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25th December 2005
Open Bethlehem Campaign
Please
visit this site to find out about this organisation
seeking to keep Bethlehem an open city faced with the Israeli
wall which is currently being built nearby.
Hope
you have a MERRY CHRISTMAS and wish you a PEACEFUL 2006. |
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18th December 2005
Clean up your Computer
Campaign
Click
here and send a letter to the CEOs of IBM, Dell and HP
about their code of conduct. |
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11th December 2005
Send a Christmas Card to
Prisoners
Christian
Solidarity Worldwide are running this campaign. You can
download a list of Christians in prison who would value a card
and your support. Click here. |
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4th December 2005
Free Aung San Suu Kyi
We
reviewed this in April. Please write
to Jack Straw over this if you haven’t done so already. |
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|
27th November 2005
e-Mail a Friend about
Computer Aid
Just
in case you didn’t get the chance in July. Click
here to do so this Justice Mail. |
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|
20th November 2005
Trade Justice
Just
in case you haven’t done so here is a chance to send
an e-mail in support of Trade Justice |
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|
13th November 2005
Self Determination for
the Saharawi People
Click
here to read on and send Jack Straw an e-postcard. |
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|
6th November 2005
Stop Violence Against
Women in Nigeria
Please
read the Amnesty
International site and take action to support moves
against violence against women in Nigeria. |
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to Justice Mail archive list |
|
30th October 2005
Trade Justice Lobby
This
week is a mass lobby of parliament over Fair Trade. If you are
not going to be there you might like to take action with this link
to the CAFOD site. |
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|
16th October 2005
Violence against Women
in Guatemala
Amnesty
international ask you to send
an e-postcard about the murder and abuse of women in
Guatemala. |
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9th October 2005
Global Tax Dodge -
Revisited
War
on Want ask you to sign
up to the new rules they propose over global taxation. |
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|
2nd October 2005
Support a Just
Resolution in Bhopal
Amnesty
International are asking us to write to the president of Dow
Chemical, Andrew Liveris, to ask that the company acknowledge
and face up to its responsibilities in Bhopal in 1984. Please send
a letter or you can e-mail a sample letter from this link. |
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25th September 2005
Appeal to the President
of the Philippines
From
John Hull, All Saints, King’s Heath, Birmingham
“I have received an urgent request for action from the
Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance of the World Council of Churches
in Geneva regarding the situation of human rights activists in
the Philippines. Since January this year, thirty-three men and
women have been assassinated, many of them priests and
ministers working in support of peasant people struggling for
their human rights.
We are asked to cut and paste the letter below and send it by
airmail to President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, the President of
the Philippines, whose address is also below. You should also
send a copy to the army officer as mentioned below and if you
have a chance, send it also to the Embassy of the Philippines
in London.”
The
Embassy of the Philippines
9A Palace Green, London W8 4QE.
Tel: 0870 005 6968 Fax: 020 7937 2925
Sign-on
letter
|
Dear President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo,
As churches and church-related organisations we are
deeply concerned at the killings of 33 activists in the
Philippines so far in the year 2005. The people killed
include members of the clergy.
The latest people to be killed are:
-
Rev. Raul Domingo who died in
hospital on 4 September 2005, two weeks after being
shot by suspected military agents in Puerto Princesa,
Palawan.
-
Atty Norman Bocar was shot in the
head by suspected military agents on 1 September
2005 in Borongan in Eastern Samar
On 14-21 July 2005 a delegation of church
leaders from the World Council of Churches (WCC) and the
Christian Conference of Asia (CCA) came to the
Philippines at the invitation of the National Council of
Churches in the Philippines (NCCP) to investigate the
human rights situation. They noted the rising number of
murders of activists and observed that "large-scale
human rights violations including police and military
intimidation, illegal detention, and torture of peasants
working on the farms of rich landlords are being
perpetrated."
The WCC/CCA delegation also stated that:
"Among the root causes of the current turmoil in
the country are: the inadequacies of state institutions
such as the judiciary, inequitable distribution of
resources which traps many Filipinos in abject poverty,
and the monopoly of transnational corporations and other
foreign interests in resource exploitation."
