Press release
MIDDLE EAST - A BRIDGE FOR: 'STOP THE DOMINO EFFECT, NO MILITARY MISSION IN THE RED SEA'
Rome, 25 January 2024 - "We are alarmed by the ongoing discussion in Europe and at home to launch a military naval mission in the Red Sea without any UN mandate. The message to Arab public opinion would be very negative. On the one hand silence and inaction over the massacre of tens of thousands of Palestinian civilians in Gaza. On the other, action to protect business and profits with a mission with a colonial flavour. The Middle East does not need new weapons and armies, but energetic and visible political and diplomatic action to stop the firing in Gaza and to put the issue of the rights of the Palestinian people on the negotiating table'.
This was stated in a statement by Alfio Nicotra and Angelica Romano, national co-presidents of the NGO Un Ponte Per, which has been operating in the Middle East for over 30 years.
"The mission in the Red Sea brings to mind the sending of Italian ships to the Persian Gulf in 1990. They too were justified by the government of the time as deterrence and pressure towards Iraq (today towards the Houthis). History has told us instead that they were used to wage war,' Romano and Nicotra point out.
'We must stop the domino effect that has been spreading like wildfire across the Middle East since 7 October,' Nicotra and Romano continue. "The security of trade routes can only be achieved by putting an end to the massacres and the use of war'.
"There is a problem of credibility of Italy and the European Union given the inaction towards the ongoing innocent bloodbath in the Gaza Strip and the choice of a new military mission in the Red Sea. This irresponsibly increases the risks for humanitarian and solidarity workers acting in the Middle East. Also for this reason,' Nicotra and Romano conclude, 'we appeal to the Italian government to abandon the military solution and act in all fora for a diplomatic solution to the crisis.
Press release
Syria: Turkish bombardment hits civilian population
Un Ponte Per, an Italian NGO present in the area, denounces: "Water and power plants put out of action, impossible to support the civilian population".
Rome, 19 January 2024 - "As humanitarian workers, we ask to be able to continue providing assistance to the people who have been suffering the effects of the war in Syria for over 12 years, guaranteeing them access to the support they need".
Thus Rizwan Ul-Haq, Head of Mission of the NGO Un Ponte Per in north-eastern Syria, with regard to the attacks that Turkey has been conducting on the area for months and that have intensified in recent days.
Since 13 January, in fact, the Turkish army has been conducting simultaneous air and ground attacks, indiscriminately striking the civilian population and vital centres such as water, electricity and oil plants, with very serious repercussions on the people, including the interruption of water, electricity and heating.
Over thepast few days, more than 220 bombardments have affected the areas between Derik, Qamishlo, Amuda and Kobane, in addition to the launching of a further 112 ground attacks. Ninety-two civilian sites have been hit and there are 12 victims. Already 9 power plants have been taken out of service, causing the loss of power in over 2,000 towns and villages.
The lack of fuel, water and energy is creating serious constraints on the humanitarian work of Un Ponte Per and its partners. Restrictions on movement will soon prevent the delivery of services and assistance to the population. The absence of electricity and water in the clinics and health facilities we support will make it impossible to provide health care and treatment, even life-saving treatment, to those affected.
"The situation is getting worse by the hour," continues the Head of Mission. "The population is without power and water and there are severe restrictions on their ability to travel. In the meantime, temperatures have dropped below zero. I cannot say how long we will be able to provide life-saving services to people who - it is worth remembering - need the assistance of humanitarian organisations to survive, guaranteeing them access to health, food, water and hygiene."
The gravity of the situation has already forced Un Ponte Per's operators in the field to stock up on fuel wherever possible, so as to be able to guarantee some movements and the operation of generators, necessary to keep clinics and hospitals operational.
Un Ponte Per has been working in north-east Syria since 2015, rebuilding the local health system in collaboration with numerous local partners. In these years together we have ensured the rehabilitation and creation of more than 15 clinics and hospitals and an ambulance system, guaranteeing the right to health to the population affected by 12 years of conflict.
