Our spiritual, cultural, and traditional belief systems speak of creation as a garden. Humankind, it is said, is the receptacle and caretaker of the garden. After more than two years of pandemic crisis, ongoing wars and conflicts, and a heating planet, the nations of the world have resumed in-person meetings to discuss their mandates and treaty bodies regarding life in the garden called earth.
Tag: United Nations
United Nations committee honors 73rd anniversary of Universal Declaration of Human Rights
“All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.” –Article 1, Universal Declaration of Human. On Dec. 9, 2021, the NGO Human Rights Committee gathered to Honor the 73rd anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It was my first United Nations in-person meeting since the COVID-19 March 2020 shutdown.
United Nations General Assembly commemorates calls for the elimination of racism
The United Nations General Assembly, held Sept. 21-15 in New York, on day two commemorated the Durban Declaration and Program of Action (DDPA), which was adopted in 2001 at the world conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia, and Related Intolerance in Durban, South Africa. The trans-Atlantic slave trade, apartheid, and colonialism were recognized as sources of much modern-day racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia, and related intolerance.
Observance of the 2020 International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People
The Palestine Committee meeting on the morning of Dec. 1 at the United Nations was in commemoration of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People. All too often I hear “Palestine” and it does not register that about 2 million Palestinians live under occupation in the densely populated area of the Gaza Strip, under a 13-year blockade, in a place where 90 percent of the water is undrinkable. The people depend on international humanitarian aid in order to survive from day to day.
United Nations representative reports from human rights events in 2019
Doris Theresa Abdullah, the United Nations representative for the Church of the Brethren, has attended several human rights events on behalf of the denomination in 2019. Commenting on the need for peace and light in the world, she noted that the events highlighted many concerns including “the darkness of hate, religious intolerance, greed, racism, discrimination,
Brethren bits for Oct. 24, 2019
— The Church of the Brethren seeks a manager for the Office of Global Mission and Service, to fill a fulltime salaried position at the General Offices in Elgin, Ill. This position is responsible for administrative processes assigned by the executive director for areas including Global Mission, Brethren Volunteer Service, and Global Food Initiative. Major responsibilities
Brethren Representative Reports from United Nations 70th Anniversary Event
The 193 nations of the United Nations opened the UN’s 70th anniversary (Sept. 23-Oct. 2) at the headquarters in New York with 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that reflect the desires of the world’s people.
United Nations Holds Second Forum on ‘the Culture of Peace’
On Friday, Sept. 6, the United Nations held the Second High Level Forum on The Culture of Peace. The background for the forum is the passing of, by consensus, Resolution 53/243 on the Declaration and Program of Action on a Culture of Peace, followed by the implementation of the International Decade for Culture of Peace and Non-Violence for the Children of the World (2001-2010).
GFCF Supports Water Project in Niger, School in Sudan, and More
In its first grants of 2011, the Church of the Brethren’s Global Food Crisis Fund (GFCF) has allocated funds to support a water project in Niger, a girls’ school in Sudan, an institute in Japan, and the Global Policy Forum at the United Nations. The Nagarta Water for Life project in Niger has received a
Newsline for January 12, 2011
“Do not speak evil against one another, brothers and sisters” (James 4:11). “Brethren in the News” is a new page on the denominational website offering a listing of currently published news about Brethren congregations and individuals. Find the latest newspaper reports, television clips, and more by clicking on “Brethren in the News,” a link in the