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6

May
Contact your Representative to co-sponsor the Robust International Response to Pandemic Act (H.R. 6581).
May 6, 2020 Claudia Lucero Action Alerts, Advocacy Opportunities

CRLN signed the letter below to call on our Representatives to co-sponsor a bill that would lift some of the financial burdens on developing countries during the COVID-19 pandemic. We have sent it out to all Illinois Representatives. Please support this effort by copying the letter into an email to your Representative and adding a personal note, such as “I, too, support this bill and ask you to co-sponsor it. Please let me know if you will sign on in support of this lifesaving bill.”

Some changes since the letter was sent: there are now 23 co-sponsors. Also, the provisions in this bill did not make it into the HEROES Act, the “forthcoming coronavirus legislation” referred to in the letter. It is all the more important that this bill pass on its own, since there were NO international provisions in the HEROES Act.

We at CRLN are trying to evaluate the results of our efforts. Please email shunter-smith@crln.org to let us know you have sent the letter, and also let us know if you receive a reply. That will help in our advocacy efforts going forward.

Here is the letter and list of current signers:

[put this into your email’s subject line] Co-Sponsor the Robust International Response to Pandemic Act (H.R.6581)

Dear Representative _______:

As COVID-19 triggers public health and economic crises in countries around the world, we, the undersigned organizations, urge you to co-sponsor the Robust International Response to Pandemic Act (H.R.6581), introduced by Representatives Jesus “Chuy” García, Jan Schakowsky, Mark Takano, and 13 other original co-sponsors. We believe Congress must enact H.R.6581 as part of forthcoming coronavirus legislation to ensure that developing countries will be supported by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and other international financial institutions with the resources they need to confront this unprecedented global crisis.

H.R.6581:

1. Debt Relief: Instructs U.S. representatives to the international financial institutions to support a suspension of debt payments to those institutions during the COVID-19 pandemic;
2. Protection of Public Health Spending: Instructs U.S. representatives to the international financial institutions to oppose programs that undermine countries’ ability to respond to COVID-19, such as those that encourage cuts to public health spending;
3. Needed Resources: Instructs the U.S. representative to the IMF to support issuing 3 trillion in “Special Drawing Rights.”

The United Nations World Food Program estimates that, as a result of the pandemic, 265 million people could face starvation by the end of the year. A report published by the United Nations University has found that half a billion people could be pushed into poverty. Bold, concerted international action is urgently needed.

One key measure that economists, development experts and humanitarian organizations from around the world are calling for is a major issuance of Special Drawing Rights (SDRs). A special international reserve asset created by the IMF, SDRs are distributed to central banks of countries in proportion to their IMF quotas. Countries can exchange SDRs for freely usable currencies when they are in weak financial positions. They are similar to the Federal Reserve’s swap arrangements, which have primarily benefited wealthy nations, whereas SDRs are distributed to all IMF member countries. Congress should support this costless and effective currency lifeline for the rest of the world.

The IMF last issued SDRs in 2009 in response to the global financial crisis and thereby helped ease the impact of the crisis on developing economies. Because SDRs are issued to each country roughly in proportion to the size of its economy, economists project that an issuance of three trillion SDRs will ensure that significant help can reach Latin America, sub-saharan Africa and other regions that face major economic and public health emergencies.

An issuance of SDRs for COVID-19 recovery has been endorsed by IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva, the Secretary General of the UN, most G20 countries, the New York Times and the Financial Times. Former World Bank Chief Economist Joseph Stiglitz asserts that in order to help developing economies, “Full use must be made of the International Monetary Fund’s Special Drawing Rights.”

Another important measure to help developing countries during the pandemic is a moratorium on debt service payments to the IMF, World Bank and other international financial institutions. In 2020 and 2021 alone, low and middle income countries face between $666 billion and $1.06 billion in debt service repayments. Across 46 countries, debt payments for this year are currently projected to be 400% of their health budgets.

H.R. 6581 supports both a major issuance of SDRs and a moratorium on debt to international financial institutions, two vital measures that provide developing countries with critical financial support as they battle the pandemic.

