Ninth Session Meeting at UN Headquarters in New York

While indigenous people continued to suffer in the face of massive development projects that stripped their lands of precious traditional resources and displaced their communities en masse, we are at the dawn of a new sunrise, Carlos Mamani, Chairperson the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, said today at a Headquarters press conference.
We can look to the future with a positive attitude, he added.
Throughout the Forums two-week ninth session, which concluded today, indigenous and non-indigenous delegates alike discussed traditional practices for living well.  A unique feature was the increased participation of States.  A record 15 Governments had sent voluntary reports to the Forum describing the situations of indigenous peoples in their countries.  The Governments of Bolivia and Paraguay participated in a first-ever dialogue with Governments, reporting on the situation of the Guaran, among others, in the Chaco region, while a representative of Brazil participated in an expert panel on forests.
Moreover, delegates had welcomed New Zealands decision to endorse the 2007 Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, he said, noting also the United States decision to formally review its position on the landmark instrument, and Canadas announcement to take steps to endorse it.  The debate was very fruitful, he added.
Held under the special theme of Indigenous peoples:  development with culture and identity:  articles 3 and 32 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, the session featured a half-day discussion on North America, Mr. Mamani said.  A debate on the Doctrine of Discovery, used by colonial Powers to lay claim to newly discovered lands, revealed important evidence about its disastrous impact and the need to move towards reconciliation.
In the area of human rights, a perpetual concern for indigenous peoples, delegates stressed the Forums importance as a space for genuine discussion, he explained.  A dialogue with United Nations agencies, held over two days, included the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity, which led to a lively discussion about indigenous peoples right to access and benefit-sharing arising from genetic resources.
Adding to those comments, Victoria Tauli-Corpuz, Forum member from the Philippines, said delegates had expressed concern at the continued evictions of indigenous peoples from their lands to make room for biofuel plantations, national parks and extractive operations.  A huge threat came in the form of large-scale dams, which had caused massive displacements.
In light of that, the Forum recommended that the Millennium Development Goals review summit in September include a focus on indigenous peoples, particularly indigenous women, who were among the most marginalized, she said.  Disaggregated data was also important.  Unless ethnicity and gender were considered, it would be extremely difficult to determine the real situations of indigenous peoples, who remained invisible in national averages.
When the floor was opened to questions, Ms. Tauli-Corpuz, responding to a query on a hydroelectric project in Brazil, said the Forum avoided referring to specific countries, due to its mandate.  However, delegates had expressed their grave concern at the building of dams and encouraged States to implement recommendations in a World Commission on Dams report entitled Dams and Development:  A New Framework for Decision Making.
Answering a question about two indigenous rights defenders who had been murdered in Mexico, Mr. Mamani, who is also the Forum member from Bolivia, said the 16-member body had repeatedly expressed its concern at their situation and would relate the events to the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights and fundamental freedoms of indigenous people.
As to whether land ownership issues in Latin America were progressing, Mr. Mamani said the Forum had discussed extractive industries and the construction of hydroelectric projects, which were of great concern, as extractive companies competed with indigenous peoples for land and water.  Forum members had underscored the binding nature of the Declaration, particularly vis–vis the right to self-determination.  Respect for international law and national implementation of that law would help stop such situations of injustice.
To a question on whether there would ever be real respect for indigenous rights, Mr. Mamani said:  We are peoples and nations, as all other peoples and nations. Indigenous peoples had existed prior to French, British or Portuguese conquest.  In the 1960s, they had been completely ignored  nonexistent in national statistics.  However, Bolivian President Evo Morales election was a huge event.  Such progress had been impressive.

Advocacy Days Conference rallies with March for America on Immigration Reform Sunday, March 21, 2010

Crowds on National Mall

From Church World ServiceAdvocacy Days conference rallies with March for America on immigration reform Sunday, March 21, 2010