The Gospel leads Christians to a commitment to a just
and equitable society in which every human being has God
given significance and dignity.
We mourn each of those killed and we
deplore the ongoing violence and killing. We stand in
solidarity with the struggle of the Filipino people to
achieve their civil, political, economic, social and
cultural rights. We assert their right to take
non-violent action in defense of those rights without
violent reprisal.
As supporters of the Trade for People
Campaign we are committed to using human rights
principles to challenge economic injustice.
We oppose legislation and trade rules
that put corporate profits before people's lives and
well-being and the integrity of the environment.
We urge you to take the following
actions:
-
To carry out immediate and impartial
investigations into all recent extrajudicial
executions.
-
To make the results of these
investigations public and to ensure that anyone
found responsible is brought to justice.
-
To promote of agrarian and land
rights reform which enables rural women and men to
have more access to natural resources.
-
To repeal legislation, including the
1995 Mining Act, which puts corporate profit before
the interests of people and the environment.
Yours sincerely
|
Background Info & Action Requested
Rev.
Raul Domingo died on 4 September 2005, two weeks after being
shot by suspected military agents in Puerto Princesa on the
Philippines island of Palawan. He was a 35-year-old pastor of
the United Church of Christ in the Philippines (UCCP) who led
an anti-mining campaign and was an activist calling for
radical government reforms.
Atty
Norman Bocar, a human rights lawyer was killed on 1 September
2005 in Borongan in Eastern Samar, Philippines by two
suspected military agents riding on a motorcycle. They shot
him in the head. He was the regional chairman of Bayan, a
human rights group.
Rev.
Edison Lapuz was killed on 12 May 2005 by suspected military
agents while attending burial rites for his father-in-law in
San Isidro,
Leyte, Philippines. He was also a pastor of the UCCP and at
the time of his death he was organising a conference for
church people on the ill-effects of mining by transnational
corporations. He had also been supporting the struggle of
peasants and fishworkers to obtain land.
Fr William Tadena was killed on 13 March 2005 by two suspected
military agents in a jeep. They shot him three times in the
back as he was going to say mass in Tarlac, Philippines. He
was a 37-year-old parish priest of the Iglesia Filipina
Independiente and a strong supporter of the workers of the
Hacienda Luisita.
These are just four of the 33 activists murdered since January
this year in the Philippines.
In July, a delegation from the World Council of Churches (WCC)
and the Christian Conference of Asia (CCA) came to the
Philippines at the invitation of the National Council of
Churches in the Philippines (NCCP) to investigate the human
rights situation. They noted the rising number of murders of
activists and observed that "large-scale human rights
violations including police and military intimidation, illegal
detention, and torture of peasants working on the farms of
rich landlords are being perpetrated."
The WCC/CCA delegation also stated that:
"Among the root causes of the current turmoil in the
country are: the inadequacies of state institutions such as
the judiciary, inequitable distribution of resources which
traps many Filipinos in abject poverty, and the monopoly of
transnational corporations and other foreign interests in
resource exploitation."
The Trade for People Campaign is committed to using human
rights principles to challenge economic injustice. Amongst the
goals and objectives of the campaign are:
-
Agrarian
reform in developing countries that enables rural women
and men to have more access to natural resources
-
Regulation
of trans national corporations (TNCs) that ensures that
they contribute to poverty eradication, promotion of human
rights and protection of the environment.
The
WCC/CCA delegation met with a representative of the Philippine
president, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, and followed up
with letters calling for an immediate and impartial
investigation of all recent extrajudicial executions and other
human rights violations. However no word has been heard from
the government. Worse, the killings continue.
These killings must stop.
Action
requested
| 1 |
We
urge churches and organisations to sign on to the above
letter which will be sent to:
a)
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, President of the
Philippines
b) Lt. Gen Generoso Senga, Chief of Staff, Armed Forces
of the Philippines
c) The letters will also be copied to the National
Council of Churches in the
Philippines and the Catholic Bishop's Conference of the
Philippines.
