News
Message from Kenya
16/01/08 16:18
Kenya is
currently undergoing a severe political and humanitarian crisis.
Hundreds have already been killed in the inter-tribal violence that
has followed upon the opposition allegation of electoral fraud. The
failure to reach a settlement of the issue within a legal and
constitutional framework has exacerbated an already grave
situation. Those who are suffering most because of the violence are
the poor. A key flashpoint is the Kibera slum which is home to over
a million people. Inter-tribal violence between the Luo and Kikuyu
tribes is a feature of the current conflict in Kenya which is
having a devastating effect upon the lives of millions.
Brother Tom Kearney, a Christian Brother working in Nairobi, provides a grassroots perspective on what is currently happening in Kenya and in Kibera. Read More...
Brother Tom Kearney, a Christian Brother working in Nairobi, provides a grassroots perspective on what is currently happening in Kenya and in Kibera. Read More...
International Human Rights Day
10/12/07 08:48
Today
is International Human Rights
Day. Each year on December
10th the international community celebrates the anniversary of the
1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Next year, 2008, will
be the 60th Anniversary of this important date in our calendar of
human achievement. Edmund Rice International is committed to
promoting this Anniversary, as are indeed many other NGOs
throughout the world. It is important for us to begin the work of
promulgating and implementing in our own spheres of action this
significant ethical document.
Without this shared, common statement of human values the world would be a poorer place. Without this document it would be virtually impossible to call states and individuals to account. There was a view widely shared in some quarters that following the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of Eastern bloc Communism there would be a widespread acceptance of human rights and that the task of promoting them would be easier. The reverse is the case. Our world is more than ever a place where human rights abuses are commonplace.
More significantly, the new battleground of human rights is the sphere of economic, social and cultural rights. These rights to to the heart of who we are as human beings. Over the next ten to fifteen years it will be important for all who believe in the capacity of the human person to live with dignity and to struggle for a better and more human life for all human beings to become human rights defenders.
Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
Special Rapporteur on the Right to Education
Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography
Without this shared, common statement of human values the world would be a poorer place. Without this document it would be virtually impossible to call states and individuals to account. There was a view widely shared in some quarters that following the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of Eastern bloc Communism there would be a widespread acceptance of human rights and that the task of promoting them would be easier. The reverse is the case. Our world is more than ever a place where human rights abuses are commonplace.
More significantly, the new battleground of human rights is the sphere of economic, social and cultural rights. These rights to to the heart of who we are as human beings. Over the next ten to fifteen years it will be important for all who believe in the capacity of the human person to live with dignity and to struggle for a better and more human life for all human beings to become human rights defenders.
Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
Special Rapporteur on the Right to Education
Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography
Edmund Rice Youth Chicago
04/12/06 15:36
Brother Kevin Cawley in New York has
recently brought my attention to the existence of a new Edmund Rice
website. It is the website of Edmund Rice Youth
in Chicago. It is directed at young people who have been to
Christian Brother schools in the Chicago metro area. The young
people are anxious to link up with the global Edmund Rice
Community. Like their counterparts in other parts of the world,
they are beginning the journey of weaving together faith,
community, action for justice and initiating the great project of a
life lived fully. Brother Patrick Martin is the convenor of the
group.
Young adult groups may be interested in making contact with this new expression of the Edmund Rice life and spirit. The Chicago group can be contacted through their website or by directly emailing Brother Martin at the following email address: pbmartin@brrice.org.
Good luck to the Windy City! Go Cubbies!
Young adult groups may be interested in making contact with this new expression of the Edmund Rice life and spirit. The Chicago group can be contacted through their website or by directly emailing Brother Martin at the following email address: pbmartin@brrice.org.
Good luck to the Windy City! Go Cubbies!
Advent on ERI
01/12/06 14:33
Those noble few who have been checking
this site will be aware that there has been dramatic change over
the last two weeks. It proves what can be done by dint of
determination, strong coffee, and long hours. Anyway, the result is
worth. What I am particularly pleased about is the new special
Advent section providing prayer and reflective resources throughout
the Advent season. The intention is to link justice concerns/issues
with the Advent liturgical experience. I met some folk at a recent
meeting of the CORI (Conference of Religious of Ireland) Justice
Network meeting (I was the only male in attendance!) who raved
about Timothy Radcliffe's new book, Just One Year, a
reflective volume on the liturgical year from the perspective of
social justice. I immediately went over to Cathedral Books off
O'Connell Street and purchased it. It's a great volume, a wonderful
resource. I admit fully to copying whole paragraphs from it for the
Advent prayer resource. In all instances the material is credited
to Timothy Radcliffe. I think he would understand. However, my
conscience will rest easier if you all go out and buy the
book.