We ask that you contact alex.campbell@mail.house.gov in Rep. García’s office to cosponsor H.R.6581 and urge House Leadership to adopt this lifesaving and urgently needed proposal in the next coronavirus spending package.

Thank you for your consideration,

Action Corps
AFL-CIO
Alianza Americas (Illinois)
Americans for Democracy & Human Rights in Bahrain
Amnesty International USA
Association of Concerned Africa Scholars (USA)
Avaaz
Bread for the World
Center for Economic and Policy Research
Center for International Policy
Chicago Religious Leadership Network on Latin America
Church World Service
CODEPINK
Concerned Citizens for Change (New York)
Concerned Families of Westchester (New York)
Congregation of Our Lady of the Good Shepherd, U.S. Provinces
Demand Progress
Faiths for Safe Water
Friends Committee on National Legislation
Greater New York Labor-Religion Coalition
Helping Hand for Survivors
Indivisible South Bay LA (California)
Just Foreign Policy
Justice Is Global
Knowdrones.com
Leadership Conference of Women Religious
League of Women Voters of the United States
MADRE
National Advocacy Center of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd
New Jersey Peace Action
Oxfam America
Pax Christi USA
Peace Action Maine
Peace Action New York State
Presbyterian Church (USA)
Project Blueprint
Public Citizen
Riverdale-Yonkers Society for Ethical Culture (New York)
RootsAction.org
Sisters of St. Dominic of Blauvel, New York
The Hunger Project
The United Methodist Church – General Board of Church and Society
Union for Reform Judaism
Washington Global Health Alliance
WESPAC Foundation (New York)
Win Without War
Women Against War
Women’s Refugee Care
WNY Peace Center (New York)
Yemeni Alliance Committee
Yemen Relief and Reconstruction Foundation

 

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10

April
Cuban and US Religious Leaders Call for the End of Sanctions
April 10, 2020 Marilyn McKenna Cuba

Joint Statement of the

National Council of the Churches of Christ in USA and the 

Council of Churches of Cuba

La Habana, Cuba – Washington, DC, USA — March 26, 2020

On either side of the river is the tree of life
with its twelve kinds of fruit, producing its fruit  each month;
and the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.                     

 –Revelation 22:2 NRSV

We are only days away from Easter 2020, the most important celebration of Christianity, and the world is going through a crisis of inestimable implications that affects all edges of life on the planet.

The Council of Churches of Cuba and the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA have worked closely together for many years for the right to life, health, and welfare of all the inhabitants of this world. It is the love of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, that unites us and demands that we raise our prayer to our God for the countries and the families that suffer today because of the COVID-19 pandemic. This suffering intensifies and worsens due to inequalities and injustices; the enormous gaps between the rich and the poor; differences among regions; lack of inclusion; gender injustice and migratory and climate justice problems.

  • We solicit the government of the United States for the immediate lifting of the economic, financial and commercial blockade imposed on Cuba for over 60 years as well as that imposed on other nations.
  • We request the cessation of all manipulation and use of political and economic interests in the face of the current global health crisis, worsened and visualized by the COVID 19 pandemic.
  • We request the international ecumenical movement; all churches and faiths in the United States and in the world; governments; the United Nations and all people of goodwill to come together in a global effort to petition for the immediate lifting of the blockade and the cessation of all sanctions on any country or region. Especially now, these genocidal policies hold back and limit the global response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • We salute and congratulate the Pastoral Letter of the World Council of Churches on March 18; the Joint Statement of the ACT Alliance and Religions for Peace on March 26; especially the Call of Church World Service on March 24 in relation to the blockade and the sanctions. Other initiatives and efforts are coming into being as a global campaign in favor of collaboration, unity, and peace in the search for appropriate responses and solutions to the COVID-19 pandemic and world crisis.

We are grateful for the thousands of Cuban doctors, nurses, and healthcare professionals who are selflessly providing lifesaving assistance throughout the world.  Therefore, it is imperative the blockade and coercive sanctions are lifted so they would be able to save lives during the pandemic.

We know that goodwill between Cubans and Americans will help the entire world in this moment.  We pray our call will be heard.

