Rehabilitation of Manual Scavengers

Campaigns

1. Action Against Climate Change

Pairvi has been actively involved in a collaborative action on climate change titled “Beyond Copenhagen”. A number of state and national organizations and networks have provided support and solidarity to conduct a range of actions till and beyond COP15.
Pairvi has worked extensively with focus on climate change agriculture and food security tracing climate change impacts in rainfed regions. It has worked with variety of stakeholders groups including farmers, women, Agriculture Universities, and state governments in order to enhance people’s resilience to climate change.
The collective also intervened in COP 15 as well as in People’s Climate Change Conference, Bolivia with the agenda of brining agriculture in focus in climate change negotiations. Read more

2. Business and Human Rights: Towards Corporate Accountability

Globalization has significantly changed the world we live in, presenting new and complex challenges for the protection of human rights. While human rights continue to be the primary responsibility of governments, now business too affects human rights of people in no insignificant manner. With the liberalization and privatization many sovereign functions have been entrusted to private business, and have significant bearing on the rights of the people. The information in the private business also remains out of bounds for people. Pairvi believes that doing a socially responsible business makes business case and creates a space for dialogue between the business and affected populations. Read more

3. Rehabilitation of Manual Scavengers

The Ministry for Social Justice and Empowerment claims that India has become a manual Scavenger free country by march 31st 2010. However, even by modest estimates, there are more than 7 lakh people in the country engaging in this dehumanizing practice due to a number of reasons who need to be rehabilitated immediately. The process of rehabilitation is also half hearted and does not encourage complete withdrawal from the work.

4. Campaign Against Cash for Food Scheme

The central government is planning to give food subsidy in cash to below poverty line (BPL) families in order to check the losses that happen because of pilferage of PDS food-grains. Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution has sought a grant of Rs 242 crore from Finance Ministry to run a pilot for the cash transfer scheme in five villages – (i) Lakhimpur Kheri (UP), (ii) Hardoi (UP), (iii) Panchkula (Haryana), (iv) Jhajjar (Haryana) and Central Delhi. However, it is felt that cash transfer instead of food grains will severly hamper the food security of the poorest people. Read more

5. Dalit Human Rights

Pairvi believes that rights of dalits are human rights and engages in multifarious activities to bring them in public discourse and policymaking. It focuses on creating a connect between dalits and non-dalits to end discrimination and atrocity, and facilitate affirmative action. Pairvi has also raised the discrimination discourse at various appropriate for a including Human Rights Commission, Sub-Commission, World Social Forum and India Social Forum. Pairvi also works with dalit social advocates to promote redistributive justice and equality of opportunities. Read more

6. Rights to Food and Livelihood

Pairvi is an active partner in the campaigns which aim to join forces of civil society, citizens groups and organizations across countries and continents to lobby and advocate for the cause of food and nutritional security. At the national level while this campaign focuses on right to food and livelihood, it strives to make the trade in food, fair and equitable at the international level. It also intervenes with the multilateral organizations like WTO and UN systems like UNCTAD to secure the right to food for the food insecure population in the developing countries. Pairvi is also increasingly concerned with environmental and climate change issues and their impact on food security in the region. Read more

7. Aid and Development Effectiveness

Pairvi is a member of the country core group of the dialogue promoted by the Open Forum for CSO Development Effectiveness. The open forum is a unique space for CSOs worldwide to engage in a global and fully participatory process towards defining and introducing a framework of mutually shared development effectiveness principles. It aims to provide a learning space, based on mutual trust, where CSOs can discuss issues and challenges relevant to their work and relationships as development actors.

8. Monitoring Of IfIs And Other Multilateral Organizations

Pairvi believes that International Finance Institutions (IFIs) like World Bank, Asian Development Bank, International Monetary Fund, and World Trade Organization etc. have increasing influence over the state, systems and the lives of people world over. Therefore, it works with different stakeholders groups to familiarize them with the IFIs, to monitor the policies, procedures and programmes, and screen their micro-level impact on the communities and lives of poor people. 

9. Indo-Nepal Joint Action Forum

Pairvi also convenes an Indo-Nepal Joint Action Forum which has been formed to combat cross-border trafficking and to undertake joint and coordinated action on common developmental conerns on both sides of the broder. The forum is engaged in civil society building on issues of safe migration, HIV, AIDS, climate change and food security, rights of dalits, sustainable development. Read More