Desmond Tutu calls for conviction of activist Abdallah Abu Rahmah to be overturned

Archbishop Desmond Tutu, chair of The Elders, has expressed his concern about the conviction of Palestinian activist Abdallah Abu Rahmah, who works for Stop the Wall, an ICCO partner, by an Israeli military court.

ICCO in Pakistan

Food items funded by ICCO are being transported through local boat system across the river to the cut off areas affected by recent flood in Swat valley.

World Humitarian Day

Today, Humanitarian Day takes place.

Disappeared peasant leader in Honduras found murdered

ICCO is shocked by reports that Honduras peasant leader Teresa de Jesus Flores Elvir, 52 years and mother of 14 children, was found murdered last Wednesday, 11th of August.

Pre-announcement symposium: International Cooperation, the future?

A debate on the future of international cooperation. After the symposium we will say our farewells to Jack van Ham.

Madagascar Symposium Amsterdam

Past 28 June 2010 a Madagascar Symposium was held at the VU in Amsterdam. Here several speakers shared their insights on the topic: Whose development? A critical lens on development issues in contemporary Africa Madagascar Symposium Amsterdamand Madagascar.

ACT Alliance: Need for support in Haiti continues

Six months after the devastating earthquake hit Haiti, the country is recovering slowly from the massive consequences caused by the quake. Emergency phase has been more time consuming than expected and many Haitians are still in need of emergency aid.

ICCO's education partner Tin Tua in Burkina Faso has received a UNESCO award

Tin Tua's self-help philosophy makes communities bloom Source: © UNESCO  ...

ACT Alliance calls on the international community to lead investigations into the civil conflict in Kyrgyzstan

The civil conflict in southern Kyrgyzstan, which erupted in the first half of June, was characterised by extreme violence, hatred and cruelty. Women, children, elderly and men of different ethnic groups, in particular Kyrgyz and Uzbek, are still traumatised by what they have experienced in these past weeks, including loss of loved ones and reports of rape. 560,000 people are in immediate need of food, water, shelter and medical care.

Video online - Verkuyl lecture: The Value of We

On 26th May the ICCO-alliance organised the Verkuyl lecture. This lecture was held for the fourth time and is named after dr. Jo Verkuyl, founder of ICCO In 1964.

Women on Wheels from India winner the Women in Business challenge

The BID challenge network event took place in The Hague on the 2nd of June. Willemijn Lammers, head of the department for FED, presented the Women in Business award to Meenu Vadera of the Women on Wheels organization from India.

ICCO shocked about murder of Congolese human rights activist

ICCO and Kerk in Actie are shocked to hear about the death of our longstanding partner Floribert Chebeya, an important human rights activist in the Democratic Republic of Congo. He has been found dead in his car in Kinshasa. According to reliable sources he was murdered.

Kenya's Hunger Crisis - the Result of Right to Food Violations

Kenya suffers from recurring drought. The situation during the past three years, however, has reached levels unparalleled in living memory.

Resolution from ngo's Kyrgyzstan

Urgent Forum of Civil Society Organizations of the Kyrgyz Republic

Update Kyrgyzstan

An update on the situation in Kyrgyzstan, as written by a colleague of Danish Church Aid.

Join the global beat for Sudan!

IKV Pax Christi, Euro's voor Vrede, Radio Darfur and ICCO & Kerk in Actie invite you to be part of a worldwide campaign for peace in Sudan. How? Bring your drum, a pot and a wooden spoon, or just your own hands and start beating during the Drum4Sudan flash mob!

ICCO joins ACT Alliance

Working together to fight injustice and poverty, provide emergency assistance and to influence policy: that is the mission of ACT Alliance, which ICCO has joined as of January 1, 2010.

Ashton must visit Gaza

The EU's foreign ministers and its High Representative for foreign affairs must insist on their right to visit the Gaza Strip, say 17 European human rights and development organisations.

Chile earthquake: ACT works with the government

Newsstory - ACT Alliance - 1 March, 2010: The 8.8 magnitude earthquake in Chile - one of the most powerful recorded - has killed more than 700 people, but the figure is expected to increase. Troops are being deployed to help with rescue efforts and prevent looting. A curfew is enforced in some areas. Basic supplies are to be distributed as rescuers reach worst-hit areas.

Heavy Rains Underscore Shelter Needs in Haiti

NEWS STORY | February 19, 2010 - ACT alliance PORT-AU-PRINCE, HAITI - By Emily Sollie And then came the rain... Wednesday night, Haiti's capital experienced its heaviest rainfall since the earthquake, a soaking downpour that lasted for several hours. The storm, the second this week, foreshadowed things to come when the rainy season sets in next month.

Koenders: "ICCO walks a beautiful but difficult road."