In the aftermath of the disappointing outcome of Cop28 in Dubai, the baton of climate policy is back in the hands of individual countries. The challenge, for Italy, is to increase the ambition of mitigation policies, the planning of adaptation and preparedness measures, but also the involvement of communities. Through widespread activities on the territory, campaigns, training and citizen science tools, Un Ponte Per, thanks to projects such as Climate Sentinels, involves scientists, teachers, students and citizens in climate monitoring activities, from the north and south of the country. A contribution to the cultural revolution needed to overcome the climate challenge. As Luca Mercalli, climatologist, science popularizer, president of SMI - Società Meteorologica Italiana (Italian Meteorological Society) and one of the trainers of Sentinelle Climatiche points out, "physics does not wait for our whims. Global warming is galloping and it is a process that depends on natural laws, not human decisions. It upsets me that we put economics and society's wishes before laws that work on their own. It is we who must adapt to them, not the other way around."
Italy is a climate vulnerability hot spot. In other words: the territory of our country is particularly fragile to the changing climate. Heat waves, intense precipitation, droughts, rising sea levels, and alien species in the seas and on land are increasingly common and alarming phenomena in our country, requiring urgent adaptation, prevention and land management policies.
The report 'Risk Analysis. Climate Change in Italy' by the CMCC Foundation - Mediterranean Centre for Climate Change found that the probability of risk from extreme events has increased in Italy by 9% in the last twenty years. Related to this are worrying scenarios of rising temperatures, with an estimated loss of up to 8% of GDP by the end of the century, depending on the various scenarios. The latest report by the European Environment Agency (Eea), which analysed the effect of climate disasters between 1980 and 2020, indicates more than 140,000 deaths in Europe. Italy is in third place, after Germany and France, with 21 thousand deaths. In 2023, as many as 61 extreme weather events occurred in Italy in the Lombardy region, 28 in Tuscany, and 24 in Veneto, with a sharp increase compared to 2022. Research conducted by the Centro Studi Consiglio Nazionale degli Ingegneri (Cni) (National Council of Engineers) estimated that at least EUR 26.58 billion would be needed to secure the national territory. A figure needed to protect the 2.4 million inhabitants living in high-risk flood zones and the 6.8 million living in medium-risk flood zones.
Particularly relevant are the climate impacts on children. To give one example, globally, according to Unicef 739 million children are exposed to high or extremely high water shortages. And the prospects for the future are even worse.
Therefore, preparing the population, starting with the youngest, for what climate change will do to their lives is crucial. This is reiterated not only by Unicef, but also by the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, which has recently highlighted the right of children to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment, with reference to the changing climate.
The right to the future of the young generation has become an important topic of debate in recent years, which has also been the basis for numerous climate litigations promoted in various countries by groups of young people and youth against states and companies.
The importance of directing climate-related funding and resources to children and young people as a priority has also been repeatedly affirmed at the COPs. In this framework, climate education and the empowerment of minors assumes particular relevance, as does the implementation of community involvement strategies starting from schools.
If the younger generations are the ones who will pay the highest price for global warming, the information and education young people have on the subject is insufficient and inadequate. Therefore, bringing climate issues and ecological education into the curriculum is crucial.
Through the synergy of schools, local communities, associations, and institutions, educational communities are strengthened and the right to climate, environment, green, health and life of girls and boys is placed at the centre.
The Climate Sentinels project involves secondary schools in five different regions Piedmont, Emilia-Romagna, Tuscany, Lazio and Sicily.
Bringing together associations, teachers and scientists (among them Luca Mercalli's Italian Meteorological Society, Ismedthe CNR's Institute for Mediterranean Studies with Desirée Quagliarotti and environmental historian Marco Armiero), the activities have trained 150 teachers and school leaders and provided useful teaching tools to involve classes. Objective: to make 10,000 male and female students protagonists of campaigns to monitor climate impacts on their territories through the tools of open science. The results of the monitoring will become a participatory GIS map available online.
For Nicole Marcellini, head of training at A Sud, the project leader, "monitoring the impacts on the territory with Open Science tools is a formidable tool for raising awareness and climate action. Which can only start from the place of education par excellence: the school".
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The project is funded byAICS, the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation.
The partnership includes Un Ponte Per, A Sud, Società Metereologica Italiana, Ismed - CNR, Docenti senza frontiere, CDCA, Cospe, Resilea, Palmanana.
Press release
Women builders of peace
A national event in Rome to discuss the "Women, Peace and Security" plan and UN Resolution 1325, with Un Ponte Per and the Centre for Civil Defence Studies
Rome, 14 October 2023 - On Friday 15 December 2023, at 9 a.m., the Casa Internazionale delle Donne (Via della Lungara 19, Rome) will host the conference "Women peacemakers in action", organised by the Italian NGO Un Ponte Per and the Centro Studi Difesa Civile. The event will focus on the UN Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda and Resolution 1325 for the involvement of women in non-violent conflict resolution.
