Presentation Sisters Justice Desk for Ireland and England

The North East and South West Provinces in Ireland, together with the English Province have established an Inter-provincial Justice Desk (Autumn 2016). The Director of this Justice Desk, Mr. Brian O’Toole provides the communication link between the Provinces and the International Presentation Association, a global network of Presentation Sisters which has NGO status at the United Nations.

A two-way correspondence between local concern and commitment, on the one hand, and the Global Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation  (JPIC) agenda on the other,  is thereby maintained.

Brian O’Toole, Director of Presentation Sisters Justice Desk.

The services of the Inter-provincial Justice Desk support the work of the Provincial Commissions and Groups in promoting research and action for Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation (JPIC) by the three Provinces.

An Update from the Interprovincial Justice Desk

Much of the focus in November has been  on COP27 and what it means for us as a committed group of Christians. Our commitment to the processes of the COP27 negotiations are a follow on from our IPA commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

On Oct 17th last, the UN Day for the Eradication of Extreme Poverty we had the privilege of attending Dublin’s famine stone to hear the voices of those with a lived experience of poverty.

Brian looks forward very much to the opportunity to meet our Friends of Nano face to face at the end of the month in Mount St. Anne’s Retreat & Conference Centre  to explore together those interests and commitments we have in common. See HERE

What we want from COP27

1.  A “real zero” agreement means moving away from fossil fuels, the root cause of the climate crisis.
2. Reduce Debt: Developing countries are suffering from the triple crisis of debt, climate change, and nature loss.
3. Respect Human Rights.
4. Address Loss & Damage: Climate change is not just the future, it is the present for many of the world’s most vulnerable citizens who have lost their homes, their livelihoods, and their cultures. Wealthy nations have fiercely resisted providing specific finance for these losses.
5. A fresh look at agriculture as a solution. A quarter of the globe’s greenhouse gas emissions come from agriculture.  Agroecology is a system of food production that nourishes rather than destroys nature and offers a good solution.
6. Progress on 2022 Glasgow COP26 commitments.

See also Shoeless on Sinai to COP27

The Eradication of Poverty

We prepare to mark the 6th World Day of the Poor on Sunday, 13^th November (a Day established by Pope Francis in his Apostolic Letter “Misericordia et Miser” in 2016, to celebrate the end of the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy). This day has been an important focus point for advocacy and action every year since then. Its aim after all is to encourage the Church to “go out” into the streets to encounter poverty in its different forms and to alleviate the suffering, as well as addressing the core drivers and advocating for change.

See HERE

See also

Collaboration

The Presentation Justice Desk is a collaborative mission of the English, North East and South West Provinces and three times per year we collaborate prayerfully on a significant day as we encourage all in our three provinces to pray with us.

Our next day of special collaboration will be on August 9th centring our attention on the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples 2022.  See International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples | United Nations

Also Indigenous & Tribal People – International Presentation Association (globalpres.org)

Standing Together Against Direct Provision

The International Presentation (IPA) has joined the newly formed coalition of organisations standing against Direct Provision. STAD (the Irish word for stop) – Stand Together Against Direct Provision – are calling for the Government to fulfil the commitments it made to end direct provision by 2024 in the White Paper on Ending Direct Provision published in March 2021.

See  gov.ie – White Paper on Ending Direct Provision | Executive Summary in various languages (www.gov.ie)

#addthe10th

At the Justice desk I am privileged to be an ATD board member representing the Presentation Sisters in Ireland. ATD Ireland are part of an important alliance called #addthe10th.

The purpose of this group is to have socio-economic status recognised as the tenth ground of discrimination in Irish equality legislation, namely the Equal Status Act and the Employment Equality Act. Those with an experience of poverty are “constantly fall through the cracks” of equality legislation.

Socio-economic discrimination can occur in many forms and can be experienced both individually and collectively. Discrimination is often felt within public services, such as in healthcare, housing and accommodation, when seeking employment, education, social welfare, or with the police.

Measuring Ireland’s Progress (SDGs)

Measuring Progress: The Sustainable Progress Index 2022 ranks 14 comparable EU countries based on their delivery of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Written by Prof. Charles M.A. Clark of St John’s University, NY; Dr. Catherine Kavanagh of UCC; and Colette Bennett of Social Justice Ireland, the index compares 14 EU countries across all UN SDGs, assesses their performance on each individual SDG; creates a ranking table for performance overall; and provides national and local-level policy proposals to improve Ireland’s progress towards the Goals.

All 17 SDGs have been referenced but the results have been collated to indicate the degree to which we have implemented the SDGs to account for our Economic, Social and Environmental Progress. Overall Ireland stands about 10th out of 14. Below us are Portugal, Italy, Greece and Spain. We scored highest in SDG 4—Quality Education where we came 1st out of 14 but we scored poorly on SDG #13—Climate Action (11th out of 14). There is no doubt that COVID-19 has had an impact on our ability to achieve full implementation of the Goals and the 2030 deadline looms large. Much done – more to do as they say.

Alliances

Over the course of the last year much of our work was online and at a distance from people. ‘Zoom’ allowed attendance at three or four meetings per day whereas beforehand the pace was definitely gentler with more thinking time for all. We continue to work particularly closely with the Religious in Europe Networking Against Trafficking and Exploitation (RENATE), AEFJN Ireland, COALITION 2030, Altogether in Dignity (ATD) Ireland, Edmund Rice International, Social Justice Ireland and Our Lady of the Apostles and others.

Brian O’Toole
Director, Interprovincial Justice Desk

Universal Periodic Review Update

The UN High Level Political Forum July 2021

Preparing for General Election 2020 – Ireland 

In order to prepare for engagement with canvassers for local candidates running for the current election on the 8th February 2020, please avail of a useful and extensive compilation of resources compiled by Brian O’Toole, with material drawn from a broad range of organisations.  Thank you, Brian.   See HERE 

Brian O’Toole can be contacted as follows:

Presentation Sisters Justice Desk
Ireland and England,
Room 14 St. Patrick’s Hall,
Marino Institute of Education,
Griffith Avenue,
Dublin 9,
D09 K4P6.

Contact phone no:  089 2085253  Email: presinterprovjustice@gmail.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/presentationjusticedesk/