On December 9, 2022, a report was submitted by the Advisory Panel on the revision of the DCC to Mr. Yoshimasa Hayashi, Minister for Foreign Affairs. We, as members of civil society, held a press conference at the Japan National Press Club hosted by the NGO-side coordinator of the ODA Policy Council and the NGO-side committee of the Partnership Promotion Committee for the NGO-Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) Regular Consultation Meeting. —– Press Release: “Call for a Charter that truly stands for Human Security!” December 9, 2022 -Will the government use development cooperation as a “diplomatic tool” and relax the non-military principle? Civil society blew a whistle on the report…
Call for immediate cessation of armed conflict in Sudan and call for action from the international community
On the morning of Saturday, April 15, armed conflicts broke out between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in the Sudanese capital Khartoum. More than 400 civilians have been killed and 3,500 wounded in the fighting that has spread across the capital city of Khartoum and other areas. Many civilians, including our Sudanese staff and their families, have been unable to leave their homes or evacuate the area where the fighting is taking place. In addition to blackout and water outage, logistics have been suspended, and food and drinking water supplies have run out. Attacks on hospitals are also rampant, and many hospitals have been…
Staff Interview: Miki GOTO (Laos & Sudan Projects)
[Original by Toko ODATE, 2022 Public Relations Intern (March 22, 2023); Translated by K. Takemura/A. Taguchi] In this issue, we focus on the careers of JVC staff members and trace their paths to becoming NGO employees. We hope it will provide some hints for those who are interested in pursuing international cooperation as a career in the future. First of all, please introduce yourself. My name is Miki GOTO, and I am in my first year at JVC. I am in charge of the Laos and Sudan projects in the Tokyo Office. My hobbies are jazz dancing and camping. I got my car license in order to go camping (laughs).…
Appeals regarding the revision of the Development Cooperation Charter (DCC) proposed by 19 NGOs
On September 9, 2022, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) announced the revision of DCC. Even though it is an important document that is the basic principle of the Japanese Official Development Assistance (ODA), the government has started the revisioning procedure without enough explanation about why it is necessary to revise it, or how civilian opinion will be broadly reflected in it. Three nongovernmental organizations, Mekong Watch, Friends of the Earth Japan (FoE Japan), and Japan Center for a Sustainable Environment and Society（JACSES）first called for submitting a written request to MOFA to clarify the issues of ODA and points to be reflected in the revision. JVC also agrees to this…
JVC’s local staff in Jerusalem visited Gaza (Part 3)
[Original published in note.com by Masaya SAIKI, Intern for the Palestine project (March 15, 2022); Translated by Y. Miki/F. Farina] Ms. Ayat, one of our local staff in Jerusalem, visited Gaza. Here is the report on the final day of her visit following part 2. — Drinking coffee in the morning with the sunshine in Gaza is “a great ritual to start the day” for me. Unfortunately, though, a taxi to the place I was visiting had arrived. I always wanted to check out the view of Gaza from the top, and when I went up to the roof of the building I was visiting, there was a lot of…
JVC’s local staff in Jerusalem visited Gaza (Part 2)
[Original published in note.com by Masaya SAIKI, Intern for the Palestine project (March 7, 2022); Translated by Y. Miki/F. Farina] Ms. Ayat, one of our local staff in Jerusalem, visited Gaza. Here is the report on the second day of her visit following part 1. — Today, I visited a community center in the Al Brij refugee camp to monitor the workshop for the local health voluntary advisers. Once I arrived at the venue, women from the northern and central Gaza were already actively sharing their experiences. Those ladies who attended the workshop were very enthusiastic, committed, and strong with sensitivity like a hammer. Behind their smiles and laughter, they…
Do you know what’s going on in South Sudan?
[Original by Yoshino AMI, Intern (July 30, 2022); Translated by E. Yocom] Hello everyone. My name is Ami, and I’m an intern here at JVC. Do you know what is happening in South Sudan? I think that only someone who’s very well read in international affairs would know about this. I’m embarrassed to say that I’m not sure if I would have known about this if I weren’t an intern here at JVC. After gaining independence in 2011 following a long civil war, South Sudan became the world’s newest country. Currently, there are many internally displaced people in South Sudan who fled from repeated flooding and armed conflict, and they…
JVC’s local staff in Jerusalem visited Gaza (Part1)
[Original published in note.com by Masaya SAIKI, Intern for the Palestine project (February 3, 2022); Translated by Y. Miki/A. Taguchi] Ms. Ayat, one of our local staff in Jerusalem, visited Gaza for the first time and had a good experience. I will introduce her report in three parts. Gaza had been off-limits for a long time, so we were not allowed to enter there. Therefore, when I visited Gaza for the first time, it seemed to be a very distant place from Jerusalem. I had many stereotypes about Gaza. It might be because of various briefings on life in Gaza I received for many years. Most of what I had…
Introduction of local staff in South Africa: Dudu, Moses, and Philip (Part 2)
[Original by Airi KAMIYAMA, Intern (July 7, 2022); Translated by E. Miyazaki/A. Taguchi] Hi everyone! Following the previous blog, I will continue to report on the interview with our South African staff, Dudu, Moses, and Phillip. I was able to hear very interesting stories such as what they pay attention to at work in JVC, what they gained when working with people from different countries and so on. Please take a moment to read about Dudu, Moses, and Philip’s strong passion. Why did you decide to join JVC? Dudu: At first, I only thought that I had to find a job for myself and my family. However, I came to…
Introduction of local staff in South Africa: Dudu, Moses, and Philip (Part 1)
[Original by Airi KAMIYAMA, Intern (July 7, 2022); Translated by E. Miyazaki/A. Taguchi] Hi! I am Kamiyama, an intern. Today, I would like to introduce Dudu, Moses, and Philip, our local staff in South Africa. We used to hear from the Japanese staff on similar occasions, but we did not have opportunities to hear from the local staff. Because I wanted everyone to know about our local staff, I interviewed these three staff. I will report my interview with these cheerful South African staff in two parts. In the first part, I will introduce their hobbies and the South African culture to you. Please introduce yourselves! Philip: I am involved…
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