March-April 2015 NewsNotes

Vol. 40, No. 2
PDF posted below

Global Catholic Climate Movement - The Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns endorses the newly formed Global Catholic Climate Movement, a coalition of laity, religious, and clergy, theologians, scientists, and activists from around the world.

Africa: Illicit financial flows challenge development - Over the last 50 years, Africa is estimated to have lost in excess of $1 trillion in illicit financial flows. Following is an excerpt from a report by the UN Economic Commission for Africa's High Level Panel on Illicit Financial Flows. 

Peru: Trade policies fuel violence - Those who oppose mining operations in Peru continue to be violently intimidated by private companies.

U.S.-Mexico border: Refugee families in peril - Maryknoll Affiliate and immigration attorney Jane O'Sullivan recently volunteered to help detained migrants in Artesia, NM. She wrote the following article for the March-April 2015 issue of Maryknoll magazine. (Link leads to Maryknoll magazine site.)

Central America: Biden Plan is more of the same - The administration's economic development and military aid package for Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala is meant to alleviate the root causes of migration, but if implemented as is, it might cause more problems than it solves.

Haiti: Challenges of reconstruction - The story of Haiti’s post-earthquake reconstruction illustrates the serious problems with land-grabbing -- powerful foreign private and public investors negotiate agreements with countries to take over large areas of land to further a flawed development model that maximizes private profit at the expense of local communities.

Philippines: Mamasapano clash threatens peace - On January 25, the Philippine National Police Special Action Force clashed with members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters; this "misencounter" might override the greater good of the Philippines’ peace process and could threaten to destabilize the entire nation.

Human trafficking: New Senate bill introduced - On February 24, Senators Bob Corker (R-TN) and Bob Menendez (D-NJ) introduced the End Modern Slavery Initiative Act of 2015.

Holy See advances nuclear disarmament - During the December 2014 Vienna Conference on the Humanitarian Impact of Nuclear Weapons, the Holy See contributed a paper entitled "Nuclear Disarmament: Time for Abolition," which presents a compelling argument to move beyond limits set by political realism.

Recommendations from drones conference - The Coalition for Peace Action hosted an Interfaith Conference on Drone Warfare from January 23-25, 2015. The following statement are the policy recommendations released by conference participants.

Trade: Pacts undermine financial reforms - Leaks from three major trade negotiations show that the U.S. and the European Union are pushing for rules that would undermine the ability of governments to create laws to protect public safety, health and the environment; the treaties will also undermine the important advances made in regulations since the 2008 crisis in the financial markets.

Trade: TPP threatens access to medicines - With the current Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations, the U.S. again looks to tighten control over patents for medicines.

UN: CSD holds 53rd session - In early February, civil society held a preliminary panel before the Commission for Social Development's 53rd session (CSocD53), “Rethinking and strengthening social development in the contemporary world."

Resources - International Women's Day, World Water Day and Earth Day are coming up.