WDM is an outstanding organisation - independent, clever in its campaigning, meticulous in its research, and angry. Its important work deserves our support.
John Pilger, author and activist
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Pictured: Malawian human rights campaigner Mavuto Bamusi alongside a figure of David Livingstone in Blantyre
Scotland's links with Malawi go back to David Livingstone, and many Scottish charities remain active in Malawi today.
In 2005, recognising that international development was of real concern to the people of Scotland, the Scottish Executive signed a co-operation agreement with Malawi and launched an international development strategy to provide support for Malawi's development.
WDM welcomes Scotland's commitment to international development, and is a member organisation of the Scotland-Malawi Partnership, a network of Scottish NGOs with an interest in Malawi.
WDM Scotland's involvement
WDM has emphasised to the Scottish Government and to the Committee which scrutinizes international development work that Scotland should think more in terms of global justice, and less in terms of short-term charity.
In November 2007, WDM hosted Malawian human rights campaigner Mavuto Bamusi as he met with campaigners and civil servants to promote 'justice, not pity.' Mavuto is the National Coordinator of the Human Rights Consultative Committee in Malawi. HRCC campaigns to bring greater accountability to the structures which control Malawi's development, including the IMF, G8 and even the Scottish Government.
Mavuto urged Scottish leaders to consider these structures as a priority of Scotland's international development strategy. Scotland can:
- invest in education to raise awareness about global justice issues like trade justice and climate change
- use its growing influence in Westminster and Brussels to scrutinize UK and European policies which impact on developing countries
- assess the impacts on international development of a wider range of Scottish policies, such as government procurement policy
- earmark support for organisations like HRCC to hold decision makers to account.
Beyond Malawi
WDM believes this approach to international development will have greater benefits not just for Malawi but for many other developing countries who suffer from global injustice.
Action
WDM asked campaigners to write to the Committee scrutinizing international development policy. The evidence was collated in a Committee report, which quoted heavily from WDM supporters about the need for Scotland to advocate for global justice more widely. Read the report.
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