Frustrated by an immigration system that fractures families and is viewed by reform proponents as neither fair nor humane, the nearly 750 participants at this years Ecumenical Advocacy Days conference in Washington (March 19-21) are urging new U.S. immigration policies that make family unity a priority and provide visa reform, fair workers rights, earned legal status for the undocumented, and humane enforcement.
Americas broken immigration system creates the undocumented immigration problem, said Jen Smyers, Associate for Immigration and Refugee Policy with humanitarian agency Church World Service. The punishment doesnt fit the crime.” Lacking documents is in violation of a civil statute, she said, and the punishment of “ripping people from their families” is too harsh.
Conscious of the historic deliberations on health care in the U.S. Congress over the weekend, Smyers remarked to the advocacy conference attendees, While we are at the March for America rally, Congress is voting on health care, with all of us out there saying, Congratulations!  Next up  comprehensive immigration reform!
John McCullough, Executive Director and CEO of Church World Service, told participants, We are called to be part of an expanding vision of what it means to be family.
Frank Sharry is Founder and Executive Director of Americas Voice, a communications campaign working to win common-sense immigration reform, and is former Executive Director of the National Immigration Forum policy organization. Addressing the advocacy conference, Sharry said, “How can we be a nation of laws and a nation of immigrants, so that family members can come with visas and on planes rather than risking their lives to cross the desert and using smugglers?
“The only way we can couple enforcement with humanity is to change the law. The current brutal enforcement policies are trampling our values,” he said.
I dont support breaking the law, but I do support reviewing laws that are not in accord with the values of our country and that dont serve our nations needs, Sister Mary McCauley told conference attendees. McCauley was pastoral administrator for St. Bridgets Church in Postville, Iowa, where a U.S. immigration raid at Agriprocessors kosher meatpacking plant in May 2008 arrested 389 undocumented workers.
Aundreia Alexander, whose work at the American Baptist Churches USA includes refugee and immigration ministries (foreground), and other participants at an EAD workshop on the need for immigration detention reform. Photo: Carol Fouke-Mpoyo One conference participant, a U.S. citizen and wife of an undocumented immigrant, told of her husbands deportation to Mexico and subsequent arrest when he tried to return to the U.S. Hes now serving time in a federal penitentiary, she said, for the crime of wanting to be a father to his children.
“It’s not fair to strip a family of its dignity,” she said. “We need strong effective laws while providing families the option of staying together. But it’s not fair to keep a father from his children. It’s not fair to keep a husband from his wife.”
Rev. Sharon Watkins, General Minister and President of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), told the gathering, There is no God but God, no family but the human family.  Human history shows that one God does not necessarily mean one people.  But it should.  It should.  The challenge is to see past false division and to see one human family, no matter which side of the human-made border we were born on or whether or not we have documents.

The weekend’s advocacy conference, A Place to Call Home: Immigrants, Refugees, and Displaced Peoples, focused equally on global issues: Participants balanced preparations for a day of immigration reform lobbying on Capitol Hill on Monday  while attending workshops deliberating the displacement of millions worldwide who are forced to migrate because of conflict, climate-induced water and food shortages, natural and economic disasters.
Church World Service is a co-sponsor of Ecumenical Advocacy Days.
Media Contact: Lesley Crosson, 212-870-2676, lcrosson@churchworldservice.org Jan Dragin, 781-925-1526, jdragin@gis.net

Pope Benedict XVI

Pope Benedict continues to make the Care of Creation a central theme of his pontificate.

Pope Lambasts Copenhagen Failure:

Pope Benedict XVI criticises the failure by world leaders to agree to a new climate change treaty in Copenhagen last month.  The link here will take you to the BBC News article with his remarks on the Copenhagen climate talks and the final Accord:  < news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8452447.stm

Pope Addresses Urgent Issue of Climate Change :

In his August 26, 2009 address from his vacation home in Italy, Pope Benedict XVI offered, “support to the leaders of governments and international agencies who soon will meet at the United Nations to discuss the urgent issue of climate change.”

He said: “The economic and social costs of using up shared resources must be recognized with transparency and borne by those who incur them, and not by other peoples or future generations.”

He continued, “it is essential that the current model of global development be transformed through a greater, and shared, acceptance of responsibility for creation: this is demanded not only by environmental factors, but also by the scandal of hunger and human misery.”

Church leaders share vision on migration at 109th meeting of the ICMC Governing Committee VIENNA, 23 January 2010High-level Church leaders gathered in Vienna discuss global approaches to migration and appeal for solidarity with Haiti at the 109th meeting of the International Catholic Migration Commission Governing Committee. In the days immediately following the 96th World Day of Migrants and Refugees, H.E. Christoph Cardinal Schnborn welcomed International Catholic Migration Commission (ICMC) President, Mr. John Klink, and eighteen members of the Commissions Governing Committee and staff to Vienna, to jointly address critical migration-related issues from the Churchs perspective.

