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Kairos Times: April 2008, Vol 7, #2
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In this edition:
- The Night The Lights Went Out: KAIROS Marks Earth Hour
- Unjust mining contracts must be renegotiated, says Congolese government commission
- Remembering Victims of War in Colombia
- Climate change and extractive sector companies highlighted in KAIROS Shareholder Action Alert for 2008
- Middle East Update
- KAIROS Sizes Up Its Carbon Footprint
- Calling all Carbon Special Agents: KAIROS Carbon Sabbath Initiative (CSI) to launch in Fall 2008
1)
The Night The Lights Went Out: KAIROS Marks Earth Hour
The lights went out for KAIROS in a big --and good!-- way on Saturday, March 29. More than 50 KAIROS communities (local committees, parishes and congregations, religious communities, even a board member and his neighbours!) got together to turn out the lights at 8 pm for Earth Hour. This action, celebrated in communities from coast to coast, was a symbol of our commitment to reduce our energy consumption and address the global climate crisis. And we had fun doing it! Some groups provided "100 Mile" refreshments; others had family games or youth sleepovers. Many groups had times of quiet reflection; others drummed and danced under the stars. Together as a community concerned about creation, we signalled our commitment to be more responsible in our use of energy, and we asked our government to do the same: to live up to its international obligations on climate change and to stop subsidizing the oil industry.
For a taste of what happened on Earth Hour, check out our photo gallery featuring an event at Toronto's Church of the Holy Trinity (http://www.kairoscanada.org/e/resources/galleries/earthHour-albm.htm). If you have pictures to share from your event, please send them to Sara Stratton at sstratton and to sign our action on oil subsidies, please visit http://www.re-energize.org/En/ChangetheWorld.html.
Remember: Earth Hour comes around again next March 29 -- and we'll be there!
Top
of page2) Unjust mining contracts must be renegotiated, says Congolese government commission
On March 20, the Congolese government released a highly critical report revealing widespread problems with dozens of mining contracts signed during the country’s transition from decades of civil war. A government commission appointed to review a total of 61 mining contracts has recommended that approximately half of the contracts should be renegotiated and the other half cancelled outright. Several Canadian listed companies, including First Quantum Minerals, Anvil Mining and Lundin Mining, had projects involved in the review.
Thank you to everyone who responded to our urgent action alert, “Urgent Request for Human Rights in the Congo,” in the November 2007 edition of KAIROS Times. The Canadian ambassador in Kinshasa received many letters from KAIROS network members calling for the public release of the commission’s report and the introduction of new measures to ensure respect for human rights by the mining sector. To date, KAIROS has not received a reply from the ambassador.
KAIROS recently hosted Professor Ferdinand Muhigirwa, S.J. who coordinated Congolese civil society participation in the review process. Jesuit priest and director of the Kinshasa-based Centre d’études pour l’action sociale (CEPAS), Prof. Muhigirwa encouraged Canadians to press for a Parliamentary investigation into the activities of the 14 Canadian-based mining companies currently operating in the Democratic Republic of Congo. In addition, he urged the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) and other institutional investors in Canada to demand greater transparency around royalties and taxes paid by mining companies in developing countries.
The Congo’s mineral wealth, said Prof. Muhigirwa, has not led to social or economic development in his country, but rather to greater misfortune and conflict. The long history of Africa’s colonization and exploitation by outside powers continues to this day. The latest example in the Congo was the granting of mining contracts at fire-sale prices to foreign mining interests while the country was still emerging from decades of civil war. The Congolese people cannot benefit from their nation’s mineral resources, or receive their fair share of the profits, if such contracts remain in place.
Prof. Muhigirwa’s visit to Canada was organized by the Table de concertation sur la Région des Grands Lacs. For a complete account of his presentation, please visit: www.africafiles.org/article.asp?ID=17282
For more information, please contact Ian Thomson, Program Coordinator – Corporate Social Responsibility, at 1-877-403-8933 ext 229, ithomson ; or Jim Davis, Africa Partnerships Coordinator, at 1-877-403-8933 ext 238, jdavis .
