Charupá does not seem particularly worried, as he is used to the uncertainties of raising cattle. Moreover, he is confident about the long-term prospects of his community: in June of 2007, the president of Bolivia announced that the Chiquitano people had successfully completed all legal requirements to attain title to a vast area of Santa Cruz's eastern forest known as Monte Verde.

Claiming the original community

The indigenous people took advantage of an agrarian reform law passed in 1996 that allowed them to claim "original community territories" known by their Spanish initials as TCOs. The Monte Verde TCO has immense significance for the Chiquitano people. Their ancestors were moved out of Monte Verde in the 1700s by the Spanish and relocated to communities run by Jesuit priests. Chiquitanos were enslaved on haciendas and eventually forced to tap rubber trees in the early 20th century. The area near Charupá's village is part of San Antonio de Lomerío, a place of refuge for escaped slaves. Their descendents organized groups to work on the legal claim for their territory, while illegal logging decimated their forests.

It took more than a decade of hard work and sustained Oxfam support for the Chiquitano people to achieve their goal. Oxfam helped three local organizations, in Lomerío, San Javier, and the village of Monte Verde to coordinate their work and collaborate with the Center for Legal Studies and Social Research (known by its Spanish initials CEJIS) to get the technical training to gather satellite positioning data on the TCO borders and investigate 158 land claims by ranchers and other nonindigenous people trying to grab a piece of the territory. Only a small number of these claims were legitimate, and it was only through the legal support, technical data, and satellite photos gathered by the community members and CEJIS that the Chiquitanos could defend their claim from these interlopers, some of whom were using forged documents.

Change can be dangerous

Violence has been a continuous threat to the Chiquitano people for the last 200 years. Individuals forced into slavery were murdered if they tried to escape, and later when the ancestors of escaped slaves in Lomerío organized to win back their territory, their leaders were intimidated and attacked. "We heard of incidents in other communities where entire families had been pulled out of their houses and hung by their wrists under trees," Juan Soqueré, leader of the indigenous Chiquitano community in San Lorenzo said.

Opposition to the land investigations and the legal process from civic committees, representing nonindigenous business and ranching interests opposed to the indigenous people, became violent. When the land investigations exposed fraudulent claims, there was a strong reaction. One of the worst incidents involved Leonardo Tamburini, now 41 and the director of CEJIS. In 2001 while investigating one fraudulent claim, he was kidnapped.

"They beat me so badly they almost killed me," Tamburini said. "They put me in a pick-up truck, and took me to the Cattlemen's Association headquarters in San Javier—which is next door to the church. They had me there for about an hour. There was a cattlemen's congress going on, and they paraded me around the patio of the restaurant, all beat up and bloody, saying 'This is what we do to the people who want to take our land away from us.'"

Tamburini refused to sign a document recognizing the cattlemen's claim to half the territory of Monte Verde, and after the mayor of San Javier intervened he was released. "They didn't accomplish what they wanted," he said.

Juan Soqueré said that gaining the legal title to Monte Verde has brought peace for the Chiquitano. "There are no more threats. And those that threatened us before have left the territory, and now we are all calm, living in peace."

The future is now

There are 33 communities, comprising roughly 5,000 people living in or near the Monte Verde TCO. They are now looking to the future and envisioning the best ways to manage and enjoy the roughly 3,830 square-mile territory.

Lorenzo Charupá says such planning will be essential for the future. "We are deciding together what areas are for crops," he says. "We are setting aside areas for grazing, hunting, and to preserve trees. We have a map showing all the different areas and what we will do there. Everything has its place."

José Luis Rivera, president of the indigenous organization of San Javier, says they have several ways of making more money:

• Grow more beans, rice, corn, yucca, and other crops for their own use and for sale in local markets.
• Expand cattle raising improving their pastures, and produce more milk and cheese for sale.
• Handicrafts produced by local women: hats, hammocks, leather belts, and ceramics.

