Peru is a country where the trees have two trunks.

Svalorna Latinamerika in Peru works according to a method called logical framework approach. Among other things, it is a method for involving the target groups in identifying issues that need to be addressed and, above all, root causes to the problems. This is an important process, both to ensure that any measures taken are well founded among the people concerned and to separate consequences from an underlying problem. For example, one problem may be that women are subject to domestic violence. An underlying cause of domestic violence may be alcoholism, an underlying cause of alcoholism may be poverty and an underlying cause of poverty may be unequal power structures.

The problem that the target groups or stakeholders identify will be put into a so called problem tree where the root causes make up the tree’s trunk while the consequences of the root causes will be identified as the branches of the tree. Here in Peru, Svalorna works in a program that runs from 2007 to 2011. This means that all the activities that they support during this period aim to fulfill goals that are set up for the program.

Before setting up the program, Svalorna conducted a large set of workshops in the regions where they work to identify problems and root causes. Through these workshops they found that the trees in Peru have two trunks; that there are two main root causes of the difficulties that the target group faces. The first root cause is the distance between politicians and the people, which means both that the target groups have few means to participate politically and that politicians often have a poor understanding of how their decisions affect the lives of the target group. The second root cause is concerned with poverty and lacking opportunities. This root is essential to address to enable people to participate politically, because how are you going to be able to get involved in a local community group if you have to work 12 hours per day to support your family?

Personally, I believe that every tree has two trunks that share the same crown. Human rights are divided into two separate covenants that cover civil- and political rights on the one hand and economic-, social- and cultural rights on the other. Even though they are divided into two separate documents they are indivisible and necessary to fulfill the ends of human development and equality.