3) Remembering Victims of War in Colombia
On March 6, Colombian solidarity organizations and their allies organized marches and vigils worldwide in support of Colombia’s victims of paramilitarism, and state crimes. There were 24 mobilizations in Colombia and more than 70 mobilizations in 60 countries around the world. There were several solidarity gatherings across Canada in which a number of our network members participated. These actions were in response to a call made by the National Movement of Victims, a KAIROS partner, that works for truth, justice and integral reparations for the victims of Colombia’s conflict.
In Colombia, March 6 was marked by a massive grassroots mobilization of victims. Professor Dieter Misgeld, a Canadian who has worked closely with KAIROS, participated in the march and wrote, “The march was fabulous and truly uplifting. It was gigantic. The Plaza Bolivar, which holds about 150,000 people, was almost twice filled. The displaced people marched a whole day to join us. It also was pacific and colourful- so much imagination and capacity to confront sorrow.”
Alarmingly, since the mobilization on March 6, there has been a dramatic increase in the threats, harassment and murders of the social, labour and human rights organizations that participated in Colombia. A report that KAIROS received from the National Movement of Victims on March 14 stated that four human rights leaders had already been assassinated (see http://www.movimientodevictimas.org/node/622). According to Ivan Cepeda, director of the National Movement of Victims, these threats come from the emerging and regrouped paramilitary organization, Aguilas Negras (Black Eagles) demonstrating that – in contrast to the affirmations made by Colombia president Alvaro Uribe in different international forums – para-militarism in Colombia has not been abolished.
These groups need the international community to apply political pressure to the Colombian government. The government must investigate these threats and guarantee the rights and the security of the organizations and victims who participated in the march. Amnesty International has issued an urgent action and we encourage you to respond. http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/AMR23/010/2008/en/AMR230102008en.html
Despite these threats and assassinations, the Canadian government continues to aggressively pursue a free trade agreement with Colombia. If our government were listening, they would hear a clear and resounding call to stop these negotiations now.
For more information, contact Rachel Warden, Program Coordinator for Latin American Partnerships at 1-877-403-8933 ext. 242, rwarden .
4) Climate change and extractive sector companies highlighted in KAIROS Shareholder Action Alert for 2008
Every year KAIROS prepares a shortlist of shareholder proposals filed with major Canadian and US companies on key social and environmental issues. This year we’re focusing on proposals that address two major issues of concern to Canadian churches: climate change, and corporate responsibility in the extractive industries (e.g. mining, oil and gas).
Some examples of shareholder proposals filed in 2008 include:
- The Sisters of Ste-Anne of Montreal have filed a resolution with the world’s largest gold producer, Barrick Gold, whose massive Pascua Lama mining project on the Chile-Argentina border presents potentially serious environmental risks to both countries.
- EnCana, Canada’s largest independent oil and gas producer is being asked by one of its shareholders to incorporate the cost of carbon emissions into its business strategy.
If you’re the treasurer of a church congregation or religious community, a pension trustee or even an individual investor, please take a moment to review your investment portfolio and join other faith-based investors who will be supporting these resolutions. Proxy voting is an important part of your stewardship of God’s resources.
To access the KAIROS Shareholder Action Alert 2008, please visit:
http://www.kairoscanada.org/e/corporate/shareholder/KAIROS_Shareholder_Action_Alert_2008.pdf
For more information, contact Ian Thomson, Program Coordinator, Corporate Social Responsibility, 1-877-403-8933 ext 229, ithomson .
5) Middle East Update
The situation in Gaza continues to be very grim. Our partners appreciate the many letters the KAIROS network has sent to our government on this issue. If you have not already sent a letter on Gaza, it is still very relevant to do so. The draft letter and background information are on our website: http://www.kairoscanada.org/e/urgent/uaEndSiegeGaza080128.asp.