Jim Winkler
General Secretary and President
National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA

Rev. Antonio Santana Hernandez
President
Council of Churches in Cuba

Rev. Joel Ortega Dopico
Executive Secretary
Council of Churches in Cuba

Rev. Dr. John Dorhauer
Governing Board Chair
National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA

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8

April
Webinar: El Salvador’s Water in the Time of COVID-19
April 8, 2020 Claudia Lucero

Register here

Date and time: Saturday, April 18, 2pm CST

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, how can you wash your hands with no access to clean water? You can’t. After decades of right-wing attacks on essential public services, like health care and water, many people in El Salvador do not have the access they need to protect their health in this critical time, much less easily carry on daily cooking and cleaning tasks.

Join CRLN ally CISPES (Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador) for an online conversation with water defense activist and national labor union leader, Marielos de Leon, to learn how organizers in El Salvador are advancing the struggle for water rights for all–and the important role that international solidarity can play today. 

You must register to participate in this webinar.

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3

April
Urge Congress & the Administration to Lift Sanctions on Cuba & Venezuela to Help Fight COVID-19
April 3, 2020 Marilyn McKenna Action Alerts

The Impact of Economic Sanctions Against Cuba Amid COVID-19

Cuba has been under U.S. economic sanctions for over sixty years, costing the island nation billions of dollars. In the last year, the Trump Administration has dramatically increased economic sanctions against Cuba, leaving them strapped for cash. As the confirmed cases of COVID-19 increase daily within the country, the economic toll resulting from these sanctions has led to a shortage of medicine and medical supplies needed to combat the virus. Despite Cuba’s strong healthcare system, their lack of access to the appropriate medical supplies is hindering their ability to treat and contain COVID-19. The international community must make every effort within its power to stop the spread of the virus, protect people particularly the most vulnerable and ease the harm the virus causes. In order to do that, the United State must suspend the sanctions that are inflicting the most harm on the Cuban people.

The Impact of Economic Sanctions Against Venezuela Amid COVID-19

U.S. economic sanctions in Venezuela had led to a public health crisis prior to the rise of COVID-19. These sanctions negatively impacted Venezuela’s economy and have prohibited the importation of essential, lifesaving products, including medicine and medical equipment. Economic sanctions imposed by the United States have already caused increased disease and tens of thousands of excess deaths, according to a 2019 study. Hospitals throughout the country are suffering from a lack of masks, gloves, and other protective gear essential for the proper treatment of COVID-19 patients and for containing the virus. Additionally, many hospitals lack clean water and soap, further indicating that an outbreak of COVID-19 in Venezuela would likely spread rapidly.

The Fight Against COVID-19 Must Be Global

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights recently called for sectoral sanctions to be reduced or suspended. During this crisis, the world must come together to effectively fight it. Any hindering of the medical efforts in one country increases the risk for the entire globe.

Contact the administration and your members of Congress today! Urge them to make every effort to stop the COVID19 by easing the sanctions on Cuba and Venezuela and helping the most vulnerable get the medical care and equipment they need.

Click the link below to log in and send your message:
https://www.votervoice.net/PCUSA/Campaigns/73235/Respond

 

 

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1

April
Honduas Solidarity Network Statement on Pandemic in Honduras
April 1, 2020 Claudia Lucero Central America

Solidarity with the Honduran people in Pandemic Times:  COVID-19, Another Weapon in the Hands of the Dictatorship

The U.S. and Canada-backed regime of Juan Orlando Hernandez (JOH) is using the very real dangers and fears of the
coronavirus pandemic to militarize the country, justify acts of corruption, destroyand further privatize public services, repress dissent, and criminalize poverty.

 

On March 15, 2020, without previous implementation of any minimal COVID-19 prevention measures, JOH implemented a nation-wide lockdown enforced by and managed by the Honduran military and police. The regime suspended numerous
constitutional guarantees, including the right to freedom of expression, freedom of movement, and freedom from arbitrary detention. The regime closed public spaces and many businesses, and, in the name of enforcing the lockdown, has carried out hundreds of arrests. Some of these arrests have been politically-motivated.

