May 2010: International Violence Against Women Act

Background:

Approximately 1 out of every 3 women globally has been beaten, coerced into sex or otherwise abused in her lifetime. Violence against women includes abuse by spouses or partners in the home, rape as a weapon during wartime, dowry related deaths and forced prostitution. The distress and injuries caused affects families, communities and wider societies, preventing women from taking full advantage of economic and educational opportunities and threatening security by increasing social tensions. Violence against women is a global health crisis, an egregious human rights violation, and a moral outrage that knows no geographic or cultural barriers. It is also a major cause of poverty: it keeps women from working, going to school and earning the income they need to life themselves and their families out of poverty.

The International Violence Against Women Act (IVAWA, H.R. 4594, S. 2982), is the most comprehensive piece of legislation addressing violence against women and girls worldwide. Working through the international assistance that the U.S. already provides, women caught in conflict, support non-governmental organizations that are combating violence on the ground, and put the U.S. unequivocally on the record with countries around the world saying that ending violence against women and girls is a national priority.

This bill addresses violence against women and girls through all relevant U.S. foreign policy efforts, including its international assistance programs. 

Send a postcard to your Congress person (U.S. House of Representatives, Washington, DC 20515 and/or Senators (U.S. Senate, Washington, DC 20510) or for an email alternative: go to the web page of your Representative and select “Contact” and write your message in the space provided.

Dear ___________:

I urge you to support the International Violence Against Women Act. This legislation will support NGOs that combat violence, bolster economic and education-oriented programs for women, strengthen health services for survivors of violence, bring perpetrators of violence to justice, and demonstrate that ending violence against women and girls is a national priority. As Representative Bill Hunt of Massachusetts notes, “Nations with the worst track record in preventing violence against women are also the most unstable and are breeding grounds for terrorism…It is crucial for our own national security that we be a global leader in addressing this epidemic of gender violence.”

April 2010: The Convention on Cluster Munitions, United States

Cluster munitions are large weapons which are deployed from the air and from the ground and release dozens or hundreds of smaller submunitions. Air-dropped or ground-launched, they cause two major humanitarian problems and risks to civilians. First, their widespread dispersal means they cannot distinguish between military targets and civilians so the humanitarian impact can be extreme, especially when the weapon is used in or near populated areas. Many munitions fail to detonate on impact and become de factor antipersonnel mines killing and maiming people long after the conflict has ended. 

The Convention on Cluster Munitions was signed in Oslo, Norway in December 2008 and has since been opened for signature and ratification at the United Nations headquarters in New York. By signing the Convention, a state proclaims its consent to be bound by its provisions once it ratifies the treaty. In addition, the state is obligated to not act against the “object and purpose” of the treaty until the treaty becomes law for that state. Every country that has signed the Convention on Cluster Munitions must still ratify it in order to become a State Party bound by the Convention’s provisions. 

Canada has signed the Convention, but not ratified it. The United States has neither signed nor ratified the Convention. 

Action: Send the following message to Secretary of State Hilary Rodham Clinton at:

U.S. Department of State
2201 C. Street NW
Washington DC 20520

Dear Secretary of State Clinton:

I am writing to urge you to sign the 2008 Convention on Cluster Munitions This international treaty comprehensively prohibits cluster munitions, requires destruction of stockpiled cluster munitions within eight years and clearance of contaminated land within ten years, and recognizes the rights of individuals and communities affected by the weapon to receive assistance.

Since December 2008, a total of 104 governments have signed the Convention and 30 governments have ratified it, including stockpilers, former users and producers of the weapon, as well as affected countries from every region of the world. Only 15 months after it opened for signature in Oslo, the 30th state ratified the Convention on 16 February 2010, triggering its entry into force on 1 August 2010.

As you are aware, this comprehensive international ban on cluster munitions is the most important humanitarian and disarmament treaty of the last decade. 

Sincerely,

April 2010: The Convention on Cluster Munitions, Canada

Canada has signed the Convention, but not ratified it. 

Action: Send the following message to Minister of Foreign Affairs Lawrence Cannon at:

House of Commons
Ottawa, Ontario
Canada K1A0A6

Dear Honourable Cannon:

I am writing to urge you to ratify the 2008 Convention on Cluster Munitions This international treaty comprehensively prohibits cluster munitions, requires destruction of stockpiled cluster munitions within eight years and clearance of contaminated land within ten years, and recognizes the rights of individuals and communities affected by the weapon to receive assistance.

Since December 2008, a total of 104 governments have signed the Convention and 30 governments have ratified it, including stockpilers, former users and producers of the weapon, as well as affected countries from every region of the world. Only 15 months after it opened for signature in Oslo, the 30th state ratified the Convention on 16 February 2010, triggering its entry into force on 1 August 2010.

As you are aware, this comprehensive international ban on cluster munitions is the most important humanitarian and disarmament treaty of the last decade. 

Sincerely,

March 2010

Following the December Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, Yvo de Boer, Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) said the fact that Copenhagen did not deliver the full agreement the world needs to address climate change “just makes the task more urgent.”

Three key things that Copenhagen produced are: 1) It raised climate change to the highest level of government; 2) The Copenhagen Accord reflects a political consensus on the long-term, global response to climate change; 3) The negotiations brought an almost full set of decisions to implement rapid climate action near to completion. 

Mr. de Boer said that we’re now in a cooling off period that gives countries useful and needed time to resume their discussions with each other. “If countries follow up the outcomes of Copenhagen calmly, with eyes firmly on the advantage of collective action, they have every chance of completing the job,” he said.