With the legal title in hand, the community has the confidence to make proposals to development organizations that might have otherwise been reluctant to support agricultural projects on lands the community did not legally own. "These institutions will have no doubt we can do these projects on our own land," Rivera says. "We have the right to our land and can respect our culture."

Outside Rivera's temporary office, his compañeros are building a new office to replace the one burned down by thugs last December. The walls are up, and the smell of sawdust mixes with the wood smoke and cooking scents from a nearby restaurant. Pablo Solis Chuviru, 57, is looking at the new building and reflecting on the struggle to gain the legal title to Monte Verde and what it means for the future for his small village, Turuxnapez, which means "Heaven's Door" in the local Bésiro language. "I hope we can hunt and fish, and use our trees in an orderly way," he says, resting in a chair in the winter sun. "Now we are using a forest management plan so that our children will benefit from the forest. This is the future for them; they can see the fight we won. For them it is a treasure."

President and Mrs. Bush will travel to Benin, Tanzania, Rwanda, Ghana, and Liberia from February 15-21, 2008. According to the White House, the trip is likely to be focused on the fight against HIV/AIDS, democratic reform, free trade and economic opportunity across the continent.

“A victory lap around Africa is a bit premature,” said Raymond C. Offenheiser, president of Oxfam America. “President Bush has made strides to increase and restructure overseas assistance, but much greater reform of US foreign aid across the world is needed to ensure that the long-term needs of the poor—not politics—come first. At a time when the US is giving more money to Africa than ever before, our aid looks less strategic than ever.”

American generosity is undermined by a scattershot approach that prioritizes reactive efforts—like food aid—that save lives, but don't address underlying causes of poverty and hunger, according to Oxfam. US aid money should be used to strengthen economic systems that address the rights of those living in poverty, promote small producers and rural communities and strengthen national and local governments, civil society groups, and basic infrastructure in poor countries.

In addition, a growing portion of US aid prioritizes short-term security goals at the expense of long-term poverty reduction. Currently, the US Agency for International Development – which has traditionally led US foreign assistance efforts – administers less than half of US foreign aid while the share administered by the Department of Defense has jumped from 3.5 percent in 1998 to 18 percent in 2006.

“When aid is used to fight poverty effectively, it builds a safer world for everyone, and strengthens US international standing,” said Offenheiser. “Using aid for short-term security purposes – for force protection, troop morale, popular support, and other activities which do little or nothing to help reduce poverty –is unlikely to have a lasting impact on either long-term security or poverty.”

Oxfam also welcomed President Bush's recently stated commitment to finalizing a new global trade deal, but noted that the American negotiating position has not changed. The US has been aggressive in seeking greater access to developing country markets, but has been reluctant to reduce agriculture subsidies that risk increasing poverty in many developing countries.

“Pro-development trade reform at the multilateral level is badly needed, but an agreement at the WTO that would serve poor countries’ interests still seems a long way off,” said Offenheiser.” A deal that helps reduce poverty will only be achieved if rich countries change their attitudes and put development at the center of their concerns.”

In Benin, a poor cotton producing country, President Bush will undoubtedly have to defend the US’s just announced appeal to a recent World Trade Organization ruling that confirmed, yet again, that American cotton subsidies are trade distorting and that the US has not done enough to reform them. This comes as the US Congress is finalizing a bloated and broken Farm Bill that turned US farm legislation from bad to worse. But, with pressure applied by the Bush Administration to force further changes in the Farm Bill, Oxfam hopes that Congress will make some necessary reforms, such as payment limits, before sending the bill to the President to sign it into law.

“We have appreciated President Bush’s commitment to some long overdue reforms of commodity programs in the Farm Bill,” said Offenheiser. “It’s not too late to bring about more reform and create a better bill in conference.”

Overall, the proposal would spend an estimated US$10 billion less over the next 10 years than projected spending for the 2002 Farm Bill, which is set to expire in September 2007. Much of the anticipated savings are from expected high prices for many commodities in future years. However, the Johanns proposal actually would spend US$5 billion more from 2008 – 2012 than simply extending the existing provisions in the 2002 Farm Bill.

