SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2006

September 1st, 2006

At our September meeting will be hearing from Sr Pat Robb CJ, who works as a chaplain at Oakington Detention Centre Cambridge,

EDITORIAL At our September meeting will be hearing from Sr Pat Robb CJ, who works as a chaplain at Oakington Detention Centre Cambridge, of her experiences of the treatment of refugees and asylum seekers. Those who would like to do something to alleviate the position of refugees and asylum seekers in our region might consider supporting the work of the Mary Thompson Fund. One World Week in October gives us another opportunity for ecumenical action. The horrific pictures and reports from the conflict in Lebanon/Israel make it important for us to note that this country is not an innocent bystander. A cross-party committee of senior backbenchers has demanded an explanation as to why the government continues to approve the sale of arms to Israel in apparent breach of its own guidelines. The report also exposes loopholes that allow companies to sell products – often via the internet – that are officially banned, such as “thumb cuffs” and “wall cuffs” used in torture. Israel, Saudi Arabia and Indonesia are among 11 out of twenty countries described by the Foreign Office in its 2005 annual human rights report as “major countries of concern”, and yet, official figures show that British arms sales to Israel last year nearly doubled at £22.5 million (these included components for combat helicopters, aircraft radars and air-to-air missiles). Licences for weapons sales to Saudi Arabia increased by 25% to £25 million, and sales to Indonesia were valued at £12.5 million. [As I write this there is a report of a new sale to Saudi Arabia by BAe of 72 Eurofighters worth some £10 bn.] Government guidelines say export licences will not be agreed if there is a “clear risk” they might be used for internal repression or will “provoke or prolong armed conflict or aggravate existing tensions or conflicts”. Ministers have also said that they would block the sale of equipment that could be “used aggressively” in the occupied territories. A UN conference in July, considering measures to prevent the export of arms to countries that abuse human rights, ended in failure after US delegates vetoed further meetings. When, prior to the UN conference, Margaret Becket received the UK component of the Amnesty International Million Faces Petition calling for tough global controls on the arms trade and an Arms Trade Treaty, she promised continued backing for such a treaty. There is no good reason why the UK should not unilaterally implement the necessary controls to cover arms deals arranged by UK companies, except, of course, that we are major suppliers.

The UK is exporting billions of pounds worth of armaments around the world with little regard for their impact on conflict, human rights or development. The Defence Export Services Organisation [DESO], (the government arms sales organization) has as its stated mission ‘to help UK defence exporters succeed.’ Surveys by DESO reveal that over 75% of UK arms export orders worth around £5bn annually, could not be achieved without its assistance. We would argue that DESO should also have as its remit to ensure that UK defence exporters are responsible in arranging sales, so that we are not selling arms to countries listed as causing “concern” over their human rights records. It is plainly hypocritical for us to have called for a ceasefire in the conflict in Lebanon and at the same time to have supplied Israel with arms, just as it is for the US to support calls for a ceasefire at the same time as they were rushing further deliveries of laser guided bombs to Israel to allow still more destruction and loss of life in Lebanon. Chris Dove Note: the views expressed in this newsletter do not necessarily coincide with those of the Commission.

The Mary Thompson Fund: supporting refugees and people seeking asylum in the Tees Valley.

What began as a means to enhance the quality of life for people seeking asylum has now become the only source of support for a number of people who have been refused asylum but cannot return home. When people have exhausted the appeal process, all support stops, even though they may be exploring other legal avenues, so many people find themselves without food or accommodation. The fund has become essential to the survival of some of the most vulnerable, yet courageous people in our community. Families have also been helped with emergency travel costs, and health and education needs. The fund is always at full stretch and is currently involved in a Harvest Festival appeal for food and toiletries as well as financial donations. Foodstuffs can be delivered to North Eastern Refugee Service at 27, Borough Road, Middlesbrough. Tel: 01642 217447 Donations can be sent to: MTF., c/o 119-121 Marton Road, Middlesbrough, TS1 2DU A number of people give regular donations by Standing Order. This is a very welcome initiative and helps the fund enormously. Details of how to do this are given below. Bank: UNITY TRUST BANK plc. Account name: MARY THOMPSON FUND Sort Code: 08-60-01 Account number 20103929 Barbara Hungin

