Edmund Rice International

Young people representing over 30 countries held their 7th International Summit at the United Nations in Geneva. ERI had the privilege of participating with these dynamic young minds. Professional inputs were provided by a series of individuals whose job was to motivate the youth to discussion of relevant Human Rights topics. This was very well [...]

This is a letter sent to the Governor General of Canada. It is inspired by Louise, a Canadian physiotherapist, who spent her holidays working with the people of Haiti. We await the response of Her Excellency Mme. Michaelle Jean, who was born in Haiti and emigrated to Canada. Your Excellency, The devastating earthquake which caused [...]

Dr Kishore Singh an international law expert from India and an internationally recognised authority on the right to education, has recently been appointed by the UN Human Rights Council as the Special Rapporteur on the Right to Education. Dr Singh has most recently been working as Senior Programme Specialist for the right to education, at UNESCO [...]

Speaking in the General Debate at the recent Session of the Human Rights Council In Geneva, the Vatican representative Archbishop Tomasi addressed the issue of the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health. Drawing upon the experience of the Catholic Church as a major provider of [...]

The FAME (Flexible Accredited Meaningful Education) program is dedicated to providing enriching experiences for disadvantaged young people. It is a Christian Brother supported initiative in the Australian city of Adelaide, which operates in partnership with a range of community, educational and service organizations. Students are referred to FAME due to their disengagement from mainstream schooling; [...]

As a contribution to the Universal Periodic Review of the Human Rights record of the United States, due to take place in November, Edmund Rice International has made a submission about the US guest-worker program. One driver for this effort has been the 2008 Edmund Rice Christian Brothers North America (ERCBNA) chapter statement, “encouraging the [...]

Following the interactive dialogue phase of the Universal Periodic Review, the Kenyan government has indicated its support for one hundred and twenty eight of the recommendations that were made to it by fellow member states. A further fifteen recommendations will be examined further by Kenya and a decision about their acceptance made by September. Seven [...]

I spent three hours watching Kenya, a large and complex African nation, being assessed on its human rights record. Over 78 countries had lined up to speak to Kenya about this, and most of them, in the two minutes allotted them, spoke succinctly and wisely. It was analysis, encouragement and challenge: Kenya was being judged [...]

The bold move made by the Presentation Brothers to continue the Chapter mandate of “Singing a New Song” was very much in evidence in Spisske Podhradie, Slovakia, which I visited in March. Here are two elderly Brothers, Vincent and Michael, (both in their 70’s) in a very remote part of Europe behind the former Iron [...]

The goal of providing universal primary education by 2015 seems to be slipping out of reach according to the Global Campaign For Education (GCE) According to a UNESCO Global Report released earlier this year, 72 million children were out of school in 2007 and 56 million would still be out of school by 2015 if [...]