 

On March 17 in the southern city of Choluteca, the police surrounded the home of a well-known community activist, Aleyda Huete. The next day, Huete was released from jail after an international and national outcry against her arrest but still faces charges and death threats that are believed to grow out of her opposition to the JOH dictatorship. Journalists covering police evictions of the public markets are threatened to be put in government-run quarantine.

 

The Honduran government has used the crisis to justify freeing at least one individual indicted and jailed on corruption charges and also named in connection to JOH’s brother, Tony Hernandez’s drug trafficking activities. This is while the
government continues to ignore judicial motions and demands to free the eight Guapinol defenders and political prisoners that are at exceptional risk inside Honduran prisons.

 

Over the last few days, the desperation of the population in rural and urban areas has led to increased government attacks and repression. At the best of times, 60% of Hondurans live in poverty and half of that number live in extreme poverty. Approximately 70% of employment in Honduras is through the informal sector, and with the closure of street markets, small, road-side vendors, streets and parks, an emergency life and death situation is growing across the country.

 

With the extreme government-imposed measures, Hondurans are being forced to “lockdown and starve” and are unable to go to the streets in search of food, assistance, and whatever means to survive without facing arrest, harassment, and
repression. As the well-known Honduran human rights organization COFADEH explained: “A curfew can’t be obeyed when people are dying of hunger.” The already difficult economic, social, and political situation in Honduras has been
exacerbated by the pandemic, and again, Hondurans are being forced to confront the illegitimate, U.S. and Canada-backed JOH regime in the most extreme circumstances.

 

In early March, under the real threat posed by the global pandemic but when less than 3 COVID-19 cases were reported in the country at the time, the Honduran Congress used the crisis to approve over $420 million USD in alleged assistance to confront the crisis. In addition, the JOH government is requesting support from the international financial institutions that have turned a blind eye while feeding public corruption for several years. The Honduran Convergence Against Re-election fears that this money will never be audited and instead, used to line the pockets of the corrupt instead of addressing the public health crisis. As of March 29, there are 139 reported COVID-19 cases, 3 resulting deaths, and increasing economic and public health demands being made by the population.

 

Despite the availability of emergency funds, the government’s response to the crisis has been to politicize food packages, delivering small amounts of food aid only to families on the National Party’s election roster. With growing indignation and
desperation, people in several communities, municipalities, and urban neighbourhoods have taken to the streets and blocked roads, demanding that food and basic supplies be provided. These protests are met with repression, live
bullets, tear gas, and arrests. In addition, physicians, medical residents, and healthcare workers have walked off the job and continue to complain of the complete lack of basic medical protective equipment in the largest public hospitals
in the two major cities. These complaints add to the growing frustration of the intentional neglect of the public healthcare system which has been decimated by corrupt plundering and privatization efforts for several years.

 

The JOH government’s corruption is well-documented, whether it is theft of money designated for public health services that then found its way into JOH’s 2013 election funds or the bank accounts National Party officials and their family
members accused of theft of public funds, fraud, etc. Hondurans are outraged by the evidence presented in U.S. Federal Courts in New York during court proceedings against JOH’s brother Tony Hernandez, his cousin, and other narcotics traffickers that link JOH directly to drug cartels in Honduras, and the fact that, despite this evidence and the blatant corruption and violations of human rights, JOH is still supported politically and financially by the U.S. and Canadian
governments.

 

The Honduras Solidarity Network stands with the Honduran people and organizations who call for an end to the repression and corruption and demand urgent funds and resources for healthcare, food, and water for the Honduran
people. We also continue to stand with the people’s demands for an end to the U.S. and Canada-backed narco-dictatorship. Our governments must stop propping up an illegitimate and corrupt government in Honduras.

For daily updates on the situation in Honduras including possible calls to action,please visit:

Facebook: Honduras Solidarity Network
Twitter: @hondurassol

March 30, 2020

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31

March
Confronting Forced Migration and Violence in the Americas Webinar Series
March 31, 2020 Claudia Lucero

Need something good to do while you are sheltering at home during the coronavirus pandemic? Watch a series of five, one-hour webinars this Saturday and Sunday, April 4 and 5, facilitated by CRLN’s ally orgranization, SOAWatch. Presenters include veterans in the movement for peace and social justice in Latin America like Laura Carlsen, Jennifer Harbury, John Lindsey-Poland, and Dana Frank, along with newer faces involved in Abya Yala (“Las Americas”) and activists along the U.S.-Mexican border.