Among the distinguished members of the committee are H.E. Cardinal Schnborn, H.E. John Cardinal Njue, Archbishop of Nairobi; H.E. George Cardinal Pell, Archbishop of Sydney; H.E. Oscar Andres Cardinal Rodriguez Maradiaga, Archbishop of Tegucigalpa and His Beatitude Gregorious III, Greek Melkite Patriarch.

Established by the Holy See nearly 60 years ago, ICMC plays a distinct role within the Church, notes Governing Committee member, H.E. Archbishop Silvano Tomasi, Representative of the Holy See to the UN in Geneva. ICMCs special charisma not only lies in its relationship with the Holy See and Episcopal Conferences worldwide, but also in its potential to drive global approaches to migration that are consistent with the Churchs concern for the most vulnerable. ICMC accomplishes this work with staff and operations in 40 countries and with advocacy work carried out before international organisations.

Over the course of the three-day meeting, the Committee discussed challenges of human trafficking, refugee protection and integration, migrant rights and responsibilities, the right not to migrate, migration management and the care and protection of vulnerable migrant children.

Participants also expressed concern over signs of growing xenophobia and racism towards migrants, and entered into strategic discussions on how ICMC might engage with partners in addressing migration-related issues expected to emerge with yet greater severity in the months following the recent earthquake in Haitiincluding the potential for an increase in human trafficking.

Together with the whole of ICMC, Cardinal Schnborn expressed great sorrow for the victims of the earthquake and their families, calling for continued prayers and solidarity at a special mass celebrated in honor of the International Catholic Migration Commission at St. Stephans cathedral Thursday night.

In the months ahead, ICMC members will be engaged in preparations for the November 2010 meeting of the Commissions Council in Rome. High-level representatives of all Catholic bishops conferences worldwide, and observers from other organizations involved in migration are expected to be present at the meeting to discuss the greater promotion of human dignity and well being, and family unity within migration globally.

***

For further information, please contact: Alanna RYAN, ICMC Communications, + 41 22 919 10 20; ryan@icmc.net

____________________________________________________________________________ International Catholic Migration Commission – 1, Rue de Varemb – P.O. Box 96 – CH-1211 Geneva 20 – Switzerland TEL: +41 (0)22 919 10 20 – FAX: +41 (0)22 919 10 48 – email: info@icmc.net

To opt out of mailings please click: mailto:o.322.41425.55c802a5734d9bd3@icmc.net ICMC: Rue de Varemb 1 PO Box 96 1211 Geneva 20 GE Switzerland

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Mt. Meru, Tanzania

The Hope We Share:  A Vision For Copenhagen

A Statement from the Anglican
Communion Environmental Network

12 October, 2009

In preparation for the United Nations
Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Conference Of Parties
(COP) Meetings, the Fifteenth Session, to be held in Copenhagen, Denmark
in December 2009

To Anglicans Worldwide, to COP Delegates, Faith
Community Representatives, Observer Organizations, Friends of Creation

Is there anyone who does not seek a sustainable world, a world which
promotes justice and harmony for all and hope for future generations?
May the participants of the Copenhagen conference meet in this spirit
and combine to envision a better, more harmonious and just world. We
Anglicans are found in all corners of the globe and our experience is
that the world is changing around us to the great disadvantage of the
poorest of us and with considerable anxiety for all our children, in the
developed and developing world alike.

Anglicans in the Pacific and Bangladesh speak of the constant threat of rising waters.
The millions of us who live on the continent of Africa know the constant threat of
drought and failed crops. In Australia we are experiencing a
considerable reduction in rainfall patterns with heightened threat from
bush fires and severe lack of water. In some of our communities violence
has already broken out as neighbouring tribes and families struggle to
gain access to greatly reduced natural resources. From all points of the
globe we point to the reality of climate change and to the very serious
effect it is already having upon our people; from severe weather events,
to prolonged droughts, major floods, loss of habitat and changing
seasons. Many of our peoples no longer have access to drinkable water,
many of our farmers are no longer able to grow crops, and many of our
peoples suffer from diseases which in the past have not affected us in our homelands.

Sadly many of our peoples are now on the move in the vain
hope that they might find another place to live, given the place of
their birth can no longer support them. Our faith and our ancestors have
always taught us that the earth is our mother and deserves respect; we
know that this respect has not been given. We know that like a mother
the earth will continue to give its all to us. However, we also know
that we are now demanding more than it is able to provide. Science
confirms what we already know, our human footprint is changing the face
of the earth and because we come from the earth, it is changing us too.
We are engaged in the process of destroying our very being. If we cannot
live in harmony with the earth, we will not live in harmony with one
another. Those of us who live in the developed world realise all too
painfully that our contribution to the human foot print is unreasonably
high while the burdensome consequences of climate change is unequally
born by our sisters and brothers in the developing world who have
contributed least to the problem and who have limited if any choices
available to respond to it. This is a moral issue.

