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[Back to index of April 2007 articles] Ecumenical group lobbies for children’s rights By Dana Wilkie Health coverage for all the nation’s children. Using the nation’s resources for peace instead of war. Cutting carbon emissions by 20 percent by 2050. Such were the demands that Capitol Hill lawmakers heard last month from a rather new sort of lobbyist – volunteers who participated in the “Ecumenical Advocacy Days Conference” sponsored by the Episcopal Church and some 50 other religious and human-rights advocacy groups.
The fifth annual conference gave participants an opportunity to join the throngs of lobbyists who regularly bombard the Hill with their priorities. “It was an awesome experience to be a part of such a powerfully faith-filled group ready to fight for justice and peace in our country and around the world,” said Mary Getz, the grassroots coordinator for the Episcopal Church Office of Government Relations. The mission of Ecumenical Advocacy Days is to use worship, theological reflection and witness to strengthen the Christian voice and to advocate for domestic and international policy issues. The conference began in 2003 as a gathering of 400 religious advocates concerned about U.S. foreign policy in Africa and the Middle East. The following year, more than 600 religious advocates from 41 states and 15 countries participated. Some 1,000 religious advocates participated in the most recent conference, held March 9-12 to focus on the status of children around the globe. During the conference, titled “And How Are the Children,” presenters and participants tackled globalization, the threat of toxic waste sites, the environmental degradation and privatization of water resources in developing countries, child soldiering in Africa, human trafficking and child prostitution in the Philippines and Burma, and the effect of war on children in Iraq. They called on Congress and the president to make legislative commitments to: lift families out of poverty, strengthen quality education, ensure sufficient food and water for all, preserve the integrity of creation for future generations, end violent conflicts that sacrifice young lives, and stop the daily deaths of 30,000 children under the age of 5 from diseases that can easily be prevented or treated. Conference goers could chose from workshops that focused on seven different areas: Africa, Asia, Eco-Justice, Latin America, Domestic Policy, Economic Justice, Global Security, or the Middle East. The workshops covered a wide variety of topics including: international debt forgiveness, the U.S. Farm Bill, policy options for providing all children with health insurance, the climate change crisis, and child soldiers in war torn states. Among the speakers who addressed the conference were: Edelman; the Rev. Clifton Kirkpatrick, stated clerk of the Presbyterian Church USA; and Mercedes Roman, an Ecuadorian sociologist and United Nations representative for Defense for Children International. “There are many examples of how the Convention on the Rights of the Child has changed conditions for the better in many countries,” Roman said. “Governments have begun to understand that education is the door to social and cultural development. More people and governments understand that when the status of women advances, the status of children advances.” But Roman also said that in some parts of the world, the condition of children has either stayed the same or worsened. “The number of children with HIV in Africa is growing, along with new means of trafficking in children and sexual abuse,” she said. “Children are the primary victims of growing drug abuse, and in many places children are becoming sexually active at younger ages.” The conference also provided numerous opportunities for making new connections. “We especially enjoyed meeting with Episcopalians at Saturday’s denominational lunch,” said Molly Keane of the Episcopal Church’s Government Relations staff. “It was a chance for us to discuss the Millennium Development Goals and our ONE Episcopalian campaign (www.episcopalchurch.org/one) and other issues of particular interest to Episcopalians.” After a weekend of workshops, Advocacy Days culminated with a day of lobbying on Capitol Hill. Participants were given detailed training materials on how to approach lawmakers, then sent to the Hill with three fundamental requests: For Congress to take action in 2007 to enact quality health care coverage for all children living in the United States; that Congress use the nation’s resources for peace, not war; and that Congress enact legislation that would reduce carbon emissions to 15 to 20 percent of 2000 levels by 2002, and to 80 percent of 2000 levels by 2050. “In their lobby visits, the participants spoke to Capitol Hill about real Christian values,” Getz said, “caring for the children of the United States and the world, fulfilling our roles as good stewards of God’s creation and calling for peace with justice.” [Back to index of April 2007 articles]
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