The series will examine the impact of US-backed state violence in the hemisphere, the root causes of forced migration and militarization, and will teach you how to use effective narratives, mutual aid, research and lobbying to nourish our collective work as we face the current humanitarian crisis.

For a description and time period for each webinar and to register separately for each webinar that interests you, go to https://www.soaw.org/webinar-series-april-4-5-2020-confronting-forced-migration-violence-in-the-americas

 

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31

March
Sign Petition to Stop Deportations to Mexico and Central America
March 31, 2020 Claudia Lucero Action Alerts, Central America

Our friends at the Latin America Working Group (LAWG) are gathering signatures on a petition to President Trump and Acting DHS Secretary Chad Wolf to stop deportations to Mexico and Central America during the COVID-19 pandemic. While international travel is restricted during this health crisis, it is outrageous that the U.S. risks increasing spread of the coronavirus by deporting detained migrants. They already may have been exposed to the virus while in overcrowded detention centers. Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador have fragile and underfunded public health systems, which are having enough difficulties treating the coronavirus patients they already have.

 

Please read and sign the petition at the link below.

https://lawg.salsalabs.org/stopdeportations/index.html

 

For more information at LAWG, click here

 

“Central America Fears Trump Could Deport the Coronavirus” (Los Angeles Times)

 

 

 

 

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26

March
“Ancestral Movements: Indigenous Territory and Migration” with Silvia Raquec Cum
March 26, 2020 Claudia Lucero

Webinar, “Ancestral Movements: Indigenous Territory and Migration”

with Maya Kaqchikel presenter Silvia Raquec Cum, Migration Program Coordinator, Association Pop No’j

April 16, 2020, 6:00pm CST 

While state forces threaten their safety and dignity, Indigenous peoples and migrants resist with courage and resilience. Join us for this webinar to learn about resource extraction, migration, and the work of Indigenous people in Guatemala to build a world beyond colonial borders. Register here for English translation webinar.  Register here for Spanish language webinar.

 

This educational session will prepare you to participate in a wide coalition campaign, of which CRLN is a part, to end the Asylum Cooperation Agreements (ACAs) between the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Presidents of Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador. The ACAs allow the U.S. to deport asylum seekers and require them to seek asylum in these three countries. None of these countries has a well-functioning process for applying for asylum nor the capacity to shelter and feed people deported while they wait. No Congress has approved these agreements.

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26

March
“Ancestral Movements: Indigenous Territory and Migration,” Silvia Raqueq
March 26, 2020 Claudia Lucero

While state forces threaten their safety and dignity, Indigenous peoples and migrants resist with creativity and resilience. Join us to learn about resource extraction, migration, and the work of Indigenous peoples to build a world beyond colonial borders in this webinar with Silvia Raqueq,  Migration Program Coordinator of Association Pop No’j, Guatemala.

 

This educational session will prepare you to take action with CRLN, which is in a wide coalition campaign to end the Asylum Cooperation Agreements (ACAs) with Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador. The ACAs are the agreements that allow the U.S. to deport asylum seekers and require them to seek asylum in these three countries. None of these countries has a well-functioning asylum process or the capacity to give deported people shelter and food until they receive asylum. None of these agreements has been approved by any Congress, and, in Guatemala’s case, were signed by the President over the objection of its highest court.

 

Registration information for this webinar will be sent out soon.

