Father Paolo Benanti, a member of the United Nations' advisory body on AI and adviser to Pope Francis on ethics and technology, visited the Microsoft campus on July 23 to speak with Brad Smith, the tech giant's president.

Seattle University President Eduardo Peñalver introduced the "unlikely pair," who met five years ago at the Vatican while working on developing the "Rome Call for AI Ethics," a document and commitment by entities around the world to embrace key principles in shaping technology.

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So said Francesca Albanese to a Catholic audience in Wellington recently.

Albanese is the UN's Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

But the Israel-Palestine issue has a simple solution, she says.

Israel needs to end its military occupation of the West Bank and its blockade of Gaza.

An international peacekeeping force then needs to move in to protect civilians for as long as it takes to reach a permanent solution.

Albanese said this "two-state solution" was where the international consensus lay, but that could not happen until Israel ended its occupation of the Palestinian territories it seized in the 1967 war with its neighbours.

Governments around the world needed to stop tip-toeing about the issue - they need to pressure Israel to withdraw.

"It's very simple. The solution cannot start without ending the military occupation, removing the soldiers and tanks.

"There should be an international force there to ensure stability and peace for the Palestinians and protection of the Israeli settlers [in the West Bank] until they withdraw and give back the land they have stolen.

"We need to go to a place where these two peoples live in peace and, when it happens, it will be the most beautiful place in the world. That is my hope."

Albanese, an Italian human rights lawyer, was appointed the Special Rapporteur in May last year. She has been making a brief visit to New Zealand.

The Ecology, Justice and Peace Commission of the Catholic Archdiocese of Wellington invited her to speak about the bloody war between Israel and Hamas.

It started on 7 October when Hamas, the group which controls Gaza, attacked Israeli civilians on a public holiday, killing 1200 and taking more than 200 hostages.

The Israeli response of declaring war on Hamas has led to a humanitarian crisis in Gaza, with thousands killed and more than a million people displaced.

"The seventh of October has been a ground zero moment" Albanese said. "The status quo between Israel and Palestine is gone. Nothing will ever be the same."

Israel had the right to self-defence but it was illegal to wage war against a civilian population.

"It is an inferno on Earth. I don't know anyone who would identify with the massacre Hamas did, but Palestinian civilians should not have to atone for what Hamas did."

The war was apocalyptic she said. Twelve thousand people had died and almost 30,000 injured.

Some 1.6 million people had been displaced by Israel, emptying 60 per cent of Gaza's small area. The UN had lost a record 100 staff. Forty-five journalists had been killed.

Gaza had been bombed for 46 days, with entire residential areas flattened. There was no water, no food. People were recharging their phones from bicycle-wheel generators.

"An ethnic cleansing will happen if Israel is not stopped" she said. "You can understand my shock when I hear Western leaders struggle to say the one word that can stop all this - ceasefire."

Mons. Gerard Burns of the Archdiocese Ecology, Justice and Peace Commission said Albanese's particular knowledge of the issues was helpful for local Catholics' understanding, preaching and action.

"As members of Christian Churches we have a special interest in what happens in the lands Jesus walked" he said.

"The conflict in those lands over the last 100 years, but especially since 1948, is deeply painful for all involved. It has also been a special concern of the UN, being so closely connected to the first steps of that organisation.

"The land is important to three great faiths which is why the UN, in 1947, proposed a special status for Jerusalem and Bethlehem."

Footnote: The Catholic Church and bishops of Aotearoa NZ have been concerned about events in the Holy Land. These links are to recent commentaries and articles.

• Supplied

Archbishop Paul Gallagher joined a chorus of concerns raised by various speakers regarding artificial intelligence (AI).

"It is imperative to ensure adequate, meaningful and consistent human oversight of weapon systems," Gallagher said.

"Only human beings are truly capable of seeing and judging the ethical impact of their actions, as well as assessing their consequent responsibilities."

UN advisory board on AI

Additionally, the Vatican advocated for the establishment of an international organisation focused on AI to promote scientific and technological exchange for peaceful purposes and the common good.

