Both ENDS
“Quite shocking”, said Anouk Franck from Both ENDS. “The International Finance Corporation is unaware of the social and environmental consequences of their investments in private enterprises in developing countries and emerging economies. This was observed by the Ombudsman of the IFC itself.”
On the 14th of September, in the Public Library of Amsterdam, three partner organisations of Both ENDS presented their experiences with a method, developed by Both ENDS, to integrate gender equality in their work on access to natural resources. The presentations of the three organisations from Togo, Colombia and Bangladesh, showed the result of a process they each started in the beginning of 2010. They formed the starting point for a broader debate with other environmental and development organisations.
At the core of the Fair, Green, and Global (FGG) Alliance’s mission is the commitment to building a just and sustainable world. As members of this alliance, Both ENDS, SOMO, and the Transnational Institute (TNI) recognise the urgent need to reimagine global investment frameworks. These frameworks, entrenched in outdated treaties such as Bilateral Investment Treaties (BITs) and the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT), often prioritise corporate profits over human rights, environmental sustainability, and social justice.
For Both ENDS, 2014 was a year of both looking back and ahead. We achieved valuable results with projects we have been working on for many years. At the same time, we also started a number of promising new activities. Together with our partners, we worked on more than 40 projects linked to the topics land, water and capital flows.
The Dutch MFS-2 WASH coalition on water and sanitation - of which Both ENDS is a member - welcomes the decision taken by the Human Rights Council to interpret the human right to water and sanitation as legally binding under international law.
For Both ENDS, the year 2015 marked an ending and a new beginning. It was the last year of the Communities of Change and the Ecosystem Alliance. The Fair, Green and Global Alliance also came to a close in its current form at the end of 2015. But the end of these programmes certainly does not mean the work will stop; what has been built up in the past five years will be continued within the new partnerships with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which have already started in 2016.
