Afri Condemns Israeli Attack on Aid Ship and Expresses Solidarity with the Rachel Corrie

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PRESS RELEASE, 2 June 2010

Afri has expressed outrage and revulsion at the latest Israeli war crime, the attack by commandos on an unarmed aid vessel resulting in the deaths of at least nine people and the wounding of many more. Afri calls on the international community to ensure that those responsible and their political masters are held accountable for these murders of innocent civilians, which were executed in international waters. Afri expresses its strong solidarity with the peace activists on board the Rachel Corrie, including our patron Denis Halliday, and calls on the Irish government to use its influence with the United States (Israel’s main backer) to ensure that the vessel is allowed to complete its humanitarian mission to the besieged people of Gaza. Continue reading “Afri Condemns Israeli Attack on Aid Ship and Expresses Solidarity with the Rachel Corrie” →

Banning Depleted Uranium Weapons

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Afri was one of the many NGOs which supported the International Campaign to Ban Landmines, which eventually succeeded in achieving its goal when an international treaty banning landmines entered into force in March 1999.

In 2008 Afri became actively involved in the Campaign to ban Cluster Munitions, which also reached a successful conclusion, achieving a treaty to ban the use, deployment or stockpiling of Cluster Munitions, at the Dublin Diplomatic Conference in Croke Park in May 2008.

Following on these successes and with the encouragement of our patron, Denis Halliday, Afri has recently taken up the campaign towards securing a ban on Depleted Uranium Weapons, which have caused so much death and health damage throughout the world. Continue reading “Banning Depleted Uranium Weapons” →

Human rights group calls for suspension of Corrib gas project

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PRESS RELEASE, 18 January 2010

Human rights organisation Afri is calling for a suspension of all work on the Corrib gas project in Erris, County Mayo, pending an independent and comprehensive investigation of its safety, human rights, economic and environmental dimensions. Afri is asking people to sign a petition to that effect, which will be delivered to the government next month. The petition will be launched by former UN assistant secretary-general Denis Halliday in Buswells Hotel at 11.30 on Monday January 18th.

Afri chairperson Andy Storey noted that “local people oppose the project because of the dangers it poses to their health and safety, and the way in which the policing of the project has violated their human rights. People throughout Ireland have also objected to the project on the grounds that Shell and its associates are reaping the full benefits of this gas find while the Irish people – the true owners of the resource – are left with almost nothing.” Continue reading “Human rights group calls for suspension of Corrib gas project” →

Cluster Munitions Campaign Update

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Afri has been a member of the Cluster Munitions Coalition since it began operating in Ireland in early 2008. We were actively involved in the Dublin Diplomatic Conference on Cluster Munitions, which negotiated an historic treaty to ban these weapons in May 2008. Susan Hensel, of the Cluster Munitions Coalition continues to work from the Afri offices.

Cluster Munitions Campaign Update

For more information on the Cluster Munitions Coalition:  http://www.stopclustermunitions.org/

Water in El Salvador

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The PHPSD has formulated a three year plan entitled the ‘Safe Water Project’, which aims to promote sustainable development based on food security and improvement in the health of the participating families. Providing access to clean water is the central element of the plan through the provision of water tanks, which collect water during the rainy season and preserve it in conditions whereby it can provide clean, safe water for families for the rest of the year. Not only will it provide safe drinking water but it will also enable families to grow crops which will improve their nutritional intake and may allow for some crops to be sold.

Afri, with the help of Irish Aid, will provide funding, assistance and support in the process of building four water tanks in two rural villages named Quebrada Honda San Sebastian and Los Melgares, near Santa Rosa de Lima. As part of a project entitled ‘Water as a Human Right’, we will also provide funding for training workshops for members of the community on how to maintain and care for the water tanks. In addition, there will be a strong element of education involved and personnel from the project will take part in Afri ‘Education for Liberation’ days in 2008.

Artistic Protest at Israeli Embassy

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Artists, actors and musicians gathered outside the Israeli Embassy today to assist Tracy Walsh create her installation decrying the needless deaths of children and civilians in Gaza. The protest was organised by AfrI to coincide with the visit to Ireland of the Israeli Minister for Education. Photo: Jim Berkeley.
Afri protest outside Israeli Embassy, Dublin, January 2009. Photo: Jim Berkeley.

A moving artistic protest, organised by Afri, took place outside the Israeli Embassy, Pembroke Road, Dublin, at 12 noon on Monday, January 19th.

The artistic installation, by artist Tracy Walsh consisted of babies’ vests and tiny t-shirts placed on bamboo frames which were solemnly placed upright on the grassy ‘garden’ outside the Israeli Embassy. The vests, each bearing a message relating to Israel’s slaughter of Palestinian children, fluttered in the wind as musicians Steve Larkin and Eoin Dillon of Kila played a lament for the victims of the Israeli assault on Gaza. Continue reading “Artistic Protest at Israeli Embassy” →