March, 05 2010, 03:01pm EDT
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Diana Duarte, Media Coordinator,Phone: +1 212 627 0444,Email:,media@madre.org
Women Worldwide Will Honor the Lives of Feminist Leaders Who Died in Haiti's Earthquake
Honoring the lives of feminist Haitian leaders who died in the massive
earthquake on January 12th, will be the focus of International Women's
Day on March 8, 2010, which is also the 100th anniversary of this
annual celebration.
The main activity will take place that day
in Plaza Catherine Flon in Champ de Mars in the center of Port au
Prince, a park that symbolizes Haitian women's participation to the war
towards independence two centuries ago.
WASHINGTON
Honoring the lives of feminist Haitian leaders who died in the massive
earthquake on January 12th, will be the focus of International Women's
Day on March 8, 2010, which is also the 100th anniversary of this
annual celebration.
The main activity will take place that day
in Plaza Catherine Flon in Champ de Mars in the center of Port au
Prince, a park that symbolizes Haitian women's participation to the war
towards independence two centuries ago.
It is being organized by
the Haitian women's organizations locally to acknowledge and honor the
human suffering of the catastrophe in Haiti, promore feminist values
based on the human rights of all, the struggle for well being of all in
Haiti and urban planning, reaffirm feminist struggles despite the loss
of significant feminist leaders, strengthen solidarity and display a
MEMORIA which will take the form of testimonies, a mural and a slide
show.
Women's groups around the world are asked by the Haitian
women's movement to organize a memorial activity as part of their
celebration of International Women's Day in their countries and
communities.
"We are calling organizations throughout the world
to join us that day to honor and mourn our loss of feminist activists
which will allow us to revive and recreate momentum of the Haitian
women's movement to continue the important work of our fallen leaders
and the legacy they have left for those of us who continue the work,"
said Lise Marie Dejean of Solidarite Fanm Ayisyen (Solidarity with
Haitian Women, or SOFA).
She added that surviving feminists will
organize an activity in Haiti's Catherine Flon plaza that day where
some will share what they learned from the three feminist leaders to be
honored: Myriam Merlet, Magali Marcelin, and Anne Marie Coriolan.
All
three leaders had a long standing trajectory in feminist activism
reforming a judiciary that never took rape seriously, creating
organizations and houses to protect girls and women against domestic
violence and trafficking, publishing a feminist newspaper, expanding a
documentary center and an historical archive, and struggling for the
protection of sexual and reproductive rights.
Merlet was a
feminist activist, and an advisor and former chief-of-staff for the
Haitian Minister of Women. As an outspoken activist, Merlet helped draw
international attention to the use of rape as a political weapon, and
other issues related to violence against women and girls. She was one
of the founders of Enfofanm, the first feminist information and
documentation center that also promotes women's rights.
Magali
Marcelin, a lawyer, activist and actress, who two years ago urged women
to pack a courtroom in Haiti, where she succeeded in getting a guilty
verdict against a man who battered his wife. Marcelin was a founder of
Kay Fanm, a women's rights organization that deals with domestic
violence, offers services and shelter to women and provides
microcredit, or loans, to women working in markets.
Anne Marie
Coriolan served as a top adviser to the women's ministry. Assisted by
their efforts, the ministry developed key initiatives to raise
awareness of violence against women and created programs to help women
gain financial independence. Coriolan was also the founder of
Solidarite Fanm Ayisyen (Solidarity with Haitian Women, or SOFA), an
advocacy and services organization.
To honor these three
feminist leaders, among other killed in the quake, activities are being
planned worldwide, including a special roundtable at the United Nations
Headquarters in New York during the CSW (Commission on the Status of
Women) organized by The Feminist International Solidarity Camp, CAFRA
(Caribbean Association for Feminist Research and Action), the Huairou
Commission, The Association for Women's Rights and Development (AWID),
among many other organizations and networks.
