opting for poor people through the united nations · poverty around us and that our spiritual...

1 Intercommunity Peace & Justice Center • 206-223-1138 • www.ipjc.org AMOS Fall 2005: Millennium Development Goals

I N T E R C O M M U N I T Y P E A C E & J U S T I C E C E N T E R

No. 68 Fall 2005This issue: Millennium Development Goals

Nick Mele is aretired Foreign

Service officer withover 25 years of

experience in Asiaand Africa. He

coordinates publicrelations for the

NonviolentPeaceforce Projectfrom his home inBellingham, WA.

Nick Mele

read for the World, oneof the many faith-basedorganizations supporting

the eight goals agreed upon byworld leaders at the UnitedNation’s September 2000 Millen-nium Summit, has often used amusical drama version of Jesus’story about Lazarus and the richman to remind us that we in theUnited States are rich. We oftenare unaware of the hunger andpoverty around us and that ourspiritual well-being, our redemp-tion, hinges on what we do toalleviate the suffering of all thosewho live in poverty. These arepoints Jesus makes in many of the

other stories he tells, including thestory of the Good Samaritan andhis account of the last judgmentin Matthew. Jesus’ teachings onthe obligations of the rich toward

Opting for Poor People Through the United Nations

bthe poor are often interpreted asmatters of personal attitudes andactions. While that is certainlytrue, we need to pay moreattention to thechallenge Jesuspresented to thec o n v e n t i o n a lwisdom and thepolitical and eco-nomic systems ofhis time.

At the Mil-lennium Sum-mit, the political leaders of theworld, for the first time indecades, turned their collectiveattention to the poor people of theworld and offered a concrete pro-gram to alleviate their sufferingand lift millions out of poverty.

Like the parables, the Millen-nium Goals derive from deepsources at the root of theAbrahamic faiths: justice for thoseon the margins, mercy for theweak, generosity to all.

These same sources well up inChristian traditions of service tothe poor, the sick, the outcast; andthey inspire Catholic SocialTeaching, such as its principlesof respect for the dignity of everyhuman being, solidarity with allhumankind and the preferentialoption for the poor. The Scrip-tural roots of these teachings areseeded in the creation story inGenesis and developed through-

out the Hebrew Scriptures. Jesusaffirms and extends the traditionin the Gospels and his followerscontinue to develop these themes

throughout therest of the NewTestament.

Even so, it isdifficult to hearthe call andtranslate the pro-phetic verses andChurch teachingsinto the reality of

our world. Like the rich man inLuke’s story, we do not see thepoor people at our door. Whenwe do, we can block them fromour view. Once, my work as a dip-lomat resulted in an assignmentto a country experiencing seriousfood problems, near-famineconditions. My wife and I caughtourselves eating voraciously of thefood we, privileged as we were,were able to buy; it was as if wewere trying to construct a wall ofbody fat to protect ourselves fromthe hunger all around us. Toooften, we Americans rest withinwalls of ignorance about how ourchoices affect the bulk of ourbrothers and sisters around theworld.

Most Americans, for example,believe that the US governmentspends far more on foreign aidthan is the case. In one surveyconducted by the University of

Most Americansbelieve that the

government spendsfar more on foreignaid than is the case.

A woman with her baby leaves work at a market inXai-Xai, Mozambique.

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Maryland, Americans thoughtalmost a quarter of federal spend-ing went to foreign aid. The real-ity is that less than one percent ofthe federal budget is spent onforeign economic assistance.Ironically, President Bush re-sponded to the Millennium Goalswith the MillenniumChallenge Initiative,which, if funded asoriginally proposed,would have increasedUS foreign economicassistance by a substan-tial amount. But Con-gress has never funded the pro-gram in the amounts requestedby the Bush Administration. Thatis why a number of faith-basedand other organizations havejoined together in the ONE Cam-paign so that we, as citizens, canpool our votes and our influenceto lobby Congress on behalf ofthe world’s poor.

Jesus, in the Sermon on theMount, did not lay out a systemof personal piety but rather out-lined a vision of the reign of God,

the antithesisof the politi-cal, economicand socialstructures ofhis time and ofours. So, inaddition towhatever per-sonal practices

and donations we may undertaketo alleviate poverty, we are calledby Jesus also to move the struc-tures of our world in the direc-tion of a more just economic andpolitical framework. When Jesustells his followers that faith canmove mountains, he is speakingas much of the inertia of socialstructures as of large geographicfeatures. When Jesus feeds the

multitudes, in stories recountedin all four gospels, he first urgeshis disciples to feed the hungrycrowds. Surely we are expectedto do the same. Catholic traditionaffirms that people of faith musttake the side of the poor andprotect those on the margins. One

of the first actions of PopeBenedict XVI was to organize aconference on financing theMillennium Development Goals.

