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UN Report says fresh water is seriously threatened March 20th, 2012
The fourth UN World World Water Development Report says that the increase in world population and global warming, worsening floods and droughts, threaten freshwater resources if nothing is done to improve management.
With a world population exceeding seven billion people, food needs are expected to increase by 70% by 2050, with an increasing demand for animal products requiring huge amounts of water.
The paper was also alarmed by the sharp rise in transnational purchase of agricultural land, which increased from 20 million hectares in 2009 to over 70 million today. It was noted that in the agreements signed between countries, water is never explicitly mentioned.
Richard Connor, the lead author of the report emphasizes that these pressures are likely to exacerbate economic disparities between countries at the expense of the poorest. “Water is the pillar upon which the social and economic development rest.”
Invisible Children KONY 2012 March 13th, 2012
The “Invisible Children Kony 2012” video has gone viral. It is an impassioned plea to end the atrocities of Joseph Kony and his Lords Resistance Army (LRA). Invisible Children Campaign “KONY 2012” provides horrifying documentary evidence about the LRA.
Over nearly three decades the LRA has been responsible for unspeakable acts of brutality, including the abduction of children to work as soldiers. untold thousands have been maimed or killed by the LRA and hundreds of thousands of people remain displaced in northern Uganda, Northern Democratic Republic of Congo, Central African Republic and South Sudan. The International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Kony in 2005, but to date, no one has found him.
This video is a plea to take action to stop the atrocities of Kony and hold the LRA accountable in a court of law. An important issue raised by the video is the need for immediate international support, and protection of these children and their families from these terrible acts of violence. Organizations such as Catholic Relief Services are on the front lines helping the victims of Kony and Lord’s Resistance Army.
MDG Target on Access to Safe Drinking Water Met! March 12th, 2012
“Today we recognize a great achievement for the people of the world. This is one of the first [Millennium Development Goals] MDG targets to be met. The successful efforts to provide greater access to drinking water are a testament to all who see the MDGs not as a dream, but as a vital tool for improving the lives of millions of the poorest people.”
– United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in a statement responding to a report released by the World Health Organization and the UN Children’s Fund.
The WHO/UNICEF report concluded that the world has met the MDG target of halving the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water well before the 2015 deadline. However, while they praised this accomplishment, several media outlets and observers (including Stephanie Cappa on the InterAction blog), have pointed out that the related MDG target on sanitation is off-track and unlikely to be met by 2015.
Read the report: Safe Drinking Water and Sanitation 2012 update
Victory in US Senate for Tax Justice! March 9th, 2012
This week, the Senate took a stand against one of the largest revenue drains facing developing nations today – tax avoidance. Members of the Financial Accountability and Corporate Transparency (FACT) Coalition, have been speaking out against the abuse of off-shore tax havens. And the Senate listened.
Amendment 1818, the Levin Amendment, passed the Senate last night and is a blow against corruption, secrecy, and tax avoidance that aims to end the use and abuse of off-shore tax havens. These tax havens help large corporations and corrupt individuals avoid paying a fair share of taxes to the nations in which they operate. An estimated $160 billion dollars is lost in tax revenue in developing countries due to the use of off-shore tax havens. The Levin amendment gives law enforcement officials tools to stop financial institutions in tax havens from aiding US tax cheats, and help put an end to developing country tax avoidance.
Jubilee USA and the Oblates are founding members of the Financial Accountability and Corporate Transparency (FACT) Coalition. Learn more about tax justice…
Symposium: “Towards Healing and Renewal” March 9th, 2012
A symposium on child protection in the Church, titled “Toward Healing and Renewal,” was held in Rome in February. The Gregorian University, which hosted the gathering, is developing resources for further training that will be available on their website. They propose a 30-hour training in child protection for students and professors from across the world. The content will be in four languages.
For more information, visit The Pontifical Gregorian University Centre for Child Protection. The internet portal offers information and training for all those dealing with child protection in the Church.