The proceedings of
the CSW which will take place during the Beijing +15** sessions, will
include a panel about women in Haiti towards a proposed resolution for
CSW to adopt regarding Haiti and Haitian women. Women's organizations
and networks claim that the world has responded with shock and quick
action to the devastating earthquake in Haiti in January 12th. However,
emergency relief can be either a catalyst for women's leadership and
community autonomy, or it can impose unequal power structures,
militarized responses, and dependency. Several women's organizations
are already working to assure that women's voices are present now, in
emergency relief decisions, and in the rebuilding of Haiti. In
addition, women's groups are working to guarantee that women's human
rights are upheld in this crisis situation and in the months ahead.
Local
activities in other countries for March 8th have already been announced
by women's organizations in Chile, Argentina, Honduras, Puerto Rico,
Brazil, Canada, etc.
The Feminist International Camp is also requesting a statement of solidarity from the Nobel Women's Initiative.
The
initiative to commemorate the 8th of March by honoring Haitian
feminists emerged from a Haitian women's meeting on January 24th in
Port au Prince, which was then adopted at a Latin American and
Caribbean meeting of the International Feminist Solidarity Camp Myriam
Merlet, Magali Marcelin, and Anne Marie Coriolan, held in the Dominican
Republic on January 26-27.
Catherine Flon is widely regarded by
Haitians as one of the heroes of the struggle to put an end slavery, as
she sew the first Haitian flag on May 18th 1803 on the last day of the
colonial congress session where leaders of the revolution at that
session "solemnly swore an oath to liberty or death on the flag which
then lead the slaves to victory and freedom. This oath is known
historically as the Oath of the Ancestors.
International Women's
Day emerged out of women's activities in labor movements during the
19th and early 20th centuries, established formally at the Socialists
International Meeting in Copenhagen in 1910, attended by over 100 women
from 17 countries.
International Women's Day expanded and was
celebrated in a growing number of countries, and in 1977 the UN General
Assembly adopted a resolution proclaiming a United Nations Day for
Women's Rights and International Peace. In passing this resolution, the
UN "recognized the role of women in peace efforts and development and
urged an end to discrimination and an increase of support for women's
full and equal participation."
MADRE is an international women's human rights organization that partners with community-based women's groups to advance women's human rights, challenge injustice and create social change in contexts of war, conflict, disaster and their aftermath. MADRE advocates for a world in which all people enjoy individual and collective human rights; natural resources are shared equitably and sustainably; women participate effectively in all aspects of society; and all people have a meaningful say in policies that affect their lives. For more information about MADRE, visit www.madre.org.
LATEST NEWS
National Team Member Becomes at Least 265th Palestinian Footballer Killed by Israel in Gaza
Muhannad al-Lili's killing by Israeli airstrike came as the world mourned the death of Portugal and Liverpool star Diogo Jota and his brother André Silva in a car crash in Spain.
Jul 04, 2025
Muhannad Fadl al-Lili, captain of the Al-Maghazi Services Club and a member of Palestine's national football team, died Thursday from injuries suffered during an Israeli airstrike on his family home in the central Gaza Strip earlier this week, making him the latest of hundreds of Palestinian athletes killed since the start of Israel's genocidal onslaught.
Al-Maghazi Services Club announced al-Lili's death in a Facebook tribute offering condolences to "his family, relatives, friends, and colleagues" and asking "Allah to shower him with his mercy."
The Palestine Football Association (PFA) said that "on Monday, a drone fired a missile at Muhannad's room on the third floor of his house, which led to severe bleeding in the skull."
"During the war of extermination against our people, Muhannad tried to travel outside Gaza to catch up with his wife, who left the strip for Norway on a work mission before the outbreak of the war," the association added. "But he failed to do so, and was deprived of seeing his eldest son, who was born outside the Gaza Strip."
According to the PFA, al-Lili is at least the 265th Palestinian footballer and 585th athlete to be killed by Israeli forces since they launched their assault and siege on Gaza following the October 7, 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel. Sports journalist Leyla Hamed says 439 Palestinian footballers have been killed by Israel.
Overall, Israel's war—which is the subject of an International Court of Justice (ICJ) genocide case—has left more than 206,000 Palestinians dead, maimed, or missing, and around 2 million more forcibly displaced, starved, or sickened, according to Gaza officials.