The United Nations plans to convene an expert advisory board on AI to explore the science, risks, opportunities and governmental approaches surrounding this technology.

AI has become a central point of interest for nations, multinational groups and tech companies, sparking discussions about its potential benefits and risks.

As a non-voting "permanent observer" in the UN, the Holy See delivered one of the most extensive remarks on AI during the assembly.

Archbishop Gallagher highlighted Pope Francis's concerns about the digital world, including: "It is not acceptable that the decision about someone's life and future be entrusted to an algorithm."

Killer robots

Gallagher called for immediate talks to establish a legally binding agreement governing lethal autonomous weapons systems, often called "killer robots." He proposed "a moratorium on them pending the conclusion of negotiations."

UN Secretary-General António Guterres has also supported banning systems that operate without human control or oversight and violate international humanitarian law.

Additionally, Guterres urged countries to work towards a legally binding prohibition by 2026.

However, concerns have arisen about the potential limitations such a prohibition might impose, especially if adversaries or non-governmental groups develop similar systems. Questions persist regarding the distinction between autonomous weapons and existing computer-aided systems.

Sources

AP News

Mirage News

CathNews New Zealand

Addressing a UN expert group in Geneva the commission's Kaitahutahu Rangatahi, Waimihia Maniapoto-Love said there have been periods of good progress towards tino rangatiratanga alongside periods of inactivity.

The Government, the National Iwi Chairs Forum and the commission jointly set about developing a national action plan to implement the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People - or UNDRIP, in 2019. Read more

On 20 July, the newspaper dedicated its front page to condemning the Taliban's decree that all Afghanistan's beauty centres must close down.

The beauty centre closure is a complete shutdown.

The Taliban decree is likely to negatively affect thousands of women-run businesses. Many have families and no other source of income.

The Kabul Chamber of Commerce estimates 50,000 women will lose their jobs as 12,000 businesses close.

The decree has sparked protests and widespread concern. Some 50 women even braved personal danger to protest in the capital city last week.

The Taliban dispersed them with gunfire and fire hydrants.

Afghanistan "has been plunged back into darkness for almost two years now," the article says. (The two-year time span refers to the Taliban's return to power in August 2021.)

Banning beauty centres is the latest in many Taliban efforts to control women's rights.

The centres "were one of the last spaces of freedom and gathering for Afghan women", the article continues.

"Women have been banned from working in NGOs; they have been barred from most secondary schools, universities and public administrations.

"They have been denied access to parks, gardens, sports centres and public bathrooms, while they are once again obliged to cover their faces when they leave their homes."

UN support

The United Nations mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) is gravely concerned about how the Taliban suppressed the women's peaceful protest.

UNAMA condemned it as a significant setback for women's rights in Afghanistan.

The UN mission urges the Taliban to respect citizens' rights to voice their opinions without fear of violence.

As international attention remains on the unfolding situation, Afghan women's plight continues to draw global concern.

Observers are monitoring developments in Afghanistan, particularly in relation to the future of women's rights and gender equality.

The United Nations mission in Unama is also openly supporting the women.

"The news of the forced repression of a peaceful protest by women against the closure of beauty salons, the latest denial of women's rights in Afghanistan, is deeply disturbing,' the UN mission in Unama said in a statement.

It is urging the Taliban "to guarantee the right of citizens to express their views without suffering violence."

Source

• Osservatore Romano

"I am Gabriel, God's messenger," 22-year old Gabriel Cobb told OSV News.

Cobb, pictured with his parents just before going into the UN New York conference hall added: "My faith is the most important part of my life. I like to attend Mass daily and proclaim loudly."

He was set to address a UN gathering of advocates for those with Down syndrome and autism. They were discussing the challenges families face when they are raising children with different developmental expectations and milestones.

"Gabriel is not a professional speaker, but somehow God thinks he has a message to share," his mother Lori Cobb told OSV News.