Unpleasant conclusions, a lack of understanding, harsh statements. The Dutch Minister of Development Cooperation, Mr Koenders, believes the discussion about development cooperation has gone too far. "The hard-liners would have you believe that DC is no longer a positive thing - not even a neutral thing, but a negative one." It doesn't have to be this way, as proven by the ICCO Alliance and its thorough innovation process. The Minister paid ICCO and Kerk in Actie quite a few compliments in this regard during his visit.

After one month in Haiti: ACT help 150,000 people

Since the earthquake hit parts of Haiti January 12, the ACT Alliance has assisted more than 150,000 people. The majority of people are assisted with ongoing support such as water, sanitation, shelter or regular food supplies/meals. Others have received relief items such as cash, family kits or hygiene sets. Others have benefitted from medical assistance and supplies to health clinics.

Diary from Regional Manager for Central America Mariecke van der Glas about Haiti earthquake

As Regional Manager for Central America, ICCO and Kerk in Actie associate Mariecke van der Glas has been closely affected by the earthquake on Haiti. She kept a diary during the first three weeks after the earthquake. A selection from her diary can be found on our website.

Caring for Haiti's Kids

Traumatized, ill and suffering loss of limbs, hundreds of children need round-the-clock care.

Haiti: Slowly, a return to daily life

Slowly food and water have started moving in Haiti.

Haiti: Clean Water from Filthy

The ACT Alliance has brought in specialist water and sanitation facilities, desperately needed in earthquake-hit Haiti.

Haiti: ACT Distributions Continue in Remote Areas

Medical teams, experts and tonnes of food, household items and tarpaulins from ACT Alliance members and partners continue to reach Haitians made homeless.

ACT photographer Paul Jeffrey in Haiti: “They are used to struggle, so life goes on”

In the wake of Haiti's devastating earthquake, Port-au-Prince is filled with rubble and corpses. Yet amid the destruction and despair, the hope and strength of the Haitian people is undeniable.

Religion and development cooperation: a devil of a job? - Speech Jack van Ham

Also on behalf of my colleague and good friend Haaije Feenstra from our Service Organisation, I would like to welcome you and wish you all the best for the new year.

ACT Alliance Support Reaching Haiti

In the chaos of aid distribution, ACT Alliance members are managing to get food, temporary shelter, water cleaning materials and expertise to the Haitian capital.

'As much assistance to Haiti as possible' - ACT coordinator

The incoming ACT Alliance coordinator for Haiti has outlined priorities for the huge relief operation she is about to lead. Elsa Moreno is scheduled to arrive in Santo Domingo, in the Dominican Republic, tomorrow. She is to hold the post of Rapid Support Team coordinator of the newly-formed programme which offers ACT members support in overwhelming emergencies.

ACT in Haiti: Healing the Traumatised

Thousands of people in Port-au-Prince - injured, hungry and desperate - have spent days outdoor in the demolished capital of Haiti without food or shelter. Desperate Haitians have blocked streets with corpses in anger. Food is stocking up at the airport, but has not yet been distributed. A great deal of the population is traumatized, and ACT Alliance is now sending in experts on psycho-social support.

Haiti: Port-au-Prince "looks like a war zone"

Evelyne Margrone, a programme office of ACT member ICCO has been recovered alive from the debris and was taken to Dominican Republic suffering multiple bone fractures and possible internal injuries. Her grandson was found unhurt.

Haiti earthquake update

A severe earthquake struck Haiti yesterday and destroyed the office of Christian Aid and ICCO. At the time the program officer was in the building together with her grandson. Latest news is she has been pulled out of the rubble together with two other persons. She needs medical care, but she is not in danger. Her grandson is fine as well.

World needs to act now to prevent new Sudan war, ten aid agencies warn

Major conflict could return to southern Sudan unless there is urgent international action to save the peace agreement that ended one of Africa's longest and deadliest wars, ten aid agencies warned today.

First part of the Grant Application for MFS II to the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Early December the ICCO Alliance submitted the first part of the Grant Application for MFS II to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Current ICCO Alliance expanded

The Zeister Zendingsgenootschap and Yente reinforce the ICCO Alliance comprising Edukans, Kerk in Actie, Oikocredit, Prisma, SharePeople and ICCO.

Co-operation between Kerk in Actie and ICCO to be prolonged

The Protestant Church will prolong the co-operation between Kerk in Actie and development organisation ICCO. The synod decided that the agreement between Kerk in Actie, the development organisation of the churches, and ICCO will be continued in 2010.

Human rights award for Angolan organisation

ICCO's Angolan partner, SOS Habitat, has been presented the Civil Society Human Rights Award in huge recognition of the work of this Angolan partner and its director Luis Araujo.

HIV is not statistical, Tutu says

A major religious leader says the world can no longer think of HIV in developing countries as a problem that sits in isolation from other countries. Nobel laureate and former Archbishop of Cape Town, Desmond Tutu, says no-one anywhere in the world is immune from the issue of HIV. "You can no longer quarantine yourself and say you are able to remain safe when there is disease and poverty and instability ‘over there'. Instability in one part of the world almost always communicates itself as instability all over."

