Download and listen here: http://faithandimmigration.org/action/available-now-listen-national-faith-call-immigration (Please note that the audio starts at minute 1:10)

U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops Testifies before Congress on the ethical imperative for reform of the U.S. immigration system

Bishop Gerald F. Kicanas of Tucson, Arizona, Vice-president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops testified before Congress – House Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, Refugees, Border Security, and International Law – on the ethical imperative for reform of the U.S. immigration system. View the entire testimony of Bishop Gerald Kicanas of Tucson here: http://www.usccb.org/comm/archives/2010/10-134.shtml

Ways to Engage your Congregation:

Clergy Resources on Immigration. Discover “5 Ways to Engage your Congregation” on our new page for pastors and church leaders at www.faithandimmigration.org/clergy

This Alert also includes an action to Make Mercury Pollution a Thing of the Past.

Learn more…

H.R. 725, which includes both the Indian Arts and Crafts Amendments Act and the Tribal Law and Order Act passed the House under suspension of the rules by a roll call vote with a 2/3 majority (326 yeas). This strong bipartisan support is welcome, particularly given the partisan atmosphere that has come to characterize both the House and the Senate.

The bill enjoyed bipartisan support in the House as it did in the Senate, and now awaits the president’s signature to become law.

The Tribal Law and Order Act (H.R. 1924), developed in consultation with Native Americans, takes steps to improve public safety across Indian Country, where the average crime rate is 2.5 times the national average. The Friends Committee on National Legislation was very active in promoting the legislation, coordinating advocacy through letters and visits. The Oblate JPIC Office actively supported passage of this bill and is delighted with the bill’s passage.

More information on the legislation is available on the FCNL website.

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle…

Hard economic times have many of us reducing our purchasing, and we are finding that perhaps we don’t need as much as we thought we did. But we also have much that can be re-used – both for the good of the planet and to help out those in need.

How can we encourage Reuse?

Start a re-use project in your church. Maybe you can have collection boxes for winter coats or kids’ clothing that is worth passing on. Books and DVDs are other items that are good to swap. Are there a lot of gardeners in your community? Swap seeds and gardening magazines. The possibilities are endless once you start thinking about it.

If you really want to inspire re-use in your community, organize a swap meet. Set up a few tables and get a group of people to bring their perfectly good items that others can take home for free in exchange for a trade. A variation on the old rummage sale…

More and more people – especially young people – are trading on-line. For the low-down on Craig’s List, Freecycle and other internet trade sites, read the Care2.com blog entry – “Not Buying It? How to Trade the Stuff You Already Have”.

Re-use this post – share it with others!

The legislation included an important provision requiring energy and mining companies to disclose how much they pay to foreign countries and the U.S. government for oil, gas, and minerals. The provision, based on the Energy Security through Transparency Act (S. 1700),  will require companies registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to disclose payments to foreign governments for the commercial development of oil, natural gas, and minerals. This disclosure will apply to all companies filing with the SEC, regardless of where they are based, meaning that most of the world’s top extractive industries would be covered by this law. Thanks go to Senators Dick Lugar (R-Indiana) and Ben Cardin (D-Maryland) for insuring this provision made it into the legislation. The law will set a new international standard for transparency in the extractive industry.

Inclusion of the Congo Conflict Mineral amendment in the financial reform act is another important victory, especially for the people of the Democratic Republic of Congo, faith groups and human right advocates. This provision is based on the Congo Conflict Mineral Act 2009 (S.891) and will require companies to disclose whether they source conflict minerals from Democratic Republic of Congo or neighboring countries. It will also require companies to report on steps taken to exclude conflict sources from their supply chains. These reports will be backed by independent audits.

The conflict minerals measure requires the U.S. State Department to develop a map of mines controlled by militias operating in the mining area and to develop a detailed plan to address the problem. Kudos to Senators Christopher Dodd (D-CT), Sam Brownback (R-KS), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Russ Feingold (D-WI), and Reps. Jim McDermott (D-WA), Howard Berman (D-CA), and Barney Frank (D-MA), along with many other upstanding members of Congress, who deserve special praise for leading this battle over the past two years.

