News Archives » United Nations
Please Support UN Resolution for an International Bankruptcy Process September 5th, 2014
We would like to share this prayer and action request from our colleagues at Jubilee USA. JPIC Director, Fr. Seamus Finn, OMI co-signed the recent Jubilee letter on this issue to Ambassador Power:
Friends,
On Tuesday, the United Nations General Assembly could vote on a resolution to not only stop vulture funds, but to actually prevent the world’s poorest economies from defaulting. A majority of countries support it – thanks to the work we have done together, the world is largely united against predatory behavior.
Yesterday, Jubilee’s executive board officers sent a letter to the United States UN Ambassador Samantha Power urging her to support this resolution.
Please pray for Ambassador Power as she weighs her vote, and we hope your entire faith community will pray for the UN process this weekend. We would be honored if you would share your prayers with us by replying to this email.
This resolution is an opportunity to win a financial reform Jubilee USA has championed since our inception: an international bankruptcy process for countries. As the Argentina case highlights so clearly, we need a bankruptcy system to stop predators and end the specter of default. Winning this resolution moves us closer to building an economy that serves, protects and promotes participation of the most vulnerable.
Thank you for your prayers and support.
Forum on Indigenous Peoples in Bangladesh Highlights Outstanding Needs August 19th, 2014
On August 11, 2014, Kapaeeng Foundation of Bangladesh held a forum on the “Second International Decade and Situation of Indigenous Peoples in Bangladesh” at the National Museum auditorium in Dhaka. The meeting was organized to celebrate International Indigenous Peoples Day 2014.
The Honorable Chairman of Chittagong Hill Tracts Regional Council and President of Bangladesh Indigenous Peoples Forum, Mr. Jyotirindra Bodhipriya Larmawas presented as the guest of honor, while Mr. Rabindranath Soren, Chaiperson of Kapaeeng Foundation presided over the program.
Speakers and special guests included Mr. R A M Obaidul Muktadir Chowdhury MP, Honorable Chairman, Parliamentary Standing Committee on Ministry of Chittagong Hill Tracts Affairs; Mr. Fazle Hossain Badsha, MP; Pir Fazlur Rahman Misbah, MP; Professor Dr. Sadeka Halim, Former Information Commissioner; Mr. Snehal V Soneji, Country Director, Oxfam; Mr. Gonzalo Serano De La Rosa, representative of the European Union; Mr. Mika Kanervavuori, representative of UN; Mr. Sanjeeb Drong, General Secretary, Bangladesh Indigenous Peoples Forum. Sanjeeb Drong is a close collaborator of the Oblates in Bangladesh.
Sanjeeb Drong said, the rights of indigenous people are human rights. If government does not fulfill the rights of indigenous peoples, we cannot say the human rights situation is developed in Bangladesh. So the government has to protect and promote the rights of IPs. He also said, “Land is the life of indigenous peoples. But day-by-day, indigenous peoples are losing their land. To protect the land of IPs, I demand to setup separate land commission for IPs.”
He also mentioned that, “We all are humans, and despite this we face discriminations and injustice.”
Read a full account of the forum here (Download PDF) or visit the website of the Kapaeeng Foundation.
#1 Global Priority: A Good Education August 11th, 2014
The UN Millennium Development Goals effort brought about significant improvements since the year 2000, but too many children are still not in school. Education continues to be a priority as governments now focus on the next 15 years. Proposed Goal for 2030: Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote life-long learning opportunities for all.
Click here to read more »
Human Rights Mentioned in Proposed UN Sustainable Development Goals July 23rd, 2014
Used under Creative Commons license; courtesy of Steve Cadman
Civil society welcomes human rights language in the open Working Group (OWG) outcome, while continuing to call for a rights-based approach towards development justice.
The Mining Working Group at the UN has reported through VIVAT that they congratulate the members and co-chairs of the Open Working Group (OWG) on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) on the completion of their work and their adoption by consensus of an outcome that includes seventeen proposed goals and an introductory chapeau. The group said: “In particular, we celebrate the mention of the human right to water in paragraph 7 of the chapeau, as an essential entry point for further work on ensuring a rights-based approach to development. With the Blue Planet Project and more than 300 civil society partners, we advocated long and hard for those two small words – “and water” – to be added to the text, and we applaud this achievement on the part of the governments that championed this language: Palau, Nauru, Papua New Guinea; Italy and Spain; Bolivia, Argentina, and Ecuador; and Uruguay.” Please see the OWG Press Release MWG
For more information on the Mining Working Group please visit miningwg.com
NOGs and Religious Groups Call for Inclusion of Human Right to Water and Sanitation in SDGs July 7th, 2014
More than 300 Non-governmental Organizations (NGOs), including Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate, recently sent a statement to the General Assembly’s Open Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to explicitly affirm its commitment to protect and promote the human right to water and sanitation within the SDG framework and implementation:
“We join the repeated and insistent calls from civil society around the world to ensure that the SDGs are explicitly aligned to the human rights framework. For the post-2015 development agenda to reach its objective of being just, people-centered, and sustainable, the goals must prioritize-for present and future generations-the human right to water for health, life, food, and culture over other demands on water resources. This is even more critical given the key role of water for achieving other sustainable development objectives such as sustainable energy and food production, gender equality, and climate change mitigation.
SDGs must be designed to catalyze increased capacity and political will for States to fulfill their legally binding obligations to respect, protect, and promote the human right to water and sanitation. Our organizations fear that the human right to water and sanitation continues to be contested within the context of a global competition for scarce water resources. We are concerned that a development agenda that is not explicitly committed to upholding this vital human right may end up undermining it.”
Click here for good resources on the UN Human Right to Water: Human right to water and sanitation | International Decade for Action ‘Water for Life’ 2005-2015
Click here for eight fast facts on the HR to Water and Sanitation (poster)
