THE CONGREGATION OF THE MISSION

ISSUES                                                                     REPORTS                                                      ACTIVITIES

2011-2012 UN Conferences and Events

Conference on Sustainable Development  On December 15 and 16, the Second Intersessional Meeting of the UN Conference on Sustainable Development will take plac. See link below for more details on all preparations for the Conference.

The Commission for Social Development, February   1 - 14, 2012 (New York) In resolution 10/10, the Economic and Social Council decided that that the priority theme for the 2011–2012 review and policy cycle should be "Poverty Eradication", taking into account its relationship with social integration and full employment and decent  work for all. Visit the Commission page

The Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues,  May 7-18, 2012 (New York)
Special Theme: The Doctrine of Discovery: its enduring impact on indigenous  peoples and the right to redress for past conquests (articles 28 and 37 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples)For information, click here

Rio+20 ( Brazil) June 4-6, 2012 
20 years after the 1992  United Nations Conference on Environment and Development people from all
over the world will gather and discuss how to best manage our common  future in a sustainable and lasting way.

Additional Themes for 2011-2012

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The Millennium Development Goals
In September 2010, heads of state and governments from around the world will convene at the 65th United Nations General Assembly to evaluate progress toward meeting the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) established in 2000. The Congregation of the Mission together with other NGOs and faith-based organizations is working, through education and advocacy, to help insure a successful outcome to this MDG Review.
 
Climate Change and Poverty
At the start of the 64th United Nations General Assembly in September 2009, the Secretary General and international leaders addressed the global challenge of climate change in a high level summit. This challenge was subsequently addressed in later international conferences. The Congregation of the Mission in partnership with other NGOs is currently addressing the connection between climate and poverty through education and advocacy. 

Reaching out to Haiti in its Time of  Need                                                                                The earthquake that devastated the Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince, and surrounding areas in January 2010 killed more than 200,000 people, injured 300,000 and destroyed hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses. Haiti, the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere before the earthquake, is struggling to recover. The Congregation of the Mission, with its partners in the Vincentian Family, seeks to contribute to the sustainability of the Haitian society by means of Zafen, a microfinancing institution. 

In the news........
Ban stresses role of NGOs in helping transitional countries build institutions

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Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today stressed that non-governmental organizations (NGOs) can play a crucial role in supporting countries in transition as they work to build and strengthen their fledgling institutions with the assistance of  the United Nations.
Meeting  representatives of the NGO community at UN Headquarters in New York, Mr. Ban  noted  that many countries in the Middle East and North Africa undergoing the Arab Spring reform movement face major challenges like organizing elections, drafting  new constitutions, promoting democratic practices, building independent judiciaries and developing free media. Read more

World must welcome 7 billionth citizen with sustainable future, says Ban ki-moon
The UN Secretary-General kept up his drum beat for sustainable development today, warning a high-level public-private forum in Denmark that the world must do much more than  sing “Happy Birthday” when its 7 billionth citizen is born later this month.
“We have to give this child – and its whole generation – a sustainable future,” he told the 3G Global Green Forum, bringing together leaders from government, business, finance and civil society to accelerate ‘bottom up’ country- and business-led progress on climate change and other environmental challenges.
 “We have to embrace sustainable agriculture so she has enough food to eat. We have to expand clean energy so that he can reap the benefits of modern productivity without suffering the drawbacks of climate change. And we have to ensure greater opportunities and decent jobs so that people can enjoy lives of dignity and fulfilment,” he said, fresh from yesterday’s address to a conference in Oslo, Norway, where he called for a “clean energy revolution.” read more

Report on the World Social Situation 2010

Rethinking Poverty, Report on the World Social Situation 2010, published by the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, focuses on the urgency of achieving poverty reduction. It disputes the current vision of poverty reduction, highlighting the negative economic and social impacts of the
recent food and energy crises and the threats posed by climate change as serious challenges to the sustainability of poverty eradication.This report questions the way poverty has been measured in the past and calls for new ways of thinking about poverty. It affirms that poverty eradication requires actions that lead to sustainable economic growth, productive employment and social development as part of an integrated framework of social and economic policies that benefit all citizens.

Fifteen years ago at the World Summit for Social Development in Copenhagen, global leaders described poverty eradication as an ethical, political, and economic imperative and identified it as one of the three pillars of social development.In 2000, Heads of State and Government promised to “spare no effort to free our fellow men, women, and children from the abject and dehumanizing conditions of extreme poverty” and to reduce by half, global extreme poverty by 2015.
 
Although there has been economic growth in many areas,
experience has shown that, though necessary, it is not sufficient to reduce poverty in its many imensions.“Rethinking Poverty” notes that current  measurements of poverty are problematic and controversial and recommends an
approach that goes beyond the dollar-a-day poverty line and seeks to combat inequality, vulnerability, deprivation, and social exclusion. 
 
Poverty is multidimensional and extends far beyond a lack of
sufficient income.It includes the inability to participate in political, cultural, and social life, as well as a lack of access to education, health care and other basic services.Social
exclusion restricts opportunities and increases vulnerability to external shocks  and deprivation.

In separate chapters, the Report of the World Social Situation 2010 addresses macroeconomic policies, economic
liberalization, and labour-market and social policies in relation to poverty reduction. It seeks to contribute to rethinking poverty and its eradication in all its dimensions and all its aspects as a way forward in the eradication of poverty.

Mining
Working  Group on Mining has sought to bring to light the egregious negative impacts of  mining on to women, indigenous peoples, and the environment. The Congregation of  the Mission and the Working Group plans to hold parallel events at the  Commissions on Sustainable Development and the Forum on the rights of indigenous  peoples.
More information

The Parliament of World Religions: a call to ecumenical social cooperation for the common good 

   In recent years the leadership of the Congregation of the Mission has encouraged inter-religious dialogue that could lead to mutual understanding, tolerance, and cooperation - especially in the areas of social justice and peace. For this reason, many confreres throughout the world will find encouragement and support in the deliberations of the recent meeting of the Parliament of World Religions.

 The Parliament of World Religions convened in Melbourne, Australia, December 3-9. It was an exciting and exotic experience. In addition, it was also inspiring.

 The theme of this exciting and inspiring gathering was: “Make a world of difference: hearing each other, healing the earth.”

 Seven themes were addressed in the course of the meeting. The themes were: healing the earth; reconciling with indigenous peoples; overcoming poverty in a patriarchal world; creating social cohesion; sharing wisdom in search of inner peace; securing food and water for all; building peace in pursuit of justice.

  This Parliament originated at the Chicago Exposition in 1896. It did not meet during the two World Wars but has begun to meet every 5 years, more recently in Barcelona and in South Africa and Australia. The purpose is to stimulate inter-religious cooperation to deal with the issues facing the planet and the poor.

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