by Vanessa Kritzer and Lisa Haugaardon March 11, 2010
Spring is coming and major grassroots action for peace in Colombia is near! Soon communities all across the country will start preparing for Days of Prayer and Action, when we will join in solidarity with our Colombian sisters and brothers and show policymakers the real size of the movement for change in U.S.-Colombia policy.
We want to make sure we can count on you to get involved because right now the stakes are higher than ever before.
by Melinda St. Louis, Deputy Director, Jubilee USAon March 09, 2010
Tomorrow, the House of Representatives will vote on the Debt Relief for Earthquake Recovery in Haiti Act, which would get the U.S. government to push for an immediate cancellation of Haiti's debts to international institutions. Click here to ensure your representative votes for Haiti debt relief.
When the crisis in Haiti began, we were glad to know we could count on
you to join in raising the resources to help those in immediate need.
Going forward, we're going to need your voice to make sure that our
government and the international community take the necessary steps to
support Haiti as it begins the long road to recovery. Please start with
this urgent action from our friend Hayley Hathaway at the Jubilee USA Network:
In the wake of Haiti's unimaginable tragedy, one obvious and simple
step toward a just recovery is for the international community to
cancel Haiti's $1 billion debt.
Although we rarely remember to celebrate it in the United States, today many of our partners in countries like Colombia, Mexico, and Guatemala are participating in marches, teach-ins, and even parties. Why? Because there are so many strong and brave women to honor and there's still so much more education to be done before we see equal rights and an end to violence against women in Latin America.
Like us, you must be hearing the tale of loss and destruction coming from
Haiti and wondering what you can do to help. Here at the LAWG, we will
be working to encourage a generous response from the U.S. government to
this devastating earthquake, including for long-term reconstruction.
But right now, the most important action we can all take is to contribute to one of the many caring organizations providing relief.
Today in Washington, Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin Peterson
(D-MN), Congressman Jerry Moran (R-KS), and at least 31 of their House
colleagues introduced new legislation (HR 4645) that would put the
United States and Cuba firmly on a path towards engagement by (finally)
restoring U.S. citizens' right to travel to Cuba and facilitating
needed U.S. agricultural sales to the island that were initially
approved by Congress in 2000.
by Lisa Haugaard & Vanessa Kritzeron January 14, 2010
Did you have a restful holiday? We hope you did because now that the
new year is here we're going to be putting you back to work in pushing
for real change in U.S. policies towards Colombia.
As we pointed out in a recent blog post reflecting on "Obama's First Year,"
although the administration promised us a foreign policy that would
bring us hope and change, Colombia policy is still falling far short.
Giving Colombia a free pass on the human rights conditions, signing
military base agreements, continuing high levels of military aid—these
actions are a bitter disappointment. Yet we have seen some good signs,
especially when President Obama raised real concerns about human rights
and democracy when Colombian President Uribe came to visit the White
House. This year, no excuses: We want our government to use both words and deeds to say that respect for human rights does matter.
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