Summer 2007, Volume 50, Number 2

A World Where Everyone Counts
by Elena Hoye, PBVM

The United Nations (UN) is an international organization that works to prevent war, to safeguard human rights, to provide a mechanism for international law, and to promote social and economic progress, improve living standards and fight diseases. It gives the opportunity for countries to balance global interdependence and national interests when addressing international problems. Toward these ends it ratified a Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948.

Cooperating in the effort to solve human problems are more than 30 affiliated organizations, known together as the UN system. Day in and day out, the UN and its family of organizations work to create a world where collaboration is possible, dialogue is the preferred method of decision-making, and where each individual person matters. UN agencies define the standards for safe and efficient air travel and help improve telecommunications and enhance consumer protection. The UN leads the international campaigns against drug trafficking and terrorism. Throughout the world, the UN and its agencies assist refugees, set up programs to clear land mines, help expand food production and lead the fight against AIDS.

To help influence and offer accurate information about global realities, the International Presentation Association (IPA) has established an non-governmental organization (NGO) presence at the UN. Fargo Presentation, Sister Sharon Altendorf serves as the Presentation NGO. Sister shares the experiences and wisdom of Presentation sisters from around the world as she brings insights, hopes and dreams and suggestions for a world where EVERYONE COUNTS.

United Nations Labors on Behalf of Women
by Joetta Venneman, PBVM

Presentation sisters from around the world have chosen to advocate for women and children. I was among five Presentation sisters who attended the 51st United Nations Commission on the Status of Women, a gathering essential to know the “global pulse” on women and the issues important to them.

At the end of the Commission, published outcomes provided direction for ending discrimination and violence against the girl child with time-bound measurable actions. These recommendations and reports to the Council focused on promoting women’s rights in the political, economic, civil, social and educational fields.

The two most influential sessions were Reversing HIV/AIDS in Women and Gender Based Violence in Iraq. In the first session, discussions centered around: What factors contribute to HIV/AIDS in your community/country? What are some effective measures and good practices to reducing HIV/AIDS? The richness in the small groups was due to the insights that people brought from different parts of the world.

A report published by MADRE, “Promising Democracy, Imposing Theocracy: Gender Based Violence and the U.S. War on Iraq,” addressed the role the United States has played in gender based violence in Iraq since the invasion in 2003. An Iraqi woman, currently under a death threat, spoke of the attitude that “women don’t have a right to live in Iraq.” As an example, she described prisons that contain specific rooms for the abuse of women. She believes that every bomb explodes twice, first when it hits its target and second when basic needs for women and children are destroyed. A section of the report describes how the former U.S. Ambassador, Zalmay Khalilzad, enabled the legalizing of violence against women in Iraq’s new constitution.

I felt this commission ended with an overwhelming message that women really do need to be placed back into the category of human. When we cease to view women as a commodity and see women as human, then discrimination will “roll away.”


Bolivian Missionaries Attend Forum on Indigenous Issues
by Maura McCarthy, PBVM, and Peggy Ryan, OP

The Sixth United Nations Forum on Indigenous Issues took place at the United Nations in New York from May 11-25, 2007. As observers, we were struck by the magnitude of the world of indigenous peoples — those who historically originate in a specific area, retain their culture, traditions and language. According to UN reports, there are indigenous people in over 70 countries of the world. They make up 5 per cent of the world population and speak 5,000 distinct languages, all with a distinct culture.

Indigenous peoples are among the most disadvantaged people, suffering discrimination, and social exclusion. Their cultures and languages are repeatedly suppressed, their identity denied, traditional knowledge stolen. They are frequently moved from their traditional lands in the name of development, with dams inundating their lands, logging, mining, oil and gas exploration, devastating their territories without their consent. Toxic dumping on indigenous lands is common without their permission. Their traditional lands are often taken over for military purposes, sometimes for military maneuvers or for nuclear testing.

Sonia Smallacombe, a member of the Maramanindji people in the Daly River region of the Australian Northern Territory, noted the vital role that indigenous play in learning to respect the planet. Indigenous leaders can offer their traditional knowledge and best practices to keep the planet healthy. The death of aborigine elders and the loss of an indigenous language are equivalent to the burning down of a library, added Ms. Smallacombe. Today, many indigenous peoples are engaged in a struggle to remain on their lands and preserve their natural resources.

We became aware that the “lucha”, or struggle of the Guaraní people and other Indian peoples of Bolivia, where we both minister, is part of a massive worldwide struggle of all “first nations” or aboriginal peoples to survive, and ultimately of all peoples to preserve life on our planet.