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26

March
COMUNICADO DE COFADEH: DICTADURA USA “ESTADO DE EXCEPCIÓN” PARA VIOLAR DERECHOS Y GARANTÍAS DURANTE LA PANDEMIA
March 26, 2020 Claudia Lucero Action Alerts

En Honduras, más de 500 personas han sido detenidas arbitrariamente y sometidas a torturas por las fuerzas armadas en diferentes ciudades valiéndose de un decreto ejecutivo (PCM 021-2020) emitido por el cuerpo de ministros del régimen el lunes 16 de marzo anterior. El país registra oficialmente 52 casos positivos al 25 de marzo y se desconoce el dato real de casos sospechosos entre una población víctima de una campaña oficial permanente de pánico, que está activando a su vez una conflictividad social entre los sectores más empobrecidos que carecen de reservas alimentarias y de medios suficientes para proveerse.
El Comité de Familiares de Detenidos Desaparecidos en Honduras (COFADEH) advirtió el mismo lunes 16 de marzo que ese tipo de medidas extremas impuestas por el régimen violento, que enfrenta 10 años de desobediencia civil por su carácter ilegítimo, acabarían atacando a la población.
Los policías y militares, semi analfabetas, que hacen cumplir el decreto de emergencia, extendido al 29 de marzo en todo el país, no respetan protocolos internacionales sobre uso de la fuerza e impiden con brutalidad la libertad de locomoción, reunión, expresión, asociación, libertad personal y la inviolabilidad del domicilio.
En base a ese decreto central también las municipalidades han impuesto ordenanzas de toques de queda absolutos entre 48 y 72 horas en el Distrito Central, Comayagua, San Pedro Sula, Ceiba, Choluteca y El Progreso. También en Puerto Cortés y Santa Cruz de Yojoa, donde se registraron los primeros casos positivos por coronavirus.
En todas esas ciudades son las policías municipales o las fuerzas militares en general las que hacen cumplir las ordenanzas sin manuales de procedimientos en este tipo de emergencias.
En un barrio de Comayagüela, cinco hombres que el martes se acercaron a comer alrededor de una “olla común” preparada por mujeres defensoras de la Iniciativa Mesoamericana (IM) fueron detenidos y encerrados en una posta policial próxima, mientras las mujeres fueron conminadas a cancelar la actividad solidaria y encerrarse en sus casas.
Por las gestiones de IM y de este Comité, los hombres fueron liberados.
En Choluteca, Comayagua, San Pedro Sula, Tegucigalpa, Puerto Cortés, Choloma, La Ceiba y El Progreso también hay reportes de detenciones arbitrarias seguidas de golpes, “sermones moralizantes”, insultos vulgares y torturas crueles en lugares aislados.
En el mejor de los casos, las personas privadas de libertad son liberadas fuera de los plazos que establece la Constitución, pero la decisión policial en general es mantenerlas encerradas “hasta que la emergencia finalice”.
Hay registro de detención? Hay remisión de casos a la Fiscalía? Son alimentados dignamente? Gozan de medidas de bioseguridad? Pueden comunicarse con sus familias? No hay respuestas aún a estas preguntas.
En los últimos días han sido virales las imágenes en una posta policial en la capital y una cancha deportiva en Siguatepeque donde la policía militar obliga a las personas detenidas a realizar entrenamientos militares y trabajos forzados, por “irrespetar” el toque de queda absoluto de la dictadura.
En casi la totalidad de los casos, las personas arrestadas realizaban misiones de aprovisionamiento alimentario o de medicamentos para sus familias.
En vista de los hechos hacemos un llamado a las instituciones con salvoconductos excepcionales para circular en el país, entre ellas el ministerio de Derechos Humanos y el Comisionado Nacional de Derechos Humanos, que aseguren el respeto a la integridad física y la vida de todas las personas detenidas. Asimisimo, llamamos a las Naciones Unidas a levantar un censo de detenciones arbitrarias y de tratos crueles durante esta emergencia sanitaria, porque el régimen oculta o minimiza los datos, con la misma lógica de conveniencia que maneja los contagios. El ocultamiento o manipulación de la información pública es un grave riesgo adicional para la vida y las libertades del pueblo hondureño en momentos cuando se impone la inmovilidad social por la fuerza. No debe tolerarse en ninguna circunstancia, peor en ésta. De los hechos y de los hechores, ni olvido ni perdón C O F A D E H Tegucigalpa, Honduras, 25 de marzo de 2020

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The Chicago Religious Leadership Network on Latin America (CRLN).

  • Tel: +773-293-2964
  • Fax: +773-293-3677
  • Email: crln@crln.org