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

Learn more…

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.

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

In 1992, the General Assembly of the United Nations declared 17th October the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty. The JPIC Commission of the USG/UISG aims to promote awareness of the need to eradicate poverty and destitution in all countries, particularly in developing countries. A prayer service was prepared for the Commission by the NGO ‘Social Justice Ireland’. (Download PDF of the prayer service)

Street Child in Congo DR

The World Bank announced yesterday that it was postponing the Democratic Republic of Congo’s long-awaited debt cancellation, even though the country has qualified. The postponement has come about at the request of Canada, because Canadian mineral firm First Quantum is in dispute with the government of DRC over mineral rights.

The DRC has been waiting for debt relief for 7 years, while the IMF and World Bank have satisfied themselves that the country has met numerous economic conditions. Politics has come into play before – last year the IMF held up DRC’s progress through the debt relief scheme because the country was proposing to take loans from China. Congo and China agreed to reduce the amount and terms of the loans late last year.

DRC has over $12 billion of foreign debt, much of it based on loans taken out by President Mobutu in the 1970s and 80s. Mobutu’s reign in Congo (then Zaire) was shrouded in corruption, to the point that an IMF representative in Zaire – Edwin Blumenthal – told the fund in 1978 that there was “no (repeat, no) prospect for Zaire’s creditors to get their money back in the foreseeable future”. Nonetheless, loans continued to accumulate, and international campaigners have long called for DRC’s loans to be canceled on the basis of their illegitimate nature.

The debt cancellation is expected to amount to around $8 billion in total. First Quantum is seeking international arbitration after the cancellation of a mining contract. The government of DRC has reviewed numerous mining contracts in recent years, claiming that mining played a key role in the bloody civil war which killed 3 million people in the late 1990s.

Nick Dearden from the UK Jubilee Debt Campaign said:

“It is utterly outrageous that Canada is holding up poverty relief to one of the poorest countries in the world in order to protect its own corporate interests.

“The history of DRC is a woeful tale of exploitation; that a country of such immense natural wealth has become the seventh poorest country in the world is a terrible indictment of our economic system. It’s time we owned up to that history and – on the 50th anniversary of Congo’s independence, finally allowed DRC to control its own resources and destiny.

“The experience of DRC also goes to show that debt relief schemes are still operating in the interests of the ‘creditors’. DRC has spent years shelling out tens of millions of dollars in debt ‘repayments’ while also implementing economic conditions which make its economy more attractive and ‘safe’ for foreign investors. This is not most people’s idea of ‘debt cancellation’.”

The G8 summit brought together heads of state and other leaders from Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, United Kingdom, United States and the European Community in a multilateral forum to discuss major challenges facing the world including the economy, trade, climate change and food security. The credibility of the G8 on the issue of combating poverty rests on its accountability for past promises. In 2010 key G8 commitments made at Gleneagles (2005) come due – these are the necessary actions to put the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) back on track. With only five years from the 2015 MDG target date, the summit marks a critical moment for G8 governments to take stock of improvement and make necessary changes in reaching the final targets.

The G20 summit is the gathering of world leader from the major industrialized and developing economies to discuss key issues in the global economy. The Group of twenty (G20) is composed of a group of rich nations, namely Germany, the United States, Britain, Japan, Canada and Italy; members from Argentina, Australia, Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, South Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and South Africa and representatives from the World Bank, International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the European Union. The two African nations of Malawi and Ethiopia, along with Vietnam, the Netherlands and Spain were also invited to attend the G20 Summit in Canada.

The Missionary Oblates JPIC office, in solidarity with other faith based organizations, has urged leaders at both summits to meet the Millennium Development Goals and fulfill commitments to fight global poverty and climate change. Three important priorities that must be brought to the attention of world leaders are poverty, the global economic and financial system, and partnership to address climate change. Below are two important mobilizing initiatives in Canada to hold world leaders accountable.

In the lead-up to the 2010 G8 and G20 meetings, an Interfaith Leader’s Summit was held in Winnipeg, Manitoba to challenge G8 leaders to live up to their commitments to the world’s poorest and most vulnerable citizens by supporting the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. After their meeting, the faith leaders issued a statement addressed to the G8/G20 leaders entitled “A Time for Inspired Leadership and Action.”

A Canadian-led, but globally supported, civil society campaign called At the Table is mobilizing the grassroots to “take their place” alongside world leaders in important global summits. It is a call to leaders to “take their place” in forging bold decisions on the issues people care about: poverty, climate change, and economic justice.

To give a flavor of the event, these questions were asked on the website:

• Did you ever wanted to change the world but never knew how?
• Everyone speaks of freedom, but is freedom simply to do what one wants?
• Most young people are pursing academic degrees but did you ever ask yourself what is the purpose of education?
• Did you ever ask what is justice or why do we punish people?
• With the current economic crises in mind, did you ever reflect on our society’s ideas and views on work, economy, wealth, etc.?
• And, most importantly, did you ever ask, “Who am I as a person and a human being? What is the foundation of my dignity, rights, and duties?”

If you have ever reflected on these question or would like to do so, then the WYP is for YOU!

Watch the video…