Our Focus

Peace & Human Rights

Francis’ experience as a soldier and prisoner during the wars between Assisi and Perugia led him to undergo a profound transformation. His rejection of violence ultimately led him to seek out Sultan al-Kamil of Egypt to broker a peace during the fifth crusade – a meeting that is still held up as an example of dialogue and understanding.

People caught in situations of armed violence and conflict don’t cease to have their inherent human rights: on the contrary, they need heightened protection – especially women and children. Today, Franciscans are often among those who provide material, psychological and legal support to affected communities. It is not uncommon for sisters and brothers to be some of the last to remain in situations of conflict and be able to document and transfer information to the international community.

In various countries, Franciscans stand up against the systemic and widespread repression of peaceful protests and work to address past human rights violations in the context of transitional justice. At times, they themselves are victims of repression, violence, and conflict.

Our Goals

Expose human rights violations in situations of conflict and armed violence.

The international community is often unable or unwilling to conduct direct investigations when addressing situations of conflict and armed violence. Because of their deep roots in affected communities, Franciscans are in a unique position to share reliable information with the United Nations. Together, we contribute to fighting impunity in highly sensitive and repressive contexts.

Promote the role of human rights in the prevention of conflict and demand increased accountability for policies that fuel strife and violence.

FI contributes to global debates and initiatives that foster the increased integration of human rights into UN work on conflict prevention, peacebuilding, and peacekeeping. We explore new ways to make more systematic and coordinated use of the different existing UN mechanisms in New York and Geneva. We also engage with States in debates that aim to include equal dignity and environmental justice into peace and security policies, including in the framework of the UN Security Council.

Environmental Justice

The preservation of our common home – the planet we all share – is central to the teachings of Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of ecology. During his own lifetime, he was concerned with the impact of human activities on nature around him.

Today, our world is engulfed in a triple planetary crisis of climate disruption, biodiversity loss, and waste and pollution. These crises affect all human rights. Too often, people who have contributed least to their causes are already among those who suffer the greatest consequences – and most likely to be excluded from policies to mitigate the damage.

Franciscans have taken a decisive stand for environmental justice, following a tradition that is reflected in the choice of Laudato Si’ as the title of Pope Francis’ 2015 encyclical, in which he urges the world to take swift and unified action. Their work ranges from campaigns to inspire individual changes to supporting institutional reforms that protect the environment.

Our Goals

Strengthen the practical integration of human rights into environmental debates and actions at the local, national, and global levels.

The impacts of these environmental crises are already a daily reality for people around the world. Using the concrete experiences and cases raised by Franciscans, we explicitly link human rights and the environment in our work with United Nations mechanisms.

FI has played an active role as part of a global coalition working toward the international recognition of the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment by the Human Rights Council in October 2021 and the General Assembly in July 2022. We now aim to further mainstream this right as a tool to claim environmental justice.

Strengthen the protection of the rights to water and sanitation.

Supporting the efforts of Franciscans and their communities at the grassroots we have developed a strong expertise on the rights to water and sanitation, notably by dealing with cases of pollution and toxic wastes. FI works to ensure that these rights are considered within the UN system in all their dimensions – not just economic and social, but also environmental, cultural, and spiritual.

Where We Work

Franciscans International currently has three regional programs that cover Africa, the Americas and Asia-Pacific.

Our focus is based on the needs of Franciscans working on human rights issues at the regional and country levels.

Through our partnerships, we can engage together directly with United Nations mechanisms and raise local issues to gain international attention.

We work together over years to transform this international attention into concrete changes at the grassroots.

This is why we choose to work in a number of focus countries where we develop long-term partnerships to implement a sustained strategy.

Our joint work consists of providing Franciscans and other partners with the necessary advice and tools to engage in human rights advocacy, building networks to give weight to local action, and providing access to advocacy opportunities at the UN.

In a successful partnership, these three elements are fully exploited by the same partners on a long-term basis.

