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Fall 2010 Issue of the JPIC Report Available October 10th, 2010
Read the new issue of the JPIC Report. If you are not receiving a hard copy in the mail and would like to, please contact the JPIC Office by emailing Rowena Gono.
Read the Fall 2010 JPIC Report (Download PDF)
UN Warns Governments to Respect the Rights of all Migrants October 1st, 2010
The Global Migration Group, which consists of twelve UN agencies, the World Bank and the International Organization for Migration, has a issued a warning to all governments to respect the rights of migrants – especially the millions of undocumented immigrants who are particularly vulnerable to abuse.
The inter-agency statement affirms the duties of governments to control border crossings, but stresses that this must be done in accordance with international human rights law. Global Migration Group is an inter-agency group which aims to promote the wider application of international and regional norms and better coordinated approaches regarding international migration.
Read the U.N statement on the Rights of Migrants (Download PDF)
The Oblate JPIC office welcomes this U.N statement protecting the rights of migrants. The issue of migration is experienced by Missionary Oblates serving around the world. At the local level, each Oblate community and region has developed its own initiatives to respond to migrants. Some of the programs are focused on pastoral care, joining interfaith action to support immigrants and advocacy initiatives.
Issues of migrants are closely monitored by the JPIC office and we engage at various levels to promote their rights. The office continues to engage the issue in the US, by supporting congressional actions for comprehensive immigration reform. At the international level, we encourage corporate initiatives to fight human trafficking and improve the rights of migrant labor in corporate supply chains.
United Nations Summit on the Millennium Development Goals September 20th, 2010
Achieving universal primary education by 2015 is Goal 2 of the MDGs
Global leaders have gathered for the United Nations Summit on the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) in New York which runs September 20-22. The world is watching to see if this summit will make serious progress towards achieving the eight MDG goals by 2015.
In September 2000, world leaders came together at United Nations Headquarters to adopt the United Nations Millennium Declaration, committing their nations to a new global partnership to reduce extreme poverty and setting out a series of time-bound targets with a deadline of 2015. The goals adopted became known as the Millennium Development Goals (MDG). The eight MDGs are broken down into 21 quantifiable targets that are, in turn, measured by 60 indicators.
1. Eradicate extreme hunger and poverty;
2. Achieve universal primary education;
3. Promote gender equality and empower women;
4. Reduce child mortality;
5. Improve maternal health;
6. Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases;
7. Ensure environmental sustainability;
8. Develop a Global Partnership for Development.
A calendar of side events at the United Nations Summit on the Millennium Development Goals.
Watch Live the United Nations Summit on the Millennium Development Goals.
Comboni Press Network JPIC Calendar of Events September 1st, 2010
The Comboni Press Network issues a Calendar of Events on the first of each month, listing justice & peace-related events in the US and around the globe.
Read the September 2010 issue here. (Download PDF)
Tomas Vyhnalek, OMI Appointed as Representative of VIVAT International in Vienna August 30th, 2010
Fr. Tomas Vyhnalek, OMI has been appointed as an official representative of VIVAT International at the UN headquarters in Vienna, Austria. The UN in Vienna focuses on Drugs and Crime and Fr. Vyhnalek intends to focus on Human Trafficking, Migrant Smuggling, Criminal Justice, Prison Reform and HIV-AIDS. All of these are issues that are of prime interest to the Oblates as well as to VIVAT.
This July appointment to the UN in Vienna, coupled with that of Daniel LeBlanc at the UN in New York and the growing network of VIVAT Congregations with members in different countries, increases the opportunities for the “voices of the poor to be heard where decisions are taken affecting their lives” (CC.RR 9a) on the above issues as well as on the Millennium Development Goals. VIVAT has an International Executive Team working in New York and a regional office in Geneva.