Please send sign-ons before Friday 30 September by email
to jblaylock@e-alliance.ch
with the name of your church or organization as you
wish it to appear.
Your church or organization might also wish to issue a
press release expressing your concern about the killings
and announcing your protest to the Philippines
government.
|
| 2 |
Procedures for making formal
complaints on these killings to the UN human rights
situation are being investigated. Please look out for
future alerts on this. |
More
Info
Background
information is available on mining and land reform in the
Philippines, and the particular case of Hacienda Luisita. This
is provided by the National Council of Churches in the
Philippines (NCCP):
pdf
file: http://www.e-alliance.ch/media/media-6027.pdf
word
document: http://www.e-alliance.ch/media/media-6026.doc |
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18th September 2005
Rainforest Site
You
can help fund the preservation of rainforests by going
to this site and clicking the button. A worthwhile daily
activity. |
|
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|
11th September 2005
Fair Trade Bananas
Bananalink
are asking us to contact local greengrocers and ask them to
buy fair trade bananas. There is a list of suppliers on their
site. |
|
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|
4th September 2005
White Band Day
Please
remember that next Saturday 10th September is White
Band Day (2). Please wear your white MAKEPOVERTYHISTORY
bands and if there is an event near you try going along. There
will be a human white band around the clock tower in Leicester
at 12.00 p.m. |
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|
28th August 2005
Sign Up to the Tobin Tax
This
is an initiative we are interested in on Justice Mail. Please
have another look at the web site and find out about the Tobin
Tax. Please sign
up if you havent done so already. |
|
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|
21st July 2005
Consumer Action for
Burma
Please
read the page from the
Burma Campaign. They aim to use consumer choice over
clothing to put pressure on the regime in Burma to free Aung
San Suu Kyi the opposition leader under house arrest for over
9 years. Please note the list of companies who have pulled out
of Burma at the opposition’s request and those who refuse to
say they have or will. Please support the Burma Campain in
their action. |
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|
14th August 2005
Send e-card about
Microcredit and Microfinance
Please
read the page
introducing 2005 as the year of microcredit and microfinance.
Then send
an e-card to a friend, colleague or your MP about micro
credit. |
|
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|
7th August 2005
Send a Message to stop
Child Exploitation
Please
read
the UNICEF page about stopping child exploitation, child
labour and child trafficking. Please take
action by sending a message to your MP and Tony Blair. |
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|
31st July 2005
Support Human Rights in
Tibet
Please
read
the Tibet Relief website and support Tibet Relief’s
Campaign and EDMs in their campaign section by e-mailing your
MP. |
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|
24th July 2005
Stop Violence Against
Women in Nigeria
Please
read
the Amnesty International site and take action to support
moves against violence against women in Nigeria. |
|
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|
17th July 2005
Colombian Trade Unions
Please
read the War on Want page by clicking here
and send an e-postcard to Bill Rammell the minister for
Colombian affairs. |
|
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|
10th July 2005
e-Mail a Friend about
Computer Aid
Computer
Aid is a charity that takes donated PCs, refurbishes them
and then sends them to countries in need of computers.
Please
spend a few minutes;
a. Contacting
Computer Aid yourself if you have a PCs to donate or
b. E-mail a friend to make them aware of Computer Aid. |
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|
3rd July 2005
Stop the Loan Sharks
Debt
on your doorstep would like you to contact
your MP this week about the Consumer Credit Bill which
goes for its third reading on 14th July. |
|
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|
26th June 2005
March in Edinburugh
Christian
Aid would like you to march in the "Make Poverty
History" march on July 2nd. This promises to be a
wonderful event bringing together a coalition of organisations
working for change in the way we think about poverty. It isn't
inevitable! Hope
you can make it. |
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|
19th June 2005
e-Mail President Bush
about Human Rights
Amnesty
International would like to you to e-mail
President Bush over the mistreatment of prisoners. |
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|
12th June 2005
Well Done Gordon and
Tony
It
seems like the debt for a significant number of countries will
be wiped off the slate as a result of not only negotiations
initiated by the British government which itself was initiated
by pressure from people like yourselves writing to Gordon
Brown and Tony Blair. This sort of lobbying does work and
people are beginning to realise that we can bring about
change. Thank you and well done!
