April E-News - CFSC at the UN and much more - Peoples Assembly of Victoria

April E-News - CFSC at the UN and much more

Details: Published on Sunday, 29 November -0001 16:00; Written by editor

Download the CFSC E-News in PDF (scroll down for links).

Grand Chief Wilton Littlechild reads a joint statement at the UNPFII 2018. Photo: Rachel Singleton-Polster

Newest resources... on Indigenous Peoples’ human rights

CFSC board member Rachel Singleton-Polster and staff Jennifer Preston joined partners at the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII) in New York. Each year while there, CFSC’s days are packed full of meetings and developing and signing on to joint statements.

See a joint statement on Indigenous Peoples’ lands, territories, and resources: http://quakerservice.ca/UNPFII2018-1

A joint statement on implementing the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples http://quakerservice.ca/UNPFII2018-2

A legal analysis of the many flaws in a typical article against implementing the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples into law in Canada http://quakerservice.ca/UNDeclarationCommentary

Scene near the Israel-Gaza border, December 29, 2008. Credit Amir Farshad Ebrahimi cc-by

CFSC calls for action after protesters killed in Gaza

The Israeli military has wounded and killed many protesters in Gaza, and CFSC has been deeply concerned both by the disproportionate use of force and by Canada’s lack of response to the actions of its close ally. In a letter to Minister Chrystia Freeland CFSC states:

We call on Canada to condemn such grave violations of human rights. We call on Canada to champion an independent inquiry into what happened, assessing too the general methods of crowd control used by the Israeli military. We are deeply concerned by the apparent situation of Israel employing crowd control methods that systematically violate human rights, and exporting such methods to Canada through military and law enforcement trainings. We are further concerned that Canada sells weapons to Israel. Weapons made in Canada may well be used in rights abuses, and in killing unarmed civilians. As such, we repeat our urgent calls for Canada, as it accedes to the Arms Trade Treaty, to cease selling weapons to human rights abusers. We look forward to your response to these pressing concerns.

Truth and Reconciliation: Quakers in Action

A new resource aims to help Quakers in particular (though much of the content is useful to a broader audience) to engage in the hard work of reconciliation. The resource explains the position about reconciliation developed by Canadian Yearly Meeting in 2016, offers queries for reflection, explains what Friends are doing across Canada, explores truth-telling about colonial legacies, discusses the important topic of Indigenous Peoples’ right to consent, and briefly considers the question of whether or not Canada is guilty of genocide. We trust that at just 27 pages this resource is accessible, while also being full of worthwhile information. The report is available for free download (13 mb PDF) at http://quakerservice.ca/QuakersinAction and we also have print copies available (please contact us to request them).

National Restorative Justice Symposium

Interested in learning more about Restorative Justice? CFSC participated in the 2017 National Restorative Justice Symposium hosted by the Collaborative Justice Program: Restorative Justice Ottawa (CJP) and the Church Council on Justice and Corrections (CCJC). To learn more about the conference, watch videos of the keynote speakers, find notes on restorative justice and more, visit the NRJS site!

Link to the final report: https://sites.google.com/view/nrjs2017snjr/home?authuser=0

Link to Keynote speaker videos and notes: https://sites.google.com/view/nrjs2017snjr/home?authuser=0

Quakers and Climate Change

CFSC financially supports the work of the Quaker United Nations Offices in New York and Geneva. A recent piece of that work has been developing the online resource https://quakersandclimatechange.com/

It offers a chance to learn about and be inspired by Quaker actions on climate change. QUNO would welcome Friends to write to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. with news of Quaker efforts – in your own lives, communities, nationally or internationally – to face the challenge of climate change and other environmental crises.

CFSC welcomes Verena Tan

We’re pleased to welcome Verena Tan as the new program coordinator for CFSC’s criminal justice work. Verena has a lot of experience in working with people who have been harmed by the current system. During the course of her law degree in Australia, Verena worked in grassroots defence of Indigenous people. After completing her degree, she spent some time in Louisiana, where she acted as a volunteer lawyer, providing legal counsel and assistance to prisoners on death row. Back in Australia, Verena continued her work with marginalised people who have difficulty accessing legal help, while working for Victoria Legal Aid. She has also been involved in providing input to the Australian government on the criminal justice system on behalf of the people and organisations she has worked with, around issues including mental illness, rights for prisoners, and discrimination in the system.

Verena is a passionate advocate for social justice, with a deep commitment to the core values of CFSC’s work. We look forward to all the ways in which her work with us will be mutually beneficial to her and to CFSC. She will be working for CFSC part-time while completing a Masters in Social Justice Education at the University of Toronto’s Ontario Institute for Studies in Education. You can contact her at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

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