Africa

Africa was the first region to be covered by a dedicated program at Franciscans International.

Throughout the continent, different political and environmental crises pose a threat to human rights. We support sisters and brothers who work toward positive and sustainable change for marginalized groups and people living in extreme poverty.

In Benin, for example, Franciscans have set up a successful long-term initiative, which combines international advocacy and local sensitization to combat the ritual infanticide of children accused of witchcraft.

This program was hailed as a best practice by UNICEF in 2019. We are now developing new partnerships in Uganda, focusing on child rights and women’s rights.

The extraction of natural resources has a long history of fueling human rights abuses throughout Africa. Franciscans and the wider Catholic Church have documented and denounced cases of exploitation and environmental harm in, among others, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Zambia.

In several places where conflicts have turned violent, Franciscans are in the unique but dangerous position to gather reliable testimonies that help to inform the international community. Through FI, they can safely and confidentially reach the United Nations.

Our Franciscan partners in the region

• Franciscan Family in Uganda
• Franciscan Family Madagascar
• Franciscains-Bénin
• Franciscan Family in Mozambique

Americas

The Americas are facing a multitude of intersecting human rights crises. As the effects of climate change are becoming more manifest, livelihoods and access to water are threatened across the continent.

In countries like Brazil and Guatemala, this situation is exacerbated by the development of mega-projects and extractive industries that operate without consulting affected communities or consideration of their impact on the environment.

Franciscans were among the first to raise concerns at the United Nations about the 2019 Brumadinho mining disaster, which killed over 270 people in Brazil.

Together with victims, Franciscans International brings attention to cases of violations committed through business activities and advocates for new global standards that would prevent future tragedies.

Franciscans also work to build the capacity of marginalized communities, including Indigenous Peoples, to demand protection of their human rights.

Extreme poverty, violence, environmental degradation, and climate change have all fueled large migration flows across the continent. Franciscans have responded by forming a network of connected shelters that provide support to people on the move.

As governments grow increasingly hostile to migrants, refugees, and those that work to protect them, FI brings cases of alleged human rights violations and first-hand accounts from these shelters to the UN.

Our Franciscan partners in the region

• Red Franciscana para Migrantes (RFM)
• JPIC Familia Franciscana de Colombia
• JPIC Familia Franciscana Unida de Guatemala
• Order of Friars Minor in El Salvador
• Order of Friars Minor Conventuals in El Salvador
• Serviço Franciscano de Solidariedade (SEFRAS)
• Serviço Franciscano de Justiça, Paz e Ecologia (SINFRAJUPE)

Asia-Pacific

Our work in the Asia-Pacific builds on the deep roots of Franciscans living with communities affected by human rights violations and abuses.

In recent years, our engagement has focused on several protracted human rights crises and the increasingly dire impacts of the environmental crises.

Over 26,000 people have been killed in the so-called ‘war on drugs’ in the Philippines. Following a long tradition, Franciscans have denounced these extra-judicial killings and provided support and sanctuary to witnesses, victims, and families.

In Indonesia, indigenous West Papuans face discrimination, violence, and exploitation of their natural resources. Local Franciscans work with us at the United Nations to demand accountability and justice.

The very existence of the Pacific Island nations is threatened by climate change. Together, we work toward stronger global commitment to fight this environmental crisis.

Franciscans are also raising cases at the UN related to the harmful exploitation of natural resources, such as industrial logging in the Solomon Islands, to fight further environmental degradation domestically.

Our Franciscan partners in the region

• Association of Major Religious Superiors of the Philippines (AMRSP)
• Franciscans Solidarity Movement for JPIC (FSMJPIC)
• Society of Saint Francis, Province of Solomon Islands
• JPIC Order of Friars Minor, Australia
• JPIC Franciscans, Papua (SKPKC Fransiskan)
• JPIC Order of Friars Minor, Indonesia
• INFO JPIC Franciscans, Indonesia