by Pesticide Action Network Asia and the Pacific

Pesticide Action Network Asia and the Pacific (PAN AP) extends our heartiest Congratulations to Dr. Irene Fernandez on being nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.

Dr. Irene, who is PAN AP Chairperson, is one of two Malaysians nominated for the "1,000 Women for the Nobel Peace Prize" for 2005. Dr. Irene (Honorary Doctorate in Social Medicine, from Vrije Universiet Amsterdam, the Netherlands, October 2000) is well known in her homeland as one of Malaysia’s most prominent Human Right’s activists.

Dr. Irene is currently the Director of Tenaganita (Women’s Force), based in Kuala Lumpur. A grassroots organisation committed to establishing "protective tools" for women, Tenaganita works especially with women workers in plantations, factories and in the sex industry. The organisation has succeeded in establishing reform amendments to rape laws, model contracts for overseas domestic helpers, and a domestic violence act, which opened up complaint procedures for victims. Tenaganita also offers human rights education workshops, a drop-in counselling centre, special programs on women and AIDS, counselling and legal support for survivors of trafficking, and a halfway house for health recovery and HIV-positive women.

As Chairperson of PAN AP, and particularly on the issue of pesticides and impacts of these hazardous chemicals on peoples’ health, Dr. Irene has consistently struggled for the rights of plantation workers, especially women. Women working in the plantations in Malaysia have predominantly been assigned jobs as sprayers and as a result are poisoned by the pesticides they spray daily. Additionally, the living conditions in plantations are very poor, medical care is inadequate and estate management as a whole is oblivious and unsympathetic towards the social and health problems faced by workers—especially women.

Struggle for Justice for Migrant Workers

July 27, 2005 was the 10th Anniversary of the release of the memorandum by Dr. Irene on the "Abuse, Torture and Dehumanised Treatment of Migrant Workers at the Detention Camps" in Malaysia. The Memorandum exposed the conditions of abuse, torture and dehumanised treatment of migrant workers in detention centres, with information obtained through the participatory action research on Migration, HIV/AIDS and Health. The Malaysian government did not accept the exposé of the conditions in the detention camp, including the reported deaths. Dr. Irene was then charged under the Printing Presses and Publication Act (PPPA) under section 8A for publishing "false news" in 1996. Her trial was the longest trial in the history of the country!

On October 16, 2003, Dr. Irene was found guilty of 'maliciously publishing false news' under Section 8A (1) of the PPPA, and sentenced to 12 months imprisonment. She is out on bail, pending the outcome of her appeal at the High Court. The jail sentence on Dr. Irene—a staunch defender of human rights—for highlighting the deplorable conditions and treatment of migrant workers in detention camps through a memorandum, has shocked, outraged and disappointed all concerned. A jail sentence for a memorandum is unprecedented. The trial conviction demonstrates that there is no protection for human rights defenders to articulate concerns over human rights violations. Many have voiced that such a trend not only curtails constructive criticism, but also has serious implications for all organisations involved in promotion and protection of rights of people and for research.

As noted by critics at home, and by international watchdog groups such as Amnesty International, the PPPA violates international human rights standards, specifically on freedom of _expression. Bans on the publication of 'false news', like that found in section 8A(2) of the PPPA, have been found by international bodies like the UN Human Rights Committee and a number of constitutional courts around the world to breach the guarantee of freedom of _expression. Amnesty has stated that if Irene Fernandez is convicted and imprisoned, it would consider her a "prisoner of conscience".

Dr. Irene’s ability to travel overseas to meetings and other events has been restricted by the fact that the Court has impounded her passport.

On November 18, 2003 PAN AP together with Suaram (Malaysian Human Rights organisation), and CARAM-Asia (Regional Coordination on Aids and Mobility) launched a national and global campaign to protest the conviction. The campaign to "Keep Irene Free - Defend The Defenders" contextualises what happened to Dr. Irene within a boarder campaign on the need to defend human rights defenders. The campaign is also about freedom of _expression, freedom of speech, and the upholding of justice for the marginalised and abused in society.

Protecting Agriculture Workers Rights and Health

In Malaysia, Dr. Irene has been at the forefront of calls and demands for protection of plantation workers health, better health care and safer working environment in the plantations, as well as improved living conditions, and more just and liveable incomes for workers.

As part of PAN AP’s work on pesticides at the regional level, Dr. Irene was instrumental in helping to develop a five country community based monitoring program on pesticide poisoning on farmers and workers. This in turn evolved national and regional interventions and policy development.

As a case in point, in Malaysia PAN AP and Tenaganita led by Dr. Irene, in collaboration with the Penang based National Poisons Centre (PRN), undertook a 2 year participatory research study with plantation workers to monitor pesticides use in the plantations. The study noted that one of the major pesticides used in the plantations was paraquat. Poisoning due to paraquat was clearly demonstrated in the surveys and interviews with workers, and indicated in the medical examinations. The study was launched in March 2002. "In order to deal effectively with these threats of poisoning, the major pesticide Paraquat must be banned with immediate effect," stressed Dr. Irene at the Launch, "and the use of WHO Class 1 pesticides should be banned as well". These, and other demands to the Malaysian government, were articulated to the Assistant Director of the Pesticides Control Division of the Department of Agriculture, who was present at the Launch and given a copy of the Study for the Boards’ perusal and action. Tenaganita also sent out Memorandums on this matter to other relevant agencies in the Malaysian government, including the Department of Occupational Safety and Health. Meetings were also held to share the findings.

Significantly, in August 2002 the Malaysian government announced its intention to ban paraquat through a two-year phase out process, which is now being vigorously opposed by the pesticide industry. Malaysia is the first Asian country to ban this controversial and highly acutely toxic pesticide. PAN AP and Tenaganita have been campaigning to ensure that the Malaysian ban is not repealed, and that paraquat is banned globally as it constitutes a serious hazard to workers especially under conditions of use in the South!

More About Dr. Irene Fernandez:

Dr. Irene’s activism in Human Rights issues, especially Women’s Rights, has been visible from the very start as either having chaired or founded numerous organisations and networks tackling issues such as Infant Feeding, Violence Against Women, Women’s Development, and the National Policy for Women.

Significantly in the early 1990s, she was one of the Founders of SUARAM (Suara Rakyat Malaysia—Voice of the Malaysian People), a non-governmental human rights organisation working for a free, equal, just and sustainable society. Through the fight for civil liberties that are enshrined in the Malaysian Human Rights Charter and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, SUARAM aims to enable peoples' participation and the fruition of a civil society in Malaysia. SUARAM monitors, documents, exposes and opposes violations of human rights by Malaysian authorities. SUARAM also works to empower the Malaysian people to build a mass movement for human rights.

For more background to the case and the "Keep Irene Free - Defend The Defenders" Campaign, see: http://www.tenaganita.net/

PAN - Asia and the Pacific
P.O. Box 1170,10850 Penang, Malaysia
Tel:604-6570271/6560381 Fax:604-6583960
Web: www.panap.net