“The Lord hears the cry of thepoor!” At the close of the last cen-tury, the world’s political leadersseem also to have heard that cry.The Millennium Summit and itsresulting Development Goals andProgram were intended to focusthe attention of the world’s eliteon the suffering of the poorest inthe world. Seven of the goalsaddress hunger, thirst, disease,education, inequality of women,infant mortality and environmen-tal degradation. The eighth goalcalls for the global community tointeract economically to achievea just world. Jesus might haveproclaimed these goals, had heattended the Millennium Sum-mit. Religious communities fromevery faith tradition have em-braced them and promote them.Many faith-based organizationsand people of faith are workingtogether to achieve the goals andto hold the United States govern-ment to the commitment it madeto increase spending on foreigndevelopment assistance with theeventual goal of devoting 0.7 ofone percent of the Gross National

Product to foreign economicassistance.

The effort to move govern-ments, through lobbying ourelected representatives, or throughthe United Nations and similarmechanisms, seems a far cry fromthe gospel accounts of individual

healings and conversions.However, the Bible, andJesus in particular,frequently focuses on theproblems of poverty. Allthe prophets speak aboutsocial structures and thesins of society. Isaiah

speaks for God to the nation:“This, rather, is the fasting that Iwish: releasing those bound un-justly, untying the thongs of theyoke; setting free the oppressed,breaking every yoke; sharing yourbread with the hungry, shelter-ing the oppressed and the home-less; clothing the naked when yousee them, and not turning yourback on your own.”

In Everyday Christianity,their 1999 pastoral reflection onCatholic faith in the 21st century,the US bishops note that “thepursuit of justice is an essentialpart of the Catholic call to holi-ness.” They also call our attentionto our civic responsibilities: “Ascitizens in the world’s leadingdemocracy, Catholics in theUnited States have special respon-sibilities to protect human life anddignity and to stand with thosewho are poor and vulnerable.” Ascitizens, we are obliged to makeevery effort to ensure that ourgovernment stands with the poorand vulnerable, wherever they arein the world. We must influenceour political leaders to fulfill theUS commitment to the Millen-nium Development Goals. TheONE Campaign is a good placeto start.

Jesus might have proclaimed thesegoals...Religious communities fromevery faith have embraced them...

Bread for the World and IPJCare collaborating on ThePower of ONE: Faith andGlobal Justice Conference onNovember 19th at Seattle U.See www.bread.org/seattle orpage 11 for more details.


tJoanne Dufour

History and Purpose of theUnited Nations

his was the vision of a“better world” drafted by

the 50 countries that met in SanFrancisco in June of 1945. Therepresentatives were building onthe legacy of various efforts at cre-ating international organizations,like the League of Nations andthe International Labor Organi-zation, which were created by theTreaty of Versailles after WorldWar I. On June 25, 1945 TheUnited Nations Charter wassignedand distributed to sover-eign governments for ratificationas is the procedure for interna-tional conventions. By October24, 1945, the charter had beenratified by China, France, theSoviet Union, the UnitedKingdom and the United States[the permanent five at that time]and a majority of the other [now46] signatories officially bringingthe organization into existence.

United Nations and the Millennium Development Goals

The VisionWe the Peoples of the United Nations determined:

to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war, which twice in our lifetime has brought untoldsorrow to mankind, andto reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person, in the equalrights of men and women and of nations large and small, andto establish conditions under which justice and respect for the obligations arising from treaties and othersources of international law can be maintained, andto promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom,

And for these ends:to practice tolerance and live together in peace with one another as good neighbors, andto unite our strength to maintain international peace and security, andto ensure by the acceptance of principles and the institution of methods, that armed forces shall not beused, save in the common interest, andto employ international machinery for the promotion of the economic and social advancement of all peoples

Have resolved to combine our efforts to accomplish these aims.Charter of the UNPreamble

October 24, 2005 is the 60th

birthday of this organization.The purposes of the UN, as set

forth in the Charter, are:to maintain international

peace and security;to develop friendly relations

among nations based on respectfor the principle of equal rightsand self–determination ofpeoples;

to cooperate in solvinginternational economic, social,cultural and humanitarianproblems and in promotingrespect for human rights andfundamental freedoms;

to be a centre for harmoniz-ing the actions of nations inattaining these common ends.

