new  You may be interested to listen to radio programme on trafficking that features (among others) Louise Cleary, Brigidine. The link is http://www.abc.net.au/rn/encounter/    
The title of the programme is "A light at the door".  It will be posted on that web site for about a month only.

     Also available is  “Refugees, Asylum Seekers and Human Trafficking,”  by Jennifer Burn and Louise Cleary. Presented at Geneva, October 2007.

Items of interest

From September 5-7th over 2000 people from some 80 nations gathered at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City, including a delegation of five of your CND sisters. We listened to and dialogued with experts from the scientific community, ecological advocates and, perhaps most importantly, representatives from people and regions of the world most severely affected by Climate Change. The following images and reflections are an attempt to share some experiences of these powerful days.   Reflection on the climate change conference 

New format for Updates: At our September board meeting it was decided to change the format for the updates.  For this year we will feature one issue each month depending on events at the UN.  We will include a story which illustrates the issue and then some recommendations for change.

 UN High Commissioner for Refugees

This update features Louise Cleary, CSB and Jennifer Burn who represented UNANIMA International with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Annual Consultation with Non-Governmental Organizations held from September 26-October 4 in Geneva.  Louise and Jennifer represented the issue of refugees and trafficking. Through them UI had the opportunity to draw attention to the need for protection for victims of human trafficking who are refugees. The story of Malika shows the need.

 Malika Sheika-Eldin

Malika is a refugee from Eritrea. She spoke to represent the plight of her country women still in camps overseas. She said that ‘Women at Risk’ needs to be understood as a reality, not just a concept. She illustrated this by the story of a friend whom she returned to visit in a camp in Eritrea.

 Sheren (not real name) was a brilliant, beautiful woman who died at 23. She fled her country in the 90’s with thousand of other women and children. She was captured by the militia and imprisoned where she was continually raped. Four months pregnant she was taken to Liberia to be ‘resettled’ in a camp with other family members. But she was rejected by her family because she was pregnant. As an outcast she had very little food and died giving birth to twin girls. The tragedy is that her daughters are girls with no identity, also experience rejection and are still orphans in the camp. Thus the cycle of ‘women and girls at risk’ continues.

 Tennah Kpaka

 In discussing the situation of women in resettlement, Tennah Kpaka, a refugee from Guinea being resettled to Australia from a camp in Sierra Leone, used her story to make strong recommendations to the commission.

• Country of resettlement needs to recognise the education of women in refugee camps.
• Host countries need an understanding of the cultural and systemic factors of the refugees’ country and of the brutality experienced by women. Insufficient attention is given to social integration.
• Most mothers are severely traumatised and have mental health issues and inadequate parenting skills. This is the major challenge they face and having problems with the system in addition to housing and financial needs that are difficult to meet traumatises them further.
• This group of refugees needs case workers, appropriate housing and community support.

 Other items of interest

September Board Meeting

UNANIMA International welcomes the Daughters of Mary Mother of Mercy, a Nigerian-founded Congregation who have sisters in Nigeria, Cameroon, Ghana, Lesotho, Italy, Belgium, Germany, Sweden, England, Ireland and USA as our sixteenth member.

 Significant time was given to working on the materials for the “Stop the Demand” for trafficking in women and children Campaign. The vision and purpose of the campaign, the logo and presentation look for the campaign was agreed upon. We intend to officially launch the campaign in January, initially at the United Nations and with members of our Congregations and key personnel. 

“Building a Network: The Prophetic Role of Women Religious in the Fight Against Trafficking in Persons”  October 15-20 – Catherine and Susan Maloney, SNJM, attend  this training seminar in Rome.  About 30 women religious from countries of origin, of transit and destination have been invited.

 October 22 - NGO consultation on Financing for Development with the United Nations, the World Bank and the IMF at the United Nations in New York.

 RJM General Chapter  While in Rome Catherine will speak with the RJM delegates to the General Chapter concerning UNANIMA International, systemic change and the upcoming stop-the-demand campaign. 

 New staff member  Administrative assistant Diana Ramos left UNANIMA International to take a full time position.  We welcome Jennifer Kuhlman, a student at the Wagner Graduate School of Public Service, New York University, NY, as our new administrative assistant.

 
A message from Catherine:  
I received some information on new human rights guidelines for people leaving in extreme poverty. The UN is inviting our participation* and response/critique etc to these guidelines. If any of you have some one or ones that you think might be willing to participate in this, I would invite you to send it to them for their comments. They can reply directly as the directions say or else they can send them back to me and I will send them on. The questionnaire and directions are at http://www.ohchr.org/english/issues/poverty/consultation/index.htm
or http://www.ohchr.org/french/issues/poverty/consultation/index.htm
or http://www.ohchr.org/spanish/issues/poverty/consultation/index.htm depending on the language of the persons you are sending them to.

Thanks so much for your help.  Peace and blessings.
 
* see link for invitation