Wangari Matthai, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, said at the conference, “The good that comes forth in the world is from Civil Society.” We are Civil Society and so it is up to each of us to do our part to reduce our carbon footprint. 

 Take personal action this month, during Lent, by reflecting on your own carbon footprint. The attached tool will provide you an excellent tool for this purpose. Download Lenten Fast.

If the Earth
were only a few feet in
diameter, floating a few feet above
a field somewhere, people would come
from everywhere to marvel at it. People would
walk around it marveling at its big pools of water,
its little pools and the water flowing between the pools.
People would marvel at the very thin layer of gas surrounding
it and the water suspended in the gas. The people would
marvel at all the creatures walking around the surface of the
ball, and at the creatures in the water. The people would declare
it as sacred because it was the only one, and they would protect
it so that it would not hurt. The ball would be the
greatest wonder known, and people would come to
pray to it, to be healed, to gain knowledge, to know
beauty and to wonder how it could be. People
would love it, and defend it with their lives
because they would somehow know that
their lives, their own roundness, could
be nothing without it. If the
Earth were only a few
feet in diameter.

February 2010

The February Alert is prompted by work being done by NGOs on the Financing for Development (FfD) Committee.  FfD is always in search of monies for development in the least developed countries. Housing, water, sanitation, roads, electricity, education, and technical assistance for agriculture are among the most basic needs of many countries. Recent discussions in the G-20 have surfaced the following proposals: 1) to curb tax haven abuse and 2) to establish more uniform monitoring and disclosure regulations for corporations with penalties for false disclosures. Additionally, some are speaking of a financial transaction tax which would place a tax on all financial transactions of a designated amount. Such a proposal is not very popular in Canada and the U.S.  However, Senators Harkin and DeFazio, and in the House, Rep. Nancy Pelosi think it could be a positive initiative. Many of the NGOs support such a tax since we believe it would be more equitable. Canada already has legislation in place to limit/regulate tax havens but to date does not seem to have recent incorporation transparency laws.  More info: www.taxjustice.net. These discussions are continuing in individual member countries and, if adopted by the G-20 member states would place some regulation on international finance which currently remains above the law.

Send a postcard to your Congress person (U.S. House of Representatives, Washington, DC 20515 and/or Senators (U.S. Senate, Washington, DC 20510) or for an email alternative: go to the web page of your Representative and select “Contact” and write your message in the space provided.

Dear….  

I ask that you support two legislative proposals: 1) The Stop Tax Haven Abuse Act (H.R.1265/S.506) and the Incorporation Transparency and Law Enforcement Assistance Act (H.R. 2956/S.569).  Such measures would require those with greater financial assets to bear a more equitable share in building a sustainable global economy.

Thank you for your consideration of this matter.

Signature/Name of Congregation

Talking Points for those who wish to write more:

1. In his address to the UN, Sept. 23, 2009, President Obama promised to support the Millennium Development Goals with a realistic global plan.
2. Some corporations and individuals place large financial holdings in tax havens in order to avoid paying taxes on them.
3. These recovered funds could greatly expand government ability to provide needed services.
4. The Stop Tax Haven Abuse Act restricts the use of offshore tax havens and abusive tax shelters to inappropriately avoid Federal taxation.
5. There are currently 34 off shore tax havens which allow secret financial transactions.
6. The Incorporation Transparency and Law Enforcement Assistance Act aims to prevent U.S. corporations from being misused for money laundering, tax evasion, or other misconduct.

February 2010  CANADA

The February Alert is prompted by work being done by NGOs on the Financing for Development (FfD) Committee.  FfD is always in search of monies for development in the least developed countries. Housing, water, sanitation, roads, electricity, education, and technical assistance for agriculture are among the most basic needs of many countries. Recent discussions in the G-20 have surfaced the following proposals: 1) to curb tax haven abuse and 2) to establish more uniform monitoring and disclosure regulations for corporations with penalties for false disclosures. Additionally, some are speaking of a financial transaction tax which would place a tax on all financial transactions of a designated amount. Such a proposal is not very popular in Canada and the U.S.  However, Senators Harkin and DeFazio, and in the House, Rep. Nancy Pelosi think it could be a positive initiative. Many of the NGOs support such a tax since we believe it would be more equitable. Canada already has legislation in place to limit/regulate tax havens but to date does not seem to have recent incorporation transparency laws.  More info: www.taxjustice.net. These discussions are continuing in individual member countries and, if adopted by the G-20 member states would place some regulation on international finance which currently remains above the law.

Send a post card to your Parliamentarian at House of Commons, Ottawa, Ontario K1A0A6

Dear….,

I ask that you support legislation that will stop tax haven abuse and require greater incorporation transparency. Such measures would require those with greater financial assets to bear a more equitable share in building a sustainable global economy.  The recent investigations into RBC Dominion Securities is a welcome move.   

Thank you for your consideration of this matter,

Signature/Name of Congregation

Talking Points for those who wish to write more:

1. Some corporations and individuals place large financial holdings in tax havens in order to avoid paying taxes on them. I urge Minister of National Revenue Blackburn to continue the probes into the securities agencies. 
2. These recovered funds could greatly expand government ability to provide needed services.
3. Stopping offshore tax havens would initiate much needed regulation of the global financial system.
4. Requiring corporations to be more transparent through updated legislation could prevent additional misuse through falsifying records, tax evasion, and money laundering.