The conference, foreseen by the project financed by the Directorate General for Political Affairs and Security of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (DGAP), is organised to promote and share the experiences of civil society organisations in the implementation of the Women, Peace and Security Agenda, with a specific focus on the results and perspectives for the implementation of Italy's fourth National Action Plan.
During the day there will be space to talk about the contribution of the NGO Un Ponte Per and the Centro Studi Difesa Civile in the first three years of implementation of Italy's 4th National Action Plan, through the projects dedicated to it in Tunisia, Libya, Iraq and Lebanon.
Press release
Human rights: Shelter City Italy project kicks off Rome Italian city for the protection of human rights defenders
Rome, 12 December 2023 - Tomorrow, Wednesday 13 December at 9 a.m., at the Industrie Fluviali premises in Rome, the "Shelter City Italy"project will be officially presented , with which Rome will become the second European capital to offer protection and temporary shelter to human rights defenders at risk.
The initiative, promoted by the Italian NGO Un Ponte Per in collaboration with the Municipality VIII, the international network Shelter City, and under the patronage of the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, plans to welcome in the coming months the first human rights defenders from countries where their work is threatened and persecuted.
In Rome they will be able to find a safe environment where they can regenerate and continue their work at a distance, also benefiting from legal and psychological support and training opportunities.
The presentation will be attended by representatives from institutions, the diplomatic world and civil society, including the Deputy Ambassador of the Netherlands to Italy, Pauline Diepenbroek. Among others, the President of the Municipality of Rome VIII, Amedeo Ciaccheri, the association Un Ponte Per, the Rete In Difesa Di and the international network Shelter City will participate.
It will be an important opportunity to make known the value of the work carried out by these key figures in the defence of human rights all over the world, and to involve the citizenship on such a fundamental issue as human rights. With this pioneering project, Rome will demonstrate its willingness to stand by those who work in difficult contexts for justice and freedom.
Rome: UPP delivers Arabic books in Regina Coeli prison
The NGO Un Ponte Per delivered a load of Arabic-language books to the Regina Coeli Prison in Rome, intended for the Arabic-speaking prison population. This is the 6th Italian prison institute involved in the project "Kutub Hurra - Free Books" that links Italy and Tunisia.
Rome, 30 October 2023 - On 27 October, a shipment of Arabic-language books destined for the Arabic-speaking prison population was delivered to the "Regina Coeli" Prison in Rome.
The books were delivered by the Italian NGO Un Ponte Per (UPP), in the framework of the project "Kutub Hurra - Libri Liberi", carried out since 2022 together with theTunisian Association "Lina Ben Mhenni", created in memory of the prematurely deceased activist, who bequeathed a vast collection of books in Arabic. The project is promoted thanks to a vast network of Italian realities operating within prisons, and the aim is to build a bridge of books across the Mediterranean.
The handover was made possible by the collaboration with the 'Fuori Riga' Association and the Guarantor of the Rights of Persons Deprived of Liberty of the Municipality of Rome, Valentina Calderone, who were present at the initiative.
The "Regina Coeli" Prison is the latest to be involved in the initiative: books were previously handed out in Livorno ("Le Sughere" Prison and Gorgona Prison), Pisa ("Don Bosco" Prison), Padua ("Due Palazzi" Prison) and Florence (Sollicciano Prison).
Since the first delivery of books in May 2022, 'Kutub Hurra' has managed to reach more than 1,000 Arabic-speaking inmates in 6 penal institutions in Italy (another 6 are in the process of being involved), delivering more than 350 volumes during 4 consignments from Tunisia, thanks to the cooperation between 8 Italian and Tunisian organisations.
The project aims to create a more inclusive prison environment through the provision of reading opportunities to Arabic-speaking inmates and prisoners and the use of books as a tool for emancipation. In this sense, books become a means to promote cultural dialogue. Having readings and literature in Arabic also means being considered in one's entirety and dignity, a necessary starting point for any path of inclusion and rehabilitation.
23 August 2023 - Following the denial of political asylum by the Lithuanian authorities for the Belarusian human rights defender Olga Karatch (Volha Karach), the international campaign #protection4olga has just been launched to demand protection and asylum for the director of the organisation 'Our House' who has been fighting for human rights in Belarus for years, including the right toconscientious objection to military service, and for this she is being persecuted and faces the death penalty in her home country where she has been labelled a 'terrorist'.