The Palestine Chronicle contrasted the worldwide press coverage of the car crash deaths of Portuguese footballer Diogo Jota and his brother André Silva with the media's relative silence following al-Lili's killing.
"Jota's death was a tragedy that touched millions," the outlet wrote. "Yet the death of Muhannad al-Lili... was met with near-total silence from global sports media."
Last week, a group of legal experts including two United Nations special rapporteurs appealed to the Fédération Internationale de Football Association, the world football governing body, demanding that its Governance Audit and Compliance Committee take action against the Israel Football Association for violating FIFA rules by playing matches on occupied Palestinian territory.
In July 2024, the ICJ found that Israel's then-57-year occupation of Palestine—including Gaza—is an illegal form of apartheid that should be ended as soon as possible.
During their invasion and occupation of Gaza, Israeli forces have also used sporting facilities including Yarmouk Stadium for the detention of Palestinian men, women, and children—many of whom have reported torture and other abuse at the hands of their captors.
Keep ReadingShow Less
'Highly Inspiring' Court Ruling Affirms Nations' Legal Duty to Combat Climate Emergency
"While the United States and some other major polluters have chosen to ignore climate science, the rest of the international community is advancing protections," said one observer.
Jul 04, 2025
In a landmark advisory opinion published Thursday, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights—of which the United States, the world's second-biggest carbon polluter, is not a member—affirmed the right to a stable climate and underscored nations' duty to act to protect it and address the worsening planetary emergency.
"States must refrain from any conduct that reverses, slows down, or truncates the outcome of measures necessary to protect human rights in the face of the impacts of climate change," a summary of the 234-page ruling states. "Any rollback of climate or environmental policies that affect human rights must be exceptional, duly justified based on objective criteria, and comply with standards of necessity and proportionality."
"The court also held that... states must take all necessary measures to reduce the risks arising, on the one hand, from the degradation of the global climate system and, on the other, from exposure and vulnerability to the effects of such degradation," the summary adds.
"States must refrain from any conduct that reverses, slows down, or truncates the outcome of measures necessary to protect human rights in the face of the impacts of climate change."
The case was brought before the Costa-Rica based IACtHR by Chile and Colombia, both of which "face the daily challenge of dealing with the consequences of the climate emergency, including the proliferation of droughts, floods, landslides, and fires, among others."
"These phenomena highlight the need to respond urgently and based on the principles of equity, justice, cooperation, and sustainability, with a human rights-based approach," the court asserted.
IACtHR President Judge Nancy Hernández López said following the ruling that "states must not only refrain from causing significant environmental damage but have the positive obligation to take measures to guarantee the protection, restoration, and regeneration of ecosystems."
"Causing massive and irreversible environmental harm...alters the conditions for a healthy life on Earth to such an extent that it creates consequences of existential proportions," she added. "Therefore, it demands universal and effective legal responses."
The advisory opinion builds on two landmark decisions last year. In April 2024, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that the Swiss government violated senior citizens' human rights by refusing to abide by scientists' warnings to rapidly phase out fossil fuel production.
The following month, the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea found in an advisory opinion that greenhouse gas emissions are marine pollution under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and that signatories to the accord "have the specific obligation to adopt laws and regulations to prevent, reduce, and control" them.
The IACtHR advisory opinion is expected to boost climate and human rights lawsuits throughout the Americas, and to impact talks ahead of November's United Nations Climate Change Conference, or COP30, in Belém, Brazil.
Climate defenders around the world hailed Thursday's advisory opinion, with United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk calling it "a landmark step forward for the region—and beyond."
"As the impact of climate change becomes ever more visible across the world, the court is clear: People have a right to a stable climate and a healthy environment," Türk added. "States have a bedrock obligation under international law not to take steps that cause irreversible climate and environmental damage, and they have a duty to act urgently to take the necessary measures to protect the lives and rights of everyone—both those alive now and the interests of future generations."
Amnesty International head of strategic litigation Mandi Mudarikwa said, "Today, the Inter-American Court affirmed and clarified the obligations of states to respect, ensure, prevent, and cooperate in order to realize human rights in the context of the climate crisis."