Here is the link for the Advent Prayer resource.
Here is the link for the Advent Prayer resource.
At long last!
29/11/06 22:14
Well, at long last, the website is
back up and running. Well, almost. There is a problem with Internet
Explorer running on the PC that I have not been able to resolve
just yet. Some of you may have noticed a split in the navigation
bar on the home page. I have forwarded a posting to Rapidweaver
forums to resolve the matter. This is one of the major headaches in
website design, the constant issues that arise when browsers that
are non-W3C compliant begin to act up. I am not knowledgeable
enough to figure out the problem myself; some piece of CSS code
somewhere has hit a wall. So, I'll just have to wait until the Good
Samaritan passes by. If he/she ever does! Anyway, welcome back to
ERI.
Website Reconstruction
13/09/06 11:27
Sorry about the lack of new content on
this site for a while. I have been in Australia, Papua New Guinea
and New Zealand before returning back to Ireland a few weeks ago.
The site badly needs a revamp and some fresh material. It will take
about a week to get things up and running again. I promise you new
material and a fresh design within the next week or so. Thank you
all for your patience.
Donal Leader
Edmund Rice International
Dublin, Ireland
Donal Leader
Edmund Rice International
Dublin, Ireland
Meeting with Franciscans International
06/04/06 12:18
:: Kevin Cawley, Damien Norris, Donal Leader, and Andrew Hickey (Presentation Brothers)
attending meeting with Franciscans International in Geneva ::
On Tuesday, April 4th, the direction of Edmund Rice International assumed a new clarity.
Brother Andrew Hickey, Presentation Brothers, came to Geneva to discuss possibilities for collaboration on a social justice and human rights project. His arrival was intended to coincide with Brother Kevin Cawley's visit to Geneva. A meeting with Franciscans International was organised to explore possibilities. Donal Leader and Damien Norris, both currently participants on the annual International Service for Human Rights (ISHR) course, attended the meeting. Representing Franciscans International was Father John Quigley, OFM, Executive Director of Franciscans International.
The meeting generated a high level of enthusiasm. There was a fundamental agreement that the human rights focus of Geneva offered new possibilities. In the discussion with John Quigley it became clear that an advocacy focus on the rights of the child and on the right to education could shape an effective involvement with the UN system and could establish the basis for a meaningful partnership with Franciscans International, not only in Geneva, but also elsewhere.
Following the meeting with Franciscans, the Edmund Rice Geneva visitors held a separate meeting facilitated by Donal Leader. This session was also attended by Brother Cesar Henriquez of the Marist Brothers. Cesar represents the Marist Brothers Bureau of International Solidarity in Geneva. A consensus emerged that a partnership arrangement facilitated by Franciscans International could provide new opportunities, as well as new challenges, for the Christian Brothers, the Presentation Brothers and the Marist Brothers. A strong sense of solidarity and fraternal commitment was expressed. It was agreed that, while it was too early to presume formal agreement on strategy, a basis for collaboration already exists.
At the conclusion of the meeting it was agreed that reports of the meeting would be circulated to the various congregation leadership groups.
Edmund Rice People visit Geneva
01/04/06 12:18
For the next week Geneva will be a
hub for Edmund Rice social justice and human rights encounters.
Brother Michael Murray, Province Leader, St. Helen's Province,
Ireland, is currently in Geneva. He and Donal met with Franciscans
International and also had an opportunity for dialogue with Arjun
Sengupta, the Special Rapporteur on Poverty Issues at the United
Nations.Later this week Brothers Kevin Cawley and Andrew Hickey will be joining Donal and Damien in Geneva. A series of meetings with Franciscans International, Save the Children, the Irish Mission to Geneva and the International Service for Human Rights will take place. It is hoped that further progress will be made in charting a strategy for Edmund Rice International and for collaborative action between the Congregation of Christian Brothers and the Congregation of Presentation Brothers in the area of advocacy and social justice.
Commission on Human Rights comes to an End
30/03/06 13:17
The
Commission on Human Rights met on Monday, March 27th, in Geneva for
its 62nd Session. Normally, the Commission meets for a period of
six weeks to review reports from Special Rapporteurs, engage with
interventions from governments and NGOS, and renew human rights
mandates whose term is about to expire. On this occasion, however,
because of the politics of the evolving situation in regard to the
new Human Rights Council the 62nd Session was brief and procedural.