Carrying Out the VisionOver the course of its sixty years

the United Nations has grownconsiderably, not only in mem-bership from 50 to 191 sovereignnations all participating in theGeneral Assembly, but also in theexpansion of the Security Coun-

cil from nine to fifteen memberswith the same five nations citedas initial signatories still maintain-ing the veto. The Economic andSocial Council now has thirty-twospecialized agencies, includingthe International Labor Organi-zation; the World FoodProgramme; UNICEFthe UNChildren’s Fund; the UN HighCommission for Refugees; theWorld Health Organization; theUN Development Program whichworks on election monitoring;AIDS; arms control; environment;and peacekeeping. Entities likethe World Bank and the Interna-tional Monetary Fund are part ofthis family helping one to realizethe breadth and depth of theUnited Nations System.

Current Successes andChallenges

In the year 2000 at the startof the new Millennium, theSecretary General issued aMillennium Report outlining alist of goals for the organization.

Joanne Dufour isan education fieldsupervisior atHeritageUniversity, andmember of theSeattle UNAssociation.


While the document highlightswork needed in a variety of areas,focus is made on eight specificones in most need of attention.Efforts weremade to haveall countriespledge theirgovernment’s in-tention to meetthese goals. Atracking systemwas establishedto measureprogress towards defined bench-marks. At the half-way mark of2005, while some goals did showimprovement in areas for somecountries, the hope of achievingmarked progress was againpostponed. It is for this reasonthat the conference on Novem-ber 19, scheduled for the PacificNorthwest region designed toeducate and advocate on behalfof these goals, is of paramountimportance. As more Americansbegin to realize some realities oflife in the “third world” as aconsequence of Katrina, our roleas “the world’s only superpower”is in dire need of reassessment.

Areas of the UN In Need ofReform

Over the many years of itsexistence, the UN has grown andachieved successes in countlessareas, including the creation ofinternational law and an Interna-tional Criminal Court, and thesuccesses in nation buildingthrough peacekeeping. Therehave also been calls for reform.While there has never beenconsensus around what to reformand how, attention has often beencalled to the composition of theSecurity Council; the use of theveto; making the work of thebureaucracy more transparent;

curbing arms manufacturersthrough an international tariff;and alternative ways of financingthe organization. There are those

reformers withintentions toenlarge its man-date, power andefficiency andmake it a stron-ger actor inworld affairs,and those whowish to confine

it only to humanitarian efforts oreliminate the UN altogether.More recently allegations aboutthe Oil for Food Programme un-der Saddam Hussein and the re-lease of the Volker Report havestimulated more attention to theissue of reform.

US Relationship to the UNThe US relationship with the

UN has waxed and waned overthe years. With the headquarterslocated in New York, each andevery US Presidentwhether asupporter or critic of theorganizationappears annuallyto address the body in theopening days of the GeneralAssembly in September. TheUS Mission to the UN, withimmediate access to all theworld’s governmentsthrough UN channels, isheaded by an Ambassa-dor who over the yearshas sat on the President’sCabinet or not. Thatposition is a Presidentialappointment generally con-firmed by the US Senate, thoughthe current appointee does notserve with that distinction.

The UN has always hadproblems with member nationsrefusing to pay the assessmentlevied upon them in compliance

with the Charter. For the first 40years the US modeled respon-sible payment. That changed withthe Reagan administration whenthe US refused to pay until somereforms were made, like a per-centage reduction in assessmentsto certain programs. According tosome sources the US arrears tothe UN currently total over $1.3billion. HR bill 1146 seeks an endto all US participation in the UN.

Since 1991, when the USassumed the role of the “singlesuperpower,” there have beentensions created over what someperceive as US unilateraldemands on the organization.Our country’s use of the veto inthe Security Council has seen adramatic change since the timewhen the Soviet Union was #1.The issue of using force in 2003to make Iraq comply with UN reso-lutions was not one endorsed by allmembers of the Security Council.

In September 2005, at theconclusion of the 2005 WorldSummit, more than 150 heads ofstate reaffirmed their commitmentto realizing the Millennium

Development Goals with the keybenchmarks for measuringprogress toward eradicatingpoverty and hunger, achievinguniversal primary education andcombating HIV/AIDS.

Our role as“the world’s only

superpower” is in direneed of reassessment.


Susan Pyburn

e stood in the shadowsand leaned into the brickbuilding holding a sax

between his legs. AmazingGrace floated over the dark andempty street. His saxophoneshone in the ambient lightthat drifted down from thenoisy end of Bourbon Street.