If you need more information, OXFAM has done a full report, Gaza: A Humanitarian Implosion, which can be accessed at:
http://www.oxfam.org.uk/resources/policy/conflict_disasters/downloads/gaza_implosion.pdf
Canadian Friends of Sabeel (CFOS) are raising funds for urgently needed humanitarian relief for Gaza. Details of this appeal can be found on their website, www.sabeel.ca.
CFOS are also offering a youth delegation (age 18 - 30) to Palestine this summer, from July 19 – 23. For details see: http://www.sabeel.ca/2008YAC-details.html.
This spring the World Council of Churches urges us to witness for peace in Israel and Palestine through the International Church Action for Peace in Palestine (ICAPPI). We are called to pray, educate, advocate, and take action from June 4 - 10, 2008. Resources for your congregation can be found at: http://www.oikoumene.org/en/events-sections/icappi-2008.html
For further information please contact Lyn Adamson, Middle East Partnerships Program Coordinator at 1-877-403-8933 ext. 239, ladamson .
6) KAIROS Sizes Up Its Carbon Footprint
When KAIROS decided on its Re-energize campaign, it became clear that it would be a matter of integrity and a sign of solidarity with its southern and Indigenous partners to embark on a process to reduce its own internal carbon footprint. KAIROS couldn’t ask its constituency to do what it was not willing to do as well. To that end, we contracted with Sustainability Solutions Group (SSG), a Canadian worker co-operative that assists clients in integrating social, ecological and economic priorities throughout their organization. We asked them to help us do an environmental audit of KAIROS’ internal activity, including transportation, electricity, heating and waste, with a view to help us formulate an internal energy policy.
The process involved amassing all the information regarding KAIROS carbon use in order to establish a baseline. The results were sobering: as a national organization with international partners, air travel is currently extensive and makes up about two-thirds of our carbon emissions. We will need to review how we can accomplish our mandate as an organization using less energy. That is a process that we believe will be both transformative and innovative. We hope our efforts will have a positive effect that reaches beyond KAIROS’ institutional walls by providing a template that will assist and encourage others to “Re-energize” their lives as well.
For more information, including a copy of the report, contact Dorothy McDougall, Program Coordinator for Ecological Justice, 1-877-403-8933 ext. 222, dmcdougall .
7) Calling all Carbon Special Agents: KAIROS Carbon Sabbath Initiative (CSI) to launch in Fall 2008
KAIROS is developing an exciting and challenging new program, the Carbon Sabbath Initiative (CSI), which will be launched in the fall of 2008. What is CSI? A way for groups of people within congregations or other community settings to come together on a regular basis to:
- Probe more deeply the issues of climate change, particularly on how the use of fossil fuels in our culture contributes to global warming.
- Reflect on how their faith is related to the issues of climate change and justice.
- Commit to personal lifestyle changes that will reduce their carbon footprint by tracking their carbon use in their everyday lives.
- Support each other in their efforts to make a difference in their learning and in their commitments.
- Advocate within their churches, communities and with government.
It sounds like an ambitious undertaking, but we are confident that you are up to the challenge, and that CSI will help us in our search for tangible ways to make a difference.
We’ll be launching the program with cross-Canada leadership training in the fall of 2008 and winter of 2009. These leaders will then return to their communities and start CSI groups there. KAIROS will continue to offer support by developing appropriate resources and action plans, as well as enabling ongoing communication among the CSI groups. Look for more information in the coming months!
For more information contact Dorothy McDougall, Program Coordinator
for Ecological Justice, 1-877-403-8933 ext. 222, dmcdougall
.
You’ve been reading Kairos
Times, the free monthly e-newsletter
of KAIROS, which unites eleven Canadian churches and church organizations
in action for social justice. To learn more about us or to support
our work visit www.kairoscanada.org
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