Dear sisters and brothers,

The JPIC Commission of the Conference of Superiors General of men and women's institutes (USG/UISG) recently established a working group for the integrity of creation, composed of members of religious congregations and interested lay people.

The most recent scientific evidence (see Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change – IPCC – report; www.ipcc.ch) indicates that climate change, very likely caused by human activity, is endangering all life-supporting ecosystems. The Integrity of Creation working group would like to facilitate a deeper appreciation of the centrality of the integrity of creation in evangelization today. ....... (read attachement...)

Download the Letter of Invitation Here

1) Take part in the Global Day of Action and build the collective memory

Next saturday, January 26th, millions of people around the world will gather in more than 700 activities that will happen in more than 80 countries (as presented on www.wsf2008.net until Jan. 24th).

It's a Global Day of Action: an international journey to make our demands and show that the world can be free of war, patriarchy, sexism, enviromental destruction, poverty, militarism, privatization of public spaces and resources, imperialism, violation of human rights, restriction of expression and all kinds of oppression.

Check item 6 in this newsletter to view a list of countries and actions. Look for and participate in activities that are scheduled to happen in your city.

Besides partcipating in actions around the world during the Global Day of Action it's also important to build collective memories of this proccess.

- Use www.wsf2008.net to host images, video, áudio, news and wikis. Multimedia content can be added by any participant on an Action Space. Invite your friends to participate in your Action Space, so this collective memory can be built.

- Create news about your action, log onto www.wsf2008.net, find your Action Space and click on "Create News". Tell the world what will happen or has happened in your action, how it turns out and any other news you want to share.

- Use your action space to collect flyers, posters, images, photos, blogs on the actions.

- Collect media clippings of newspapers articles, radio recordings, televison coverage and other content produced about GDA, put it into your Action Space and send it to media@wsf2008.net

To: Leaders of PNU (Party of National Unity) and ODM (Orange Democratic Movement)
CALL FOR URGENT RESOLUTION OF KENYA ELECTORAL CRISIS

We the undersigned call on the ODM and PNU leaders to urgently seek a resolution to the current electoral crisis in the country and restore peace and harmony in the country through leadership.

We express our concern at the deteriorating situation in Kenya following what has been widely acknowledged as an impressive election turn-out. We commend the Kenyan people for their dignity and courage but also express our condolences to the families of those who have lost their lives and to the many who have been injured in the course of needless violence over the last few days. This is a time for Kenyans to be patient, dignified and to look for solutions that are in the best interest of the majority.

We regret the chaos which has caused loss of life, destruction of property and general unrest in the country. The contested outcome has marred the prospects of democracy and peace not only in Kenya but also in Africa. The cloud which hangs over the conclusion of one of the most fiercely-fought elections in Kenya’s history is regrettable. We believe that peace should be regained as a matter of urgency so that a free and fair outcome can be reached.

We believe that this is not the time for provocative actions, but a time for demonstrating leadership through bringing the contending partners to the table. This crisis can be resolved by the players in disagreement using conciliation and arbitration mechanisms as a matter of urgency to plan a peaceful resolution of the crisis. If necessary, this could be done with the involvement of others such as the African Union and others, such as those who acted as election observers. We urge the contending leaders to act within the spirit of democracy and seek to heal the wounds that have been opened by recent events and to do so in transparent ways.

Joint Statement Abrogation of Ceasefire Agreement Will Escalate Spiral of Violence

The government's decision to abrogate the Norwegian-facilitated Ceasefire Agreement (CFA) signed with the LTTE in 2002 is a matter of the gravest concern to the undersigned civil society organisations. Truces historically tend not to last long unless they culminate in a negotiated peace agreement. Unfortunately, the conflicting parties were not willing to negotiate a political solution using the point of entry to the peace process provided by the CFA that the government, the LTTE, and the people of Sri Lanka could build on. Instead of such negotiations, for the past two years the government and LTTE vocally supported a ceasefire but actually engaged in a high level of hostilities tantamount to war, including mounting human rights violations, the overrunning of forward defence lines, capture of territory, artillery, sea and air bombing, and the large scale displacement of people.

SEDOS SEMINAR 2008

Ariccia – 20 to 24 May


Missionary Church in a Globalizing World

Globalization
Missionary Church and Globalization
Points of Fracture in our human society; new social sufferings; new social fractures (new ‘Presences’ for Mission)
The Role of Religious - Can religious become the ‘bridges’ over those social and human fractures? - Spirituality - Living in Justice
‘Being’ Missioners versus ‘Doing’ Mission


Speakers: Prof. Martirani, Sr Anne Falola, Robert Schreiter, Daniel Groody

Villupuram witnessed a mammoth rally demanding the protection of human the rights of those living in the fringes of the society and popularizing blood, organ and body donations. On December10, 2007, the day on which the UNO Declared the Human Right Charter in 1968, the Human Right Federation of Villupuram, in which KAVASAM a member, took out a procession and organized a Public meeting.

Amnesty International is concerned by the continuing harassment of defenders of women workers' rights in the garments export industry in Bangalore city in the southern Indian state of Karnataka, as well as associated campaigning activists based in the Netherlands.

The harassment has included the filing of apparently false criminal charges against them, aimed at curbing their freedom of expression.

