Injustice lies at the root of the climate crisis.

A tiny minority of the world’s population based in the advanced capitalist countries is primarily responsible for causing climate change that is inflicting more suffering to millions of the world’s poor and disadvantaged. In their relentless pursuit of profits, Northern corporations have burned vast and increasing amounts of fossil fuels and to feed energy and inputs into production, dumping greenhouse gases in the atmosphere at levels that is now warming the planet and disrupting the climate. The global economic system involves the appropriation and lopsided use by a powerful global elite of the planet’s shared resources, and the disempowerment and dispossession of the majority of the world’s people. This basic social process is behind two centuries of profit-oriented capitalist growth. It bequeathed prosperity to the Global North and corporations, and forced poverty, colonialism, and underdevelopment upon millions of people, who now suffer the hardest impacts of climate change despite having no responsibility for it. In the last 30 years, under the banner of free market globalization, and with the help of the IMF, World Bank, and WTO, Northern-based transnational corporations have expanded their power over Southern economies and resources, and intensified their pollution of the atmosphere and destruction of the environment.

27-29 September 2009, Penang, Malaysia

We, 113 participants from 22 countries representing peasants, small farmers, agricultural workers, women, indigenous peoples’, fisherfolk organizations, and health, environmental and consumers CSOs met in the Conference on Confronting the Food Crisis and Climate Change from 27-29 September, 2009 in Penang, Malaysia.

On 8 March, the world celebrates International Women’s Day. This event highlights issues particularly affecting women, including their collective struggles for equality, and a universal commitment to women’s enjoyment of all their rights in accordance with international standards and conventions.

Stop human rights abuse of women, and uphold gender equality and non-discrimination in Sri Lanka