We are not a very patient people! The words jumped out at me as I read the Advent reflection early this morning. The author went on to say that because we are constantly connected online and plugged in, we tend not to live in the moment, rather ‘we live in the next moment’. An image of a small group of faithful seekers of justice came to mind as I read this reflection.  Since the Chernobyl nuclear explosion, one or two of them picket outside the World Health Organisation (WHO) in Geneva every morning.  They are demanding an honest investigation into why so many children are still dying, long after the disaster. 
 
The courage and faithfulness of this small group is a wonderful example of persistent patience that is rooted in the ‘now’. And because of this I have no doubt that their pursuit of the truth will be successful.  At Franciscans International (FI), in our collective work for justice, we are constantly called to be ‘Advent people,’ i.e. people of faith and hope, who are prepared to wait patiently. Sometimes it is hard to believe that our small contribution at the United Nations (UN) will effect positive change in the lives of the most vulnerable. But then, who would have believed that a tiny baby born in Bethlehem, God-with-us, would bring new hope to our world?
 
Wishing you Christmas blessings in abundance. 

Sr. Denise Boyle fmdm
FI Executive Director

Trafficking in persons, human rights defenders, rights of the child, and rights of Indigenous Peoples are just some of the justice concerns highlighted in the recently submitted FI Universal Periodic Review Reports on Brazil, India, the Republic of Indonesia, the Republic of the Philippines and the United Kingdom. Each country will be reviewed by the UN for its human rights situation in May/June 2012. More>>

The UN Climate Change Conference, Durban 2011 (COP 17) from 28 November to 9 December brought together representatives of the world's governments, international organisations and civil society including representatives of the Franciscan Family. Br. Bernd Beerman OFM Cap. represented FI in discussions on “how to stabilise greenhouse gas concentrations at a level that will prevent dangerous human interference with the climate system”. More>>  

FI and the Franciscan Family in Uganda organised an in-country workshop on the UN Human Rights Mechanisms to follow-up on the first cycle of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR). Twenty-five participants representing seven Franciscan congregations from Uganda and Tanzania, and representatives of local NGOs, attended the two-day workshop in Kampala in November.

They developed and strengthened their understanding of the ‘follow-up process of the UPR recommendations’ which follows the two countries’ first-cycle reviews in October 2011. More>>

The Lord’s Resistance Army in Uganda is an issue that the FI Americas Program is closely monitoring with the UN Security Council Working Group and Franciscans in-country. 

In December, Brig. Fred O. Tolit, former assistant Chief of Staff to the Uganda People’s Defense Force (UPDF) met with FI advocates at the Ugandan Permanent Mission in New York. He shared an overview of the civil war in Uganda and his work with the Government to bring down the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) leader, Joseph Kony. More>>

In the Amazons, individuals and organisations are seeking economic gain at all costs—human and environmental—with no regard for the region’s biological and human diversity and climate change.  FI staff recently participated in a Franciscan conference in Quito, Ecuador, to help address this prevailing tendency. More>>