On 18 August, Lithuania denied her political asylum, calling Olga Karatch a 'person who represents a threat to the national security of the Republic of Lithuania'. Instead, she was granted a one-year residence permit in the country. We strongly support the International Campaign for the immediate protection of the human rights defender Olga Karatch. The UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders adopted in 1998 refers to "the work of individuals, groups and associations that contribute to theeffective elimination of all violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms of peoples and individuals". Olga Karatch, through the organisation she heads "Our House" has numerous activities to her credit in monitoring and defending human rights in Belarus and Belarusian citizens who have fled to other countries - such as Lithuania. For this reason, her organisation has also been chosen by the International Peace Bureau to be a candidate for the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize, together with the Russian Conscientious Objectors Movement and the Ukrainian Peace Movement.
States have an obligation to protect all human rights and fundamental freedoms of all citizens and human rights defenders, who are exposed to grave risks through threats, attacks and intimidation at both local and national levels, in times of armed conflict and peacebuilding, as stated in UN General Assembly Resolution 66/164 . We express deep concern that national security and counter-terrorism measures are often misused to target human rights defenders or hinder their work and compromise their security in a manner contrary to international law, as affirmed in UN Human Rights Council Resolution 22/6 of 2013 on the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, which commits all States to protect and not criminalise human rights defenders.
- We therefore appeal to the highest Lithuanian authorities, the President of the Republic of Lithuania, the Prime Minister and the Minister of Foreign Affairs to respect international standards and provide protection and asylum for the Belarusian-born human rights defender and peace-builder Olga Karatch, who has taken refuge in Lithuania.
- Lithuania is also a member of the European Union. We therefore also appeal to the European institutions which, as stated in the EU Guidelines on Human Rights Defenders, should be firmly committed to protecting them.
- We also appeal to the Italian government to take action so that the protection of human rights defenders is guaranteed always and everywhere.
- We call upon all civil society, from individual citizens to journalists and institutional representatives in Italy and across Europe to take action in defence of human rights and those who defend them.
Sereno Regis Study Centre,
Democratic Jurists,
International Reconciliation Movement (IFOR Italian branch),
Pax Christi Italia (Italian branch of Pax Christi International),
Pressenza Italia (Italian branch of Pressenza International),
Un Ponte Per
Press release
Un Ponte Per: 'Let 2 June once again become a celebration of democracy'
The Italian NGO committed to building peace in the Middle East and Ukraine recalls the civil character of Republic Day. 'We know what war means, our Republic repudiates it'
Rome, 1 June 2023 - On the occasion of 2 June, Republic Day, we witness once again the occupation of this public civil space by the military parade.
This year, what's more , aggravated by the Ministry of Education and Merit's circular to Italian schools on the "Celebrations for the Republic Day of 2 June" (in particular in Lazio with outgoing protocol no. 24490, dated 9 May 2023), with a singular request: an invitation to schools to apply not only to attend the military parade along Via dei Fori Imperiali in Rome, but also to parade together with the various branches of the armed forces.
It is useful to remind our political class that no military battle took place on 2 June 1946 . Instead, there was a referendum, in whose vote women also participated for the first time in the history of Italy, in which the Italian people filed away the tragic page of the Savoy monarchy, choosing the Republic.
Un Ponte Per has always supported the need to give back its civil character to the feast of 2 June, so that it can be a day of encounter between all Italians and Italian women, in which the values of the democratic and anti-fascist Constitution are celebrated together.
We have always maintained that the military, instead of parading in uniform, should instead be put on a free-for-all and join the celebrations in civilian clothes together with all other citizens.
We of Un Ponte Per, who know what the roar of fighter-bombers over bombed-out cities and the bewilderment and fear of people fleeing war means, cannot help but feel disturbed by the displays of the Frecce Tricolori that will once again streak the skies over Rome.
May 2 June once again become the Feast of Democracy, of the Republic that repudiates war.
Press release
Drawing peace between Agrate and Iraq
The project by the Italian NGO Un Ponte Per, financed by the Municipality of Agrate Brianza, which brought urban art to young people in Iraq and Italy, has come to an end. Tuesday 30 May the final event.
