An open letter to the Honourable Mary Robinson, UN Special Envoy for Climate Change

English translation by community member Aurore.

Object : fighting against deforestation in the Itombwe Nature Reserve

Honourable,

First and foremost, I would like to congratulate you for accepting that the members of the Mama Shujaa (Democratic Republic of Congo) use your name and write you an open letter. I would then like to encourage you to keep fighting as you have done for human rights and in particular for women's rights. I remember the meeting organized with women from all tendencies during your last visit to Bukavu. The presidential majority, the opposition and civil society – especially grassroot movements like ours – were represented. You gave us strength by showing us we were not alone and together we can exchange experiences and find practical solutions to our issues.

On this day, I understood your capacity to put people together, especially us who could, for the first time, attend such an event with an important person. I tried to know more about who was this woman with such a strong personality, high spirits and tenacity. I found out that, already with The Elders, you had committed to make ordinary people's concerns a priority on the international stage.

You are described as a relentless advocate for gender equality. As the first woman to become Ireland's Prime Minister in 1990, you served as a leader and an agent for change who contributed to the fight for equality and women's rights throughout your term.

Everywhere you have served, your goal has been to put human rights norms at the heart of world governance and to make sure the needs of the poorest and most vulnerable were heard at a global level.

Today, as the UN Special Envoy for Climate Change, you are better placed to bring about solutions contributing to transform how energy is handled globally and to make this world cleaner, healthier, safer and thriving for the present and future generations. This would echo the speech delivered by the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon in September 2011.

You must remember that when you were in Bukavu, you told us that your dream was to see all these rural areas benefit from electricity by 2015. This will clearly be a challenge. We, the Mama Shujaa working at the grassroots, suffer when we see the massive destruction of the Itombwe Nature Reserve, which was recognized as World Heritage.

This forest is currently being destroyed, not only by artisanal ore diggers, but also by peasant women looking for firewood and starting embers. This situation has a negative impact on the agricultural production as it declines, and consequences on the health of rural populations.

To remediate this situation and prevent further deforestation in Itombwe, your organization can propose alternatives – as for example provide peasant and native women with renewable energies.

Practical innovative mechanisms would contribute to the sustainable development of the energy sector.

Could you please continue to exchange with us so that we can come up with strategies to stop Itombwe from being deforested.

Yours truly, in frank collaboration.

Marie Rose SHAKALILI

Coordinator for AFESODD