The family stopped by nearby St Agnes Church on the way to the UN building, she added.

"After all, I am Gabriel, God's messenger," Gabriel reiterated.

At the UN meeting, experts on Down syndrome and autism made some of the first speeches.

One spoke about "international agreements" which "reaffirmed that persons with disabilities are equal in dignity and rights.

"Governments should strive to provide social protection measures to families which are primarily responsible for the development, educational and well-being of children with autism and Down syndrome, and very often remain their main sources of social protection," she said.

Cobb's speech highlighted the role his family played in his life.

"I have two loving parents who have always kept the ball high," he told the UN.

As the Catholic triathlete spoke, a screen of photos played over his right shoulder. He explained each photo: doing chores with his father; playing piano and reading books with his mother. The books include William Shakespeare and Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein."

Other photos showed him swimming, biking and running.

Then he told the UN he is a triathlon athlete, competing in races in which he has to run, swim and bike. He's a repeat triathlete too - he's competed in ten races so far.

"I have done it, I am a triathlete," he exclaimed, to loud applause.

Cobb vowed "to continue to … compete" and he thanked the "coaches, family and friends, who have encouraged me to press boundaries".

With the vow he added a prayer: "I pray that I have given them joy and inspiration, because with their help, I have Down syndrome and I have no limitations."

Source

• OSV News

Defending women's rights, Francis specifically condemned as a "criminal act" female genital mutilation (FGM) and trafficking women for prostitution.

Both these crimes are "humiliating affronts to women's dignity" he said, urging officials to do everything possible to end both.

A global target aims to eradicate female genital mutilation by 2030. Ridding the deeply entrenched practice will protect the next generations of girls, campaigners say. They acknowledge it will be difficult.

The United Nations has designated 6 February as the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation (FGM).

An estimated 200 million women and girls live with the aftermath of the practice, which can result in serious complications and even death. Long term problems can affect health, reproduction and sexual satisfaction. The experience is traumatic.

Prevalent in parts of Africa, the Middle East and Asia, cutting has been performed in communities of different cultures and faiths. Some view it as a rite of passage. For others it's linked to beliefs about chastity, femininity and cleanliness. Social pressure keeps it going.

"It's an entrenched social norm and really deeply rooted in cultural beliefs and sometimes in religious beliefs," a UN official says. "So to be able to make any change, people need to be convinced that this is not threatening their culture."

Some faith leaders are working to eliminate the practice. Others condone it. It's been illegal in Egypt since 2008; top Islamic authorities condemn the practice. Online and television information cites medical evidence of its harms, pointing out it's a custom with no sound religious basis.

There's still opposition to the bans though. This takes many forms: resistance from some religious leaders and other "traditional gatekeepers,". Limited funding is a hindrance. Lack of political will is a problem. There's a perception that ending cutting reflects a "Western-led agenda."

Meanwhile, some women suffering the aftereffects seek healing.

They express feelings of distress, discomfort in their own skin, embarrassment or fears that being cut could stop them from getting married or condemn their marriages to failure. Some want information on medical procedures.

Some considering medical interventions have found specialised treatment. But in many countries, options can be scarce or too costly. There are many treatment gaps and few trained personnel to help.

A few can access private clinics for surgical and non-surgical therapies. Psychological therapy is recommended, but many don't pursue it. Treatment results aren't guaranteed.

"We don't have a recommendation in favour of that at this moment because of the lack of evidence on the safety and the efficacy," said a World Health Organisation spokesperson.

"Any woman who has clitoral reconstruction should be offered sexual health counselling in conjunction with it." Neither the procedure nor such counselling is widely available in high prevalence countries, she added.

Source

• AP News
• Euro News
• Reuters

That's how long it is since the junta overthrew Myanmar's democratically elected government.

Domestic research group Data for Myanmar says troops had torched 28,434 houses since the military seized power on 1 February 2021.

This year in May and June alone, at least 500 homes in historic Catholic villages like Chan Thar and Chaung Yoe in the Sagaing region were set ablaze during junta raids.