Download the attached file to read the full text of this report by Oxfam America employee Emily Alpert. (From Bridges No. 1, February-March 2007, published by the International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development.)

"In the run-up to an election, discussions are primarily focused on election process issues—which is necessary as it guarantees transparency and therefore social peace," said Mamadou Bitèye, Oxfam America's Regional Director for West Africa. "However, candidates must go one step further by voicing their views on the concerns of the citizens, such as poverty and economic governance issues." Biteye said the hearings are designed to "provide an objective basis for voters to decide who to elect."

The purpose of the exercise, as stated by Amacodou Diouf, vice-chair of CONGAD, is to "ensure that sustainable human development needs are addressed in the programs developed by the political organizations that seek the vote of the Senegalese people."

Some of the issues that will be addressed during the hearings include poverty, governance, economic growth strategies, gender, education, health, and agriculture.

A monitoring mechanism called Civil Society Observer will be created to monitor the actions of the new President of the Republic, and encourage him to deliver on the promises made during the election campaign.

Contacts have already been established with all candidates or their campaign boards and some of them have agreed to take part in the hearings. Hearings will be public and attended by the media, members of civil society, experts in sectoral issues, and citizens.

About 10 print and TV journalists, as well as some members of civil society, attended a ceremony to announce the Citizen Monitoring Program. Mouhamadou Mansour Seck, retired general and former ambassador of Senegal to the United States, was also present at the meeting with the journalists.

According to Ibrahima Aïdara, Governance Advisor at Oxfam America West Africa Office, "the initiative will be replicated during the legislative elections with hearings in the regions to allow citizens to question the candidates for parliament about their real concerns."

Such lingering hard-line attitudes led to widespread political violence during the 2000 and 2002 elections in Zimbabwe. A 2000 human rights report described a typical incident: A truck transporting people to a party meeting was run off the road and attacked by members of another political group armed with AK-47s and iron bars. While most of the victims of the attack fled, two were trapped in the truck when it was firebombed, and died on the road moments later.

Thankfully, today there is considerably less political violence, and one of the groups that has made change possible is the Zimbabwe Civic Education Trust (ZIMCET). According to director David Chimhini, the organization, founded in 2000, helped eliminate much of the violence in just a couple of years. With funds from Oxfam America, ZIMCET established a network of local "peace committees" that have brought political opponents together to learn about nonviolent conflict resolution.

These peace committees are led both by members of the ruling ZANU-PF political party and their opponents in the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC). ZIMCET overcame the climate of distrust by keeping the focus on peace—something neither side could oppose. ZIMCET also cultivated strong relationships with local leaders, who encouraged the new peace committees.

One peace committee created a sports league for youth, many of whom were out of school and lacked employment, which made it easy to get caught up in violence. Another committee concentrated on cultural events. But ZIMCET's main accomplishment has been to help people acknowledge their mistakes and learn to forgive one another. "Our peace committees help people change their attitude towards each other," Chimhini says. "They now say 'Never again'! We will never beat or kill just for an election."

The process has not been easy. Tina Malowa was a much-feared political operative, but after attending training sessions with ZIMCET, her perspective changed. "Sometimes I sit down and think about all the violence and at times I find myself sobbing because I know I did some evil things. Things that I really regret to this day." Her transformation has been both personal and political: "I realized that my thinking was all wrong. In democratic societies, there is bound to be an opposition party."

Beside her, at a meeting in ZIMCET's Harare office, sits Simon Mapuvire, MDC district secretary for Manicaland. Mapuvire has also come a long way. "I was beating ZANU-PF people and I was directing people to beat others," he said candidly. "Then ZIMCET taught me that I was just beating my brothers and sisters. Now Tina is my friend and we work together, and I have thrown away that evil element in my head."

