International DAY of Peace: 21 September  To participate, sign up at http://www.internationaldayofpeace.org/

 Alternative for francophones in Europe  UI has been notified that there will be an NGO conference on Climate change in which will be particularly for francophones.  Conférence « Le changement climatique : en quoi il nous concerne tous » Jeudi 6 septembre 2007, à Buoux (Lubéron) en Provence, FRANCE.

If anyone is interested in attending or in receiving more information, please let Catherine know and she will send you the information and register you through UNANIMA International. fergcf@earthlink.net  Deadline 25 August 2007

 Visit to UN marred by explosion near the UNANIMA International office Some of you may have heard of the explosion of an old steam pipe near Grand Central Station in New York in mid-July.  This explosion was within two blocks of the UI office and, while none of our members were hurt, it did confuse the transportation patterns near the office.  This served to shorten the visit of Maureen Foltz, CCV, and Maria Narcisa Fiol, CCV, Congregational Leader along with Maria Teresa Cuervo, CCV of the General Council to the United Nations the day following the explosion. Thanks to Diana for accompanying the group and discussing UI activities with them.

Networking Trip to Latin America Catherine returned home from a successful networking trip in Latin America.  She and Mary Ondreyco, SNJM board member, offered a day long session on UNANIMA International and our anti-demand campaign for human trafficking in Lima, Peru, to about 20 persons.  At that session, members of the CCVs welcomed us and hosted the session at their Provincial House in Lima.  Members of most of the Peruvian houses of the Sisters of Bon Secours participated including many of their younger members.  Although other SNJMs were not able to be present because of duties related to their Assembly, we had two lay women who work with them present and participating in the session.  (Photos from the Latin America trip will be on a separate page).

Catherine gave a half-day session on trafficking and the anti-demand campaign at the Provincial House of the Sisters of Providence in Santiago, Chile. About forty persons attended including members of the SPs along with teachers and administrators from two of their “colegios”, SHCJs, and CCVs.

Finally Catherine gave two sessions in Buenos Aires.  The first was a two hour session at CONFAR for any religious interested in the theme of trafficking. Several RJMs, CCVs, and SUSCs attended this session of about ten persons. The session was requested through Maria Teresa Andant, SUSC, and enlarged our networking even further to include several from other communities including those who are working directly with women on the streets. Several from this group are reworking the Spanish anit-demand campaign materials to make them more interesting for the Latin American reader. The second session in Buenos Aires was hosted by the CCVs at their “colegio”.  This was a day-long session similar to that of Lima.  Members of the CCVs, both religious and lay Vedrunas, and SUSCs were present. Also while Catherine was at the “colegio”, she was

able to consult with a group of about fifteen young people regarding our materials for the campaign. 

Once again – thanks to all that made this trip so successful and we look forward to following up on the trip to really develop the network that will make our UN work even more successful.

 New Reports from the UN

UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) presented its new report on the Least Developed Countries. The report noted that in order for the LDCs to escape poverty and marginalization they will need to acquire the necessary knowledge and technology. However, this report that does not just focus on the problems, rather it stresses the importance of adopting policies to industrialize and increase the knowledge intensity of LDC economies to narrow the technology gap between them and the rest of the world

Brazil and New Zealand NGOs present alternative reports at July-August session of CEDAW

The Special Secretariat of Policies for Women in Brazil noted that the lens through which society views human trafficking needs to change. Public officials need to be challenged and provided with training for the health and public safety departments. In 2006, 2,600 agents were trained on how to combat human trafficking. Funds have also been set aside to create centers in police precincts to handle situations relating to trafficking.

Four NGOs gave reports on New Zealand. The AOTEAROA group briefly noted the trafficking problem and simply concluded that girls in New Zealand are sexualized too young. They do mention Trafficking in their report but did not concentrate on the issue in the presentation. One CEDAW expert asked primarily about the trafficking situation. The NGO replied that illegal brothels are on the rise. However, the women who work in these brothels are afraid of speaking up for fear of being deported.

For more information on these reports see  www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/cedaw/39sess.htm