The Lambeth Conferences of Anglican Bishops of 1998 and 2008
speak of creation as gift and sacrament which must be treated with respect
and that human beings are both co-partners with the rest of creation, and living
bridges between heaven and earth with responsibility to make personal
and moral sacrifices for the common good of all creation. The Anglican
Consultative Council meeting held in Jamaica earlier this year called
upon Anglicans everywhere to reduce their footprint by 5% year on year.
We cannot say we do not know, we have always known, but the pain we see
in the changing landscape brings home to us the extent of the burden we
carry and the urgency required in our response.

We look to the Copenhagen conference with hope but also with realism. We realise
that this huge task must be tackled simultaneously from two directions. There
needs to be common agreement, but there must also be a desire on the
part of every nation to do what they know they must, not because they
are legally bound, but because they share a vision for a more just and
sustainable future. The world has every right to expect the conference
to produce agreed and enforceable targets and outcomes. When a crisis
hits a family, village, or nation, the benefits of living through it and
sharing the reconstruction is itself a lasting heritage: the benefits
which will flow to the human family as we share responsibility for this
crisis will be infinitely greater than the perceived economic costs in
some sectors. We have the chance to build a new world order of mutual
trust and respect.

We pray that each nation will come to the conference
wanting the highest level outcome; that demanding targets will be set,
not in an attempt to discipline reluctant participants, or to give some
preferential treatment which undermines the whole; but that a greater
vision might be shared. Is it too much to hope that all developed
countries will commit to significant and immediate reductions in total
emissions and that they will work with developing countries to ensure
continued development without increased emissions. Is it too much to
hope that all subsidies for fossil fuels will be immediately halted and
that subsidies will be increased for renewable energies in their
development stages. Is it too much to hope that developed economies
consciously break the nexus between economic growth and population
expansion. Clearly world population is already at its absolute upper limits.

Is it too much to hope that countries most responsible for
increased emissions provide funds and expertise to mitigate the effects
of climate change in those countries most adversely affected, investing
in the protection of ecosystems and bio-diversity. Is it too much to
hope that developed economies will no longer encourage rampant
consumerism as a solution to perceived short term economic woes, but
will slow consumerism, preserve resources, and invest in choices which
minimise alienation through enhanced human fulfilment. Is it too much to
hope that every country, developed and developing, will commit to the
view that what is in the worlds best interest is in their best interest.

We believe these hopes are reasonable and urgent, and we join with all
our Christian sisters and brothers and those of other faiths in
commitment to a sustainable future. The earth is the Lords. We have
always known that without a vision, the people perish. The Copenhagen
Conference can either produce a bland, minimalist set of non enforceable
targets or it can sketch a vision to inspire the world and its peoples.
Leaders lead, please . . . do not let us down. Our prayers will be with
the world leaders as they meet to discuss the most important topic
imaginable  the future of the world and its peoples.

Bishop George Browning Convener Anglican Communion Environmental Network (ACEN)
http://acen.anglicancommunion.org/index.cfm Contact: The Rt. Rev. George
Browning, Convener gandmbrowning@bigpond.com The Rev. Ken Gray,
Communications canadaacen@shaw.ca Office of the UN Observer, New York
unoffice@anglicancommunion.org The Rev. Terrie Robinson, Anglican
Communion Networks Coordinator Terrie.Robinson@anglicancommunion.org The
ACEN http://acen.anglicancommunion.org/index.cfm

As an official network
of the Anglican Communion the ACEN strives: To encourage Anglicans to
support sustainable environmental practices as individuals and in the
life of their communities. To provide information about policies
embraced by synods, councils and commissions, and especially by the
instruments of Unity (Statements by the Archbishop of Canterbury,
Resolutions and Reports of the Lambeth Conference and the Anglican
Consultative Council) To support local initiatives by providing
information about ideas and best practices developed around the
communion. To share information about resources and initiatives that may
be of value to Anglicans everywhere. To provide an opportunity for
interested Anglicans to meet both as a formal network, and informally
via electronic media.