While the Farm Bill does little to help poor farmers in the US, it actually harms rural communities around the world. After receiving massive subsidies, US cotton farms produce more than they otherwise would, and sell their surplus at less than the cost of production. These subsidies hurt African cotton farmers by reducing the world price of cotton and shrinking their share of the market. This situation is not only unfair; it violates international rules set by the World Trade Organization.

This examination of three communities emblematic of longstanding poverty and exclusion— the urban neighborhoods of East Biloxi, Mississippi, and the rural communities of Vermilion and Plaquemines parishes in Louisiana—reveals that government neglect at all levels extends beyond the well-publicized failures in New Orleans to encompass an entire region in distress.

Access to opportunity remains unequal—and unfair. In Biloxi, government officials acted first to save the city’s battered casinos by convincing state lawmakers to allow gaming on land. Not ensuring that the low-income residents of East Biloxi shared in the economic benefits, however, has made them victims of an enormous land squeeze, forcing them out of their neighborhoods and homes.

False assurances undermine future visions—and current optimism. The self-reliant residents of Erath, a mostly Cajun community in rural Vermilion Parish, began rehabilitating their houses the moment they returned after Hurricane Rita’s flood waters receded. After confusing signals about new flood elevations, plans for the town’s future, and possible homeowner grants, their progress has slowed and in some cases has been reversed by the agencies meant to facilitate it. Institutional neglect leaves communities at risk of losing everything—even their way of life.

Few state or federal funds have assisted the recovery of independent commercial fishers, who for generations have made Plaquemines Parish the center of their trade. Their inability to continue is draining Louisiana’s usually robust commercial fisheries, normally second in the nation only to Alaska.

These communities, and many like them, teeter on the brink. They are being rendered invisible.

Left behind. Forgotten.

The pattern of inequity in receiving recovery assistance from the government has been well established by past disasters. Federal disaster assistance tends to favor people who have economic assets at risk—that is, the affluent. Though the pattern may be familiar, it need not be inevitable.

Making sure the billions designated for recovery benefit the region’s most vulnerable communities remains a matter of political will. Action can and must be taken immediately.

• Make eligibility requirements for homeowner assistance inclusive. Both Louisiana and Mississippi can make improvements in their plans to use CDBG funds by dropping the penalties they currently impose on those homeowners that did not have insurance. Denying assistance to uninsured homeowners unjustly punishes the poorest and most vulnerable, many of whom simply lacked the money to buy insurance.
• Assign proportional attention and funds to affordable rental housing, a particularly critical resource for a community’s low-wage workers and poorest residents. Neither state provides anywhere near the assistance needed to replace the affordable rental units lost in the storms, let alone meet increasing demand. Funds should be used to supplement Low Income Housing Tax Credits, increase small landlord rental repair, and expand work force housing.
• Humanize and rationalize transitional housing. FEMA’s transitional housing program has been characterized by one expensive snafu after another, some of them almost inhumane— circumstances that do not bode well as the program’s 18-month term winds down. FEMA should develop and communicate a plan now that is especially attentive to the needs of low-income families before this situation grows into a major catastrophe.
• Improve accountability to ensure funds benefit the poor. Government at all levels must hold itself accountable to both hurricane survivors and the taxpayers underwriting this recovery. Ensuring that both Mississippi and Louisiana provide regular, clear demographic data on the disbursements of grants would provide important evidence of the extent to which equity is being achieved—while there is still time to change course if improvement is necessary.
• Partner with community agencies to minimize uncertainty and improve outreach. Confusing and conflicting information has been a hallmark of this recovery. Federal and state agencies should create stronger relationships with trusted nonprofit and grass-roots organizations, and rely upon their community expertise to ensure that vulnerable populations understand and access the benefits for which they qualify.
• Reform post-disaster housing assistance. Congress must pass and the president must sign the Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act of 2006, sponsored by Senators Collins (R-ME) and Lieberman (D-CT). This bill would improve the nation’s emergency management capability by reconstituting FEMA and improving housing service delivery, to prevent the same bureaucratic bungling from accompanying the nation’s next disaster.
• The incremental injustices occurring during this recovery are less apparent to the eye—yet just as devastating—as the futility witnessed so widely on the nation’s TV screens one year ago.
• Decisive, firm action can reverse this course and provide low-income survivors the opportunities they deserve.