Arms Trade Amnesty International (AI) has lobbied for some time for more effective national arms controls around the world. AI believes present controls are riddled with loopholes, allowing weapons to be sold to conflict zones and countries which repress and torture their people. AI reported shipments in 2005 of over 240 metric tons of weapons including millions of rounds of ammunition, from eastern Europe to governments in Africa’s war-torn Great Lakes region. Worryingly, three companies involved in these arms deliveries operated from the UK. British arms brokers are easily able to evade lax controls, simply by stepping outside the country to conduct their deals. AI is calling for an international Arms Trade Treaty which creates legally binding arms controls and ensures that all governments regulate arms sales to the same basic international standards. The UK is one of the governments to have stated their support for such a treaty. Today’s weapons are more powerful than ever before and they are cheaper and easier to acquire: Every day about 1,000 people are killed by armed violence. *Small arms kill more civilians than any other type of weapon. *From 1997 to 2004, developing countries spent more than $23 billion a year on weapons. *From 1997 to 2004, the biggest exporters of arms to the developing world were the USA, Russia, France, the UK and China. Source: Amnesty Magazine May/June 2006

Cluster munitions The British government continues to reserve the right to use cluster munitions, despite having acknowledged their unacceptably high failure rates. The results are well documented. 0n 23 March 2003, a British artillery cluster strike in Basra severely injured a 13 year old boy who suffered acute injuries to his bowel and liver, and a fragment lodged near his heart. 14 other children were injured in the same strike. A week later on 31 March a cluster munition strike near the city of al-Hilla killed 38 civilians and injured 156 including 30 children. Cluster munitions were designed for use on the central European plain against massed Warsaw Pact formations as a last ditch defence of democracy. The wars we fight now, whether in Kosovo, Iraq or Afghanistan, are wars to impose order – a very different position. These weapons are indiscriminate and their use is undermining popular support for action. If we hope to win hearts and minds in war, we must stop using them. The Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund supports the development of national and international law to ban these weapons because it believes cluster munitions disproportionately threaten the lives of ordinary people during and after conflict. International codification does not require the consensus of all. The Geneva Conventions were not negotiated on the basis of consensus. In 1868 at a meeting in St Petersburg, 16 states came together to declare that “the progress of civilisation should have the effect of alleviating as much as possible the calamities of war.” Having made their declaration they then invited other states to join them. Source: Landmine Campaign Summer 2006

A Prayer for Peace Living Lord, ignite in us a passion for justice and a yearning to right all wrong. Strengthen us to work for peace in the land we call holy: for peace among Jew, Christian and Muslim, for reconciliation between communities, for harmony between faiths. Inspire us to act with the urgency of your quickening fire, for blessed are the peacemakers – they shall be called children of God. Amen. Ramani Leathard

Commission contacts Barbara Hungin Chair 01642 784398 Sr Mary Walmsley CJ Secretary 01904 464919 Nan Saeki Treasurer 01904 783621 Chris Dove Editor 01947 825043 email: dove.whitby@phonecoop.coop or 22 Blackburns Yard Whitby YO22 4DS website:www.ayton.info/middlesbroughjp

Corruption? – no – Cash for peerages? There are those who question the wisdom of providing financial aid to African states because of the corruption of many governments in the region whose leaders siphon off aid moneys for their private gain. In a recent interview Archbishop John Olorunfemi Onaiyekan of Abuja, Nigeria had this to say on this subject: “Those who speak like this clearly don’t understand the situation on the ground in these so-called ‘corrupt countries’. The kind of corruption we have now was never possible when everything depended upon the tribe. It simply could not happen that a king could steal the money of his tribe and send it thousands of miles away to keep it for his family. African corruption would not have been possible without the cooperation of the very people who are now complaining about it. Further, the West could stop the corruption if it was of real concern. The regulatory authorities know where the money comes from, they track suspect transactions all the time so why do they make an exception for stolen money from Africa? If the West stops doing business with corrupt governments, they will fall. Governments are sustained and upheld by foreign businesses who believe they can do better business with the corrupt leaders. The major corporations, such as oil companies, play a big role.” Source: NCR March 10 2006

