD financially, are also welcome and needed. Without their financial support many projects were not possible.

WFD promotes development policy-related campaigns and is part of a greater network. Accordingly, WFD is a member of VENRO, AGDF, AKLHÜ, Action against AIDS Germany, BER e.V. and Attac Deutschland.

Injustice calls for resistance – justice calls for support

The Christian Initiative Romero (CIR) was established 25 years ago as a means to express Christian solidarity with the Central American liberation movements in Nicaragua, El Salvador and Guatemala. In 1985 the organization took on the name of San Salvador's assassinated archbishop Oscar Arnulfo Romero, because he is a symbol for Central America. He combined the struggle for Human Rights with the fight against poverty. In memory of Oscar A. Romero we are pursuing social and political justice.

The conflicts in Central America have been resolved, democratization is increasingly catching on, and yet the social problems have not come closer to any kind of solution. It is more important now than ever before to show solidarity with the poor majority of people, but it has become more difficult to identify specific approaches. This is why the CIR has shifted its approach from specialized programs for every single country to more subject-oriented work. Instead of focusing on the current situation in Guatemala, El Salvador or Nicaragua the emphasis is mainly set on general topics concerning all countries, such as the rights of child laborers, the modern theology of deliverance, the impacts of globalization and the working conditions in the clothing industry.

Due to the small number of our very specialized staff, we are able to cooperate with organizations based mainly in Central America and give fast support easily.

Using the example of individual projects, we introduce the public to more general problems affecting specific countries. We are concerned to show how our society has an impact on the lives of people in project countries. In our subject-oriented campaign work we point out how you can help the disadvantaged in Central America.