News Archives » South America
Unprecedented Governance Agreement Signed in Peruvian Amazon August 17th, 2010
The Oblate parish in Santa Clotilde, in the Peruvian Amazon, organized a gathering of political authorities and leaders from nearly 50 communities – religious, health, education, indigenous – for a three day workshop on the upcoming elections. At the end of the meeting, a “governance” agreement was signed by all, including the candidates for the upcoming elections. In this statement, it was agreed, amongst other things, that all civil society and indigenous groups would monitor the work of whoever is ultimately elected. The agreement is the first of its kind in Peru!
For more information see our post in Spanish
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.
Click here to read more »
Faith Perspectives: A Conversation on Immigration and Your Congregation July 29th, 2010
On June 24th, Christians for Comprehensive for Immigration Reform (CCIR) hosted a national conference call, “Faithful Perspectives: A conversation on Immigration and Your Congregation.”
Download and listen here: http://faithandimmigration.org/action/available-now-listen-national-faith-call-immigration (Please note that the audio starts at minute 1:10)
U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops Testifies before Congress on the ethical imperative for reform of the U.S. immigration system
Bishop Gerald F. Kicanas of Tucson, Arizona, Vice-president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops testified before Congress – House Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, Refugees, Border Security, and International Law – on the ethical imperative for reform of the U.S. immigration system. View the entire testimony of Bishop Gerald Kicanas of Tucson here: http://www.usccb.org/comm/archives/2010/10-134.shtml
Ways to Engage your Congregation:
Clergy Resources on Immigration. Discover “5 Ways to Engage your Congregation” on our new page for pastors and church leaders at www.faithandimmigration.org/clergy
Act Now for Responsible Finance and Debt Cancellation July 23rd, 2010
Please take action to press for responsible lending and desperately needed debt cancellation for poor countries – Click here for our Action Alert.
This Alert also includes an action to Make Mercury Pollution a Thing of the Past.
