UNOP continues its work in defence of human rights and the environment
With different initiatives, Dominicans for Justice and Peace (UNOP) continues its work in defence of human rights and the environment, as can be seen in the annual report 2023, released on 28 July at www.un.op.org.
In 2023, Dominicans for Justice and Peace conducted two workshops in Baguio City, Philippines, in partnership with the Dominican Environmental Committee of the Dominican Family for Justice, Peace and the Care of Creation in that country. Twenty-seven teachers and 13 members of the committee participated in the first workshop. This event focused on issues such as climate change awareness, especially rights-based climate change and the notion of ecology. The second workshop produced a manual highlighting the crucial relationship between climate change and human rights, with the aim of empowering teachers in Philippine schools to effectively integrate climate change and human rights issues into their curricula. This manual will serve as a tool for educators, enabling them to deliver engaging lessons that will help students understand and address these pressing issues.
In light of the critical and growing challenges facing the Haitian population, UNOP sent a letter to the member states of the Human Rights Council, expressing its deep concern over the escalating unrest in the country. The letter emphasised the urgency of addressing the dire situation in Haiti, as reported by Dominicans living in the country, and stressed the need to take a firm stance against the government’s ineffectiveness in ensuring the security of its citizens.
UNOP visited Zambales Ecological Network Inc, a local environmental NGO, as well as fishing communities to better understand their struggle to protect the coasts and riverbeds. This visit shed light on the mismanagement of sand resources and how it significantly affects marine ecosystems as well as the livelihoods, health and housing of coastal communities. UNOP pledged to continue its work at the UN to support these local communities.
The report recalls that in 2020, Dominicans for Justice and Peace joined the global coalition advocating for the recognition of the right to a healthy environment. In 2023, the coalition’s efforts were recognised with the prestigious UN Human Rights Award, which serves as motivation for governments, businesses, institutions and individuals around the world to actively contribute to realising the right to a healthy environment for all.
Brother Aniedi Okure, OP, participated in the thematic debates of the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) and in the sessions of the CND and the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice (CCPCJ). During the CCPCJ session, he delivered a statement highlighting the importance of multi-stakeholder approaches in the fight against organised crime. Being a first time visitor to Vienna, he took the opportunity to engage in dialogue with a large number of local partners, including the NGO Alliance for Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice.
UNOP also met in Nairobi with the Advocacy Team representing the Dominican Family at the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), which played an important role in the UNEP Permanent Representatives Committee meeting on 5 October. At this meeting, particular attention was given to the ongoing negotiations on the Plastic Pollution Treaty. Br Aniedi delivered a statement in which he underlined the vital role of UNEP in addressing the global challenge of plastic pollution and emphasised the urgency of tackling this critical issue, stressing the importance of UNEP’s discussions in this context.
Finally, as a member of the Interfaith Liaison Committee (ILC), Dominicans for Justice and Peace was one of the sponsors and organisers of the Talanoa Dialogue on 30 November, in which more than 150 religious representatives participated in person and online, as a prelude to COP28. The Talanoa Interfaith Dialogue served as a catalyst, strengthening religious associations and coordinating advocacy efforts at COP28. The event highlighted the great unity that exists between different religions and spiritual traditions in relation to caring for our planet.
This year marks the 750th anniversary of the death of St. Thomas Aquinas and the 500th anniversary of the beginning of Francisco de Vitoria’s teaching career in Salamanca. On this occasion, the Master of the Order and President of Dominicans for Justice and Peace, Brother Gerard Francisco Timoner III, OP, has highlighted that “although Thomas Aquinas did not write explicitly about human rights as we understand them today, he did write about several fundamental aspects of human dignity and justice.” The Master emphasizes that Francisco de Vitoria “proposed the idea of a community of nations united by common juridical principles,” for which he is recognised as the “father of international law.” The United Nations has thus honoured his contribution by naming an important room in its headquarters in Geneva after him. “This is the tradition that Dominicans for Justice and Peace continues today at the UN,” states the Master of the Order.