In Chin state's Thantlang town, hundreds of homes and several churches including Catholic ones were burned down by junta troops between last September and June this year, Church sources and rights groups say.

Various religious leaders, including Catholic bishops in Myanmar and Pope Francis, have called for the protection of places of worship, hospitals and schools and respect for human life in Myanmar. Their calls have been ignored.

Archbishop Marco Tin Win of Mandalay Archdiocese, which covers the Sagaing region, had called for human dignity and civilian property to be respected amid the junta attacks in several villages in the region. His calls have also been ignored.

In the Sagaing region alone, 20,153 houses have been destroyed. In the Magway region 5,418 houses have been torched. Both regions are Bamar-Buddhist majority areas in central Myanmar.

The predominantly Christian Chin state in the country's western region has seen 1,474 houses burnt, while another 1,389 have been destroyed elsewhere.

All three regions are hotbeds of civilian resistance to the armed People's Defence Forces military rule.

Villagers from those regions have witnessed fierce attacks. These include air strikes, heavy artillery and indiscriminate attacks on civilians.

Civilian homes and property in the Kachin, Kayah and Mon regions, southern Shan state and in Bago, Tanintharyi and Mandalay regions have also been targeted.

Thousands of people have been left internally displaced.

Noeleen Heyzer, the United Nation's special envoy on Myanmar, visited the Southeast Asian nation last month.

During the visit she told Myanmar's military leadership not to burn down villages and civilian properties.

The junta leaders denied committing arson however. Instead, they claimed they were trying to protect civilians.

Their forces have chosen not to adhere to international laws or war ethics.

The military junta's bloody crackdown against the People's Defence Forces shows no sign of abating. So far over 2,200 people have died.

Source

• UCA News

The Southern African Catholic Bishops' Conference (SACBC) says that in the Cabo Delgado region this includes sexploitation for "free" food rations.

"It is prevalent. Since 2020 we have been receiving reports of women and children from whom sex was demanded in exchange for food rations."

Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have published numerous reports of children being recruited by insurgents to fight.

The SACBC says Mozambique's Attorney General blames the press for failing to report the atrocities.

"The journalists responded by saying that they could only report if the government allowed them access to IDP camps," Johan Viljoen from the SACBC says.

The SACBC is welcoming the United Nations' (UN) resolve to investigate violations against children in Mozambique. The UN is also investigating crimes against children in Ukraine and Ethiopia.

The UN report "Children and Armed Conflict" says 2,515 children were killed and 5,555 maimed in global conflicts last year. There were also 6,310 children recruited for conflicts.

Children were also victims of abductions, sexual violence, of school and hospital attacks and denial of aid during conflicts.

"There is no word strong enough to describe the horrific conditions that children in armed conflict have endured" said the UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict.

"Those who survived will be affected for life with deep physical and emotional scars.

"But we must not let these numbers discourage our efforts. They should serve as an impetus to reinforce our determination to end and prevent grave violations against children.

"This report is a call to action to intensify our work to better protect children in armed conflict and ensure that they are given a real chance to recover and thrive."

Catholic news site Aciafrica is seriously concerned about the "prostitution, murder and recruiting of children as young as 11 and 12 years old as soldiers".

Actual figures could be much worse because the UN report is based on reported cases, Aciafrica says.

So far over 50,000 people have been forced to flee their homes, 35,000 of them children below the age of 18. Many have no parents.

"They are forced to have sex with adult men; they are being used for child prostitution," Aciafrica reports.

Viljoen says abused children "will be scarred for life. They will have extensive emotional and mental damage. This is likely to last for life, as there are almost no mental health facilities in Cabo Delgado".

Abusers and those allegedly supervising should be sentenced to prison, he says. He doesn't think they'll be brought to justice though if they're Frelimo party members or senior government officials.

A few people will be picked on to make it look as if something's being done, he says.

"We are glad that the United Nations is investigating," Viljoen says. "However, it would be even better if the Mozambican government were to carry out daily investigations."

