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October 2003

Humanitarian Aid to Iraq Penalized by Justice Department
Over the last seven years Voices in the Wilderness has organized over 65 delegations to Iraq to investigate the effects of the sanctions, the devastating consequences of the U.S. bombing of the Iraqi civilian infrastructure during the Gulf War, and the problems caused by the build up to the most recent military action against Iraq. As an act of civil disobedience against the injustices of the sanctions and U.S. military actions, many of the delegations carried with them symbolic amounts of medical supplies and other forms of humanitarian aid. The U.S. Department of Justice has filed a lawsuit against Voices in the Wilderness in an attempt to collect a $20,000 fine for providing humanitarian assistance to the Iraqis. Voice in the Wilderness is collecting signatures for a letter to Attorney General John Ashcroft calling on him to drop the lawsuit at this time when Iraqi citizens and U.S. soldiers are being killed and many Iraqis are in need of humanitarian aid. To add your name to the letter to the Attorney General and learn more about the current needs in Iraq, visit Voices in the Wilderness’s website at www.nonviolence.org/vitw.

U.S. Proposes Weak Protection for Central American Workers
U.S. negotiators for CAFTA have proposed weak worker rights provisions which would require Central American nations to do no more than enforce their own labor laws, whether or not their labor laws fall short of international standards. The proposal represents a significant step backwards from worker rights protections currently provided in other U.S. trade agreements which set the standard of "internationally-recognized worker rights." These are defined as the right to organize, right to collective bargaining, no forced labor, no child labor, and acceptable conditions with respect to wages, hours, and working conditions. Since it is highly unlikely that Central American governments will propose a strengthening of the worker rights provisions during CAFTA negotiations, the weak proposal from the Administration guarantees that worker rights will be a key issue for Congressional debate when a final agreement is eventually presented to Congress for an up-or-down vote. The leading House Democrat on trade issues, Rep. Sander Levin (D-CA) warned the Administration that weak worker rights provisions could threaten passage of CAFTA. Contact your member of Congress and urge them to protect worker rights by insisting that the U.S. require parties to CAFTA to accept internationally-recognized worker rights and bring their legislation into compliance with international standards. U.S. Labor Education in the Americas Project (US/LEAP) has information about CAFTA, trade agreements, and worker conditions and rights in the Americas. Visit their website at www.usleap.org.

U.S. State Department Issues Human Trafficking Report
The U.S. State Department issued its third annual report on human trafficking as required by the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000. The 177-page report evaluates the conditions of human trafficking in 116 countries and the analyzes the domestic efforts made to eliminate trafficking. The report falls short of giving a meaningful study of the problem of trafficking for several reasons. It credits countries for their efforts to combat trafficking even when they have not criminalized all forms of forced labor as trafficking or have failed to ratify international covenants opposing trafficking. There is no reporting about how governments try, prosecute, and convict persons for trafficking-related offenses. CMSM and LCWR have a joint resolution opposing human trafficking and are members of the Coalition of Catholic Organizations Against Human Trafficking, with nearly 20 member organizations. The Coalition meets regularly with U.S. government officials responsible for enacting the Victims Trafficking laws, receives updates from organizations providing services to victims of trafficking, and plans programs to address the issue of trafficking, including the recently-held conference on human trafficking in Washington, DC. The Coalition is preparing educational materials that will be available and a brochure about trafficking. For more information on these contact Mary Ellen Dougherty, SSND at Mdougherty@usccp.org or rstvics@usccb.org or by phone at 202-541-3256. You can read more about human trafficking and the State Department report on the Human Rights Watch website at www.hrw.org.

Senate Debates Foreign Aid
The Senate has been scheduled to vote on the Foreign Operations Appropriations Bill (S. 1426) for several weeks. This legislation determines the amount and type of foreign aid that the U.S. will provide to other nations. There are several important provisions in the bill that need to be improved. One of those provisions is aid to Colombia. In 2000 the Senate passed the "Plan Colombia" legislation that limited U.S. aid to curbing drug production, assisting farmers in developing other crops, and required Colombia to meet internationally acceptable standards of human rights before aid could be released. Since September 11, 2001, U.S. policy has shifted and now the U.S. provides millions of dollars in counter-insurgency military aid, increased U.S. military presence in Colombia, funded environmentally destructive fumigation projects, and no longer had any human rights requirements. Since this shift the conditions in Colombia have continued to deteriorate. The CMSM National Office has written to each Senator regarding this serious problem to urge them to consider alternatives to the current aid package. In addition to this, along with our partner organizations, we are urging an increase in funding to combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and TB, and to appropriate $927 million for migration and refugee assistance and emergency refugee assistance. You can read the Senate letter on the CMSM website. Contact your Senators and urge them to support these additions to the Foreign Operations Appropriations bill (S. 1426).

Congress to Once Again Consider Innocence Protection Act
In the past religious have supported the Innocence Protection Act, aimed at protecting the rights of individuals charged with capital crimes. During this session of Congress Representative Bill Delahunt (D-MA) is working on a bipartisan bill that will be introduced to Congress. In the last session, the Innocence Protection Act was supported by 250 House sponsors. It expanded access to post-conviction DNA testing and improved the quality of defense counsel in capital cases. New legislation would require that DNA evidence be preserved, ensure access to post-conviction DNA testing for any inmate with a legitimate claim, and bring about meaningful, enforceable reforms of state capital counsel systems. Most death penalty-related action usually takes place on the state level. The Innocence Protection Act is federal legislation that would have significant impact to protect those who could be innocent. In the past few years several prisoners have had their convictions overturned and several states have initiated moratoriums and studies to ensure that innocent individuals are protected. Contact your representative and urge him/her to join Rep. Delahunt in introducing an Innocence Protection Act that further safeguards those charged with capital crimes.

Resources
Empty Promises: The IMF, the World Bank, and the Planned Failures of Global Capitalism. An introduction to the institutional power structures that create and manage the global economy. Edited by The 50 Years is Enough Network. To order, contact 50 Years Is Enough at 202-IMF-BANK or www.50years.org. The cost is $5.50 and bulk rates are available.

Stan De Boe, OSST
Editor

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