It had been eight monthssince my mother had died.Now, a stranger’s song fellon me like a blessing. It iswhat I remember bestfrom that time in NewOrleans so many sea-sons past.

Art wakes usup. Art rises fromfetid waters in avapor of hope.Music, poetry,essays, photodocumentariessoothe the soul. Artis the bird on the wire, the wingof a prayer, the minor key in thesong. The rhythm in the dancethat eases the pain, for the workto go on.

Swamped by a tidal wave ofsuffering rushing in from the gulf,I am swept up in the televisioncoverage, transfixed by ghastlyimages. Powerless. Scenes ofchaos and loss cascade over thescreen in a repeating loop. Myheart cries out for resolution, fororder, for relief.

In time, we turn away, back tothe comfort of our private rituals.The collective sorrow builds,cloaked in shame, outrage, anddisgust, which we ought to feelall the time at the sight ofchildren starving in a mother’sarms, haunted eyes stunned by

Susan Pyburn is awriter andphotographerliving in San LuisObispo, CA.

Art Engaging Us to Action

hloss whether in Louisiana oraround the world.

Five nights later Aaron Nevillecradles a mike, wailing out amourning—Loueeezeeana…..Loueezeeana—they’re trying to

wash us away.They’re trying towash us away. Thelyrics are eerilycurrent. I have heard

his song before. But itnever rang so true.

My heartopens intothe relief ofgrief. Bodies

float on toxicbrown water

where only last weekstreets defined neigh-

borhoods of homes, fami-lies and schools.A friend from Maine calls

with a poem she has written.Watching the horror unfold, herwords poured out ina requiem. I am re-minded that action isalways possible.Through the balm ofwords, a song com-posed in a minor key,a photograph sear-ing a moment ontopaper, we are trans-formed into community.

Oprah takes her crew into thedying city. Brushing away tearsshe looks into the lens and tellsus how it feels to enter the SuperDome, into the grey light, theblinding stench where thousandslived for five long days and nights.Her gritty montage of picturesand words galvanizes me. I pickup the phone and call the RedCross. I must act.

Ernest Becker says: “The artist’sgift is always to creation itself, tothe ultimate meaning of life, toGod.” Thank God for the artists.It is Her voice that moves us totears, to dance, to give and speakout; standing together in themisery and the mystery as weclimb over the bodies and into theboat to dry land. Artists engageus at the impasse, transforming itinto something numinous andhealing. We are lifted from theswamp of fear.

Inspired and affirmed, we setout again to empower women,protect the mothers and babies,and end HIV and AIDS. TheMillennium Development Goalscall us to remake our world in theimage of God where no onegoes to bed hungry. We mustconsecrate the earth in a trueglobal partnership so that futuregenerations will flourish. Toremain stuck is to die.

The notes fromWynton’s horn flystraight to my hearttouching a part Ididn’t know wasaching, a sweet partthat remembers thattrip to New Orleansyears ago. Withoutart, we die of a

broken heart. With so much leftto do.

Precious Lord, take myhand… the waters move, spiritstirs, tears fall, and there is action.The pond is turning, the anthemburning, echoing over theairwaves. I sit down to listen tothe amazing grace. And getready.

Art wakes us up.Art rises from

fetid waters in avapor of hope.


By 2015 all the United Nations member states have pledged to:

Goal 1: Eradicate extreme poverty & hunger• Reduce by half the proportion of people living on less than a dollar a day and those who suffer from hunger.Current Reality: Global poverty rates are falling. In Asia the number of people living on less than $1 US a day

dropped by nearly a quarter of a billion. However, one out of six people in the world still live on less than a $1a day. Hunger continues to be a daily reality for 850 billion people, a majority of whom live in China, India and Africa.

Goal 2: Achieve universal primary education• Ensure that all children complete a full course of primary schooling.Current Reality: Close to 115 million children do not attend school and more than one out of four adults in the

world cannot read or write. Ensuring universal primary education is within reach. Five developing regions,including India, are approaching 100% enrollment. Sending every child in the world to school would cost $10billion a year, half of what Americans spend on ice cream.

Goal 3: Promote gender equality & empower women• Eliminate gender disparity in primary and secondary education, preferably by 2005, and at all levels by 2015.Current Reality: Seventy-five percent of illiterate people are women. However, women work two-thirds of the

world’s working hours; produce half of the world’s food; earn only 10% of the world’s income; and own less than1% of the world’s property. More than eighty countries are taking specific actions to guarantee women’spolitical participation. The proportion of higher government positions held by women is increasing, albeitslowly, with women holding only 16% of parliamentary seats worldwide.