He's concerned about the government and UN failure to investigate and prosecute similar abuses in the past.

Source

• Crux

However, today, I am sorry to say to girls that I do not have good news for you. You have grown up with the promise of a better future. Throughout your life, you have seen international forces in Afghanistan as they were stabilizing the region, with the promise of a better future.

Throughout your life, you were told about human rights and that they were also for women and girls.

• You were told that women can rule the world.
• You have seen the powerful women on the news.
• You have gone to school to have a better future.
• You have made plans for a better future.
• You have had dreams and hopes for a better future.

Then, in August 2021, all these promises, plans, dreams and hopes came crashing down one by one until there was nothing left.

After August 2021, you were told to stay home, as otherwise, you would not be safe.

You were told you could leave home only with a male chaperone.

After August 2021, you watched girls in sixth grade and below returning to school, but you know that their happiness is only temporary.

After August 2021, you were not called back to school for seventh grade or above.

You stayed home.

You know from your parents that under the Taliban reign between 1996 and 2001, women and girls were barred from school.

You wonder whether this is going to happen to you, too.

You wonder how you will be able to become a doctor or a lawyer without an education.

After August 2021, you watched as every piece of the country was taken over by the Taliban.

You watched as people were being killed or tortured. Thousands were fleeing. Thousands went into hiding. You are afraid, too. You smiled when you saw women protesting the reign of the Taliban.

That smile disappeared more with every whip they received for daring to protest.

After August 2021, you wondered whether you and your family could find a safe haven somewhere else where girls could have a better future. But you know that no nation is performing evacuations anymore.

You hear that nations do not want to offer resettlement for Afghans anymore.

You hear stories of the people left behind.

On this International Day of the Girl Child, I would like to tell you that there will be a future; however, I cannot make such a promise.

I fear for your future and I fear there is nothing I can do. For this, I apologize.

On Dec. 19, 2011, the U.N. General Assembly adopted Resolution 66/170 and so declared Oct. 11 the International Day of the Girl Child.

The day is focused on working toward empowering girls.

The resolution identifies that "empowerment of and investment in girls, which are critical for ... the meaningful participation of girls in decisions that affect them, are key in breaking the cycle of discrimination and violence and in promoting and protecting the full and effective enjoyment of their human rights, and recognizing also that empowering girls requires their active participation in decision-making processes and the active support and engagement of their parents, legal guardians, families and care providers, as well as boys and men and the wider community."

• Ewelina U. Ochab is a legal researcher, human rights advocate, doctoral candidate and author of the book "Never Again: Legal Responses to a Broken Promise in the Middle East" and more than 30 U.N. reports. She works on the topic of the persecution of minorities around the world.
• This piece was republished from Forbes with permission.

Confirming that terribly sad fact, Catholic Relief Services reports, "Conflict and a lack of aid has triggered a humanitarian disaster, leaving 80 percent of the population in need of assistance, including 2 million children suffering from acute malnutrition.

"Hunger is on the rise, and basic services like education, water, health and sanitation have deteriorated. These conditions triggered an unprecedented cholera outbreak in Yemen - the worst in history."

And to be honest, Yemen was a blip on my radar screen, that is, until I met Barbara Deller.

For 12 years Deller worked as a hospital nurse-midwife in Yemen, and later served as a faculty member of the Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health, advising ministries of health in numerous countries in Africa, Asia and the Middle East.

She explained to me that when Houthi rebels took control of Yemen's government, an Arab coalition led by Saudi Arabia attacked the Houthis because the Houthis are backed by Iran - Saudi Arabia's archrival.

Deller added that the Saudi Arabian-led bombing campaign against the Houthi rebels, as well as the counterattacks by the Houthi's, have greatly increased the suffering of this already desperately impoverished nation of 30 million people.

All sides have resorted to awful atrocities in this war.

However, Saudi Arabia has killed most of the civilians and bombed away much of the country - destroying numerous hospitals, schools, residential areas, water treatment facilities, food manufacturing facilities and farmland.