It lasted all of three hours on Monday.
Two members of the Edmund Rice Network were present, Donal Leader, the Christian Brothers Coordinator for Advocacy and Justice, and Damien Norris from the Edmund Rice Centre in Fremantle.
It was a very orchestrated affair. Five Ambassadors, representing the five UN regional groupings, spoke on the achievements of the Commission during its sixty-year run. All were positive and affirming, with only a few oblique references to the failure of the Commission to advance the human rights agenda because of the intransigence and political obstructionism of governments hostile to human rights scrutiny.
Chris Sidoti, on behalf of the NGOs, gave a very brave speech. His call for a moment's silence to honour the victims of human rights abuses was taken up by the Commission Chairperson, the Ambassador from Peru. This was a very moving moment, albeit tinged with an inevitable cynicism. Looking around the room, one could not but be struck by the irony that many of the countries joining in the act of solidarity are among the world's most egregious human rights abusers.
In his closing remarks, the Chairperson recalled the words of Sergio Veira De Mello, the UN representative who was assassinated in Bagdad in 2003, that we must accept that all countries and governments are on a journey together, even if divided by very wide disparities in human rights observance, towards achieving a world where human rights will prevail universally. Only the acceptance of the truth and reality of this journey can protect us from a paralysing cynicism and despair.
Let us hope that the new Human Rights Council will be effective for the voiceless and the vulnerable in our world.
Let's keep hope alive.
Two members of the Edmund Rice Network were present, Donal Leader, the Christian Brothers Coordinator for Advocacy and Justice, and Damien Norris from the Edmund Rice Centre in Fremantle.
It was a very orchestrated affair. Five Ambassadors, representing the five UN regional groupings, spoke on the achievements of the Commission during its sixty-year run. All were positive and affirming, with only a few oblique references to the failure of the Commission to advance the human rights agenda because of the intransigence and political obstructionism of governments hostile to human rights scrutiny.
Chris Sidoti, on behalf of the NGOs, gave a very brave speech. His call for a moment's silence to honour the victims of human rights abuses was taken up by the Commission Chairperson, the Ambassador from Peru. This was a very moving moment, albeit tinged with an inevitable cynicism. Looking around the room, one could not but be struck by the irony that many of the countries joining in the act of solidarity are among the world's most egregious human rights abusers.
In his closing remarks, the Chairperson recalled the words of Sergio Veira De Mello, the UN representative who was assassinated in Bagdad in 2003, that we must accept that all countries and governments are on a journey together, even if divided by very wide disparities in human rights observance, towards achieving a world where human rights will prevail universally. Only the acceptance of the truth and reality of this journey can protect us from a paralysing cynicism and despair.
Let us hope that the new Human Rights Council will be effective for the voiceless and the vulnerable in our world.
Let's keep hope alive.
New York Meetings
13/03/06 14:24
Kevin
Cawley (Edmund Rice Christian Brothers North American Province) and
Donal Leader (Coordinator for Advocacy and Justice) engaged in a
series of meetings with congregational NGO representatives. These
were religious men and women who represent their Congregations
through NGO-type structures at the United Nations in New
York.
The discussions were very useful. Many of the questions that have been raised in regard to the value of having an NGO presence at the United Nations were answered satisfactorily. All were adamant that religious congregations belong at the UN. Despite all the criticism that has been levelled at the United Nations, it still remains the only truly international forum where the nations of the world come together. For this reason, the United Nations has great potential for promoting human welfare. Given the commitment of so religious congregations to social justice, the NGO representatives were convinced that investment in a UN presence is an effective strategy for supporting systemic change.
The Presentation Sisters were particularly helpful. They are providing Kevin with badging and accreditation to permit him attend the various Committee meetings were issues are thrashed out by the national representatives. We are very grateful for this assistance. It is one more expression of the historical connectedness between the Presentation Sisters, the Presentation Brothers and the Christian Brothers.
Sister Sharon Altendorff is the Presentation Sisters New York representative. She was very informative on UN matters and went out of her way to provide guidance and assistance.
Thank you, Sister Sharon!