President Obama will sign the Dodd Frank Reform and Consumer Protection bill into law next week. From the day, the Securities and Exchange Commission will have nine months to develop regulations implementing the new law. It will be up to all of us – especially the faith groups, community advocates and human right groups – to ensure that these regulations are as strong as possible.

The Missionary Oblates JPIC offices will be represented by Fr Tomáš Vyhnálek OMI, the current JPIC coordinator for Europe who is based in Vienna. Fr. Tomáš interned with the JPIC office in Washington D.C. and VIVAT in New York.

Catholic Organizations have scheduled a pre-conference event which is being organized by the Catholic HIV/AIDS Network and Caritas International, with local hosting by Caritas Austria. The Catholic event will encourage networking on good practices in the field, shared prayer and reflection on the values and Catholic teaching that motivate the Catholic Church’s response to the HIV pandemic, and joint learning through workshops on topics of urgent concern. The importance of sharing best practices lies in the fact that while the Catholic Church and religious communities provide a significant part of the AIDS services offered, especially in developing countries, this contribution is often unrecognized at international conferences.

For more information see: http://www.aids2010.org/

It’s been six months since the earthquake devastated Haiti, and here are just a few of the milestones UNICEF is proud to have accomplished:

- 33,000 people reached daily with safe water;
- More than 275,000 children immunized against major diseases;
- Over 150 programs to provide life-saving care for 2,000 malnourished children; and
- 185,000 children reached with basic education materials and school tents.

Despite the significant progress, there is still a long and difficult road ahead for the people of Haiti. UNICEF is committed to its role in the rebuilding and recovery process and will continue doing whatever it takes to help Haiti’s children survive and thrive. Learn more about our next steps in Haiti from latest report at www.unicefusa.org

Youth Assembly, August 4-6, 2010

The Youth Assembly at the United Nations is an annual gathering of hundreds of young people from around the world who seek practical ways to contribute to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals, global networking and social entrepreneurship skills as well as meeting with and contributing to civil society formally associated with the United Nations. More than six hundred youth leaders are anticipated at the gathering, to be held in and around UN Headquarters, and at Pace University and Farleigh Dickinson University, 4-6 August 2010.

This year, the Youth Assembly will feature visits to UN Permanent Missions. Also in 2010, a new relationship has been created with Fairleigh Dickinson University (FDU), an ECOSOC associate NGO. After the Youth Assembly, FDU will conduct a certificate-based Leadership Seminar related to the Youth Assembly for US and Chinese teens, 7 -11 August – a Youth Leadership Teen Exchange, including an anticipated 100 Chinese and 100 US teen youth leaders. The seminars take place on the FDU Metropolitan campus in nearby Teaneck, New Jersey.

Registration is now open for The 7th Annual Youth Assembly at the UN. Note: a special registration extension has been granted to the NGO Reporter readership, from June 17 to July 9, 2010. Related activities are free, following the initial application fee, and include a post-event two Leadership Seminar, the UC Peace Arts Festival, Culture and MDG Campaign Nights. For more information go to: www.faf.org/unyouthassembly/ya_home.htm

Milestone for Women

On 2 July, in a historic moment, the UN General Assembly voted unanimously for the establishment of the UN Entity for Gender Equality and Empowerment, to be known as “UN Women.” The resolution that establishes the new entity is part of a larger resolution on System-wide Coherence (A/64/L.56) and is the result of years of negotiations between UN Member States and active advocacy of women’s groups and civil society. With the establishment of UN Women, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said the world has entered “a new era in the UN’s work for women.”

Please visit this link to the new website and also click on the Quick Links: http://www.unwomen.org. If you are not subscribed to the GEAR listserv and wish to get GEAR updates, you can write to them and ask to be added to their list: gearlist@googlegroups.com

Girls Learn International®, Inc. gives American girls a voice in the movement for universal girls’ education. Girls Learn International®, Inc. (GLI) pairs American middle and high school-based Chapters with international Partner Schools in countries where girls have traditionally been denied access to education. The GLI Program promotes cross-cultural understanding and communication; gives girls the opportunity to explore issues affecting other girls in the context of global human rights; and trains girls to be leaders and advocates for positive social change. Start a Chapter in your school. Go to: www.girlslearn.org for more information.