*********************************** Jim Sniffen Programme Officer UN
Environment Programme New York tel: +1-212-963-8094/8210
info@nyo.unep.org www.nyo.unep.org *********************************

Edmund Rice Christian Brothers, N. America
Office of Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation
Br. Kevin Cawley

EDMUND RICE INTERNATIONAL CONNECTIONS:

Climate Change and Human Rights

The Edmund Rice International Team attended the recent celebration of the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This event took place at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris. One of the more striking presentations took the form of a panel discussion on The Earth Charter.  Some are familiar with the words of the Preamble for the charter: ” We must join together to bring forth a sustainable global society founded on respect for nature, universal human rights, economic justice and a culture of peace.”  It is a small step from here to the tenets of Catholic Social Teaching that call for taking seriously our responsibility to each other.  Mary Robinson, former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and former President of Ireland,  has spoken recently of the immense human consequences of climate change on the most vulnerable peoples.  People who are already vulnerable will be disproportionately affected. ” Slowly and incrementally , land will become too dry to till, crops will wither, rising sea levels will undermine coastal dwellings and spoil freshwater, species will disappear, livelihoods will vanish. Only very gradually will the  awful consequences reach those whose lifestyles and activities are most to blame. “   In response to some of these kinds of entreaties about how we live now, the recent Province Chapter of Edmund Rice Christian Brothers North America was clear in its resolution that we strive to live sustainably.  There was clearly a sense at the Paris conference that the link between care of the Earth and universal human rights can no longer be dismissed as mere semantics.  The human right to a decent habitat and adequate food supply is clearly compromised when global warming harms the planet for so many.   Human rights law is relevant because climate change causes human rights violations.

The Earth Charter embodies many values that can guide our behavior and shape our decisions about how to make living sustainably a reality.  The Charter can be the platform for discussion in community and schools and ministry sites.  Here is a link for more information: www.EarthCharter.org.

LOCAL ENERGY STRATEGIES

In the spirit of trying to make each month some global (see above) and some local connections for site visitors I include here a note from Azedeh Ensha writing in the New York Times on October 2, 2008.  The piece made suggestions about electricity consumption by various appliances. Consider:  A standard-issue PC and monitor left on all the time consume 1,109 kilowatt-hours a year, according to estimates from the Environmental Protection Agency (USA).  By comparison, refrigerators that meet federal (USA) energy-use regulations use, on average, about 514 kilowatt-hours a year.  Advice:  dont leave your computer on all the time.  In addition it should be set to go to sleep after periods of inactivity.

You may want to try downloading a free power-management tool.  They can show you ways to save energy by adjusting some of the settings on your computer:  (http://desktop.google.com/plugins/i/energysaver.html).  Another tool comes from Verdiem: (http://www.verdiem.com/edison/)

REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE

The TakeBack coalition helps promote responsible recycling in electronics.  The list of recyclers can be found at (tinyurl.com/5yrb9l).

Brothers Kevin Cawley ,CFC, Denis Claivaz, FPM, and Moy Hitchen, CFC.

Photo above taken by Br. Brian Bond, CFC, of Australia serving on the Edmund Rice International Team in Geneva, Switzerland.  The ERI Team met in Paris in September at the United Nations  UNESCO headquarters.  The UNESCO site served as the setting for the Annual Conference of the United Nations Department of Public Information and Non-Governmental Organizations.  This year celebrated the 60th  anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.  The conference was held in Paris because UNESCO Headquarters in Paris was the location for the initial ratification of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948.

The aim of the Conference is to highlight effective ways in which civil society, in partnership with others, can contribute to the advancement of human rights at the international, regional, national and local levels. A major feature of this conference will be its emphasis on active participation which is intended to generate greater awareness of human rights issues and strengthen commitments to address them among diverse stakeholders worldwide.

There was a series of workshops and presentations by those working in the field of human rights and appearances by people from nations reporting human rights shortcomings.  The most dramatic of these events was an appearance by video conference from New York by Ingrid Betancourt recently released from 6+ years of captivity in Colombia.

Kevin Cawley cfc at UNESCO

Copenhagen Conference

We are working on the site.  This post is going up on October 14, 2009.  I hope to place a statement here about the Copenhagen Conference on Climate which is to take place in December.  We urge all to contact their government leaders and emphasize the need to set rigorous goals for the reduction of greenhouse gases and other pollutants and adhere to them for the sake of the people and other life of the planet least able to speak for themselves.

Welcome to the new Edmund Rice Christian Brothers North America JPIC website and blog. This replaces the former .Mac Groups site. All previous users will have been issued already with the necessary passwords. Instruction for using this site will be posted in the days ahead.

Welcome!