Urgent: Call to strengthen immigration bill UPDATED
The following urgent alert is based on information from our colleagues with the Interfaith Immigration Coalition.
Alerts
Arms Trade Treaty action update
On April 2, the Arms Trade Treaty passed; June 3 is the first day that UN member states can ratify the treaty.
Act now – Farm bill imminent
Important international food aid programs governed by the farm bill – such as Food for Peace (PL 480), which was first signed into law by President Dwight Eisenhower in 1954, and which reached over 53 million people last year – are at risk of devastating cuts.
Join the rolling fast to raise awareness of hunger strike at Guantanamo
Take action to show support for men on hunger strike at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
Urge Congress to support HR 1554, the Stop Tax Haven Abuse Act
The following alert is circulated by Jubilee USA.
Counter anti-immigrant advocacy
Speak out in support of humane immigration reform; don't allow anti-immigrant voices to dominate the conversation.
Demand justice for Mexican teen killed by U.S. Border Patrol
No More Deaths has circulated the following alert to respond to the death of 16-year old José Antonio Elena Rodriguez.
Guatemala: Ask U.S. ambassador to attend genocide trial
On March 19, Guatemala's former president Efraín Ríos Montt and José Mauricio Rodríguez Sánchez are going to trial on charges of genocide and crimes against humanity for massacres committed against indigenous civilians in Guatemala's Ixil triangle.
Photo by Bob Phares
This historic case is the first time that a former head of state is being tried for genocide in a domestic court. It is crucial for the nation’s healing process, and will be a key step in ending impunity for the atrocities committed during the war.
Send e-postcard to Congress for immigration reform
Send this electronic postcard your U.S. senators and representatives asking that they pass just and compassionate immigration reform legislation in the 113th Congress.
Sign letter to Obama, urging National Climate Summit
The following letter is being circulated by Franciscan Action Network and other U.S. Catholic organizations, urging President Obama to respond to the strong call for positive action on climate change.
Take action on military aid to Israel
Urge your member of Congress to investigate whether U.S. military aid to Israel is undermining prospects for peace in the region.
Urgent: Ask senators to sign “dear colleague” letter on Arms Trade Treaty
Urge your senators to sign letter to President Obama in support of a strong Arms Trade Treaty
Take action on gun violence
Monday, Feb. 4 is the faith community's call in day to urge an end to gun violence.
Sign letter of conscience to Secretary of Agriculture Vilsack
From our colleagues at Pax Christi USA who received it from Interfaith Action of Southwest Florida.
TODAY: Show solidarity with efforts to halt mining in Honduras
The National Coalition of Environmental Networks in Honduras is calling for urgent solidarity TODAY in order to try to halt the final debate on a mining law that does not incorporate their proposals
Honduras: Take action to support Afro-indigenous communities
The following alert is from the Chicago Religious Leaders Network on Latin America (CRLN). Please respond by contacting the foreign policy staffer in Washington, D.C. office of your U.S. representative.
Peace in Israel-Palestine in 2013
Kathy McNeely, interim director of the Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns, along with 35 other faith leaders, recently signed this letter to President Obama calling on him to bring the full energies of his administration to bear towards facilitating a just, durable and final negotiated agreement to end the Arab-Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The letter was organized by Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP).
Urge Senate to ratify CEDAW, the women's rights treaty
The Women's Rights Treaty [the Convention of the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, also known as CEDAW] is a strong tool that the international community used to protect women and girls from violence, end injustices such as forced marriage and trafficking, and provide access to education and vocational training.
Close Guantanamo now
From our colleagues at the National Religious Campaign Against Torture (NRCAT):
January 11, 2013 will be the 11th anniversary of the opening of the detention center at Guantanamo. Please email your members of Congress and the president now and remind them that you expect them to close the prison at Guantanamo.
Honduras: Tell U.S. to stop training, funding of security forces
The following alert is circulated by SOA Watch
DRC: M23 withdraws but remains nearby
The Rwandan-backed M23 militia withdrew from the eastern area of the DRC on December 1, but, according to Bloomberg news, "the rebels have remained in a ring around the city, within a 20-kilometer (12-mile) neutral zone they had agreed to leave."
December 10: International human rights day
The following bulletin is distributed by our colleagues at Pax Christi USA, the national Catholic peace movement.
PRAY: A prayer for human rights
from the Education for Justice site
Violence shatters Gaza
Pray for peace in Gaza, and urge President Obama to demand a cease-fire and to investigate Israel's misuse of U.S. weapons.
Donate to Duvet Project for Afghanistan
Kathy Kelly with Voices for Creative Nonviolence invites us to participate in the Duvet Project, an effort to support Afghan families during their difficult winter.
Take action for people of San Jose del Golfo
The following alert is circulated by the Guatemala Human Rights Commission (GHRC):
As you read this, the communities in resistance to mining in San Jose del Golfo and San Pedro Ayampuc are holding their ground at the roadblock they have maintained since March of this year as they are threatened by a large group of pro-mining provocateurs.
Sign letter of support, thanks for church leaders' letter on military aid to Israel
In October, the Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns joined over a dozen other Christian groups in signing a letter to Congress which urges a closer review of U.S. military assistance to Israel in light of required compliance with U.S. regulations regarding aid and human rights. Read the letter here. Reaction to this letter has been strong.
Guatemala: Take action in solidarity with the people of Totonicapán
Write to Guatemalan authorities to ask for an independent investigation into the actions taken by military forces on October 4 which resulted in the deaths of six people and injuries of over 40.
Loving our neighbors and enemies in a time of global uncertainty
The following “prayer-study-action” reflection – focused on the upcoming election in the United States and published on Oct. 4, the feast of St. Francis - is from our colleagues at Pax Christi USA.
Honduras: Two human rights lawyers assassinated
From SOA Watch: This past Saturday and Monday (September 22-24), two human rights lawyers, Antonio Trejo and Eduardo Diaz, were brutally murdered in Honduras, bringing to over 60 the number of victims caught in the struggle for life and land in the Bajo Aguan in Honduras. The debate over the production of food for families versus bio-fuels for corporations has reached a high note.
"Robin Hood Tax" bill introduced in Congress
The U.S. Robin Hood Tax Campaign applauded the introduction in Congress of a bill that would impose a tax on Wall Street speculation. Introduced by Rep. Keith Ellison, HR 6411, the Inclusive Prosperity Act, would raise up to $350 billion in annual revenues that would be used to breathe new life into Main Street communities across the U.S., as well as international health, sustainable prosperity and environmental programs.
Ask your rep to cosponsor “Inclusive Prosperity Act”
The Inclusive Prosperity Act, currently in draft form, will be introduced this Friday by Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN). Please contact your member of Congress as soon as possible and ask him/her to sign on as an original cosponsor of the legislation.
Take action: Tell Obama to stop Border Patrol violence
MIgrants continue to suffer tremendously as they search for a better life for themselves and their families.
DRC: Take action to end the conflict
Learn more about the ongoing conflict in the DRC and sign a petition at Change.org to urge Sec. Clinton's response.
Brazil: Stand in solidarity with indigenous people
Our colleagues at Amazon Watch are circulating the following alert.
This summer’s Earth Summit must measure quality of life, not market values
From June 20-22, Earth Summit 2012 will take place in Rio de Janeiro to renew political commitment to sustainable development, assess international progress, and address emerging challenges.