“…….The Millennium Declaration represents the most important promise ever made to the world’s most vulnerable people. The MDG framework for accountability derived from the Declaration has generated an unprecedented level of commitment and partnership in building decent, healthier lives for billions of people and in creating an environment that contributes to peace and security.”

“The Millennium Development Goals are still attainable. The critical question today is how to transform the pace of change from what we have seen over the last decade into dramatically faster progress. The experience of these last ten years offers ample evidence of what works and has provided tools that can help us achieve the MDGs by 2015. The Millennium Development Goals summit in September will be an opportunity for world leaders to translate this evidence into a concrete agenda for action….”

This report is based on a master set of data that has been compiled by an Inter-Agency and Expert Group on MDG Indicators led by the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations Secretariat, in response to the wishes of the General Assembly for periodic assessment of progress towards the MDGs. The Group comprises representatives of the international organizations whose activities include the preparation of one or more of the series of statistical indicators that were identified as appropriate for monitoring progress towards the MDGs,

The Report is available in PDF form [80pp]. Download PDF

The report is available in PDF form in all UN languages, including: English,  French, and Spanish

A State District Judge in Houston has scheduled a hearing to listen to evidence on whether there’s a substantial risk that the death penalty law allows for the possible execution of an innocent person. The hearing, expected to last two weeks, will begin on November 8 and will likely include testimony from experts on the death penalty around the country. Early in March the same Judge ruled in a capital murder case that the Texas death penalty statute is unconstitutional.

World Coalition Against the Death Penalty- 2010 Annual General Assembly

On June 12 and 13, the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty convened in San Francisco, marking the first international abolition meeting in the United States. The World Coalition Against the Death Penalty Assembly was an historic occasion that brought together death penalty opponents from all over the world. The conference was an opportunity for American death penalty opponents to learn from activists elsewhere and share strategies for worldwide death penalty abolition. The conference featured panel discussions led by community activists, victim’s families, wrongfully convicted death row prisoners, and former members of law enforcement who are opposed to the death penalty.

Upcoming International Events on the Death Penalty:

• October 10: International World Day Against the Death Penalty

The 8th World Day Against the Death Penalty will be dedicated to the USA which carried out executions and handed down more than hundred death sentences in 2009.

• November 30: “Cities for Life” Initiative, sponsored by the Community of Sant’Egidio

On this day, cities around the globe are invited to make a visible gesture to their citizens and to the world. More than 1,000 cities around the globe will floodlight a monument symbolizing opposition to the death penalty and a concrete commitment to build awareness about the issue in society.

Recommended Resource:

• CATHOLIC MOBILIZING NETWORK TO END THE USE OF THE DEATH PENALTY

Missionary Oblates JPIC Applaud Immigration Speech. More can be done.

The Missionary Oblates JPIC office applauds President Obama’s commitment to immigration reform. President Obama’s speech on Immigration reform is a step in the right direction to fix the immigration system. However, there are actions that the Obama administration can take in the interim as we wait for Congress to act. Halting raids and deportations of undocumented immigrants (those without criminal records) would send a big signal of commitment to reform of the immigration system.

Fixing the broken immigration system is a top issue for a majority of Americans and they are frustrated with the political delay and inaction in Congress. Polling shows that a majority of Americans support comprehensive immigration reform which includes creating legal status for undocumented immigrants already in the country, securing the border and better managing future immigration.

What you can do to Support Immigration Reform:

Thousands of people of faith across the country are praying, fasting and serving as a public witness and nationwide solidarity with immigrants, particularly those living in Arizona. The Justice for Immigrants postcard campaign is an opportunity for you, your community and your parish to participate in the U.S. Catholic Bishops’ campaign for comprehensive immigration reform. You can find more information at the Justice for Immigrants website. This site has coverage of the JFI postcard campaign, as well as links for supporters to send electronic versions of the postcards to Senators and Representatives encouraging Congress to act.