Furthermore, with U.S. military aid and support from several other nations, Saudi Arabia has been pounding Yemen for the last six years with ongoing airstrikes; and is suffocating Yemen with a crippling air, land and sea blockade.

The Saudi-led campaign could not continue without the military and political support of the U.S.

Friends in Yemen recently shared with Deller that life is hard, bombing continues, and they are constantly in fear.

According to the United Nations "Yemen remains the world's worst humanitarian crisis, and the situation for the millions of affected people is deteriorating … Malnutrition rates in Yemen are at record highs as the country is speeding towards the worst famine the world has seen in decades".

Although President Biden announced the U.S. would no longer supply Saudi Arabia with "offensive" weapons in its war against Yemen, however, he also indicated that his administration would provide the Saudis with "defensive" military support - like providing commercial contractors to service Saudi warplanes which continue to kill countless innocent Yemeni children and adults.

Any support of Saudi Arabia in its brutal war against suffering Yemenis is unconscionable.

• Tony Magliano is an internationally syndicated social justice and peace columnist. He is available to speak at diocesan or parish gatherings. Tony can be reached at tmag6@comcast.net

A group of 12 charities have written to UN special rapporteurs warning they risk losing their tax-deductible donation status under new rules.

Under the planned changes, charities could be deregistered for organising, promoting or having a presence at peaceful assemblies where minor offences are committed or where they fail to meet restrictive rules.

Organisations including the St Vincent de Paul Society, Amnesty International, Oxfam and the Australian Council of Social Service signed the letter. They are seeking to block new regulations for the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission.

Human Rights Law Centre senior lawyer Alice Drury said urgent action was needed from overseas.

"These rules would silence charities at a time when their advocacy is more crucial than ever, as charities support Australian communities through unprecedented crises like catastrophic bushfires and the pandemic," she said.

"These proposed laws are a case of extreme overreach and have no place in a democracy."

"The most important social changes, like women winning the right to vote, First Australians being classified as people instead of fauna, the five-day working week, are all rights fought for with people power," said Sam Klintworth, director of the Amnesty International Australia.

"The idea that peaceful protest could lead to organisations like Amnesty being unregistered is unthinkable in a country that prides itself on giving everyone a fair go."

Assistant Treasurer Michael Sukkar, who oversees the charity regulator Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission, has said that the regulations are needed to ensure activist organisations "masquerading as charities" will no longer be tolerated.

"Australians support charities through donations and tax concessions with the expectation that charities' resources are directed towards charitable works. But, not the promotion of or participation in unlawful activities," he said.

Sukkar's office said the rules are aimed at sustained illegal activity and would not result in deregistration for staff tweets.

There are about 56,000 registered charities across Australia.

Sources

Financial Review

Canberra Times

CathNews NZ

The report by UN special rapporteur Leilani Farha on adequate housing was tabled at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on Tuesday, following her visit to New Zealand in February last year.

Housing speculation, a lack of affordable housing options, limited protection for tenants, substandard housing, the absence of an overarching Te Tiriti (treaty) and human rights based housing strategy, and a lack of adequate social housing or state subsidised housing are the main causes of the crisis, the report says.

Farha said housing had become a "speculative asset" in New Zealand rather than a "home", citing low interest rates coupled with an underdeveloped rental housing system with inadequate tenant protections. Read more

The UN experts' statement will probably be made under the guise of demands that the Vatican takes all necessary steps to prevent abuse. It has the hallmarks of an attempt to undermine Catholic doctrine by using the sex abuse scandals, says Catholic commentator Andrea Gagliarducci (pictured).

The UN experts cannot urge a state to adopt procedures or to change its law. Nor can they question how a state is putting into action their proposals, Gagliarducci points out.

He says back in February 2014, a U.N. Convention for the Rights of the Child committee report took on the Church's teaching on human sexuality and canon law.