International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women

Today ICCO & Kerk in Actie and all our partner-organisations would like to ask you to take the initiative to light a candle in solidarity with all women suffering from violence and all people striving for the elimination of violence against women.

Women in Business Challenge 2010

ICCO is very pleased to announce the special "Women in Business Challenge". This business plan competition is targeted at women who seek finance for their start-up or established business in a developing country in Africa, Asia or Latin America.

One billion people go hungry - Who controls governance of World Food System?

Failure by national governments and international institutions to ensure the right to food has led to rising numbers of malnourished and starving people, as documented in the Right to Food and Nutrition Watch 2009. The report which is being launched this week on the occasion of World Food Day in twelve countries worldwide, is a common endeavor of a Consortium of human rights organisations, social movements and development agencies, among them Brot für die Welt, FIAN International and the Interchurch Organisation for Development Co-operation (ICCO).

ICCO and the Private Sector

ICCOs Position Paper about Corporate Social Responsibility and Private Sector Collaboration is available and online! This summary version is based on the internal document that ICCOs Board of Management accepted in June 2008.

Wim Hart joins ICCO Board of Directors

Wim Hart is the new member of the Board of Directors of the development organisation ICCO. He will be responsible for internal affairs such as operations management, human resources and IT. He will share this task with Jack van Ham, former General Manager and currently chairman of the ICCO Board of Directors.

'Do Not Be Used By Misguided Politicians'

'Do Not Be Used By Misguided Politicians' Updated: August 18, 2009 - 9:16am News Section: FLY President, Joseph J. Sankaituah addresses participants at the peace building program in Clara Town over the weekend.   ~ FLY Tells Youth  ...

Report Celebration 177 Indian youngsters from the slums go to university

Last Saturday August the 8th India celebrated that 177 young people from the slums were admitted to university. ICCO-Partner organisation Asha says this is one of its most memorable events since its foundation. ICCO's general director Jack van Ham was present at the celebration. Below you can read Asha's report.

Liberia: Make torture a crime

An executive of the New Deal Movement, Professor Alaric K. Tokpa has suggested and is currently appealing to the National Legislature, Liberia's lawmaking body, to make torture a crime in Liberia.  ...

Call for EU Foreign Ministers to visit Gaza

Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the European Union urgently need to visit Gaza to witness for themselves the denigrating circumstances in which the people of Gaza live. Only then can they make foreign policy decisions that so heavily affect the people of Gaza.

Churches reaffirm 40-year struggle against racism

The Dutch queen will be the guest of honour at a conference seeking to take on the legacy of the World Council of Churches' (WCC) historic anti-racism efforts.

Churches tackle root causes of hunger in new campaign

Christian leaders around the world are calling on the United Nations Secretary-General to seek tangible results in realizing the right to food. The letter to Ban Ki-moon is the first action of a new ecumenical global campaign on food being launched today in Geneva, Switzerland, by the Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance (EAA).

Fairfood bridges the North-South gap

ICCO at the World Social Forum

As an intermediary, ICCO plays a very important role at the WSF. Seven ICCO employees travelled to Brazil to attend the WSF, from 26 January to 3 February.

Right to Food recognized as essential to fight

The Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance (EAA) and faith-based organizations and leaders around the world hailed the recognition, at the High Level Meeting on Food Security for All, of the essential role of the Right to Food in combating hunger.

ICCO at the World Social Forum 2009

The 9th World Social Forum takes place between January 26 and February 2nd in Belém, Brazil, highlighting especially global concerns such as climate change and environmental issues in relation to poverty. Some 80.000 people are expected to participate.

Summary Burma/Myanmar Day 2008 available

ICCO, the European Commission, Burma Centrum Nederland and the Euro-Burma Office jointly organised “Burma/Myanmar Day 2008” in Brussels on 29 October 2008. The first panel discussion was focused on the ‘Aftermath of Cyclone Nargis’, while the second discussion concentrated on ‘Political Options for the Future’. The summary is now available.

Rural Finance Study

An inventory of policies, practices and challenges regarding support to rural (micro)finance among Netherlands' MicroNed members

Innovative concept gives farmers in developing countries access to finance

ICCO and ForeFinanceTM signed an agreement which improves access to finance for agricultural producer organizations in developing countries. ICCO, the Dutch based inter church organization for development cooperation, will support ForeFinanceTM for the three years till 2013.

Sudan's future threatened by cut in EU-funds

APRODEV, the Brussels-based association of 17 European church related aid organisations, is extremely concerned by the possibility that the European Union (EU) may cut its development funds to Sudan after it failed to ratify the Cotonou Agreement. The organisation believes that European states must work together to ensure there is not a damaging drop in funding for war-ravaged parts of Sudan.