Amnesty International is particularly concerned by arrest warrants issued in India against seven Netherlands-based activists of the Clean Clothes Campaign (CCC) and the India Committee of the Netherlands (ICN), on September 29. The activists travel frequently to India where they are at risk of arrest as a result of the charges against them.

The activists have been part of an international campaign highlighting violations of labour rights of women workers in two garment export companies in Bangalore (Fibres and Fabrics International and its subsidiary Jeans Knit). Garments produced by these two industries are exported to the Netherlands and other countries in the West.

Amnesty International understands that the practice of filing apparently unsubstantiated criminal charges against defenders of workers' rights in several parts of India is not new, and that the Indian authorities have repeatedly failed to take action to prevent this practice.

India, as a signatory to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), has specific obligations under Article 19 of the ICCPR to safeguard the peaceful exercise of the right to freedom of expression and association. Amnesty International is concerned that the harassment and intimidation aimed at these activists flies in the face of international human rights law.

The organization urges the Government of Karnataka and India's National Human Rights Commission to ensure that:

o the right to freedom of expression of trade unions in Bangalore and activists based in the Netherlands is respected;
o reports of harassment including the filing of apparently false criminal charges against the activists are investigated by an independent, impartial and competent body;
o charges against the activists are dropped, unless they are charged with a recognisably criminal offence;
o the government upholds its obligation under international law that workers are not forced to work under conditions that amount to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.


Amnesty International also calls on India to adopt all legislative, administrative and other steps as may be necessary to ensure the rights and freedoms for the defence of human rights as set out in the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders (1998).

he Security Council today condemned last weekend’s “murderous” attack on African Union (AU) peacekeepers in Haskanita, South Darfur, and demanded that no effort be spared to identify the perpetrators and bring them to justice.

Nearly a dozen personnel from the AU Mission in Sudan (AMIS) were killed in the attack, reportedly committed by a rebel group, with many more wounded and missing.

“The Security Council deplores the loss of life and injuries that resulted from this attack, and conveys its sympathy to the Governments, families and colleagues of those killed and injured,” according to a <"http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs//2007/sc9135.doc.htm">statement read out by Ambassador Leslie Kojo Christian of Ghana, which holds the 15-member body’s rotating presidency for this month.

The Council also deplored the fact that this attack took place in the lead-up to peace talks set to begin in Libya on 27 October between the Sudanese Government and Darfur’s many rebel groups in an effort to resolve a conflict that has led to the deaths of more than 200,000 people since 2003, underlining that “any attempt to undermine the peace process is unacceptable.”

In July the Council authorized the deployment of a hybrid UN-AU peacekeeping force to quell the violence in Darfur and protect humanitarian operations. The force, to be known as UNAMID, is slated to take over from AMIS at the start of next year.

Head of state: Senior General Than Shwe
Head of government: General Soe Win
Death penalty: abolitionist in practice
International Criminal Court: not ratified

Mass protests
Following a steep rise in fuel prices in August which in turn affected people's access to food and basic supplies, Myanmar has seen an escalation in mass peaceful protests nationwide since 21 September 2007.

Led by Buddhist monks, clergy and ordinary people have taken to the street, protesting against the government, calling for a reduction in commodity prices, release of political prisoners and national reconciliation. Beginning 21 September 2007, the number of demonstrators increased considerably, with estimated numbers ranging from 10,000 to 100,000. Demonstrations on this scale have not been seen since the nationwide protests in 1988, which were violently suppressed by the authorities with the killing of approximately 3,000 peaceful demonstrators.

In the evening of 25 September 2007, the authorities began a crackdown on the protesters, introducing a 60-day 9pm-5am curfew and issuing public warnings of legal action against protesters. Arrests of reportedly at least 700 people have followed in the former capital Yangon, the second-biggest city, Mandalay, and elsewhere. Among those arrested in Yangon were monks, members of parliament from the main opposition party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), other NLD members and other public figures. Amnesty International believes these and other detainees are at grave risk of torture or other ill-treatment.

The full extent of the violent crackdown is not yet known. State television reported the killing of at least nine people, eight protesters and a Japanese journalist, amidst the clampdown. This number was widely believed to be an under-estimate. There were reportedly hundreds of injuries.

Websites and internets blogs carrying information and photographs of the demonstrations were blocked; internet lines were cut. Telephone lines and mobile phone signals to prominent activists and dissidents were reportedly also cut. The crisis was discussed at the United National Security Council on 26 September 2007 and a day later the Myanmar authorities agreed to a mission to the country by the UN Secretary-General's Special Representative Ibrahim Gambari.

The Vatican recently announced that it was taking steps to go ‘climate neutral’. This action is bolstered by the statement delivered on September 24 at the UN in New York by the Vatican's "deputy foreign minister," the undersecretary for Relations with States Msgr. Pietro Parolin. Calling on the world’s nations to “overcome self-interest through collective action,” the Vatican stresses the need for “adoption of a coordinated, effective and prompt international political strategy capable of responding to such a complex question” as global warming. The statement further highlighted the need for funds for mitigation and adaptation in poor countries.

For the full text of the statement, see below.

For an audio clip, please visit: http://www.un.org/webcast/climatechange/highlevel/index.asp?go=c070924 and scroll down to the bottom of the page to HOLY SEE. Or, click here to go directly to the video.