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VIVAT International Jan-Feb-Mar 2013 Newsletter March 29th, 2013
Please find the Jan-Feb-March 2013 online newsletter from VIVAT International here. (Download PDF)
Subjects covered include:
- Academia and Advocacy
- Human Rights & Big Business
- Land-grabbing
- Anti Human Trafficking
- Africa Faith & Justice
- 51st Commission on Social Development
- Post 2015
- Experience at VIVAT International
International Day for Human Rights November 29th, 2012
December 10, 2012 is International Human Rights Day. On this day, 64 years ago, member nations of the newly formed United Nations signed into International Law the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
This doctrine of human rights adopted by the United Nations has its antecedents in Catholic Social Teaching – in the basic concept of human dignity.
What does the Universal Declaration of Human Rights guarantee?
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Father Gregorio Iriarte, OMI Honored for a Lifetime of Human Rights and Justice Work September 23rd, 2012
Rolando Lopez, secretary general of the Universidad Mayor de San Simon, said the highest distinction regarding the defense of Human Rights was awarded to Fr. Gregorio Iriarte omi, a priest with the Oblates of Mary Immaculate. He said this is a recognition of Fr. Iriasrte’s activity as founder of the Assembly of Human Rights and his contribution to the restoration of democracy in Bolivia.
Fr. Gregorio Iriarte said he was grateful though, he said, he did not deserve such an honor: “My contribution is relative. It is true that I wrote some books, but I can not say I’m a great researcher, I think I’m more of a popularizer, I try to simply translate what others do in science, politics, of economics “.
Fr. Iriarte was also honored with the Ana Maria Romero de Campero National Prize for Culture of Peace from La Fundación UNIR. He was the founder of the Permanent Human Rights Assembly of Bolivia, as well as UNITAS (Unión Nacional de Instituciones para el Trabajo de Acción Social – the Bolivian CSO network) and ERBOL (Educación Radiofónica de Bolivia) – an NGO based in La Paz, Bolivia dedicated to using radio as a means for providing education, social service and pluralistic news. Fr. Iriarte is valued for his tireless work in promoting and defending human rights and the establishment of social justice.
He is considered one of the main drivers of the “liberation church” and his primary contribution was working with basic Christian communities formed by poor people, in order to mobilize them in an attempt to improve their living conditions. Dictatorial governments labeled him as a “friend of the enemies of the government” and expelled him from the country several times. He remained committed to a deep conviction to work with the most needy. Born in 1925, in the Basque region of Spain, he arrived in Bolivia in 1964 and worked in the Llallagua mining center in the Potosi region. As head of Radio Pío XII, he worked to educate farmers and community members in this region.
Fr. Iriarte has published thirty books on the struggle for democracy, teaching values, and promoting principles of a peace culture claiming that education is a means of justice, freedom and solidarity. He has been invited to many national and international forums as a champion of justice and peace.
US Congress holds Hearings on Peru and Bangladesh July 20th, 2012
JPIC staff and summer fellow Fr Stephen Ashoki OMI (Sri Lanka) attended Hearings in the US Congress on Peru and Bangladesh. Both countries have a strong Oblate presence.“Poison Harvest: Deadly U.S. Mine Pollution in Peru.”
“This is a matter of grave concern, not just to the citizens and residents of La Oroya and of Peru, but of the world and, in particular, the United States,” – Testimony to U.S. Congress by Archbishop Pedro Barreto of Huancayo, Peru.
This week, on July 19, the House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs held a hearing on the mining contamination by Renco Group, a U.S. based company, which is operating in La Oroya, Peru. The hearing was entitled “Poison Harvest: Deadly U.S. Mine Pollution in Peru.” Those invited to testify included Archbishop Pedro Barreto of the Archdiocese of Huancayo, Peru and Rosa Amaro, President of the Movement for the Health of La Oroya. Also giving testimony were Dr. Fernando Serrano from St. Louis University School of Public Health and Keith Slack representing Oxfam America.
The hearing focused on the environmental damage in small town of La Oroya by Doe Run Peru, with testimonies from local community leaders, faith leader and NGOs. Doe Run is the Latin American affiliate of the Renco. Doe Run Peru is accused of being responsible for the health problems of the people in La Oroya especially children suffering from severe lead poisoning, and the environmental contamination affecting the area. Members of Congress strongly condemned Doe Run Peru for the environmental damage and promised to bring up the issue through the United States and Peruvian Free Trade Agreement (FTA) engagement. In addition to these solidarity actions, the JPIC office also attended a meeting at the Embassy of Peru with the Ambassador about human rights issues. In the light of the state violence against indigenous peoples protesting various mining operations in Peru, the JPIC office has signed onto NGO letters calling for respect of human rights in that country.
Bangladesh Human Rights
Earlier in the day another important congressional briefing was held focusing on the Human Rights Situation in Bangladesh. The United States is the largest investor in Bangladesh. However, there is an alarming human rights situation, with a number of recent extrajudicial killings and threats to labor activists. Leading international labor and Human Rights organizations are urging the United States government to use its influence to raise these concerns with the Government of Bangladesh. Those who perpetuate this violence, particularly certain national security operations, must be brought to justice. Since January 2012, Bangladesh has seen 34 victims of extrajudicial killings; the most recent being the killing of Bangladeshi labor leader Aminul Islam. Other issues raised during the hearing include the status for the millions of Burmese Refugees in Bangladesh, child labor in the garment industry, and unsafe working conditions in general. The U.S Government was also challenged to support Bangladesh civil society.
Press coverage of the Hearing…
Sri Lanka Resolution Passes UN Human Rights Council March 26th, 2012
The UN Human Rights Council voted Last Thursday (March 22nd) in favor of a resolution calling on the government of Sri Lanka to end impunity for human rights abuses. Allegations of war crimes committed in the final stages of the decades-long civil conflict have dogged the government in Colombo.
The resolution calls on Sri Lanka to “credibly investigate” alleged abuses committed toward the end of the country’s bitter civil war and asks the government to explain how it addresses alleged violations of international humanitarian law, as well as how Sri Lanka would implement the recommendations of an internal inquiry into the war. It also encourages the UN human rights office to provide Sri Lanka with advice and assistance and for the government to accept the advice.
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