It is, after all, what the nation promised them. That they would be rendered whole. Get ahead. Thrive.

But now Hanshaw, and a growing number of other women in the Gulf Coast community, have a new foundation from which to begin rebuilding part of their lives: Coastal Women for Change, or CWC, a fledgling group of newborn activists determined have a say in the recovery of their neighborhoods.

Whatever the 2006 hurricane season brings, CWC may serve as a buffer to additional hardship. It has taught many of the women that each of them has a voice, and those voices count—individually and collectively.

"Our mission is to empower these women with knowledge of what they can do," said Hanshaw, the group's new director. "It's unlimited. You can build. You can go back to school. You can call your local officials. You can talk to them. They're there for us."

Now numbering about 25 regular members, with a core group of 10, CWC was launched with the help of Safiya Daniels, a community development specialist for Oxfam America, who has been working chiefly in Biloxi and Gulfport.

"One big difference that I saw between these two cities was the existence of organized community groups," said Daniels. "I realized that outside of the churches, Biloxi had none. I also noticed there was very little institutionalized female leadership in Biloxi."

Daniels also worried that there seemed to be few community gatherings in Biloxi to discuss what direction the city was taking as it began recovering from Katrina. Long-range community planning was not on anyone's neighborhood radar screen.

"This was a dangerous situation," said Daniels. "Everyone else was making a plan: casino developers, condo developers, and the city, but there was very little evidence of broad community participation."

She knew the concern was there—"in every community there are lots of concerned women who want a vibrant, healthy, and safe community for their families to live in"—but how to turn that interest into action was the missing piece. So, Daniels called a meeting.

One meeting followed by many more

"I brought a group of women together to talk about what was happening in their community, what issues and problems they faced, and how these could be addressed," said Daniels.

That first meeting grew into a series of sessions which blossomed into action, spawned weekly gatherings, attracted new members, and finally gave birth to an official group with a name and stated mission. Its goal is this: "to make a difference in our communities through securing and revitalizing our neighborhoods." Information sharing is the critical tool in achieving that end.

"I don't want people to be left out," said Hanshaw. "I want to give them knowledge. Knowledge is power."

Knowledge starts with asking questions, and one of the first events CWC sponsored was a Biloxi community forum to which it invited the mayor, city councilors, and members of the city planning department. Questions abounded—about flood elevations mapped out by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), about affordable housing, about displaced people. Nearly 200 residents showed up for the forum.

Attendees not only got some answers, some of them learned a deeper lesson as well.

"Democracy works only if people make it work," said Daniels. "And we do that by holding people accountable. There possibly has never been a time during the mayor's 13-year tenure that he found himself in such a position, being watched and held accountable by this particular community, and in such a public way."

Signing up for city business

Asking questions is the first step. Having a say in the answers is the next step. Right away, CWC members sought seats on a planning commission formed by Biloxi Mayor A.J. Holloway. Called Reviving the Renaissance Committee, it was given 90 days to come up with a plan for the city's recovery.

Five CWC members have been weighing in on matters of finance, education, land use, and affordable housing—the subcommittees for which they signed up. And people are beginning to listen to CWC's opinions.

"We are in the paper every week," said Hanshaw, adding that she gets the sense she is even making some of the powerbrokers nervous.

"They try to turn their heads when I come up," she said. "Especially the developers. They don't want to talk to me. They know where I stand."

For Cass Woods, working with CWC has given her a direct link to her community, and that link is allowing her to make things better all around.

"It makes me feel good to help someone," said Woods, who has been living in a government issue trailer—the size of a matchbox, she said—parked in her back yard for months. "That's what has helped me get through my loss."

Looking ahead

With a $30,000 seed grant from the 21st Century Foundation, CWC will be able to pay Hanshaw a salary, purchase office supplies, and begin to look ahead at how to fund itself into the future.

