As the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) seeks to increase its diversity and expand its ministries to racial, ethnic, and cultural minorities, we find that increasing numbers of immigrant workers are present in our midst. Our friendship with these neighbors can become a window to a deeper realization of the cruelties and vulnerabilities many immigrants experience in the U.S. The church is called to witness to the reconciliation that Christ brings to the world. It is no cheap covering over?of divisions and differences. Instead, reconciliation points?to a dynamic unity of richly diverse humankind in which justice is established and each one is …
An overall look at the work of the churches in relation to their advocacy for human rights observance suggests that they will undertake activities that promote respect for human rights based on both their faith as well as their commitment to the establishment and maintenance of a healthy and vibrant civil society. The Middle East Council of Churches has been promoting this view for over a decade, and is now in the process of implementing a project on 'the role of churches in human rights awareness and advocacy'. While this may not suit all contexts, it has generated positive reviews …
This year's report includes five categories of concern brought to the attention of the General Assembly Council (GAC), for the most part, by the partner churches around the world. They are civil, political, economic, social and cultural, and religious. The "Human Rights Update 2003?2004," however, should not be construed by the members of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) as the definitive statement of all the human rights violations received by the GAC during the course of the year. The 216th General Assembly (2004) encourages the members of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) to continue to pray and work to end all forms …
This resolution on Human Rights focuses on the United States, as our nation has gone from being a leader in the cause of human rights to a cause for alarm among democratic nations. None of the observations in this report are pleasant to make, nor are they meant to delineate the full scope of human rights' concerns in the world. Ongoing, entrenched human suffering and pervasive abuse of power continue to plague the peoples of the world. This resolution follows the biblical model provided by the prophet Amos, who surveyed the countries around Judah with judgments attributed to God, before …
Drones, War and Surveillance analyzes the new faces of war, their applications in counter-terrorism and asymmetrical warfare, and the threats to civil and even religious liberty. For further info, see description where product is posted for online download.
The World Mission's South America Office, the Presbyterian Peacemaking Program, and the Presbyterian Peace Fellowship are three resources available to the members of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) who want to join with our sisters and brothers in Colombia as they work to end the patterns of internal violence that are tearing this country apart. Finally, as stated in the introduction of this report, the World Mission's ministry areas and the Presbyterian Peacemaking Program, in consultation with the Office of the General Assembly and other entities of the General Assembly Council, are available to help the members of the Presbyterian Church …
The role of the church at every level is to be at least part of the conscience of society. The basis for our daring to hold Amos' plumb line of justice is our understanding that the prophetic role is willing to challenge those in power, kings of Israel then, governments today. The Human Rights Update has always recognized the global scope of God's justice and honored all of the organizations and individuals who work to bring cruel practices to light and open prison doors. We see God's spirit leading and calling in the countless acts of conscience to which brief …
In fulfillment of the direction of the 221st General Assembly (2014), this report provides a comprehensive policy on trafficking based on a human rights approach. As stipulated, this report covers forced labor, sex trafficking, bonded labor, debt bondage, involuntary domestic servitude, forced child labor, child soldiers, child sex trafficking, illegal adoption, and organ harvesting, underlining the conditions that affect vulnerability. A study team has gratefully drawn on expertise from those coalitions with whom the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has long worked, including Freedom Network, U.S.A., the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, and End Child Prostitution and Trafficking (ECPAT-USA), part of an international …
This report contains policies to curtail the on-going tragedy of human trafficking. It addresses not only sex trafficking and child trafficking, but labor trafficking and lesser known ways that persons can be bought and sold. It speaks of forced labor more than modern slavery, but both phrases point to a grim reality in many international supply chains for products from fish to fashion. It reviews laws, coalitions, different approaches to prostitution (including safe harbor laws for minors), codes of conduct for tourism, fair trade and worker-driven social responsibility, all in a globalizing market context. The human rights approach seeks to …
This document consists of two reports: Report and Recommendations on the Social and Health Effects of Alcohol Use and Abuse as well as Implementation of an Expanded Churchwide Address to Alcohol-Related Problems that were adopted by the 198th General Assembly (1986). Considers the impact of federal and state tax policies on use and abuse of alcohol, the export of alcohol from the US to developing countries, the advertising of alcohol through media, and toll of death and injury resulting from drinking and driving. Members of the task force prepared a policy statement and recommendations in the hope that they will …