Recommendation for Charter of People’s SAARC (PSAARC)

Invitation for Recommendation for Charter of People's SAARC (PSAARC)

The Republic of Maldives will host the 17th South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Summit on 10-11 November. The Republic of
Maldives, declared "Building Bridges" as the theme for the Seventeenth SAARC
Summit. "Building Bridges - both in terms of physical connectivity and
figurative political dialogue. However, the notion of bridging differences
would be represented as the overarching theme of the summit rather than any
set diplomatic or development aims," stated a Press Release issued by the
Maldivian Ministry of Foreign Affairs on 19 June 2011.  

An Indian PSAARC convention will be held in Kerala on 8-9 November before
the official SAARC summit. Kerala was selected due to several reasons.
First, Kerala will be an ideal state to hold the meeting because of its
proximity to Maldives. Second, one of the shortcomings of PSAARC in India
has been its inability to reach out to political and NGO groups in south
India. Holding PSAARC in Kerala will help PSAARC widen its reach in south
India. Third, many people's struggles in Kerala have resonance with
struggles not only in India but in South Asia. They include struggles
related to fisher and tea workers, secularism, security legislations. More
importantly Kerala is a symbol of multi-religious/cultural diversity with
progressive people movement history.

It was decided that this PSAARC convention in India will be called "People
Building Bridges in South Asia". The themes of the convention will be as
follows:

*	Nuclear Free South Asia
*	Fish and Tea workers struggle
*	Challenges posed by Trade Regimes and Corporatisation
*	Peoples Struggles and Security Legislation in South Asia
*	Tolerance, Syncretism and Secularism
*	Climate change and food security

PSAARC plans to present people's charter in 17th SAARC Summit, Maldives and
has asked PWESCR to contribute to it. We would like to extend our invitation
to South Asian NGOs working in the field of women's rights for a Skype
meeting on Friday, 28th October at 3:00pm to contribute with their recommendations. You can send in your confirmation or recommendations and
suggestions (in case of inability to join in Skype chat) to kbasnyat@pwescr.org . 

In solidarity
PWESCR
Regards,
Kripa Basnyat