March/April 2004

March 1st, 2004

Fairtrade Fortnight [1-14 March] gives us a chance to renew our concern to see that food producers here and overseas get a fair deal. Our vice chairman, Charlie Bridges, has been involved in Fair trade work since 1985.

Editorial Fairtrade Fortnight [1-14 March] gives us a chance to renew our concern to see that food producers here and overseas get a fair deal. Our vice chairman, Charlie Bridges, has been involved in Fair trade work since 1985. His shop in Gillygate York stocks a wonderful range of goods, and he is always willing to bring a stall to your church. We are very grateful for his advice and guidance to the Commission. Another way we can help to make life a little fairer for people here is by changing our gas and electricity suppliers to Equipower. [see below] The treatment of refugees and those seeking asylum has been considered by the Commons Home Affairs Committee. Their interim report show there is awareness that much needs to be done to improve the latest Bill. We need to write to our MPs to show them the weight of opinion against the changes the Bill proposes. Our next meeting is a day conference in partnership with Teesside Church Action on Poverty. The title of the Conference is Asylum, Refuge and Community – Integration and Poverty Issues. Our aim in hosting this event is to promote understanding between people of different nationalities and to hopefully contribute to more cohesive and integrated neighbourhoods in our region. Chris Dove Note: the views expressed in this newsletter do not necessarily coincide with those of the Commission.

New Initiative This month’s Commission meeting sees a new initiative which we hope will become a regular feature in future years. The Commission is keen to make closer links with young people throughout the Diocese and to explore how we can work together. Students from St. Mary’s College, Hull have kindly agreed to host the meeting on March 6th and the morning will consist of presentations from students concerning issues of Peace and Justice which they are themselves involved in or are wanting to explore further. We are aware that young people often have strong views that need to be heard within society. This is a great opportunity for us to learn from each other and to find ways in which, together, we can become more effective both nationally and internationally. We are in the process of establishing closer links with secondary schools in other parts of the Diocese and will hopefully be planning similar meetings in the next few years. Barbara.

Weapons of mass destruction One person dies as a result of armed violence every minute – half a million a year. More than 600 million small arms are in circulation, with eight million more produced every year In June 2003 there were thought to be 24 million guns in Iraq, one for every man, woman and child in the country, with weapons available on the street for US$10. Source: Amnesty International

Why should we care about Justice & Peace issues? The word of God clearly demands justice. When Jesus began his public life he said: ‘The Spirit of God is upon me. God sent me to proclaim Good News to the poor, to break the yoke of injustice and to set the down-trodden free.’ This is why Jesus came. To bring justice. Many of us are very generous. We give of what we have. We are reaching out to the poor in many ways. But do we ever ask ourselves: Why are people poor? What are the injustices within our society? What can we do about the injustices? Do we ever try to do something about the injustices? Do we try to do something that will make justice happen? That is very important. That is part of the word of God. From a homily of Bishop Thomas Gumbleton, auxiliary bishop in Detroit. Source: NCR Jan 9

Commission contacts Barbara Hungin Chair 01642 784398 Nan Saeki Treasurer 01904 783621 Chris Dove Editor 01947 825043 email: dove.whitby@ukgateway.net Letters to Editor: 22 Blackburns Yard Whitby YO22 4DS website:www.writingforyou.com/middlesbroughjp now also at www.ayton.info/middlesbroughjp

Selective memory? When it became apparent that after all no WMDs were being discovered in Iraq, Jack Straw argued that the reason why we and the US invaded Iraq was because Saddam Hussein was guilty of disobeying UN Security Council resolutions.

We might ask why he was silent about the refusal of Israel to comply with UN Security Council Resolution 487 which requires Israel to turn over its nuclear facilities to the trusteeship of the International Atomic Energy Authority; and why he did not mention UN Security Council Resolution 1172 which calls on India and Pakistan to dismantle their nuclear progammes and ballistic missiles.

While demanding that countries that do not yet have nuclear weapons sign the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty, both UK and US have refused to abide by the other provisions of the Treaty that call on already-existing nuclear powers to take serious steps towards complete nuclear disarmament. Instead, both countries continue to maintain a nuclear strike force and now we have become committed to joining in the US Missile Defence programme, which includes the eventual deployment of nuclear facilities in space. This is making the situation even more desperate.

It was back in 1996 that the International Court of Justice confirmed that there was no conceivable circumstance in which nuclear weapons could be held as a threat or used without violating International Humanitarian Law and that ’ there exists an obligation to pursue in good faith and bring to a conclusion negotiations leading to nuclear disarmament in all its aspects under strict and effective international control.’

The Economist [16 October 2003] published an article by the International Atomic Energy Agency Director General, Dr. Mohamed El Baradei, entitled ‘Towards a Safer World.’ He writes: ‘The very existence of nuclear weapons gives rise to the pursuit of them. They are seen as a source of global influence, and are valuedfor their perceived deterrent effect. And as long as some countries possess them (or are protected by them in alliances) and others do not,, this asymmetry breeds chronic global insecurity.’

