Edmund Rice International

Most nations have laws that prohibit child labour. Yet throughout the world, children in large numbers can be seen toiling in sweatshops, hauling concrete, tilling fields, plucking garbage or peddling shoes. Some children work for as little as six cents a day, sometimes less, according to the International Labour Office. Photo: A Bolivian boy wanders [...]

   In a joint submission for the Universal Periodic Review of the United Kingdom, Edmund Rice International joined with Franciscans International, VIVAT International and United for Change – a coalition of fifteen community and faith-based support groups for asylum seekers and refugees (including the Christian Brothers) in the Greater Manchester area – to recommend that [...]

  Mental health is a frequently neglected issue, reflected in the shortage of hospitals and treatment centres available to serve an increasing number of sufferers worldwide. Zimbabwe is no exception to this situation, so students from the Edmund Rice Society (ERS) at St Patrick’s College Bulawayo, partnered with Bulawayo Mental Health hospital officials and others [...]

On October 24 and 25, a Christian Brothers’ Oceania Province training workshop in advocacy was conducted in which the Province Directors of Formation- Mary Murphy, Ministry- Peter Clinch and Networking/Communication-Bernie Gartland met with the Regional Coordinators of Ministry and Formation. Another person, already working for the province from each region, was invited to attend and [...]

Immediately after its UPR session in May, the government of Papua New Guinea indicated its acceptance of seventy five of the one hundred and forty six recommendations put to it in the course of its review. However only two recommendations were rejected outright with the remaining sixty nine to be the subject of further consideration. [...]

The Christian Brothers have decided they cannot remain silent in the face of recent events in Bolivia. The Bolivian government has decided to build a road through a National Park which is home to some sixteen thousand indigenous people.  Opponents of the project claim that the decision violates the Bolivian Constitution and existing laws such [...]

To be effective, the work of ERI in Geneva very much depends on having an active Edmund Rice Network engaged in advocacy at the local level. This has required the appointment of a ‘contact person’ in each province or region. Again in order to carry out the role, the contact person needs the support and [...]

“Already the MDGs have helped lift millions of people out of poverty, save countless children’s lives and ensure that they attend school” said UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon at the launch of the Millennium Development Goals Report 2011 in Geneva earlier this month. “They have reduced maternal deaths, expanded opportunities for women, increased access to [...]

“After adoption, ratification!” was the call of over 70 NGOs and labour groups from 5 continents, including domestic workers themselves, at a conference hosted by the International Catholic Centre of Geneva on June 3rd and 4th, 2011. Organised by a network of Catholic-inspired NGOs and their partners, the consultation was held in anticipation of the [...]

The following is taken from a longer article written by Durgesh Kumar Atwal, a student at St Johns Christian Brothers College in Chandigarh, India A couple of days ago, about 400 children gathered at the Central Plaza of sector 17 Chandigarh for an unusual activity. It was one that I wouldn’t normally associate with traditional [...]