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Chile’s Supreme Court Upholds Indigenous Water Use Rights December 4th, 2009
The Supreme Court of Chile issued a unanimous decision guaranteeing a continual water flow to two indigenous communities in the country. The Court invoked ILO Convention 169. The decision could have far reaching consequences for Chile’s mining industry
The landmark ruling on indigenous water rights was in a case that pitted Region I Aymara communities against Agua Mineral Chusmiza, a company seeking the rights to bottle and sell freshwater from a source used historically by Aymara indigenous residents.
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New Brochures on Water Use, Food, Safe Cleaning Products, Fair Trade and More! October 7th, 2009
Updated brochures on environmental issues from the Oblate JPIC Office are now available in English and Spanish.
Topics include:
- Earth Friendly Products
- Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
- Focus on Food
- Hints for Saving Water in Your Yard
- A Look at Fair Trade
Spanish versions are also now available:
- Productos amigables para el planeta
- Reducir, Reutilizar, Reciclar
- Enfoque En La Comida
- Consejos Para Ahorrar Agua En Su Jardín
- Un vistazo al comercio justo
We are encouraging widespread distribution of these materials. Click on each topic above to download a PDF for printing and distribution.
Oblates Call on California Governor to Sign Law Recognizing a Human Right to Water September 23rd, 2009
Four Oblate priests in Los Angeles wrote Governor Schwarzenegger urging his support for AB 1242, the Human Right to Water Act of 2009. The priests minister to some 12,000 parishioners in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.
The priests said “We believe that access to safe, affordable and clean water is a human right, and no one should be denied this right because of being poor.”
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Urgent international scrutiny needed in Sri Lanka, say UN Human Rights Experts May 8th, 2009
The UN Human Rights Council experts dealing with summary executions, right to health, right to food and water and sanitation, Mr. Philip Alston, Mr. Anand Grover, Mr. Olivier De Schutter and Ms. Catarina de Albuquerque, released the following statement Friday:
The current humanitarian crisis in Sri Lanka gives cause for deep concern, not only in terms of the number of civilians who have been and continue to be killed, but because of a dramatic lack of transparency and accountability. “There is good reason to believe that thousands of civilians have been killed in the past three months alone, and yet the Sri Lankan Government has yet to account for the casualties, or to provide access to the war zone for journalists and humanitarian monitors of any type”, said Philip Alston, the UN expert on summary executions.
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World Day for Water March 26th, 2009
To underscore both the potential dangers of “water wars” in places that are home to 40 percent of the world’s population – and the promising opportunities for cooperation and development – the United Nations marked the World Day for Water on 22 March with a focus on trans-boundary waters and their management.
“The amount of water we have has remained constant for thousands of years, while the number and types of users have increased massively… population growth, urbanization, land use changes, and global warming … are creating competing pressures on this finite resource,” says UNESCO Director-General Koïchiro Matsuura in his remarks marking World Water Day. “As a result, the amount of water available for each person is increasingly unequal, and diminishing dramatically.”
This year’s theme, “Shared Water – Shared Opportunities,” aims to explore opportunities to build trust among countries as they manage their common water resources in ways that promote peace, security and sustainable economic growth. Some 900 million people lack access to safe drinking water, making them vulnerable to the water-borne illnesses that kill 4,200 children every day.
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