Goal 4: Reduce child mortality• Reduce by two thirds the mortality rate of children under five.Current Reality: Eleven million children, 30,000 a day, die each year before age five from preventable or treatable

causes. This number is down from fifteen million in 1980 and should continue to decrease as countries expandexisting programs that promote simple, low-cost solutions.

Goal 5: Improve maternal health• Reduce by three quarters the maternal mortality ratio.Current Reality: More than half a million women die each year during pregnancy or childbirth. Twenty times that

number suffer serious injury or disability. Bangladesh and Egypt drastically reduced maternal mortality rates bycreating more comprehensive medical care paired with education and outreach to women.

Goal 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria & other diseases• Halt and begin to reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS, the incidence of malaria and other

major diseases.Current Reality: Forty million people are living with HIV, including 4.9 million infected

in 2004. AIDS is the fourth largest killer worldwide and has become the leading causeof premature death in sub-Saharan Africa. Together malaria and TB claim the lives ofalmost three million people each year. Countries like Brazil, Senegal, Thailand andUganda have shown that the spread of HIV can be stemmed through educationprevention and treatment.

Goal 7: Ensure environmental sustainability• Integrate the principles of sustainable development into country policies and programs

and reverse the loss of environmental resources.• Reduce by half the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water and

significantly improve the lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers by 2020.

The Millennium Development Goals and Targets

Girl enjoys new water station inLempira, Honduras.

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Maureen Finneranis on staff at IPJC.


Current Reality (Goal 7): More than one billion people lack access to safe drinking water and more than twobillion lack sanitation. One out of six people in the world reside in urban slums. During the 1990’s, however,nearly one billion people gained access to safe water and the same number to sanitation. Action to preventfurther deterioration of the ozone layer and a demonstrated global commitment to sustainable developmentshows that progress toward environmental sustainability is possible.

Goal 8: Develop a global partnership for development• Develop further an open trading and financial system that includes a commitment to good governance,

development and poverty reduction—nationally and internationally.• Address the least developed countries’ special needs including enhanced, comprehensive debt relief and more

generous official development assistance for countries committed to poverty reduction.• Develop decent and productive work for youth.• In cooperation with pharmaceutical companies, provide access to affordable essential pharmaceuticals.• In cooperation with the private sector, make available the benefits of new technologies, especially information

and communications technologies.Current Reality: Official aid to developing countries reached a record high of $79 billion in 2004. Only five

countries’ contributions currently meet or exceed the United Nations target of 0.7 percent of national income.To achieve the Millennium Development Goals increased aid and debt relief must be accompanied by furtheropening of trade, accelerated transfer of technology, and improved employment opportunities for the growingranks of young people in the developing world.

hey are simple paper dolls,some small enough to be

folded into a schoolbook, otherstaller than the school childrenwho made them. Some havecolorful button eyes, or crayonedhair, or pleated fabric skirts. Manycarry written messages to govern-ment leaders. There are morethan 3.5 million of them: thehandiwork of school childrenfrom 110 countries, made onbehalf of their counterpartswho can’t attend school.

Creating paper “friends”is a project of the Global Cam-paign for Education (GCE), aninternational network of develop-ment organizations and teachers’unions. GCE members lobby theworld’s governments to achieveuniversal primary education. Theidea of the Send a Friend toSchool campaign is that eachpaper “friend” represents one

Education: Send a “Friend” to Schoolchild who is not in school. Inreality, each of those 3.5 millionpaper dolls represents at least 28children denied an education. ButGCE and children worldwide areworking to change that.

This past April, when schoolchildren presented their

“friends” to the Presidents ofBurkina Faso, Mali and Niger,each of the statesmen signedpledges to send more of their na-tions’ children to school.

After months of lobbying bythe Irish GCE coalition anddeliveries of many paper “friends,”

Ireland’s Development Ministersigned a pledge to ensure that thecountry meets its commitment toincrease Overseas DevelopmentAid to 0.7% of its gross nationalproduct—in line with UN recom-mendations.

On September 13th, childrendelivered 100,000 “friends” tothe UN World Summit in New

York, accompanied by KimaniNg’ang’a, the world’s oldestprimary school student. Hewas finally able to enrolllast year, at the age of 84,

after the Kenyan governmentabolished public school fees.David Archer, of ActionAid Inter-national in London, notes,“Whilst Mr. Kimani is an inspira-tion to us all, we can’t allow 100million children to wait until theyare 85 years old… to go to school.”www.campaignforeducation.org

t


t was one of the happi-est days of our lives,” saysServete Ramadani of the

day that the families in hervillage received a donation of 42goats from Heifer Project Inter-national (HPI), an anti-hungerand agricultural developmentorganization.

