CATA's participation in the United Nations

An interview with two members of the board of directors

For the last two years, CATA (El Comité de Apoyo a los Trabajadores Agrícolas) has been participating in the United Nations as a non-governmental organization (NGO). This year, CATA has become a member of the CONGO Committee on Human Rights (CONGO is the Conference of NGOs in Consultative Relationship with the United Nations), and more specifically has been participating in the CONGO Sub-Committee on the Human Rights of Immigrants and Refugees. As a part of this group, CATA collaborated in the organization of a workshop, “Affirming the Human Rights of Women Migrants: Legal and Social Challenges,” during the Commission on the Status of Women at the end of February at the United Nations Headquarters in New York.

Although there are various organizations involved that support migrant workers, CATA is one of the few grassroots organizations that represents migrants within the United Nations system. For this reason, the organization plays an important role in bringing the voice of migrants to the agencies of the United Nations and the world’s governments.

Two of the most important focal points for our work in 2006 are to participate in the creation of the new Human Rights Council, which will replace the existing Human Rights Commission, and in the process of preparation for the General Assembly in September, which for the first time will focus on the theme of world migration. As part of this work, CATA has been asked to participate in Interactive Hearings with Civil Society leading up to the General Assembly’s High Level Dialogue on Migration. The Hearings are scheduled for July 12, 2006.

Two members of CATA who have been able to participate at the United Nations are Carlos Diaz and Zenon Perez, the president and secretary of the organization’s board of directors. Recently I spoke with them to ask, “What do you see as the importance of the work CATA is doing at the United Nations?”

According to Zenon, one of the principal reasons is to show the world the injustices that occur in this country. “We would like the United States to acknowledge that injustice does not only occur in poor countries, but that in the United States, which is supposedly a free and democratic country, there is injustice and poverty as well. The migrant community wants the United States to focus on immigration and the rights of migrants.”

For Carlos, one of the greatest benefits of our work at the United Nations is the relationships we establish with other grassroots organizations in communities around the world. He talked about “the importance of developing trust with other peoples — to achieve a relationship of trust and respect: me to you, and you to me. If we share with one another and achieve a friendship, talk with each other about our experiences and struggles, we can learn from people from other countries. This is a success for the organization.” Carlos also related his experience in the United Nations with his experience in the Union, “At times, we don’t value what we have at hand. It gives me satisfaction to know that we are not alone. ”

We also talked about CATA’s participation in the United Nations Forum on Forests, in which we are bringing to the table the relationship between the destruction of the environment and migration: if people can no longer live from the natural resources of their lands, they become obligated to leave in order to search for work in other places.

Something that has deeply moved both Carlos and Zenon is that the destruction of the environment, such as the unsustainable clear-cutting of the forest, is happening all over the world. “What has caught my attention,” said Carlos, “is that you never hear about the destruction happening in other countries. There is a pyramid of environmental destruction — for example, if there is no vegetation, there will be no rain. Organizing is the key, a platform from which to begin to resolve these problems.”

“It is a general issue,” according to Zenon, “and not only in Latin America or North America. Taking care of the forests is a question of conscience for the entire world.” There are also grave consequences for poor people because of this destruction, “for example, in countries in Asia where recently there have been landslides, because there is no natural control of the earth. We have disregarded it so completely — to be able to achieve a positive change, we have to integrate ourselves into a large-scale campaign such as that of the United Nations.”