First Annual
Report - 2014
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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]
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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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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.
P
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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
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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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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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.
S
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Organizing the masses→
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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
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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/
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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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Bashirabad Colony, North
West Canal, Military Road
(Sukkur) Sindh
PH # + 92- 312–8092822
pcsc4org.wordpress.com