No Images? Click here The importance of addressing root causes of the continuing humanitarian crisis in Gaza January 2019 Issue No. 76Quotation of the month
The importance of addressing the root causes of the continuing humanitarian crisis in Gaza“During our visit, we saw and heard that providing steady access to emergency services, health care, and education for children, women, and men devastated by violence, displacement, and social upheaval builds resilience. It also helps ensure that those dealing with trauma— particularly youth—are not at risk of being drawn into further cycles of violence. We were not able to visit Gaza, but we heard, via partners, about the more than one million people in Gaza who rely on humanitarian assistance to meet basic needs. Reports are emerging of a collapsing health sector and growing hunger. For this reason, we thank the Government of Canada for its recent funding announcement to alleviate some of these immediate concerns.” -Paul Gilbert, MCC Canada Board Chair Over the last few months, MCC staff in Jerusalem have expressed the concern they hear from partners about the increasing humanitarian crisis in Gaza. They are worried, that as cuts are made to UNWRA, the UN agency that provides assistance for Palestinian refugees, that the situation in Gaza is moving from bad to worse. The Ottawa Office invites you to respond - not only by thanking the Canadian government for increasing their UNWRA contributions in light of the funding shortfalls - but by also encouraging Canada to use their relationship with Israel to pressure for an end of the blockade, which is one of the reasons for the humanitarian emergency in the first place. Paul Gilbert visited Palestine and Israel as part of an MCC leadership learning tour this fall. On December 6, MCC Canada sent an official letter signed by both Paul and MCCC’s Executive Director, Rick Cober Bauman, echoing the letters you sent and emphasizing that, “increased humanitarian aid is an important step forward but dealing with the root causes of the Gazan crisis by lifting the blockade is crucial in ensuring that Palestinians are able to have a sustainable future.” We are grateful to everyone who has spoken up with us by sending letters to their MPs. There is still time to join in and call on the Canadian government to respond to the requests of partners in Gaza. Send a letter to your MP today. Global Compact for MigrationOn 10 December 2018, as the world commemorated the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, MCC’s Kati Garrison and Saulo Padilla celebrated another human rights historic moment, namely those of migrants. Kati and Saulo represented MCC at the Intergovernmental Conference to Adopt the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly, and Regular Migration (GCM), in Marrakech, Morocco, in which the United Nations endorsed the first global framework on a shared approach to international migration. Shortly thereafter, on Wednesday, December 19, the United Nations General Assembly officially adopted the GCM: 152 Member States voted in favour (including Canada), 5 against and 12 abstentions. This victory culminated as the result of a two-year process of consultations and negotiations, in efforts to comprehensively address the dimensions of international migration, from root causes to protection in transit and sustainable reintegration in cases of return. The MCC United Nations Office actively engaged in this process, from the start, working alongside other faith-based organizations, civil society representatives, academics, and migrants themselves, to create a Compact with the potential to improve migration policy for all. As part of this work, in September 2018, Kati and MCC UN Colleague Abby Hershberger met with Canadian officials, encouraging them to support the GCM. The adoption and implementation of the GCM will solidify the movement of shared global responsibilities around migration; strives to establish conditions in which migration is an act of choice, rather than of desperation; and acknowledges that no one nation can address global migration alone, but a shared responsibility. As UN General-Secretary, Antonio Guterres stated, the GCM “calls for greater solidarity with migrants.” Let us be reminded of the moral standard, established within the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, to protect all human beings and treat them with dignity and respect. The GCM is a solid first step in this direction, but the work is just beginning. We have the document, now it is up to us to bring it to life.
Staff updateCharity Nonkes has joined the Ottawa Office team as the Advocacy Research Intern for the next four months. Charity is currently studying Art and Business, with a major in Peace and Conflict studies, at the University of Waterloo and is doing the internship as part of a co-op term. She has experience at the Kindred Credit Union Centre for Peace Advancement and has also worked in communications for Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada. |