August 2004 Update

PEACE DAY Reminder
UNANIMA International once again is one of the sponsoring organizations for the UN's International Day of Peace, September 21. I hope that many of our local communities and institutions can participate in this important day as we have before. Information about the day and how to indicate participation is on the UNANIMA International web site: www.unanima-international.org

CEDAW
As indicated in last month's update, through our members we were able to give important information to the Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women regarding the situation of women in the Dominican Republic and Equatorial Guinea. I included the intervention prepared by the SHCJ community in the Dominican Republic last month and our intervention in the case of Equatorial Guinea is attached to this month's update. Both interventions were well-received. Janice Farnham and Catherine Ferguson responded to an invitation to given an interview in French for the UN radio regarding the intervention on Equatorial Guinea that was prepared by Yudith Pereira, RJM. After the intervention on the Dominican Republic one of the committee members, Ms. Saiga (Japan) made it a special point to approach Ann Durst, SHCJ, who had read the intervention to ask more specifically about the citizenship issues for women of Haitian descent in the Dominican Republic. Questions were later asked about this when the committee met with the government as well.

COLOMBIA Visit
Catherine returned from a 12 day delegation visit to Colombia with Pax Christi International on 2 August. During the visit the 8 delegates from five different countries (Peru, USA, Belgium, Germany, and France) spent several days in Bogotá where they received a general overview and updating about the conflict in Colombia from the perspective of the National Social Pastoral Office of the Bishops who had invited them, from UN organizations, from NGOs - and they even met twice with the country's vice president, Francisco Santos. Following this they split up into small groups and visited six conflict areas of the country: Florencia, Popayán, Medellín, Barrancabermeja, Cúcuta, and Quibdó. Everywhere they heard and saw evidence of generalized violence which has caused massive displacements and aggravated the severe poverty already present in the countryside. (Press release given to the media in Bogotá on their return is attached as well.) Catherine will continue working on the Pax Christi report on the situation in the country. We hope to have it finished before the end of the year and Pax Christi International hopes to launch some major efforts at lobbying within the next months.

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