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Congo Week of Action: October 17- 23 October 14th, 2010

The Missionary Oblates JPIC office joins millions around the world in commemorating the  Congo Week of Action.

Faith communities, civil society groups in fifty countries and about two hundred universities will mark the week-long set of actions which is designed to raise awareness about the devastating situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo and mobilize support on behalf of the country’s people. It will take place from Sunday October 17 to Saturday October 23. 2010.

Democratic Republic of Congo remains one of the largest and most neglected humanitarian crises today with more than six million deaths since 1998. Millions of people have been displaced and many thousands of women and children have

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Elders Speak Out on Sri Lanka August 17th, 2010

The Elders, an independent group of eminent global leaders, brought together by Nelson Mandela, who offer their collective influence and experience to support peace building, help address major causes of human suffering and promote the shared interests of humanity have recently issued a statement of concern about Sri Lanka.

They are alarmed that since the brutal end to the twenty-five year civil war in May of 2009, Sri Lanka has made no real progress on reconciliation and that the government’s “persecution of critics is ‘terrifying’.” Additionally, the group feels that “Sri Lanka’s disturbing actions [have been] met by ‘deafening global silence’. According to Kofi Annan, a member of the 12-person group, “The international community cannot be selective in its approach to upholding the rule of law and respect for human rights. Impunity anywhere is a threat to international peace and security everywhere.”

Read the Elders’ full statement on Sri Lanka here…

What’s Happening at the UN? February 18th, 2010

Commission on Social Development

The 48th Session of the Commission for Social Development met at UN HQ in New York February 3-12. The theme was “Social Integration,” taking into account its relationship with poverty eradication, full employment and decent work for all. Learn more about the CSD…

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US Prelate Highlights Church’s Opposition to Nuclear Weapons February 18th, 2010

Archbishop Edwin O’Brien, a member of the U.S. Bishops’ Conference Committee on International Justice and Peace, reiterated the church’s opposition to nuclear weapons in an address to the Global Zero summit in Paris earlier this month. The gathering brought together 200 international leaders to develop strategies to eliminate nuclear weapons.

The archbishop underlined the Church’s moral teaching on nuclear weapons, based on its commitment to protect human life. Drawing on the principles of just war teaching, Archbishop O’Brien stated, “Nuclear war-fighting is rejected in Church teaching because it cannot ensure noncombatant immunity and the likely destruction and lingering radiation would violate the principle of proportionality.”

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U.S. Death Penalty Year End Report Released December 30th, 2009

The Death Penalty Information Center has released its 2009 report: “The Death Penalty in 2009: Year End Report.”. It says that the United States is likely to close 2009 with the fewest death sentences since the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty in 1976. Tight budgets at the State level as a consequence of the persistent economic crisis, coupled with a lack of measurable benefits associated with this punishment, troubled a number of lawmakers – prompting actions in eleven states to consider abolishing the death penalty. This is a significant increase in death penalty legislative action compared to past years, the report said.

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Expert Witnesses Detail IDP Situation in Sri Lanka December 17th, 2009

Three panels of expert witnesses testified on December 10, Humam Rights Day, about current realities facing internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in northern and Eastern Sri Lanka. The government’s recent decision finally to allow the resettlement of displaced Tamil civilians who had been held in internment camps since the end of a brutal war in May was commended. At the same time, concern was expressed about inconsistencies in policies governing the recent releases, continued lack of access by humanitarian organizations (including the UN) to IDPs in resettlement areas and former LTTE cadres in detention centers, the safety of released IDPs and the need for further de-mining of formerly populated areas.

The following Issue experts testified:

• Eric Schwartz, Assistant Secretary for Population, Migration and Refugees, U.S. Department of State (Download PDF of testimony)
• Michel Gabaudan, regional representative for the United States of America and the Caribbean, UNHCR (Download PDF of testimony)
• Miriam Young, US Counsel on Sri Lanka
• Christoph Koettl, Amnesty International (Download PDF of testimony)
• Robert Oberst, Nebraska Wesleyan University
• Jennifer Leonard, International Crisis Group

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