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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…
Congo Catholic Bishops Praise U.S. Law on Conflict Minerals August 17th, 2010
The Congolese bishops have welcomed the passage into law of the Congo Mineral Conflict and Extractive Industries Transparency via amendments to the US Financial Reform Bill. The president of the National Conference of Bishops of Congo, Bishop Nicolas Djomo said during a press conference in Kinshasa that the Catholic Church in the Democratic Republic of Congo is determined to campaign for the newly enacted law on conflict minerals so that it becomes useful in the extractives industries in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Bishop Djomo said that the legislation will help restore peace in the Democratic Republic Congo and that more actions are needed to strengthen good governance, support the legal economy, encourage peace and reconciliation, create a legal framework to revive the judicial system, and encourage citizens to engage in public life.
Bishop Djomo, who also serves as the Bishop for the diocese of Tshumbe in Kasai Oriental Province, thanked the America people and praised the American government, the U.S. Congress, faith based groups and other concerned groups who helped in passing the provisions on conflict minerals.
Conflict minerals, especially in Eastern Congo, provide the source of funding that allows armed militias to continue acts of terror, particularly widespread sexual violence and rape, while causing countless deaths.
UN International Year of Youth August 13th, 2010
International Youth Day was celebrated at United Nations headquarters in New York on August 12th with the global launch event of the International Year of Youth. The event was a celebration of young peoples’ energy, imagination and initiatives and will recognize their crucial contributions to enhancing peace and development.
To guide the celebrations of the International Year of Youth, the United Nations has developed the Framework Approach highlighting three key objectives for the Year, namely: increased commitment and investment in youth, increased youth participation and partnerships, and increased intercultural understanding among youth. Use these objectives to guide your activities related to youth. The complete Framework Approach is available at http://social.un.org/youthyear/
UN Approves Consensus Resolution on Human Right to Water August 5th, 2010
On July 28th, the UN General Assembly voted in favor of a right to water and sanitation resolution that was introduced by the Bolivian government. 124 states voted for the resolution and 42 abstained, including the U.S. No state voted against the resolution.
While the resolution is not legally binding, it is an important step toward the formal recognition of the Human Right to Water by the international body. The UN Human Rights Council has been deliberating this issue for several years and advocates hope this consensus vote in favor of the right to water will stimulate that work further.
Continued Call for AIDS Treatment at 2010 AIDS Conference in Vienna August 5th, 2010
This report comes from the 2010 International AIDS Conference which took place July 19-23 in Vienna, Austria. The Missionary Oblates JPIC offices were represented by Fr Tomáš Vyhnálek OMI, the JPIC coordinator for Europe based in Vienna. He also represented the Oblate JPIC offices in Washington D.C and the General office in Rome.
The 18th international Aids conference in Vienna ended Friday with one strong message: Despite the financial crisis the fight against HIV/AIDS must not decrease.
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