Meanwhile, the organization is undertaking a new task: a survey of East Biloxi to find out the childcare needs of the community's residents. To renew its license, a local day care organization is being required to assess the need for its services in the area.

"This is our first project," said Hanshaw. "Another accomplishment under our belts."

And it's just the kind of project Daniels had a hunch a group like CWC could offer the community.

"The needs of the community will drive what CWC takes on," said Daniels. With those needs being constant—as they are in every community—Daniels expects the new organization to have a long and productive life.

"It's going to stand on its own. I am confident of that," she said. "I could see it truly growing into a coastwide organization."

The U.S has taken some steps in the right direction. The President spoke unequivocally about the need to cut trade distorting agricultural subsidies during his speech to the UN General Assembly this past fall and Secretary of Agriculture Johanns and US Trade Representative Robert Portman have echoed the President's position. American negotiators have put new proposals on the table attempting to restart the stalled negotiations. But, it is still not enough to deliver on the promises of a "development round" and lift millions of people out of poverty.

The Doha Round of trade negotiation was supposed to change the dynamics on trade. Launched in 2001, negotiators announced that this trade round would put the interests of developing countries at the heart of the effort. But four years later, the negotiations have stalled and development concerns are sliding to the bottom of the agenda.

For the more than 2.5 billion people in the world that rely on agriculture for their livelihood, Hong Kong is more than a meeting of diplomats - it is an opportunity to meaningfully improve their lives. Throughout the world, poverty is concentrated in rural areas, with more than a billion people living on less than $1 a day. The average cotton farmer in Mali earns about $400 a year from the entire cotton crop. Between 2001 and 2003, Oxfam estimates that West African countries, including Mali, lost over $400 million dollars because US subsidies depressed global cotton prices. The backbone of Mali's economy, providing employment for more than 3 million people, falls victim to rules that have permitted rich countries to benefit for decades from dumping subsidized cotton. By leveling the playing field, we could have a massive impact on poverty reduction.

The Doha Round promised developing countries that it would do things differently, that the development of poor nations would occupy center stage. What that means is drastic cuts in agricultural subsidies and offers of market access for developing countries. But this will require that leaders of the U.S., EU and Japan see a greater good for both developing nations and their own citizens. In the US, it means envisioning a new era for American farmers that shifts subsidies from anachronistic, trade distorting support payments to new programs that support sustainable rural livelihoods and stewardship.

President Bush has delivered the right message on cutting subsidies. But the opportunity to lift millions out of poverty through fair trade rules still lies far out of reach. The US should take the lead and demonstrate to the rest of the world that we believe in the power of trade to change lives, and that we care about the lives of farmers in the US and abroad. Two and half billion people are watching and waiting.

"Delay is not an option. The international community must provide support and assistance to the new coalition government,? said Charles Abani, Regional Director for of Oxfam in Southern Africa. ?Assistance must be carefully coordinated and managed, so that very weak state institutions are not overstretched. Zimbabwean civil society must also be included in a transparent process.?

Ordinary Zimbabweans are desperately short of food, health care, clean water and safe sanitation. The little food that is available is unaffordable to most. An estimated 3.8 million people are anticipated to be in urgent need of food assistance by October. Life expectancy for women is just 35 years, and unemployment stands at 85 per cent.

Investment in agriculture is key. Farmers need fertilizers and seeds urgently, so that they can prepare for the November planting season.

"The international community must not just throw money at this problem then walk away and say 'job done'. Zimbabwe needs a long-term plan, built on partnership and shared responsibilities, and supported by long-term, predictable aid from international governments,? said Abani.

?It is also important that the Zimbabwe government meets its commitments to rebuilding the nation. The coalition government must show leadership in the rebuilding process if international support is to succeed. They should ensure equitable and effective access to humanitarian assistance, extend the operational space for all civil society organizations, and deal quickly with outstanding registration issues for NGOs,? Abani added.

