News Archives » Central America & the Caribbean
The Right to Water and Sanitation – A Practical Guide November 2nd, 2011
On 28 July 2010 the United Nations General Assembly officially recognised the Human Right to Water and Sanitation. To help make this Human Right a reality, Franciscans International and WaterLex have co-developed a learning manual for grassroots religious communities.
The purpose of this manual is to provide interested communities with an overview and some tools to address water access and governance challenges in everyday life. It explains progressively, over 7 sections, how to become aware of water and sanitation challenges as well as the planning of facilitation and advocacy activities at the local, national and international level.
Uphold Human Rights in Guatemala, Groups Urge New US Ambassador October 31st, 2011
Victims of impunity in Guatemala
In a letter to the new US Ambassador to Guatemala from a broad array of human rights and religious groups working on Latin America, the Ambassador was urged to continue the emphasis of his predecessor on upholding human rights and due process. The Rev. Seamus Finn, OMI signed the letter on behalf of the Missionary Oblates.
Read the letter (Download PDF)
Faith Based Investors Welcome Vatican Statement on Financial Reform October 31st, 2011
The Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility issued a statement welcoming the recent Vatican proposal and recommendations for reform of the global financial system. The statement reads:
The document, “Towards Reforming the International Financial and Monetary Systems in the Context of Global Public Authority”, released by the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, offers a very helpful analysis of the ongoing global financial crisis and makes some sound proposals and recommendations to reduce the probability of meltdowns of such magnitude in the future.
Click here to read more »
Update from the United Nations September 26th, 2011
UN welcomes South Sudan as 193rd Member State
On July 14th the General Assembly admitted the Republic of South Sudan as the 193rd member of the United Nations, welcoming the newly independent country to the community of nations. South Sudan’s independence from the rest of Sudan is the result of the January 2011 referendum held under the terms of the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) that ended the decades-long civil war between the North and the South. Learn more…
World Population Nearly 7 Billion!
As the world population approaches seven billion, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon stressed in July that ending global poverty and inequality is the key to unleashing the great human potential for prosperity and peaceful coexistence, while protecting the planet and safeguarding the natural resources that sustain humanity. “Later this year, a seven-billionth baby will be born into our world of complexity and contradiction,” Mr. Ban said in a message to mark World Population Day, observed annually on 11 July. Learn more…
UN Reports Progress Toward Poverty Alleviation
Some of the world’s poorest countries have made impressive gains in the fight against poverty, but the least developed countries still lag in efforts to improve living standards, the United Nations said in a report by DESA, showing significant overall progress towards achieving the global targets against extreme poverty.
67 Million Children Deprived of Education
67 million school-aged children are deprived of education, mainly due to financial or social hardship, in many cases stemming from poverty or armed conflict. At the opening of the high-level segment of the ECOSOC Council’ Annual Ministerial Review on 4 July, Deputy Secretary-General Asha Rose Migiro warned that “getting kids into school is only half the battle.”
Statement on Nuclear Weapons
Papal Nuncio to the UN, Archbishop Francis Chullikatt made a significant statement on the Church’s rejection of nuclear war and nuclear weaponry at the 3rd Session of the Prepatory Committee for the UN Conference on the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT). Go to: www.holyseemission.org and click on press releases.
Faith Groups urge Congress to Protect the Poor from Foreign Aid budget Cuts September 26th, 2011
A broadly ecumenical group of faith organizations has urged Congress to preserve humanitarian and poverty-focused foreign assistance and civilian diplomacy from further cuts as they implement the Budget Control Act of 2011.
The groups, which include the Missionary Oblates, argued in the letter that: “Deep cuts to humanitarian and poverty-focused foreign assistance, which totals only one percent of the federal budget, will not make a significant contribution to deficit reduction. But it could cost millions of lives, undermine global human security and harm U.S. and global interests in helping build a more stable and secure world for all people.”