Monza e Brianza, 29 May 2023 - The final event of the project "Drawing peace between Agrate and Iraq", realised by the Italian NGO Un Ponte Per (UPP) and financed by the Municipality of Agrate Brianza, will take place on Tuesday 30 May at 4.30 p.m. at the "Sulè Centre" in Agrate Brianza (MB).
The project, which took place in the summer of 2022, aimed to build bridges of solidarity between Italy and Iraq through art: 4 urban art workshops were offered to girls and boys from Sulaymaniya, a city in Iraqi Kurdistan, at the 'Tobacco Factory' youth centre with which UPP has been collaborating for some time, and where trainer and designer Simone Rossoni in art 'Vermi di Rouge'(https://www.vermidirouge.com/) accompanied the project.
In Lombardy , on the other hand, a workshop was proposed in November 2022 to the male and female students of the Enzo Bontempi Secondary School (MB), with which UPP has been collaborating for years on educational projects for pre-adolescents; and one in May at the 'Sulè' Multipurpose Centre for young people in Agrate Brianza, managed by the Sulè Onlus Association, held by the trainer Marzia Formoso, in art 'Miss Nais'(https://www.facebook.com/MissNaisArt).
At the end of the workshops, which involved 30 boys and girls in Iraq and 30 in Italy, six murals were made on the theme of building peace and bonds of solidarity between the two countries.
On Tuesday 30 May at 4.30 p.m. at the Sulè Centre, in Via Don Luigi Cantini in Agrate Brianza (MB), there will be a final event of the project, during which the murals created in Iraq and Italy will be shown, and a small photographic volume will be distributed, telling the story of this journey of peace and building bridges between young people from different countries, but united by the same dream of a better future.
Un Ponte Per has been present in Iraq since 1991 and in Sulaymaniya it has been running various activities since 2016: the projects developed are of various kinds: from educational and peacebuilding projects, to reproductive health, to projects for the preservation of the artistic or environmental heritage, to projects for job placement and vocational training. In Agrate Brianza, the partnership with the Association dates back to 2019, when Un Ponte Per developed non-formal education workshops at the Sulè Youth Centre.
Press release
Syria. A Bridge For alongside the war-affected population thanks to EU support
Thanks to the support of the European Union Humanitarian Aid, Un Ponte Per (UPP) has ensured free treatment for more than 190,000 people in the areas most affected by the conflict in Syria in 1 year.
Syria, 16 May 2023 - The project "Life-saving and life-sustaining health assistance to the war-affected population in Northeast Syria", implemented by the Italian NGO Un Ponte Per (UPP) and its local partners - Kurdish Red Crescent (KRC) and Action for Humanity (AFH) - ended in these weeks. The intervention ensured basic and emergency health care to the population affected by the devastating effects of the war - such as displaced persons and refugees - and to the communities that returned after years in the areas most affected by the conflict, such as the city of Raqqa, 80% destroyed by the battle against the Islamic State (Daesh).
The project, launched in April 2022, was made possible by the support of European Union Humanitarian Aid, which has been supporting Un Ponte Per in Syria since 2017, ensuring continuity of essential and life-saving health services and specialised care for women and newborns.
The intervention has reached over 190,000 people thanks to the extensive network of primary health centres, hospitals and ambulances throughout the territory of north-east Syria. In the dramatic Syrian context, where the war has continued to affect the population for 12 years, the health system has been severely affected, due to the destruction of health centres and the shortage of specialised personnel, equipment and medicines. The project ensured continuous support for 6 primary health centres in Al Hol, Areesha, Abu Khashab, Serekanye, in the Mahmoudli camp and in the city of Raqqa; for 1 paediatric hospital in Raqqa and 2 maternity wards in Tabqa and in the national hospital in Manbij; for a network of 15 ambulances and a coordination centre to manage cases especially during emergencies (such as the Covid-19 pandemic or Cholera).
All services are free and accessible to the entire population, thanks to the work of UPP staff and local partners to ensure fair and non-discriminatory access to health. In 1 year, the clinics supported by UPP and its partners provided over 200,000 medical examinations, attended births to over 20,000 babies with specialised personnel (in a context where home births are still common, contributing to increasing maternal and child mortality rates), and provided ambulance transport to over 14,000 patients.
More than 800,000 people also received essential information to increase their health and prevent illness, especially among children, as well as important information and referral systems on protection services for the most vulnerable, thanks to the constant presence of community health workers and health workers working in clinics and communities.
