UNTIL ALL ACHIEVE WELL-BEING

Welcome to the Friday, August 19, 2005 issue of this Peace&Justice action email!

This email is a summer catch-up, combining a few actions from which you can choose.

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A THANK-YOU FOR ANIMAL ANTIBIOTIC CHANGE

In the last UWAA email, there was a petition concerned about the over-use of antibiotics in animals. Since then there has been good news on two fronts. First, a company called Compass Group has developed a policy to only buy chicken and pork from companies who are curbing anti-biotic use. Secondly, the US FDA agency has banned Cipro-like antibiotics for use in poultry.

Send Compass Group a Note of Thanks:
    http://actionnetwork.org/campaign/compass_thankyou/83un554q5656b6/

Further Background:
    http://actionnetwork.org/ct/xpz7xIK1kzra/



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KHMER ROUGE TRIBUNAL IN CAMBODIA

Between April 1975 to January 1979 approximately 2 million Cambodians under the leadership of the Khmer Rouge perished in labor camps or were forcibly executed. For twenty-five years there has been no justice for the victims and survivors of the Cambodian genocide. Today, the overwhelming majority of Cambodians wish to see the Khmer Rouge leaders brought to account for their actions through a public trial. They believe it is their chance to seek justice and help put an end to impunity that continues to plague the daily life of so many Cambodians. Such a tribunal has the potential to aid in the healing and reconciliation process and it will also be an important means of educating young Cambodians, who learn nothing of the Khmer Rouge in school, about their history.

Take Acton (US citizens):
    http://www.globalyouthconnect.org/action/cambodia.html



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WOMEN'S RIGHTS PROTOCOL IN AFRICA

Many African women are victims of horrific human rights violations both in their homes and in the public sphere. Neglecting to put an end to such violations reinforces their inequality and puts them at risk for poverty and disease. Governments have done too little to end abuses against African women such as, domestic violence, marital rape, unequal property and inheritance rights, trafficking, labor rights abuses, sexual violence in armed conflict, and discrimination in education and health care systems. In many African countries, statutory laws actually support these abuses. And that is the way African women live in the twentieth century.

In 2003, the protocol officially known as the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples will protect African women reinforcing International Law. This Protocol can only become law once it has been accepted by 15 African countries, and these countries have ratified their constitutions to include this protocol. Currently, 10 countries have ratified including Comoros, Djibouti, Libya, Lesotho, Mali, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, and Senegal.

Write to governments in Africa to encourage them to protect their female citizens against human rights abuses (unfortunately you may find that this is a process requiring much perseverance to find and send actual emails):

Action and Background:
    http://www.hrw.org/women/africaprotocol



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SAVE THE GREAT BEAR RAINFOREST

The Great Bear Rainforest in British Columbia, Canada, is the largest intact coastal temperate rainforest left on Earth. Yet it remains unprotected. You can urge its protection by writing to the B.C. Premier:

Take Acton (US citizens):
    http://act.greenpeace.org/ams/e?a=1806&s=gen



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SIGNS OF GLOBAL WARMING TIPPING POINT??

This last section has no action and is only provided for your reflection. Scientists in Siberia are discovering that the permafrost in Siberia - about a million square kilometers (!!) - is starting to melt, the first such melting since they were formed over 11,000 years ago. Apart from yet another indication that our planet may be warming, the main concern is their projected effect. As these bogs melt, they will release billions of tons of methane, a gas 20 times more potent than carbon dioxide.

I can't forecast the effect, but the size of the numbers are unsettling. To read the full article, click on the link below:


    http://www.commondreams.org/headlines05/0811-03.htm


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UWAA: This endeavour is being placed under the overall rubric of "Until Well-being is Achieved for All."


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Rod Downing
rdowning@istar.ca.

Surrey BC Canada
(604) 535-6550