Asylum
Seekers and the YMCA
Please
find a series of e-mails from one of our Justice mail members.
Please read them all. I suggest after reading the last one you
might like to e-mail Richard Capie of the YMCA.
Hi
I have read today that YMCA England are considering running a
pilot scheme for failed asylum seekers. Under this
"scheme" failed asylum seekers would be forced to
work for no pay. They would just be allowed the basic
necessities of life - food and shelter.
Forcing
people to work for food and lodging is appalling. It is a form
of modern slavery and I am shocked that the YMCA would even
consider taking part in such an immoral activity.
My daughters and I use our local YMCA, but if you proceed with
this plan we will all boycott your organisation and encourage
our friends and relatives to do the same.
Yours sincerely
Justice Mail Member
From:
Richard Capie [mailto:richard.capie@england.ymca.org.uk]
Sent: 09 June 2005 17:43
To:
Subject: YMCA England
Dear ,
Thanks for your email earlier today. I hope this email
clarifies our position.
YMCA
England has for some time been talking to the Home Office
about the possibility of running a pilot scheme to provide
community activities to help a small group of young failed
asylum seekers.
We
recently met with community groups in Liverpool as part of
this process and talked to them about how a pilot scheme might
work.
Following that meeting we have decided not to run a scheme in
Liverpool. We have also decided only to run a pilot elsewhere
if it is voluntary.
YMCA England has always had concerns about the compulsory
nature of the legislation affecting this group of asylum
seekers and would have preferred any pilot to be voluntary. We
also know that many asylum seekers are already involved in
valuable voluntary work in the communities where they live.
Our intention was to run a pilot that would take the
legislation into account but that would focus on the needs and
wishes of the individuals involved. Our consultations with
community groups in Liverpool have demonstrated that this is
not possible.
The
pilot program has not yet started, nor has the final agreement
between the Home Office and YMCA England been signed.
Best wishes
Richard Capie
Head of External Communications
YMCA England
Dear
John
Thank you for the Justice Mail alerts - I have responded to
many of them.
I was wondering if you have been following the government
proposals to force asylum
seekers to work for food and lodgings in this country?
Maeve Sherlock, chief executive of the Refugee Council says:
"Forcing people to work for food and lodging is
unacceptable. Rather than spending money organising compulsory
community work schemes, why not let those asylum seekers do
real jobs and earn money to support themselves?" Tony
Fuller of Migration Helpline adds: "It's a form of modern
slavery. The Home Office went to the voluntary sector and
asked if we were interested in running this scheme. Almost
everybody said no, it's slave labour." Refugee Action,
the National Association of Citizens Advice Bureaux and the
Immigration Advisory Service also condemned the plans.
The
YMCA are contemplating particpating in this project and I have
written to them to express my dismay. (See above)
I hope you might consider including this on your Justice Mail
alerts, to further encourage the YMCA not to participate in
this illegal activity as they are still considering signing up
for a pilot project.
Yours
|
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5th June 2005
Bangladeshi Factory
Workers
Put
pressure on the Bangladeshi
government to improve working conditions for factory
workers in Bangladesh. |
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|
29th May 2005
Oxfam ask you to write
to Peter Mandelson
With
the G8 summit in Edinburgh looming Oxfam have asked you to write
to Peter Mandelson our Eurpean Commisioner about alleged
Eurpoean double dealing over opening markets. |
|
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|
22nd May 2005
Sudan - Darfur
Darfur
has gone out of the news a little recently but this I still a
situation where lobbying is needed to put pressure on
governments to put pressure on the Sudan government. See
Amnesty International. |
|
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|
8th May 2005
Tell Tony What You
Think.
Well,
everyone else has this week! The “Make Poverty History
Campaign” is gaining momentum and pressure works offers you
the chance to send
Tony Blair an e-mail or letter. Do remember to buy a white
wristband if you haven't done so already. |
|
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|
1st May 2005
The Dirty List
In
response to calls from Burma’s democracy movement, the Burma
Campaign UK and other campaign groups around the world have
been pressuring companies to sever business ties with Burma.