Nuclear weapons are seen as having a strategic, not military, purpose. That is, they are not intended primarily to defend us but rather to develop greater power over other nations. In this connection, an Early Day Motion has been tabled by John McDonnell MP and Alan Simpson MP. Readers could write to their own MP to support EDM 498 which reads:

‘That this house notes the lack of a coherent role for the Trident system within Britain’s defence network as set out in the Government’s Defence White Paper; further notes that the technology upon which Trident is based has now been outstripped; and calls on the government to follow the example of South Africa and abolish Britain’s nuclear arsenal.’ Source: Pax Christi

EQUIPOWER It is some time since I last wrote recommending this organisation. It seeks to make life a little fairer for those who are less well off. At present people pay a higher rate for their heat and light just because they pay by prepayment meters. EQUIPOWER supplies gas and electricity at one price for everyone, regardless of how they pay. I asked for a progress report and also how ‘green’ they are in their supply source, I received this reply: 1. Currently, roughly 12% of our customer base pay using prepayment meters of one sort or another. This is, actually, a little higher than the proportion of customers, nationally, who use prepayment meters (~10%). That we represent the best deal available for customers using prepayment meters is not the only way we help those on low incomes. We do not levy a standing charge on any of our customers. Whilst a number of other utility companies have followed suit, they replicate the effect of the standing charge by imposing a much higher unit rate on the customers’ first units of gas/electricity. This penalises those who use relatively small quantities of gas/electricity (most low income households fall into this category) just as much as the standing charge. 2. We use Scottish & Southern Energy as our supplier of EQUIPOWER. Whilst we make no ‘green’ claims for EQUIPOWER, Scottish & Southern has a total of 6,188MW of generation capacity in the UK. Of this, 1,320MW is hydro-electric (dams and pumped-storage units) and 132MW from other renewable sources. On this basis, 23% of their generation is ‘green’ – which is one of the highest proportions in the UK. However, a number of utility companies have made some quite extraordinary claims about their ‘green’ tariffs based, in my view, on very fragile and contrived assumptions and I don’t want EQUIPOWER to be tarred with the same brush. Thus, EQUIPOWER remains the UK’s only social justice electricity tariff with no claims to being ‘green’. If you want to change, just telephone 0800 117 116 and ask for an application form. It involves no disruption to your gas or electricity supply, no new pipes or meters and your current heating maintenance contracts can stay as they are. At a time when we are urged to be ‘Fairtraders’, this is a surely a very good way to help others, at little cost to ourselves.

Thought for today: 11 million children die every year from preventable causes mostly related to poverty. For every child dying in poverty, the world spends over £47,000 preparing for or fighting war. Sources: WHO and SIPRI

Asylum and Immigration Bill 2003 The House of Commons Home Affairs Committee has been considering this Bill and has issued its first Report. The Bill next goes to the House of Lords and then back to the Commons for debate. The main report on asylum applications is promised for early 2004. The committee considered 4 proposals for which the Bill makes provision. The following is a summary of the Committee’s main recommendations.

Undocumented passengers Clause 2 creates a criminal offence for those arriving without valid travel documents and without a reasonable excuse for this. This punishes refugees for behaving like refugees. The UNHCR states that ‘in most cases a person fleeing from persecution will have arrived with the barest necessities and often without a passport’ because they cannot get one from the authorities from whom they are fleeing. The Committee noting that there is provision for ‘a reasonable excuse’ being a defence, recommend that the government makes this explicitly clear in the text of the Bill.

Reform of the appeals process Clause 10 proposes to move to a single tier of appeal for asylum seekers whose initial claim has been refused. It is the poor quality of initial decision-making that causes the need for appeals. In 2002, 34% of initial asylum applications were granted and 66% refused. Of those refusals, 77% were appealed against and at this first level of appeal, 22% were successful. Of those given leave to appeal to the second level, 11% were successful, 36% were dismissed and 49% were remitted back to the adjudicators. The Committee recommends that implementation of the new asylum appeals system should be contingent on a significant improvement in initial decision making.

Removal to a ‘safe third country’ Clause 12 removes the right to challenge removal to ‘certain safe third countries’ on the basis that a person fears for their safety. This contravenes the fundamental premise of asylum that each case is examined without prejudice and on its own individual merits. No country can be assumed to be safe for all people all of the time. The Committee believe the government should explain the rationale for believing countries to be safe, and that the human rights situation in ‘safe third countries’ must be kept under review.

Restricting family support Clause 7 would leave families destitute in between their asylum claim being rejected and their eventual removal which in turn would lead to the separation of the children from their parents. The Committee report that they are very uneasy about this provision in the Bill. They believe the priority should be to improve the removal system so that it is understood by all parties that a failed claim will lead to swift action to effect removal. They also recommend that the government give assurances that Clause 7 will not come into effect until the House is satisfied that it will not bring significant numbers of children into care.

From Nelson Mandela’s Inaugural Speech 1994 Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate, Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous? Actually who are you not to be?

You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn’t serve the world, There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you.

We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us, it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, We unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, Our presence automatically liberates others.

A Prayer for Peace The 20th March has been declared an International day against War and Occupation and as we approach the first anniversary of the start of military action in Iraq, it is particularly appropriate for this issue to end with the Pax Christi Daily Prayer, reprinted with permission from Pax Christi.

Thank you loving God For the gift of life For this wonderful world which we all share For the joy of love and friendship For the challenge of helping to build your kingdom.

Strengthen My determination to work for a world of peace and justice My conviction that, whatever our nationality or race, we are all global citizens, one in Christ My courage to challenge the powerful with the values of the gospel My commitment to find non-violent ways of resolving conflictÑpersonal, local, national and international My efforts to forgive injuries and to love those I find it hard to love.

Teach me To share the gifts you have given me To speak out for the victims of injustice who have no voice To reject the violence which runs through much of our world today.

Holy Spirit of God Renew my hope for a world free from the cruelty and evil of war so that we may all come to share in God’s peace and justice. AMEN