Pcsc annual report 2014

First Annual

Report - 2014

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Galvanizing the Struggle

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Annual Report 2014

Content

Acknowledgement pg. (3)

Foreword pg. (4)

Genesis pg. (5)

Program & Strategies pg. (6)

Outreach pg. (9)

Interventions &

Engagements

Sensitizing the Youth pg.

(11)

Organizing the Masses pg.

(12)

Campaigning with

defenders pg. (14)

Resource pg. (15)

PCSC in Media pg. (16)

Finance pg. (17)

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Annual Report 2014

Acknowledgement

PCSC acknowledge this work to communities, civil society

organizations and people’s movements that struggle to

address the root causes of Socio - economic and political

issue driven by corporate globalization, neo-liberal

policies & WTO locally, nationally and internationally.

We are also grateful to the activists and human rights

defenders that take action & contribute their time and

energies to mobilize others with us about right to land,

water and food sovereignty; and campaigned for corporate

accountability, climate justice and even contribute for

upbringing the cause of universal human rights social

protections.

We put the google search pictures at our publication & blog

web page that reflect our work and philosophy.

Disclaimer Part(s) of this report may be reproduced on the condition of proper acknowledgement and citation be given to Peoples Common Struggle Center (PCSC). For more information about PCSC, please visit us at http://www.pcsc4org.wordpress.com/ or email us at [email protected]

http://www.pcsc4org.wordpress.com/

mailto:[email protected]

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Annual Report 2014

Forward

racing out the foot – prints of agricultural deceives & dilemmas, I would have to recall the decade of 1960s when our agrarian societies have been hit by imported (Green Revolution Agriculture

Policy) under the illusion of agrarian prosperity by using agriculture machinery, high yielding seed varieties, chemical fertilizers, DAP & tube wells so far, and the ultimate result of the policy have gallivanized the massive landlessness, unemployment and food insecurity – even more the degradation of agricultural lands, agro - environmental devastation, rather than the prosperity of farmers.

Again under the new economic paradigm of ‘Green Economy’ with support of United Nations Environmental Program, they came up with new deceive of “decreasing global warming” through renewable energy technologies like agro-fuel produced from “patented” Genetically Modified Seeds - GMOs as alternative of fossil fuels, protected under Intellectual Property rights and all this is happening due to the absence of strong peasants movements for agrarian justice in Pakistan

Irony is that, all these legislative manipulations are made by those 5 percent who own more than 60 percent of the total agricultural land of state by occupying legislative/ executive positions & are pushing neo-liberal policies through IFIs and WTO. Using such a neoliberal tactics of different trade related agreements, agri – business Corporations have now an open ground in investing agriculture by patenting seed varieties, promoting micro-nutrients, hydroponic and aero-phonic vertical planting commoditizing natural resources.

Addressing the root causes of such political, socio-economic & agro-ecological issue driven by corporate globalization and neo-liberal policies Peoples Common Struggle Center (PCSC) has been registered under the Societies Act XXI of 1860 at Sukkur (Sindh) Pakistan. Inspired by anti-WTO and neoliberal movements either engaged in Global South or North we are also dedicated to build such a movement here in (Sindh) province. With meager resources and handful people, initially we have started our programs focusing on the areas of Land, Water & Food Sovereignty, b) Climate Justice & Corporate Accountability c) Universal Human Rights, Social Protections & Gender Justice. We know, the task ahead we have is challenging, in an environment where imperials’ funding is vibrant in pushing neo-liberal agendas, & due to absence of anti – neoliberal / WTO peoples movements resistance, corporate – globalizations have an open ground with those five percent policy maker to impose anti people polices. Building people’s resistance by galvanizing an anti-WTO movement here in Sindh – Pakistan, PCSC could make a difference and keep masses more informed about the changes in policies at local, regional and international level and enable them for resistance that pressurizes governments to come-up with pro-people policies.

T

Irshad Soomro Executive Director

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Annual Report 2014

Genesis

eoples Common Struggle Center (PCSC)

is a nonprofit research and advocacy

organization came into being on January,

2014 by a group of progressive social

activists to support small peasantries &

working class societies and movements in

order to address the root causes of

political, ecological & socio – economic

issues driven by Corporate- Globalization &

Neo-liberal policies.

PCSC strives to strengthen the capacity of

those who are the most victims of

Globalization and Neoliberal policies i.e.,

small and landless peasantries, fisher

folks, informal and formal laborers,

women, children, youth, differently able

persons, minorities and indigenous groups

of society.

We also promote local, regional, and

international peace, cooperation and

solidarity for the attainment of peaceful

progress rejecting all the neo-liberal

tactics of (privatization, militarization,

deregulization & trade liberalizations) &

stand for the reinforcement of laws and

polices backed by maximum resources

based on just, fair and equitable

distribution for less advantaged groups of

society, without any discrimination of race

& religion.