"Crucially, the court recognized the autonomous right to a healthy climate for both individuals and communities, linked to the right to a healthy environment," Mudarikwa added. "The court also underscored the obligation of states to protect cross-border climate-displaced persons, including through the issuance of humanitarian visas and protection from deportation."
Delta Merner, lead scientist at the Science Hub for Climate Litigation at the Union of Concerned Scientists, said in a statement that "this opinion sets an important precedent affirming that governments have a legal duty to regulate corporate conduct that drives climate harm."
"Though the United States is not a party to the treaty governing the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, this opinion should be a clarion call for transnational fossil fuel companies that have deceived the public for decades about the risks of their products," Merner added. "The era of accountability is here."
Markus Gehring, a fellow and director of studies in law at Hughes Hall at the University of Cambridge in England, called the advisory opinion "highly inspiring" and "seminal."
Drew Caputo, vice president of litigation for lands, wildlife, and oceans at Earthjustice, said that "the Inter-American Court's ruling makes clear that climate change is an overriding threat to human rights in the world."
"Governments must act to cut carbon emissions drastically," Caputo stressed. "While the United States and some other major polluters have chosen to ignore climate science, the rest of the international community is advancing protections for all from the realities of climate harm."
Climate litigation is increasing globally in the wake of the 2015 Paris climate agreement. In the Americas, Indigenous peoples, children, and green groups are among those who have been seeking climate justice via litigation.
However, in the United States, instead of acknowledging the climate emergency, President Donald Trump has declared an "energy emergency" while pursuing a "drill, baby, drill" policy of fossil fuel extraction and expansion.
Keep ReadingShow Less
Trump Admin Quietly Approves Massive Crude Oil Expansion Project
"This thinly analyzed decision threatens the lifeblood of the American Southwest," said one environmental attorney.
Jul 04, 2025
The Trump administration has quietly fast-tracked a massive oil expansion project that environmentalists and Democratic lawmakers warned could have a destructive impact on local communities and the climate.
As reported recently by the Oil and Gas Journal, the plan "involves expanding the Wildcat Loadout Facility, a key transfer point for moving Uinta basin crude oil to rail lines that transport it to refineries along the Gulf Coast."
The goal of the plan is to transfer an additional 70,000 barrels of oil per day from the Wildcat Loadout Facility, which is located in Utah, down to the Gulf Coast refineries via a route that runs along the Colorado River. Controversially, the Trump administration is also plowing ahead with the project by invoking emergency powers to address energy shortages despite the fact that the United States for the last couple of years has been producing record levels of domestic oil.
Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) and Rep. Joe Neguse (D-Colo.) issued a joint statement condemning the Trump administration's push to approve the project while rushing through environmental impact reviews.
"The Bureau of Land Management's decision to fast-track the Wildcat Loadout expansion—a project that would transport an additional 70,000 barrels of crude oil on train tracks along the Colorado River—using emergency procedures is profoundly flawed," the Colorado Democrats said. "These procedures give the agency just 14 days to complete an environmental review—with no opportunity for public input or administrative appeal—despite the project's clear risks to Colorado. There is no credible energy emergency to justify bypassing public involvement and environmental safeguards. The United States is currently producing more oil and gas than any country in the world."
On Thursday, the Bureau of Land Management announced the completion of its accelerated environmental review of the project, drawing condemnation from climate advocates.
Wendy Park, a senior attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity, described the administration's rush to approve the project as "pure hubris," especially given its "refusal to hear community concerns about oil spill risks." She added that "this fast-tracked review breezed past vital protections for clean air, public safety and endangered species."
Landon Newell, staff attorney for the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, accused the Trump administration of manufacturing an energy emergency to justify plans that could have a dire impact on local habitats.
"This thinly analyzed decision threatens the lifeblood of the American Southwest by authorizing the transport of more than 1 billion gallons annually of additional oil on railcars traveling alongside the Colorado River," he said. "Any derailment and oil spill would have a devastating impact on the Colorado River and the communities and ecosystems that rely upon it."
Keep ReadingShow Less
Most Popular