Comhlámh has several active member groups. They are made up of Comhlámh members and supporters coming together and organise around campaigning, education, advocacy and change. Below are our current groups. Get in touch if you would like to get involved.
Member Groups
The Trade Justice Group works to raise awareness of how unfair trade rules prevent some of the poorest countries in the world from moving out of poverty. Countries of the global south lose much more through unfair trade rules than they receive in aid from rich countries. The Trade Justice Group believes that trade should be used as a tool for poor countries to develop. For this to happen, global trade rules need to change. The Trade Justice Group campaigns and advocates in favour of this change. Our vision is a world where people have a critical understanding of how trade affects every facet of society and knowing that their choices have an impact leads people to embrace alternatives that work for all people and the planet. We are determined to support people to deepen their understanding of trade and take action to ensure that trade works for people and planet.
The group has spearheaded a number of campaigns in Ireland in response to emerging trade justice issues. The group’s activities range from running a Trade Justice course, producing information booklets about current trade deals, lobbying politicians about trade rules, and organising awareness raising events.
The group meets every second week, on Tuesdays from 6.30pm to 8pm. If you are interested in joining the group, or finding out more, please contact us at tradejustice@comhlamh.org.
The Justice for Palestine Group is committed to working towards the establishment of an economically viable and democratically independent Palestinian state and to highlighting the everyday life of the Palestinian people under Israeli military occupation and the myriad of injustices that exist within. Activities of the group include: making representations at local and national level, awareness raising through information evenings, direct support through contact with Palestinian civil society groups, supporting the BDS movement and similar local actions and continually learning and building the group’s knowledge base
The Access to Medicine Ireland (AMI) is campaigning for a system of medical research and development that delivers the medicines we need at a fair price. Central to the current modelof drug provision is the market monopoly granted to the patent holder of a new drug. This permits the patent holder to charge whatever price the market will bear, which for life saving drugs can be a very high price indeed. Furthermore this model fails to deliver medicines with limited commercial potential such as anti biotics or medicines for diseases like TB the occur predominatly in the global south.
We propose actionable, evidence-based solutions to these problems – based on recommendations from bodies such as the UN High Level Panel on Access to Medicines, the WHO and MSF.
We very much welcome new members, who can contact us at accesstomedicinesireland@gmail.com. You can get us on Twitter at @AccessToMedsIRL and Facebook at /accesstomedicinesireland.
The Dympna Meaney Women’s Leadership Development Fund was set up to connect women leaders from the global south with skills building opportunities to strengthen their contribution to global human rights.
Dympna Meaney (1957—1991) was a global solidarity activist based in Dublin, Ireland, whose work was infused by passion for equality and social justice. She inspired and empowered all those who came in contact with her. Her untimely death on 10 December 1991 in a cycle accident in Dublin robbed us of a great champion in the fight for gender equality and human rights.
You can donate to the fund here
Through the Dympna Meaney Women’s Leadership Development Fund, friends and former colleagues, aim to ensure Dympna’s vision for justice and solidarity lives on.We are a micro philanthropic effort and provide bursaries to women leaders from the global south who are working to promote human rights and equality.
The Comhlámh Belfast group has been working together since 2013. From the outset, the group has aimed to raise awareness about existing work that’s going on in Northern Ireland around global justice and solidarity issues, as well as developing new activities and resources. In common with the organisation’s other member groups, Comhlámh Belfast uses development education methodologies and a grassroots, participative approach to developing their activities. The group focuses on advocacy and solidarity work that focuses on mining in Peru and in Northern Ireland. With support from Trocaire’s Mobilising For Justice Fund, it has organised film nights and storytelling events, as well as advocacy and solidarity work that focuses on mining in Peru and in Northern Ireland.
If you are interested in getting involved in this group please contact gareth@comhlamh.org
The Focus Magazine group produce Ireland’s leading magazine on global development issues. Since 1978, Focus has been making links between the situation in Ireland and in the South, with a view to challenging assumptions, and promoting understanding, interest in and action on development issues among a broad public. You can read the latest issue and back issues for download here.
