Why Citizen's For Justice
Citizens for Justice is a non-profit making organization
advocating for environmental and social justice which seeks
to respond to a number of emergent and recurring challenges
threatening communities in Malawi. These areas emanate firstly
from the drive to industrialize Malawi through the extractive
industry which has posed environmental challenges, labor
issues, corporate abuse and marginalization of vulnerable
groups. Secondly in recent history agricultural activity
and natural resources, which are the basis of livelihood,
have been threatened from a number of factors that are mutual
reinforcing such as change in climatic conditions, high
population growth, high levels of poverty, trade barriers
and rise in cost of living, high energy needs and the need
for Africa to produce agro-fuels to supply the hungry east
and west, and many other factors which have led to environmental
degradation and unsustainable utilization of resources.
Thirdly the lack of and inadequate implementation of environmental
legislation and policy which has been hampered by issues
on a non-harmonized approach, competing institutional interests,
corruption, lack of transparency and accountability, non-participation
of beneficiaries and lack of capacity among stakeholders.
These challenges have facilitated the need for regulation,
lobbying and advocacy to ensure that development strategies
and government initiatives are not environmentally detrimental
and that local communities accrue benefit from them. CFJ
is cognizant of the fact that overcoming these problems
is vital if Malawi is to achieve meaningful growth and attain
sustainable development. Thus it is within this framework
of challenges that CFJ outlines its activities and programmes,
adopting the utilization of the Human Rights Based Approach
(HRBA) to ensure that development furthers the realization
of human rights grounded in principles of participation,
non-discrimination, empowerment, accountability, transparency,
rule of law and good governance.
CFJ ascribes to the view that Malawi as a country endowed
with abundant natural resources can transform and meaningfully
change the lives of Malawians if they are properly managed
and utilized.