Like many of the world’shungry people, Servete’s crisiswas triggered by war. She liveswith her mother-in-law and four

children in Krusha EMadhe, an ethnic Alba-nian village in Kosovo.More than 200 of her

village’s 5,000 residents—includ-ing her husband and herbrother—were killed during the1999 war. Servete was one of900,000 Kosovans who fled the

Hunger: Goats Bring Hope to Villageviolence. Whenthey returnedhome, they founddisaster: familymembers killed,homes burnedand bombed,farms destroyed.

Soon, though,the seeminglysmaller losses ledto ongoing crisisin Krusha E Madhe. Over 70percent of the animals in Kosovohad been killed, stolen or slaugh-tered. “When we returned to ourvillage,” said Ilmije Hiseni, wholives in a small Roma communitynear Krusha E Madhe, “This iswhen we understood what poormeans. We heard someone wasgiving away biscuits. We took

what we could andthat is how wesurvived for weeks;”

HPI began workingin Kosovo immedi-ately after the war, fo-cusing on agriculturaland animal husbandrytraining. The dona-tions of cows andgoats—coupled withthe training—has

helped Krusha E Madhe’sresidents fend off hunger, andbegin to rebuild their community.“Before, we only ate bread andtea,” Servete said. “Now we havemilk from the goats, and the healthof our children is tremendous.These goats have changed ourlives…We have an opportunity toface the future.” www.heifer.org

ast May, people in ElSocorro, Honduras, gave

speeches of appreciation,sang songs they had composed,and shared a meal of handmadetamales—all to celebrate theirnew water system. Still, it was abittersweet occasion for some of

El Socorro’sresidents, likeS o y l a c h i c aCerran, whose19-month-oldson had diedafter contract-ing a suddenfever—the kindof illness oftencaused by lack

of access to clean water.Water 1st, a Seattle-based

nonprofit organization, providedfunding for the water project. “Acompleted water project is trans-

Environmental Sustainability: Waterforming for individuals andcommunities,” says Marla SmithNilson, Water lst’s ExecutiveDirector, who attended the Maycelebration. “I remember my veryfirst visit to a completed waterproject 15 years ago in anothercommunity in Honduras. Avillager, Maria Chicas, told meshe felt like she ‘had more hands’now that she wasn’t having tospend so much time every daycollecting water.”

Access to water gives thecommunity more hands, too. InEl Socorro, they have alreadychosen their next developmentproject: building a road. “Thewater project in El Socorro showsthat water is the foundation onwhich strong communities arebuilt,” explains Marla.

People all over the world—usually women and children—are

forced to make daily treks forwater—sapping their energy andstealing long hours from othereconomic and social activities.Successful water projects can leadto real social change. “I’ve seenwomen empowered by theseprojects actually run for politicaloffice, and win—things that wereabsolutely unheard of in thesecommunities before the waterproject,” says Marla.

Working in communities inBangladesh, Ethiopia, Hondurasand India, Water 1st supports com-munity-run projects that integrateaccess to safe water, sanitation, andhealth education. Water 1st oper-ates on the firm belief that theglobal community has the re-sources to provide safe drinkingwater to everyone in the world—if those in wealthy countries makeit a priority. www.water1st.org

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UN’s NGOs: A Ministry of NW Religious CongregationsNon Governmental Organizations (NGOs) at the United Nations are being formed and influenced by many religious congre-

gations as part of their justice ministry. A strong network of over 1,000 NGOs work at the UN, bringing a range of global issuesto the attention of world leaders. The following are highlights of the NGOs with connections to our northwest communities.

U N A N I M A

A coalition of 13 congregations of women

religious. Founded in 2002.

Focus: Women and children, human

trafficking, immigrants and refugees, and

the welfare of the Earth.

Progress: UNANIMA recently brought

women with personal experiences of

being trafficked to testify at the

Convention to Eliminate Discrimination

against Women. Testimony included a

Guinean woman’s story of being sold by

her family to an older male in order to pay

off debt. As a result of the women’s

testimony, governments were

publicly chastised and further

held accountable for their

trafficking practices.

F R A N C I S C A N SI N T E R N A T I O N A LEstablished in 1989 to serve all Franciscansand the global community by bringingspiritual, ethical, and Franciscan values toUnited Nations forums and agendas.Focus: Development, human rights, peace,

and the environment.Progress: Over 200 Franciscans haveparticipated in human rights training,equipping grassroots Franciscans withprocedures to address injustice in their owncommunities. FI has also traveled to eightcountries to give programs on human traf-ficking and modern day slavery. At theUN level, progress has been madeby amending the language ofinternational standards to be moreinclusive of women, children andthe economically disadvantaged.

