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In view of the upcoming European elections, which will be held in Spain on June 9, Ayuda en Acción joins the proposals made by La Coordinadora.
The organization, which brings together 75 NGDOs, six associated organizations and 17 regional coordinators, has launched the campaign “¿Dónde está tu sombrilla?” (“Where is your umbrella?”), which focuses on the need to promote political measures and decisions that contribute to social justice, the reduction of inequalities, the protection of human rights and the promotion of spaces for citizen participation within the European Union.
For Ayuda en Acción “the role of the European Union in the framework of development cooperation is fundamental because it sets a direction to be followed by the rest of the member countries. Now cooperation is more necessary than ever: the climate crisis, the increase in inequalities, the worsening of conflicts, the erosion of multilateralism, food insecurity or the rise of political and social movements contrary to the values that inspired the founding of the EU are reasons to strengthen European development cooperation”, says Alberto Casado, Ayuda en Acción's Advocacy Director.
European Elections: work axes from La Coordinadora
As part of the campaign #Dóndeestátusombrilla, La Coordinadora has grouped its proposals, to which Ayuda en Acción joins, in different work axes:
Policy coherence
It calls to work from a perspective of policy coherence for sustainable development, reforming the governance system and incorporating the participation of civil society organizations, also increasing transparency.
In the area of cooperation, the system must become a strategic policy that supports the most vulnerable populations.
In addition, it is committed to promoting multisectoral and comprehensive responses from the triple nexus (humanitarian action-peace-development) to multiple and interrelated crises, in which European external action aimed at peace, dialogue and peaceful conflict resolution should be promoted.
In line with the work carried out by Ayuda en Acción, the La Coordinadora's proposals in terms of policy coherence include placing children and youth as a priority, with special attention to education, health and protection.
Regarding migration, asylum and refuge, there is great concern about the limitation of rights that the new EU Pact on migration and asylum implies, urging the institutions to ensure a pact that guarantees respect for human rights.
Feminist External Action
The La Coordinadora's proposal, joined by Ayuda en Acción, urges the EU to promote external action with an intersectoral and decolonial feminist approach.
It urges the promotion of the implementation, monitoring and provision of the necessary resources for the EU's Third Action Plan on Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment in External Action, among others.
It also calls for the implementation of the European Global Health Strategy, to promote the transition towards caring societies, to prevent and combat all forms of sexual and gender-based violence or to ask the new European Commission to commit to increase direct funding to feminist movements and organizations working for women's rights.
Financing
In this area, Ayuda en Acción joins the La Coordinadora's proposal for the European elections calling for a rethinking of the EU's economic policy objectives in order to improve welfare and guarantee social rights.
It also urges the European Commission to make an effort of transparency regarding the Neighborhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument - Global Europe (NDICI - Global Europe), in particular with regard to Official Development Assistance, human development, climate, migration, gender and the financing of civil society organizations. There is also talk of the need to de-link the use of NDICI funds to the EU's relations with a particular state.
Civic space
It is urgent to ensure the participation of social actors in order to enforce the objectives of cooperation and humanitarian assistance. For this reason, the EU is called upon to increase dialogue with civil society at all levels and stages of the political cycle, also promoting spaces that protect human rights defenders, the environment and the territory.
You can read the full document of proposals here.