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Annual Report 2014

Programs & Strategies→

Mission Statement

Build the capacity of masses to become

progressive & self-reliant for the

attainment of social protections,

equitable and sustainable development

& climate justice.

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Annual Report 2014

Land, Water & Food Sovereignty

bout 75 % of the households own no

land in Pakistan. Moreover, the

increase of international corporate land &

water grabbing has exacerbated the

situation; devastating forests and

mangroves causing sea intrusion, floods -

expelling the peasants and fisher folk

communities from lands & waters,

unleashing massive unemployment and

food insecurity at the cost of big

agricultural forms, construction of mega

dams & towns on rivers & islands &

corporate fishing overharvesting.

Focusing on such massive violations, we

advocate for peoples’ control over land,

water and forests, practicing their right of

food sovereignty that guarantees to

produce food according to their cultural

traditions.

Beside this, we reject & resist corporate

GE “Seed” piracy through patent rights &

promote ecologically sustainable

agriculture & traditional seeds to ensure

food sovereignty as well as reduce

dependency on corporate food producing

patterns which are ecologically, socially &

economically harmful for societies already

in worse conditions.

Climate Justice & Corporate

Accountability

ince the inception of industrialization,

peoples of the Pakistan and ‘Third

World Countries’ are the most vulnerable

at the face of climate extremes due to

plunder of natural resources by Capitalists’

Corporate sector for its greed of profit

accumulation.

Again, under the new economic paradigm

of ‘Green Economy’ they are

commoditizing natural resources using

neoliberal tactics of different trade

related agreement on technology through

WTO, World Bank and IMF which

exacerbate food, ecological, economic &

climate crisis threatening millions in to

unemployment & hunger.

Focusing on such an anti-people polices

PCSC actively campaign for holding

accountable Corporate - globalization for

climate Justice by reducing carbon foot

prints & providing alternatives for peoples

sustainable development.

Universal Human Rights, Social

Protections & Gender Justice

trong patriarchal values & religious

fundamentalism are the major

components of violation against women,

A S

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Annual Report 2014

children, and minorities in Pakistan. Girls

and women's are denied for their basic

rights of health, education, dignity and

property and are subjected to rape, honor

killing, forced marriage, forced to religion

conversion and domestic violence.

Beside this, attacks & harassment of

minorities by religious fundamentalists is

fueling in social disharmony. On the other

side, Pakistan is still trapped in poverty

eradication and development issues due

copying and adopting capitalists’

neoliberal development model which

strengthen class based societies and

privatizing institutions, lowering the wages

& diminishing the social protections.

Tackling this phenomenon, PCSC

campaigns for gender justice, peace,

religious harmony and universal human

rights of health, education, municipal,

food, shelter, security, decent wages and

social security’s for formal and informal

labor and working class societies.

PCSC Strategize & works to;

ocument and disseminate progressive

research & analysis in a popular and

understandable manner, focusing on social

injustices, economic disparities, ecological

degradations & climate change;

Organize, network & collaborate with

peoples & movements for the better

understanding of the impacts of

Globalization, Corporate Control and

Neoliberal policies on people’s peace &

sustainable development at local, national

and international level;

Build the capacity of people to hold power

accumulators accountable

about their socio-economic

& political rights, enabling

them to actively participate

in a process of decision &

policy making for achieving

and exercising those rights.

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Annual Report 2014

Outreach

stablished at the banks of Indus River, more than 65

percent rural agrarian societies of district Kashmore, Jacobabad, Shikarpur, Sukkur, Ghotki and Khairpur are landless and 10 percent with small land holdings being controlled by big feudals at all the political, social and economic levels. Moreover, the climate extremes have also exacerbated the situation of sufferings of those small and landless societies.

fter the heavy floods of 2010, and rains of 2013, infiltration of

international disaster response & rehabilitation organizations (specially in agriculture sector) put a heavy aid in promoting and providing DAPs, chemical fertilizers, hybrid seeds, pesticides & mechanization in agriculture societies of above mention districts under the illusion of early recovery and the restoration of livelihoods, trapping farmers in pushing & promoting neo-liberal Agriculture practices.

Addressing such an illusions effectively PCSC

based its head office at Sukkur city as it is the third one big city of Sindh province in terms of agriculture trade, grain & vegetable market and controlling the irrigation system of Sindh through “Sukkur barrage”. The city also connects peoples at domestic and international level through roads, railway and airport communications, providing a range of facilities for easy operations and access to institutions and services.

E A A

PCSC started its community

engagement programs from

two small towns (Chak and

Rustam) of District Shikarpur

and expended towards the

northern districts of Sindh

(Kashmore, Jacobabad,

Ghotki, and Khairpur &

Sukkur).

