CWS praises UN resolution on water access as human right
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Photo: Paul Jeffrey/ACT Alliance
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Church World Service is praising a UN General Assembly resolution on Wednesday (July 28) that recognizes the human right to access to water and sanitation.
The historic non-binding resolution -- approved by a vote of 122 for, 0 against and 41 abstentions – was introduced by Bolivia, and co-sponsored by 33 other countries. The resolution states that the UN General Assembly recognizes "the right to safe and clean drinking water and sanitation as a human right that is essential for the full enjoyment of life and all human rights.” Read more. |
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CWS situation report: Pakistan flooding
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Photo: Allan Calma, CWS-P/A
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Though monsoon floods in Pakistan are not unusual, CWS Pakistan staff report that the scale and the magnitude of this season's rainfall is substantially greater than usual, causing loss of communications and massive damage and destruction. The vast flooding is shaking the lives of millions.
CWS is distributing food packages and shelter material (plastic sheets) for flood affected families in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces. CWS has also put into action a mobile health unit to help meet emergency needs.
Read more. |
CWS emergency appeal: 2010 U.S. summer emergencies
Recent flooding in parts of the Midwest has put additional pressure on a region already hard hit by earlier floods and tornadoes. Hundreds of homes in at least four states have been damaged or destroyed. Read more.
The need for CWS Emergency Clean-up Buckets far outstrips what's on hand, says CWS Emergency Response Specialist Bryan Crousore. You can help.
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Shelter, local procurement, civil society involvement head list for Haiti
Massive shelter issues, the need for local procurement, improved engagement with civil society, and additional funding head the list of requirements for successful reconstruction in Haiti, a group of Haitian and U.S. advocates told members of Congress and interfaith leaders in two Washington events yesterday (July 27).
Speaking before a hearing of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) in Washington on Tuesday, (July 27) and during a morning interfaith breakfast, Camille Chalmers, Executive Director of Plateforme Haitienne de Plaidoyer pour un Developpement Alternatif (PAPDA - Haitian Platform to Advocate for Alternative Development), stressed the need for greater involvement of civil society in the devastated country's recovery, saying, "despite this great wealth of national expertise... reconstruction planning has been quite exclusive" to date. Read more.
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Statement on the temporary injunction against parts of Arizona's new immigration law
Church World Service welcomed U.S. District Court Judge Susan Bolton's temporary injunction against the implementation of parts of Arizona's controversial new immigration law SB 1070, scheduled to take effect Thursday (July 29), and reiterated its call for a federal fix of America's broken immigration system. Read more.
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The long road to recovery in Haiti: Some close-ups
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Photo: Catianne Tijerina/ACT Alliance
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Soon after the January earthquake, members of a community-based group began a feeding program in northern Haiti for some of those displaced. In the southern coastal city of Jacmel, a group of disaster survivors banded together and moved onto the grounds of a local church. And, in Port-au-Prince, a woman who gave birth to her infant son 12 days after the quake wondered what she would do next. CWS's Chris Herlinger follows up to learn how they are doing six months after the devastation and what their plans are for the future. Read more.
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Haiti: To praise the government or pass judgment?
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Photo: Catianne Tijerina/ACT
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When should humanitarian groups publicly criticize governments and when should they stay quiet?
It is a question that has bedeviled humanitarian groups in recent years (think of Darfur, for example) and it is now being asked in Haiti, and among ACT Alliance members, in the recent commemoration of the six-month anniversary of the January 12 earthquake.
Pushing the question to the forefront was a June 25 op-ed piece in the Los Angeles Times by Erik Johnson, humanitarian response coordinator for ACT member DanChurchAid, based in Copenhagen, Denmark. Read more.
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