In May that same year, another UN report - from the Convention against Torture - suggested child abuse was torture. Its aim in doing so was to push the Holy See to introduce new measures, Gagliarducci says.

In December 2019, Dutch jurist Maud de Boer-Buquicchio was the U.N. Special Rapporteur on sale and sexual exploitation of children.

While she praised the pope's decision that the pontifical secret would no longer apply in cases of accusations and trials involving abuse of minors or vulnerable persons, she urged the Vatican to "enforce mandatory reporting for all clergy and staff who have knowledge of these heinous acts."

Gagliarducci says the final scope of these statements aims to force the Holy See to change canon law to adapt it to a "human rights protocol".

This protocol would subtly back or mention "gender perspective" and "sexual and reproductive rights" - meaning a push for the "right" to abortion.

He says he has seen a statement from the "experts" in advance of publication in which they refer to a letter addressed to the Holy See in April.

Gagliarducci says they expressed "utmost concern about the numerous allegations around the world of sexual abuse and violence" against children" and the Church's attempts to protect the abusers.

They also complained the Holy See's concordats and agreements with states "limit the ability of the civil authority to question, compel the production of documents, or prosecute people" associated with the Church."

The Holy See should "refrain from obstructive practices and to cooperate fully with the civil, judicial, and law enforcement authorities of the countries concerned."

Two Catholic principles are targeted in the article, Gagliarducci says.

One involves the confessional seal, which prevents priests from reporting the contents of confessions to civil authorities.

The second principle is that of the Holy See's sovereignty.

Gagliarducci says the experts specifically want to see an end to the distinction between the Holy See and the Vatican City State, which ensures the protection of religious freedom. This will enable states to have full jurisdiction over the Church.

The expected letter follows up de Boer-Buquicchio's statement and will be signed by four other special rapporteurs.

Source

• The Catholic Telegraph
• CBCP News
• Image:YouTube
  

The Family Court must make changes to ensure women and children are safe, the women's rights committee says.

The UN committee also says it regrets New Zealand had chosen not to established a royal commission of inquiry into the courts.

The committee recommended a royal commission in 2018, after hearing multiple reports the courts were not meeting victims' needs.

The government instead ordered a ministerial review. That review would have a more limited scope than a royal commission.

The committee is concerned the ministerial review did not address the "root causes of the systemic lack of trust and sensitivity" towards female victims in the court. It is also concerned women's safety wasn't part of the inquiry.

The UN committee said these issues led it to believe New Zealand did not implement its recommendation.

It asked for more information about what "appropriate action" it would take to make New Zealand's court system safe, before New Zealand's next appearance before the UN committee in 2022.

In general, New Zealand only reports every four years on its the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). This convention is regarded as the international bill of women's rights.

However, the UN committee has asked New Zealand to complete a two-yearly update, because it is concerned about New Zealand's response to family violence issues.

The committee's report was immediately hailed as "validating" by domestic violence advocates. They have argued for years that the courts do not properly understand family violence, so are unsafe.

Deborah Mackenzie from the charity the Backbone Collective says it is affirming that the UN is listening to victim-survivors' voices about their concerns with the court process.

"New Zealand can't continue to pretend that this is a great place to be a woman or a child. Family and sexual violence is a common occurrence and women keep telling us there is very little protection or support provided to them - partly because there is an inability to see violence and acknowledge it, especially when it doesn't look how we expect."

Natalie Thornburn of the Women's Refuge says the UNs recommendations reflect reality for many women: when they try to seek safety through the Family Court, the violence against them is obscured or invisible.

"That's not because the court doesn't want to do right by people, but because they don't necessarily know how to...it needs a specialist response."

The UN report also notes some issues have improved for women in New Zealand.

These include satisfactory progress on a new abortion law, a national strategy on family violence, protections for migrant women, plus protections for disabled women who were abused by caregivers.

Source

• Stuff
• Image: Lawyers Weekly

In a statement Oct. 6, Archbishop Gabriele Caccia, Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations, said that the reinterpretation of human rights benefited the powerful at the expense of the weak.