?Many local and international organizations who want to get back to helping poor people in Zimbabwe are still unable to do so because their registration status is pending. We urge the new government to facilitate the registration process in the interest of Zimbabweans in need of assistance.?

In a new report, If Not Now, When?, international relief and development agency Oxfam says that people living in poverty will be hit hard by the financial crisis unless urgent action is taken, adding that the poor should not have to pay for rich countries? mistakes.

"Poor people had little to do with creating the crisis, but will carry the heaviest burden, whether it is families evicted from their homes in Detroit, or children dying in Mali for want of basic medical care," said Oxfam spokesperson Gawain Kripke.

The International Labor Organization estimates the number of workers living on less than one dollar a day may increase by 40 million and those living on less than two dollars a day could increase by more than 100 million. All of this while poor countries are still reeling from the impact of food and oil price increases, and increasing droughts, floods and other climate-related weather shocks. Grain-price increases cost developing economies $324 billion last year—more than three times what they received in aid.

"There is a risk that recessions in rich countries will lead politicians to take the short-sighted approach of cutting aid. Given the tiny amounts of money involved compared to rich country economies, this would do little more than offer symbolic budget savings, but at huge human cost," said Kripke. "Aid to all developing countries last year was $104 billion. In comparison the US and EU mobilized nearly 30 times this—around $3 trillion—in the last few months to help bail out their banks."

"Rich countries made promises and must keep them. But their work cannot end there—aid is not the whole answer," said Kripke. "We cannot repeat what happened around the Asian financial crisis, where no substantial reform was agreed. To prevent future crises and protect the poor over the long term, leaders must seize this opportunity to rewrite the rules to curb instability and make the market work for all, not just a few at the top of the economic food chain."

In If Not Now, When?, Oxfam says that global leaders should immediately develop a new international regulatory institution with teeth, to prevent future financial crises and protect the interests of workers, consumers, and the environment. This includes taking on the secretive tax havens which undermine regulations and rob poor countries' of vital revenue that could be spent on schools and hospitals. It also calls for leaders to build a new representative global governance structure to tackle the economic, climate, food and energy crises.

"We're dealing with a whole new world—the G20 is facing a seismic shift in global power," said Kripke. "It's painfully clear that the world's multilateral institutions are out of date and ill-equipped to deal with the multiple crises that are now upon us, whether related to finance, food, fuel or climate. Reform must include far greater roles for developing countries as well as the poorest. Rich countries are going to have to concede some power on governing bodies like the G20 because they are desperate to get their hands on the huge financial reserves held by emerging markets."

Oxfam urges global leaders to see the opportunity to develop a new 21st century political and economic system that puts people and planet before profits. Oxfam calls on the G20 leaders to do three things:

• Honor the OECD pledge not to cut development assistance, and increase aid instead by an additional $140 billion necessary to meet the UN target of 0.7 per cent of GNI immediately. In addition, urgently extend credit to emerging markets facing liquidity crises.
• Rewrite global financial rules and regulations, including tackling tax havens and moving towards a more stable exchange rate system, in order to make the market work for all and not just for the few.
• Build a new representative global governance system that can effectively tackle the economic, food, and energy crises.

"Just last week the world witnessed a massive political shift in the US," said Kripke. "World leaders meeting this weekend should harness this momentum and commit to a way forward on finding serious, long-term solutions to financial instability and the global economic downturn that work for all."

“The Bush Administration must do all that it can to support President Kabila in his efforts to address the longstanding conflict which is once again threatening the lives and safety of hundreds of thousands of civilians,” said Raymond C. Offenheiser, president of Oxfam America.

“The Administration must continue its crucial mediation role to ensure that the legitimate concerns of Congolese citizens are addressed. Both Presidents must make it clear that they will not allow the progress made over the past few years to be jeopardized by renewed fighting,” said Offenheiser.

