www.cafod.org.uk

cafod.org.uk

Campaigning works!

How you’ve helped us change the world

1992: FairtradeCAFOD co-founded the Fairtrade Foundation, which seeks to transform trade in favour of the poor and disadvantaged. Because so many dedicated supporters run parish stalls, Fairtrade coffee mornings, and show off their label in Fairtrade Fortnight there are now over 3,000 Fairtrade products available in the UK and over 450 Fairtrade Catholic parishes.

More than 7.5 million people – workers and their families - in 58 developing countries now benefit from the international Fairtrade system.

1994:Landmine ActionStanding in solidarity with thousands of campaigners around the world, CAFOD campaigners sent 64,000 postcards to the Ministry of Defence, calling for a worldwide ban of landmines. In 1999, 40 governments ratified the Ottawa Treaty, which bans the manufacture, trade and use of anti-personnel landmines. A whopping 144 countries have now signed up to the treaty.

1997: Workers’ Rights

CAFOD campaigners pushed for a better deal for garment and shoe workers by sending cards to their favourite high-street shops and telling shoppers how their clothes are made. Many High Street stores and companies – from Marks & Spencer to Levi Strauss – signed up to the Ethical Trading Initiative to ensure their workers, wherever they are based, get good working conditions and fair pay.

2000: Jubilee 2000

420,000 CAFOD supporters signed the Jubilee 2000 petition, calling for an end to the crippling debt facing many of the world’s poorest countries. They were also among 70,000 people who formed a giant human chain around the G8 in Birmingham, 1998. Faced with this pressure, world leaders acted, cancelling $110 billion of debt, equivalent to 2000 years of CAFOD’s income!

420,000 CAFOD supporters signed the Jubilee 2000 petition, calling for an end to the crippling debt facing many of the world’s poorest countries. They were also among 70,000 people who formed a giant human chain around the G8 in Birmingham, 1998. Faced with this pressure, world leaders acted, cancelling $110 billion of debt, equivalent to 2000 years of CAFOD’s income!

2004 Clean up your computerFollowing calls from CAFOD supporters to respect workers' rights, several leading electronics companies – including Microsoft, Intel, HP and IBM - introduced industry standards and took action to improve conditions along their supply chain, tackling issues like discrimination, dangerous working conditions and excessive overtime.

2005 Make Poverty History

Over 700 parishes were represented in Edinburgh, as a quarter of a million rallied to make poverty history. Globally, 31 million people united in the Global Call to Action against Poverty. As a result, world leaders pledged to increase aid spending by up to $50 billion and the G8 agreed to cancel some of the remaining debt owed by poor countries to international institutions like the World Bank.

2006: Fighting for trade justiceCAFOD campaigners demanded an end to unjust subsidies that meant each dairy cow in the European Union ‘earned’ $2.20 a day - at a time when almost half the world’s people lived on less than $2 a day. Campaigners also delayed the agreement of unfair Economic Partnership Agreements between the EU and developing countries.

In 2006, following demands from CAFOD supporters (as part of The Trade Justice Movement) to ensure UK companies act more responsibly, the Companies Act came into being - the biggest shake-up of UK company law for 150 years. It offered an unprecedented opportunity to make laws to ensure big British businesses don’t put profit ahead of people and the environment.

2006-2007: Unearth Justice

50,000 CAFOD campaigners used consumer pressure on major UK jewellery retailers, asking them to sign up to a set of golden rules to end the sale of dirty gold. Parishioners in England and Wales created gold petition chains, which were handed into local stores of Argos and Ernest Jones (amongst others), championing the rights of those affected by mining. As a result, 7 major UK jewellery retailers signed up to the rules, along with 69 more internationally, thanks to the No Dirty Gold campaign in the USA.CAFOD campaigners also lobbied UK mining companies. Following a CAFOD investigation into severe water contamination, staff from a mining company in Honduras now face criminal charges over mine pollution.

2008: UK Climate Change Act

We lobbied our MPs for three key changes to this piece of legislation – annual checkpoints, more ambitious emission cuts, and the inclusion of emissions from shipping and aviation - and we got them all. As a result, the UK became the first country in the world to make emissions cuts a legal requirement.

2009: Climate Justice

Over 60,000 CAFOD supporters took action in their parishes and pews, taking personal steps to live more simply and sustainably, and also calling for a fair, ambitious and legally binding global deal on climate change from our world leaders.Global pressure from campaigners drew world leaders to the talks for the first time ever. The talks ended in stalemate but the pressure for ambitious action continues to mount.

2010: Dropping Haiti’s DebtIn response to a global outcry, US$748 million of Haiti’s international debt was cancelled. Thanks to you, millions of pounds of former debt was instead used to help Haitians recover and rebuild from the earthquake.Pressure on world leaders also led to a fund being established so that other poor countries can now access debt relief following a disaster.

2010: Saving effective aidThanks to public pressure, all three UK political parties agreed to ring-fence aid. In the last year, UK aid has provided treatment for HIV to 100,000 people, vaccinated 3 million children against measles, provided12,000 classrooms and trained over 100,000 teachers in developing countries (amongst other things).

In our photos...Bananas from a tree in Liberate'sback yard - Gasalo village, Kigali province, Rwanda. [Annie Bungaroth]

Danger! Landmines! sign. Landmines continue to be a major problem to safety in Cambodia. [Sean Sprague]

Parvin Akhter, 16yrs, making clothes in her shop. Chila Bazar, Mongla District, South Bangladesh [Simon Rawles]

A thousand debt campaigners commemorate the anniversary of the Birmingham Human Chain around St Philip's Cathedral. [Marcus Perkins/ Tearfund]

Paty, 47, was sacked for asking for her payrise. She did a diploma on human rights in the workplace, with CEREAL, which provides education in human rights in the workplace, legal aid & lobbying. [Marcella Haddad]Dermot O’Leary joined CAFOD supporters to promote Make Poverty History for CAFOD by wrapping Westminster Cathedral in a giant white band. [Geoff Crawford]

CAFOD supporters at rally:TJM (Trade Justice Campaign) More than 700 trade justice campaigners rallied in Belgrave Square before fanning out across London to deliver anti-poverty messages to every European embassy in London. [Sebastian Gordon]

CAFOD supporters at rally:TJM (Trade Justice Campaign) More than 700 trade justice campaigners rallied in Belgrave Square before fanning out across London to deliver anti-poverty messages to every European embassy in London. [Sebastian Gordon]

Sourgey Gounto village, near Dolbel in the Terra region north-west Niger. [Laura Storr]

Group of CAFOD campaigners setting off for UN climate talks in Copenhagen. [Katy Harris]

Carmen and her family. The earthquake measuring 7.0 on the Richter scale, was the strongest to hit Haiti for 200 years and was followed by two strong aftershocks [Mike Noyes]

Lunchtime at the Dhirihori Primary School. CAFOD's partner Caritas Zimbabwe responded to the need for humanitarian food aid, as people were fainting in class as families have struggled to find food for their children. The children eat a high-protein porridge made of maize meal. [Nana Anto-Awuakye]

Cartoons by Claud Mba 2011

Thank you! And don’t stop campaigning!

www.cafod.org.uk/takeaction