S I S T E R S O F S T . J O S E P H O FP E A C E

Began their NGO status in 1996. The congrega-tion promotes social justice as a path to peace.Focus: Women, violence and exploitation,environment with emphasis on waterProgress: This fall the United Statesrepresentative to the UN, John Boltonplanned to propose 750 objections tothe draft agreement on the changesthat are needed to make the UNrelevant to the challenges of the 21stcentury, including the MDGs. Thecommunity mobilized its members andconstituencies to respond. Boltonchanged his recommendations.

D O M I N I C A N S F O R J U S T I C E

A N D P E A C E A T T H E U N

Created in 1998 by the Order of Preachers as a

permanent presence at the United Nations

Commission on Human Rights.

Focus: Peace, Iraq, women, human trafficking

and HIV/AIDS.

Progress: The relationship built over time

with the UN Secretary’s office, has been

critical to the success of the Domini-

cans. This year, representatives from

the Dominicans were invited to sit-in

on round-table discussions with UN

leaders and give input on global

issues, specifically the situation in Iraq.

“NGOs arethe leaven andconscience of

the UN.”—Kitty Parisi, CSJP

Justice & PeaceCoordinator

“Justice workat a local level is

interconnected withjustice work at a

global level.”—Eileen Gannon,Dominican NGO

at UN


i n t e r c o m m u n i t yJustice for WomenCome Join a Movement!Our Women’s Justice Circles recently:

• Increased shelter funding

• Changed transportation systems

• Met with Governor Gregoire’sExecutive Policy advisor, AntonioGinatta, concerning the Real ID Act

• Educated about the Safe HaborsProject

• Improved access to emergency servicesfor victims of domestic violence

• Met with Terry Bergeson, StateSuperintendent of Public Education,and are acting on behalf of Latinostudents

For details call IPJC: [email protected] or www.ipjc.org

Thanks to a generous donor, our IPJCcommunity was represented at the PeaceMarch and Lobby Day in Washington, DC,September 24-26 by Charlene Hudon, SP andMary Ellen Robinson, SNJM. They metpeople from all over the world. From thewoman who is a Eucharistic minister at thehospital caring for our wounded troops to theVietnam vet to the many who had been on

buses all night, they all came because they want a world at peace. Charlene andMary Ellen were among 1000 citizen lobbyists who went to Capitol Hill to meet withover 300 members of Congress and/or their staff. Their message: End the war in Iraq.

NWCRI Takes Millennium DevelopmentGoal 6 to Corporate BoardroomsThe UN Millennium Development Goals Progress Report recognized that the HIVsituation had become so grave that the achievement of all the other Goals hinges onkeeping the pandemic in check and providing treatment for those already infected.

Facts• AIDS is the leading cause of premature deaths in sub-Saharan Africa and the

fourth largest killer world wide. HIV is spreading fastest in Central Europe and Asia.

• An estimated 39 million people are living with HIV, which translates intoincalculable human suffering and a reversal of decades of development progressin the affected countries.

2005: The number of people receiving antiretroviral therapy increased from 440,000to 700,000only 12% of those who would benefit from therapy.

Fact: Malaria claims the lives of a million people a year, mostly young children, and isestimated to have slowed economic growth in African countries by 1.3% a year.

2005: Among the most effective tools for prevention are insecticide-treated mosquitonets. Distribution has increased tenfold since 2000.

The Northwest Coalition for Responsible Investment, in collaboration with theInterfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility, is engaged in dialogue or shareholderresolutions with 8 major pharmaceutical companies and numerous corporations doingbusiness in countries affected by the HIV/AIDS and malaria pandemics. We are addressingareas of drug research, pediatric needs, accessibility, and healthcare for employees.

Action• Request a copy of our 2005 NWCRI Annual Report. See Resources.• Observe World AIDS Day on December 1. Resources: www.unaids.org

Sisters Participate in DC Peace March

Members of the Womenís Hearth JusticeCircle meet with Sen. Brown

Fall Circles in SpanishBellevue Seattle

Mabton Toppenish

Mount Vernon Vancouver

Sunnyside

Fall Circles in EnglishRenton

Seattle

Spokane


p e a c e & j u s t i c e c e n t e r

Events“Woman of Spirit” LuncheonBenefiting Woman Spirit Center andhonoring Karen Moyer at Salty’s on AlkiBeach on November 3, Noon2 pm. Call: 425.641.1527

Jose “Chencho” Alas Speaksat St. Leo Church, TacomaArchbishop Romero’s advisor and friendspeaks on the current situation in ElSalvador and other issues, Sunday,October 23rd. Contact (253) 627-2857or [email protected].