They have drawn up a dirty list” of companies associated
with the military regime by continuing trading or production
in Burma. DHL is one of them. Please
send an e-mail to DHL. |
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|
24th Apr 2005
Total Oil in Burma
French
oil giant TOTAL Oil is in business with Burma's brutal
military dictatorship. Its joint venture in the Yadana gas
project in southern Burma earns the military regime hundreds
of millions of dollars every year. The democratic movement in
Burma ask you to ask
TOTAL Oil to pull out of Burma. |
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17th Apr 2005
Free Aung San Suu Kyi
Join
the global campaign by MTV and the Burma Campaign UK to
free Burmese pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and all
political prisoners in Burma. |
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10th Apr 2005
Global Action Week
Please
go to the Christian Aid site and find out about Global Action
week. As part of this we are asked to e-mail
Gordon Brown. |
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|
3rd Apr 2005
The Saharawi People of
the Western Sahara
If
you haven’t already sent an e-postcard to Jack Straw about
these people and their situation please send one by clicking
here.
If
you have please have another look at the other
options on the page listed. |
|
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|
27th Mar 2005
Pray for Trade Justice
Tear
Fund are inviting people from all around the world to pray for
Trade Justice during the Global Week of Action for Trade
Justice (April 10 – 16). If you can, sign
up for a slot. |
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|
20th Mar 2005
Africa Commission
Please
sign
an open letter of support to Tony Blair regarding the
Africa Commission, which also asks for further action. |
|
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|
13th Mar 2005
Water Aid
It
is World Water Day on 22nd March. Please go to the Water Aid
site, play the toilet game and send
an e-toilet roll to the Prime Minister. |
|
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|
6th Mar 2005
Global Action Week
Please
go to the Christian
Aid site and vote for Trade Justice. This is forming part
of the “Make Poverty History” Campaign. There are lots of
other things to do on the site. Perhaps you could consider
organising an event during Global Action Week when millions of
people all over the world will be focusing on Trade Justice.
Global
Action Week is 10th –16th April. |
|
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|
27th Feb 2005
The Hunger Site
Do
please visit the hunger
site and click on the button to provide food for those who
need it. |
|
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|
20th Feb 2005
EDM in Support of AIDS
Work
Please
consider asking your MP to sign the Early Day Motion which you
can read about at save
the children site. It concerns political will and AIDS. It
is organised by The Save the Children Fund. (Ministers can’t
sign EDMs I believe). |
|
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|
13th Feb 2005
Write to a Supermarket
for Bananalink
Please
consider writing a letter to one of the supermarkets listed on
the bananalink
site to ask for greater promotion of fair trade bananas
and encourage family friends and colleagues to buy fair-trade
bananas |
|
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|
6th Feb 2005
Join the Stop Torture
Campaign
Please
join
Amnesty International’s Stop Torture campaign if you
haven’t done so already. |
|
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to Justice Mail archive list |
|
30th Jan 2005
Tobin Tax – Sign
Petition
Another
opportunity to sign
up the Tobin Tax petition if you haven’t done already. |
|
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to Justice Mail archive list |
|
23rd Jan 2005
Global Tax Dodge
Join
War on Want’s campaign to avoid the burden of tax from
developed nations being carried by developing nations. |
|
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to Justice Mail archive list |
|
16th Jan 2005
Burma Campaign
Please
read the Burma campaign website to get an update on the
campaign in the UK to free Aung San Suu Kyi leader of the
Democratically Elected opposition but held under arrest for 9
years.
Please
sign the e-mail
to boycott lonely planet. |
|
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|
9th Jan 2005
Make Poverty History
Campaign
Please
take a look at Christian Aid’s website campaign for 2005.
They are joining with a range of other organisations to try
and make government interest in global poverty turn into
action. You can send
Tony an e-card. |
|
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|
2nd Jan 2005
Action for Women
Refugees
Please
click here
to sign up in support of women refugees in Britain. |
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to Justice Mail archive list |
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