The discussions were very useful. Many of the questions that have been raised in regard to the value of having an NGO presence at the United Nations were answered satisfactorily. All were adamant that religious congregations belong at the UN. Despite all the criticism that has been levelled at the United Nations, it still remains the only truly international forum where the nations of the world come together. For this reason, the United Nations has great potential for promoting human welfare. Given the commitment of so religious congregations to social justice, the NGO representatives were convinced that investment in a UN presence is an effective strategy for supporting systemic change.
The Presentation Sisters were particularly helpful. They are providing Kevin with badging and accreditation to permit him attend the various Committee meetings were issues are thrashed out by the national representatives. We are very grateful for this assistance. It is one more expression of the historical connectedness between the Presentation Sisters, the Presentation Brothers and the Christian Brothers.
Sister Sharon Altendorff is the Presentation Sisters New York representative. She was very informative on UN matters and went out of her way to provide guidance and assistance.
Thank you, Sister Sharon!
New York ERCBNA Meeting
24/02/06 11:00
Donal met with the Edmund Rice
Christian Brothers North America Province (ERCBNA) Leadership Team
in New Rochelle on January 23rd. The meeting took place in the
Province House at 21 Pryor Terrace, New Rochelle. It was a good
meeting with excellent communication and rich exchange. Given the
extremely demanding schedule for the Leadership meeting, with all
nine members of the team present, it was a very gracious and
generous demonstration of support for the Edmund Rice global
Advocacy and Justice project that the time was made available for
the meeting.
Kieran Murphy chaired the meeting. Kevin Cawley, Coordinator for Justice and Peace, ERCBNA, welcomed Donal in his role and explained the relationship between his role and that of the Congregation Coordinator for Advocacy and Justice. Following the presentation, there was a period of probing and supportive exchange. The overall response from the ERCBNA Leadership was very positive and encouraging. "We are interested and support what you are doing," was the clear message from ERCBNA.
Both ERCBNA and Edmund Rice International are embryonic organisations. It is good for us to share the excitement, challenge and opportunities that New LIfe with Edmund offers the world today.
Thank you North America!
Kieran Murphy chaired the meeting. Kevin Cawley, Coordinator for Justice and Peace, ERCBNA, welcomed Donal in his role and explained the relationship between his role and that of the Congregation Coordinator for Advocacy and Justice. Following the presentation, there was a period of probing and supportive exchange. The overall response from the ERCBNA Leadership was very positive and encouraging. "We are interested and support what you are doing," was the clear message from ERCBNA.
Both ERCBNA and Edmund Rice International are embryonic organisations. It is good for us to share the excitement, challenge and opportunities that New LIfe with Edmund offers the world today.
Thank you North America!
www.edmundriceinternational.org
17/02/06 08:25
Yes, it's up an running. Edmund Rice
International now has its own World Wide Web address. It is a bit
of a typing exercise but, yes, the URL is now:
www.edmundriceinternational.org. It is hosted on the servers of a
web-hosting service called Blacknight, one of Ireland's best
web-hosting services. Depending on where you are in the world you
may experience a time lag in accessing the site because it takes up
to 72 hours for all routers and servers worldwide to resolve the
new domain name.
Break out the champagne! And click on Edmund Rice International. The existing .Mac address will be maintained for a while.
Break out the champagne! And click on Edmund Rice International. The existing .Mac address will be maintained for a while.
News from Downunder
17/02/06 07:57
Peter works with the United Nations Association in Australia. He has a keen interest in environmental issues and has been campaigning for quite some time on sustainability issues. In working for justice we need to always aware of the holistic and integrated context of the struggle for a better world. We cannot have a better world for children and young people if we do not also address issues relating to the destruction of the ecological system that sustains us all.
FULF follow up: Damien Norris
15/02/06 10:07
Peter Harney from the Christian
Brother Renewal Team has informed us that Damien Norris will be
taking on new responsibilities for communicating and nurturing the
spirit of the Flare Up like Flame (FULF) Kolkata Symposium. This
and similar initiatives will be of immense help and support to
centres, projects, schools and individuals who wish to keep the
FULF momentum going. Damien is currently based in the Edmund Rice
Centre in Fremantle. See below for further news on Damien!
Meeting with Presentation Brothers Leadership Team
15/02/06 08:37
On a related note, Brother Andrew Hickey will be taking up a coordinating role for the Presentation Brothers in regard to advocacy, justice and peace, and human rights matters generally. Andrew is very interested in advocacy approaches, in particular in promoting a rights-based approach to education in the schools and services of the Congregation. Andrew will be working very closely with Donal as the project develops.
Damien Norris and Donal Leader go to Geneva
15/02/06 08:31