United WayDesignate IPJC with United WayThis year please consider writing in IPJCon your United Way Pledge. This is onemore important way for us to receive

support for doingthe work of peaceand justice that isso needed in ourworld.

Matching programWhen you designate IPJC also let usknow if your company has a matchingprogram that will donate to IPJC.

If your company participates in amatching program, please let us knowso that we can double your donation.

Wish ListAir miles for our Corporate SocialResponsibility work

In-kind printing

Professional carpenters, gardeners,and maintenance workers for facilityrepairs

The Power of ONE: Faith and Global Justice ConferenceIPJC and Bread for the World are convening this free offering event on theMillennium Development Goals on Saturday, November 19th. See invitation abovefor details or call IPJC at (206) 223-1138.


Intercommunity Peace & Justice Center1216 NE 65th StSeattle, WA 98115

return service requested

phone: 206.223.1138fax: 206.223.1139 (NEW)email: [email protected]: www.ipjc.org

A Matter of Spiritis a publication of theIntercommunity Peace& Justice Center

SPONSORING COMMUNITIES

Adrian Dominican Sisters

Oregon Province Jesuits

Sisters of the Holy Namesof Jesus and Mary,Washington Province

Sisters of Providence,Mother Joseph Province

Sisters of St Francisof Philadelphia

Sisters of St Joseph ofPeace, Western Province

Tacoma Dominicans

AFFILIATE COMMUNITIES

Benedictine Sisters ofCottonwood, Idaho

Benedictine Sisters of Lacey

Benedictine Sisters ofMt. Angel

Religious of the SacredHeart

Sinsinawa Dominicans

Sisters of Charity of theBlessed Virgin Mary

Sisters of the Holy Namesof Jesus and Mary of Oregon

Sisters of St. Joseph ofCarondelet

Sisters of St. Mary of Oregon

Ursuline Sisters of theRoman Union

EDITORIAL BOARDJudy Byron, OPMaureen FinneranGretchen Gundrum, PhDLinda Haydock, SNJMPat HigginsBeth Taylor, CSJPRoger Yockey, SFO

Layout: Michael Schwindeller

Millennium Development Goals ResourcesWebsitesUnited Nations Millennium Development Goalswww.un.org/millenniumgoals

The Millennium Projectwww.unmillenniumproject.org

Bread for the Worldwww.bread.org

Debt Reliefwww.50years.org

Center of Concernwww.coc.org

The One Campaignwww.one.org

UN Millennium Campaignwww.millenniumcampaign.org

Books & ReportsGold, Lorna. “More than a Numbers Game?Ensuring that the Millennium Development GoalsAddress Structural Injustice.” Center Focus, Issue#168, September 2005.

Caroline Sweetman, Gender and the MillenniumDevelopment Goals. Oxfam, 2005

NWCRI 2005 Annual Reportwww.ipjc.org

Sachs, Jeffrey. The End of Poverty: EconomicPossibilities for Our Time. Penguin Press, 2005.

United Nations. The Millennium Development GoalsReport 2005. UN Dept. of Public Information, 2005.http://millenniumindicators.un.org

Eight Millennium Development Goals,Eight Actions

Goal 1: For one day, experience living on just $1.

Goal 2: When reading and watching thenews, examine the links between war and

conflict and lack of access to education.

Goal 3: Read one article or book as a familyor community group and identify ways thatyou will support and promote gender equity.

Goal 4: Sign the ONE declaration to lend yourvoice to the fight against global AIDS and extremepoverty. Wear a ONE Campaign wristband.

Goal 5: On November 19th attend The Power ofONE: Faith and Global Justice Conference atSeattle University (see page 10 for details).

Goal 6: Write to a pharmaceutical company—Abbott, Bristol Myers-Squibb, Merck—to requestthat generic and pediatric HIV/AIDS drugs bedeveloped and accessible to the poor.

Goal 7: Identify one environmentalorganization in your region and find out oneaction you can participate in related to theissue of water.

Goal 8: Write to Paul Wolfowitz, the Presidentof the World Bank, and thank him for the debtcancellation of the 18 global south countries.Ask him to extend the debt cancellation tothe additional countries that are insignificant economic [email protected]

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