"The Holy See is deeply concerned over growing pressure to reinterpret the very foundations of human rights and to compromise their inner unity so as to move away from the protection of human dignity and to satisfy political and economic interests," Caccia said during the 75th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York. Read more

In a May 12 video meeting on the role of faith leaders in addressing the challenges of the current health crisis he pointed out how "extremists and radical groups are seeking to exploit eroding trust in leadership and feed on people's vulnerability to serve their own ends."

Hence, religious leaders can play "a pivotal role … to deliver solutions to not only address the pandemic, but to recover better," Guterres said. Read more

Among them are those working in the garment factories that supply some of the world's biggest fashion brands.

The United Nations says the situation will worsen; predicting half Myanmar's garment workers will be out of work.

The Myanmar Garment Manufacturers' Association says the factories had been hit hard by supply chain disruptions and a slump in orders caused by the pandemic.

The garment sector employs an estimated workforce of 700,000, most of whom are women who moved to the city after their traditional livelihood in agriculture was lost due to climate change.

"It is a very dire situation and the impact that comes with losing their jobs is they will not be able to feed themselves. It's really as basic as that," Araddhya Mehtta, country director of ActionAid Myanmar, says.

"With the factories being shut down, it has meant they have lost their only means of livelihood. That's their lifeline really, for themselves and the families that they support."

The situation is "putting women at greater risk of sexual and domestic violence," Mehtta says.

The government's social protection programme is offering some factory workers 40 per cent of their salaries while factors are shut down.

Unpaid wages

Unpaid wages are also an issue for some workers.

One says she hasn't received her salary since January as the factory owner left without paying more than 300 workers.

"With this current situation, we have to be worried about dying from a lack of food first. We just want our salary for the time that we have worked," she says.

A €5 million emergency cash fund has been established by the EU to support Myanmar's garment workers. Each receives an average payment of US$53 for up to three months.

Over the next few weeks, the fund is expected to reach around 90,000 workers. Seventy per cent of the garments made in Myanmar's factories go to Europe.

Myanmar's own COVID-19 Economic Relief Plan outlines a series of measures to cushion COVID-19s economic impact.

It includes an expansion of low-interest loans to affected businesses, cash-for-work and lending programs for rural areas.

While the money is helpful, ActionAid says more support is needed for casual workers and marginalized groups.

Myanmar has reported 161 confirmed cases of COVID-19 including six deaths and 49 recovered, according to health authorities.

Source

• La Croix
• Image: GFC Garment

In a statement issued late Thursday evening by his spokesperson, the UN chief said that in granting nationality to those who previously had none, Uzbekistan is "profoundly bettering" the lives of a too-often invisible and vulnerable population.

"The Secretary-General commends this achievement as an important contribution to global efforts to end statelessness worldwide by 2024," the statement continued.

The development is a signal of Uzbekistan's strong commitment to leave no one behind as the world enters the Decade of Action for the Sustainable Development Goal (SDGs). Read more

United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right to housing Leilani Farha who has been visiting New Zealand, has issued a statement about her findings.

She said a "more ambitious, innovative and courageous approach" is necessary to solve the housing problem.

The "human rights crisis" has impacted the most marginalised people in New Zealand, she noted.

These include Maori, Pasifika, those from the LGBT community, immigrants, single parents and people with disabilities.

Farha justified her findings by listing a litany of concerns.

"When one in every hundred people is homeless, half of whom are under 25 years; when thousands are living in vehicles or housed in motels provided by the State; when houses are in such disrepair that they cause otherwise preventable illness and disease; and when middle-income earners are finding it difficult to afford and access and or rent a home, the result is not just a housing crisis, it is a human rights crisis of significant proportions," she said.

"These conditions indicate not only violations of the right to housing, but also the right to health, security and life."

In her opinion, Farha said the root of the issue was a speculative housing market that had been supported by successive Governments, who had promoted home ownership as a form of investment.

Source

• Newshub
• Image: Newshub