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Annual Report 2014

Interventions &

Engagements→

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Annual Report 2014

Sensitizing the Youth

ensitizing & mobilizing youth around

the areas of tolerance, harmony,

cooperation for peace and

development, Peoples Common Struggle

Center (PCSC) organized workshops with

youth and civil society activists on

“Impacts of Neoliberal Policies on Peace &

Development”. The workshops were

conducted with youth of the Rustam and

Chak city of District - Shikarpur. Focusing

around the issues of current Neo-liberal

policies & its impacts on working class

societies and their socio-economic

conditions; speakers also highlighted the

impacts current wave of fundamentalist

extremism in Sindh.

Giving critique on policy issues

speakers at the workshops said

that our policy making

institutions are totally in the

control of feudal, semi-feudal

and industrial elite class and they

are imposing neo-liberal policies

in collusion & collaboration of

global – capitalists”.

Beside this, the discussion over the

conditions of rural agriculture communities

and their exploitation at the hands of

corporate agriculture companies was also

criticized.

Citing the example of corporate control

over agriculture speaker said that Federal

Ministry of National Food Security and

Research has tabled new “Seed Act” bill in

National Assembly which ensures the

monopoly and control of agro- industry

over seed which ultimately exacerbate the

situation of food insecurity in the country,

with massive unemployment on

agricultural forms and ecological

degradation.

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Annual Report 2014

Organizing the masses→

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Annual Report 2014

rganizing the peasant groups in Sindh,

Peoples Common Struggle Center

(PCSC) initially organized meetings with

small and landless groups of farmers in six

districts i.e., Sukkur, Shikarpur, Kashmore,

Jacobabad, Khairpur and Ghotki. The

objective behind the formation of peasant

groups is to develop strong solidarity and

alliance between small and land less

farmers to develop their understanding

over socio-economic, political, and climate

justice issues driven by WTO, corporate

globalization and neoliberal policies.

Making farmer groups more vibrant, PCSC

would enhance their political approach

through extensive sensitizing, mobilizing

and connecting other likeminded

movements that could enable them to

Understand that how their socio –

economic deprivations and ecological

degradations are made possible through

the manipulations of laws locally,

nationally and internationally by

governments and corporate globalization,

WTO and neo-liberal policies.

Catalyzing such a vibrant peasant groups

here in (Sindh) PCSC is planning to organize

a series of capacity building trainings for

those farmer groups on Food Sovereignty,

Sustainable Agriculture, Land Grabbing,

Climate Justice, Impacts of WTO and Neo-

liberal policies, Human Rights and Social

Protections. Through these trainings small

and land less farmers not only understand

their issues but also contribute for

international solidarity and cooperation

O

http://pcsc4org.wordpress.com/



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Annual Report 2014

Campaigning with Defenders

oving ahead towards defending the

rights of the most marginalized and

vulnerable groups of agrarian society,

Peoples Common Struggle Center (PCSC)

organized campaigns against the corporate

control over food and agriculture in

Pakistan with collusion of government

authorities by passing Seed Act Bill – 2014

from the National Assembly of Pakistan.

Making this more effective, PCSC at the

first instance engaged with peasant

communities at six districts of Sindh to

sensitize them about the worse impact of

bill and the socio – economic deceives of

the neo liberal policies under the umbrella

of International Financial Institutions – IFIs

and WTO.

In the second move PCSC sensitized the

issue through social activist and human

rights defenders and started campaign to

resist the corporate – led Seed Act Bill –

2014. Through their generous time and

support PCSC took start and organized a

rally and demonstration at press club –

Sukkur to record the concerns and grieves

of the peasant society. To know more

about please visit

http://pcsc4org.wordpress.com/2014/12/2

2/ensure-seed-sovereignty-not-

dependency/

M

http://pcsc4org.wordpress.com/2014/12/22/ensure-seed-sovereignty-not-dependency/



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Annual Report 2014

Resource→

PCSC blog-page, Articles and Boucher

Initially, due to financial constraints, we produce, publish & share activity reports, reviews and article through our PCSC blog webpage “it should be noted that most of the pix at our blog page are taken from Google search that reflect our work”. Articles Blog webpage

Boucher

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PCSC in Media

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Annual Report 2014

Income & Expenditure

Assets Philanthropy Income (Rs)

Consultancy Income (Rs)

Donation In Kind (Rs)

Total (Rs)

Balance as on 31-12-2013 - -

- -

Income During 2014 150,000

200,000

113,500

463,500

Expenditure During-2014 150,000

200,000

102,600

452,600

Balance as on 31-12-2014 - -

10,900

10,900

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Annual Report 2014

Bashirabad Colony, North

West Canal, Military Road

(Sukkur) Sindh

PH # + 92- 312–8092822

[email protected]

pcsc4org.wordpress.com

mailto:[email protected]

Pcsc annual report 2014

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