The election of President Kabila in 2006 brought hopes of peace and stability after decades of misrule and a civil war which claimed the lives of approximately four million civilians and led to the displacement of over one million people. Despite the success of the elections, the continued fighting in the east between rebel groups and government forces is a threat to the tenuous peace in the DRC—one of the world’s poorest countries. The DRC ranks 141st out of 174 countries in the United Nation’s human development ranking.

Since last December, the intense fighting has forced over 370,000 people to leave their homes in the eastern region of North Kivu, the largest surge of internal displacement since the formal end of the civil war in 2003. Unlike displacements in the past, the scale of the latest influx is too great for the displaced to be accommodated by local families.

Meanwhile, increased fighting and insecurity have also severely limited the ability of humanitarian agencies like Oxfam to deliver vital aid to civilians in need.

As the conflict intensifies, growing numbers of civilians are placed in imminent physical danger and serious violations of international humanitarian law continue. These include the recruitment of children by rebel forces, the reported use of forced labor by the national army, and an epidemic of violence against women that is among the worst in the world. A 2004 survey found mortality rates in some parts of the country to be close to 3 times the sub-Saharan average, partly from ongoing conflict but also due to disease, malnutrition, and lack of very basic social services.

In the face of the worsening security and humanitarian situation in DRC, Oxfam also called on the US government to maintain its support for a robust UN military presence while increasing its funding and technical assistance to the reform of Congo’s military forces. Tasked with the mandate to protect civilians, the UN peacekeeping mission in DRC (MONUC), receives one third of its operating budget from the US government. With the mission’s funding up for renewal in December, it is crucial that President Bush pledges to continue his administration’s support.

“Without a substantial and effective MONUC presence, the DRC’s fragile peace could quickly unravel completely, further threatening not only the Congolese people but also the wider region. Until the DRC’s police, military, and judiciary are able to effectively enforce the law and protect civilians, US support for both the mandate and operations of the UN peacekeeping mission there is absolutely vital,” said Offenheiser.

"We at Oxfam join housing advocates across the Gulf Coast region in commending the House for its bi-partisan vote,” said Raymond C. Offenheiser, president of Oxfam America. “This milestone legislation takes steps to help ensure the most vulnerable survivors are not left behind in the region’s recovery. We urge the Senate to follow suit and prioritize swift passage of the Housing Recovery Act to help Gulf Coast residents who have already waited too long.”

Housing advocates throughout the Gulf Coast region celebrated a major victory yesterday, having played a key role in bringing the continuing housing crisis in the Gulf to federal lawmakers’ attention.

“Groups on the coast rallied in favor of this bill because we know what a difference it could make in steering the recovery in a more equitable direction. We are grateful to the congressional representatives who heard our voices and voted to support this”, said Natalie Presley of Mississippi’s Back Bay Mission. “We call on the Senate to follow the example of the House and pass this legislation swiftly.”

In early March, Housing and Community Opportunity Subcommittee Chair Rep. Maxine Waters (D. - CA) and other members visited Gulfport, MS and New Orleans, LA to learn more about the rebuilding challenges faced by Coast residents. The Committee heard testimony from a host of community advocates, including members of the Mississippi Steps Coalition (an alliance of organizations serving hurricane survivors), as well as from elected officials such as Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco and New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin.

Upon their return to Washington, Waters and the House Financial Services Committee moved rapidly to craft a bill responsive to the needs identified by Gulf Coast residents. The new legislation includes measures that will protect rights of public housing residents—including the right to return—and restore some rental housing for disabled, homeless, and the elderly. Importantly, it also increases oversight over hurricane recovery spending in Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas, requiring regular progress reports from the states and initiating a GAO study.

Phone calls and letters to elected officials poured in from throughout the Gulf Coast to express support for the bill and a few strategic amendments. A last minute push by members of the Steps Coalition helped solidify support for an important amendment offered by Texas Congressman Al Green to extend FEMA trailers and disaster vouchers through the end of 2007. Residents who are eligible for Section 8 assistance, either in trailers or apartments, can transition to a Section 8 apartment after the deadline is up.