PROGRAMME FOR 2006 Date Place Theme 16 September York Asylum Seekers 18 November Scarborough Youth Forum

Increased postage costs This newsletter is supplied free but it costs money to produce especially for those who have it posted to them, now that postage rates have increased again. If you find it of value, perhaps you would consider sending a donation to the Treasurer: Nan Saeki 55 Moorgate York YO24 4HP. It would be very much appreciated.

Price tag for Iraq War: Estimated cost to US up to 3 September $312,037,000,000 US military deaths 2646 UK military deaths 115 Iraqi Civilian deaths min. 41,369 – max. 46,307 Sources: www.costofwar.com, icasualties.org, iraqbodycount.net [to see how the cost mounts up, check out the website: www.costofwar.com ] One World Week 22-29 October The slogan for this year’s One World Week is Mind the Gap *Trade talks fail world’s poor! Mind the gap between winners and losers. “By allowing the colossal inequalities in world trade to persist, rich countries are trading away the livelihoods of millions of poor men and women seeking for a better future for themselves and their children.” Kumi Naidoo, South Africa, Global Call to Action against Poverty.

Hole in the ozone layer bigger than ever! Mind the gap between words and actions. “We need policies of eco-justice, and we need to realise the spiritual dimensions of our life, of our interconnected planet Earth, of each other!” Petra Kelly (1947-1992) German Green politician.

Increasing violence in a divided world! Mind the gap between ‘friends’ and ‘enemies’. “We need to reach that happy stage of our development when differences and diversity are not seen as sources of division and distrust, but of strength and inspiration.” Ratu Josefa Iloilo, President of Fiji.

Together we can – learn about the widening gap between rich and poor and take informed action for justice, recognise we are part of one world in combating inequality and discrimination, and choose a lifestyle that reflects care for the Earth and its resources. It is vital that we all continue to ‘mind the gap’ and to keep up the pressure towards the achievement of the Millennium Goals. Source: OWW PO Box 2555 Reading RG1 4XW

The widening gap Apropos the gap between rich and poor nations, one year after Gleneagles, Britain has slipped two places in the rankings showing rich nations’ commitment to development, even though the government put foreign aid at the top of the G8’s agenda in 2005. The annual Commitment to Development Index, compiled by the Centre for Global Development, a Washington-based think-tank, shows Britain dropped to 12th out of 21 countries surveyed. The Index awards points for action in seven policy areas, including aid, trade, investment and migration. With a score of 5.1 out of 10, Britain fell back from 5.3 in 2005, mainly as a result of arms sales to undemocratic countries. David Roodman, who designed the Index, said, “From what was needed and what was promised, the results are disappointing.” In July Oxfam noted that in the first full-scale audit, since the G8 summit, Britain and its partners have failed to meet almost all the targets they had set themselves. The industrialised countries had delivered on only one of their three priorities, debt relief. They were far from dealing as they had promised with trade, and less than half of what was needed on aid. Source: Guardian Weekly August 18-24

A Reflection for One World Week

If we know and understand the issues, it is up to us: to speak up for the victims of injustice, to work for the renewal of the United Nations, to take every measure we can to reach and change the hearts and minds of those whose priorities are wealth and power, and to pray for peace.

“On either side of the river were the trees of life…. the leaves of which are for the healing of the nations.” Revelations 22:2

Come, Holy Spirit, enkindle in us the fire of your love, so that we may commit ourselves to work for the healing of the nations.

Surely in the history of the world, the nations were never more in need of healing than they are today. AMD