News Archives » South America
Latin America Church Conference on Mining Issues Final Document July 8th, 2011
Oblates at Seminario Internationale in Peru June 2011
Oblates from Bolivia, Peru and the United States participated in an international conference on Extractive Industries focused on “the problem of natural resources in Latin America and the mission of the church”. The conference was organized and sponsored by the Justice and Solidarity Department of CELAM (Bishops Conference of Latin America) and MISEREOR at a retreat center in Chaclacayo – Lima – Peru, June 14 – 16 2011.
The conference final document is available in Spanish.
Action Alert: Torture is Never Permissible July 2nd, 2011
The National Religious Coalition Against Torture (NRCAT) of which Oblate JPIC is a member, is concerned about statements made in Congressional testimony by General David Petraeus regarding torture. On June 23, in a hearing before the Senate Intelligence Committee on his nomination to be the Director of the CIA, General Petraeus suggested that the U.S. needed procedures for using “more than the normal [interrogation] techniques” during a ticking time bomb-like incident.
Yet, as NRCAT points out in an action alert, there are no situations — even a ticking time-bomb — in which torture is permissible, moral, or legal. General Petraeus has opened a door that he and President Obama need to close. Please write to President Obama and ask him to publicly reject General Petraeus’ June 23rd testimony on “more than normal” interrogation techniques.
People who support torture often refer to the hypothetical “ticking time bomb” to make their argument. Yet torture is always wrong and always illegal.
As people of faith, we know that, above all, our country must act morally. General Petraeus may have misstated his own position, but he and President Obama need to immediately reaffirm their unequivocal opposition to torture in all instances.
Take Action on Child Sex Trafficking in Wyndham Hotels July 1st, 2011
Thanks to Change.org for this Action Alert
From 2006 to 2011, Crips gang members in San Diego ran a child sex trafficking ring out of area hotels that destroyed the lives at least 16 girls.
An 18-month FBI investigation discovered that the gang was able to use two Wyndham-owned hotels (Travelodge and Howard Johnson) regularly for child prostitution with the knowledge and even assistance of staff.
After hearing about these cases, San Diego native Tim Rosner started a petition urging the Wyndham Hotel Group to sign an international child protection agreement for travel and tourism companies, which could have saved those 16 girls from sexual exploitation.
Staff at several Wyndham-owned motels have profited from sex trafficking, even though Wyndham has a child protection policy. The chain has failed at least 16 children — with more cases emerging.
Two major American hotel chains — Hilton Worldwide and Carlson Companies, an entity that includes Radisson Hotels and other chains — have already signed the international child protection policy, as have 945 other companies across 37 countries.
Click here to make sure Wyndham is next to sign the Code of Conduct for the Protection of Children and call on the company to implement this stricter child protection policy in order to prevent future instances of child sex trafficking:
Thanks for taking action.
Faith-Based Investors Press Companies to Take Action on Human Trafficking June 30th, 2011
The Missionary Oblates joined members of the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR) in an investor statement on Human Trafficking, an issue the group has been working on for many years.
The statement called on companies to develop human rights policies addressing the issues of human trafficking and modern day slavery and integrate these into corporate business plans. The group clearly articulated the business case for adopting such policies.
The statement also called for companies to report publicly on these measures and to work in collaboration with other stakeholders to eradicate these egregious human rights abuses.
Human Right to Water and Sanitation materials available from the UN June 30th, 2011
Popular information materials on the human right to water and sanitation are now available from the UN Water Decade website.
The materials were developed on the occasion of activities jointly organized by the UN-Water Decade Programme on Advocacy and Communication (UNW-DPAC), UN-Habitat, the UN-Water Decade Programme on Capacity Development (UNW-DPC) and the Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC) at Deutsche Welle Global Media Forum (20-22 June 2011). Click on the following links to access the documents:
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