ELCA Advocacy Update – February 2016 – Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church in Rahway NJ

Today, we present our ELCA Advocacy Update for the month of February, and a preview of some of our advocacy priorities for 2016! Please read below for important information on ELCA Advocacy efforts in Washington, across the country and throughout the world. To read the full version of the update and for more information on advocacy efforts from our Lutheran State Advocacy offices, visit our blog!

ELCA Advocacy, Washington D.C.

2016 ADVOCACY PRIORITIES: Now that lawmakers have planned their legislative agenda for 2016, ELCA Advocacy is excited to share our policy priorities for this fast-paced election year. We continue to strive for public policies that embody the biblical values of peacemaking, hospitality to our neighbors, care for creation, and concern for our brothers and sisters facing poverty and struggling with hunger and disease. In this election year, Members of Congress will want to pass legislation quickly and early to return to their districts in the summer to campaign with tangible policy results. Check out an overview our 2016 Advocacy priorities.

#ELCAvotes: We are called to conversation and prayer around our role as U.S. residents and as people of faith in ensuring our election systems promote dignity and respect for all. We are called to act by speaking out as advocates and engaging in local efforts to guarantee the right to vote to all citizens.

ELCA Votes is an initiative created in collaboration with ELCA Racial Justice Ministry, ELCA Young Adult Ministry, Lutheran Advocacy offices, and synods throughout the country. This is an initiative to:

Expand the role of the church in encouraging faithful and non-partisan voter participation;
Provide a framework for all Lutherans to understand and speak out about the intersection between voting and elections, and racial and economic justice;
Provide young adults the tools to understand and speak about what it means to be a young person of faith who is civically engaged; and
Engage with and equip ethnic specific communities to talk about voting rights and race, and their connection with elections today.

DHS RAIDS: In January, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) began operations to track and deport Central American families that arrived in the U.S. after Jan. 1, 2014. As a church with faith partners that work directly with deported children and families in El Salvador and Honduras, we know that deportation does not deter children and families from leaving their communities. We join Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service (LIRS) in our concern for ensuring access to justice in the U.S. for these families who must navigate a complex legal system, often without necessary support. Read more on the ELCA Advocacy Blog.

JUSTICE FOR FLINT, MICH.: Many residents in Flint, Michigan are unable to access safe water to drink, do their laundry, wash their dishes, or bathe. Lutheran congregations, volunteers, and local leaders are now working in Flint to help provide clean water for those in need. As ELCA World Hunger prepares to fund relief efforts, federal funding is critical to replace Flint’s toxic water pipes. Urge members of Congress to provide this funding by clicking here and find out more about Lutheran engagement at the Southeast Michigan Synod page.

Lutheran Office for World Community, New York, N.Y.

IMPACT OF INTERNATIONAL PATENT ARRANGEMENTS: In July 2012 the Global Commission on HIV and the Law published the report “Risks, Rights and Health,” which outlines, among many issues, the gap in medical treatment as a result of bilateral and multilateral trade agreements. Evaluating the effects of the increased power of pharmaceutical patent holders, this report notes that by the end of 2010, 77 percent of medically eligible children in low- and middle-income countries were not receiving antiretroviral therapy for HIV and AIDS.

On Thursday, Jan. 14, Christine Mangale and Nicholas Jaech of the Lutheran Office for World Community (LOWC) participated in an international webinar regarding the timeline and goals of the High-Level Panel on Access to Medicines, a group appointed by U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in November 2015. Within the realm of health technologies, this panel is addressing the current policy incoherence among the rights of inventors, trade laws, public health and human rights law. There is also an Expert Advisory Group, comprised of U.N. agencies and organizations, the public and private sector, and civil society. In March 2016, two global dialogues will be hosted (London, March 9-10; Johannesburg March 16-17) to provide key stakeholders the opportunity to provide their thoughts, ideas and inputs to the panel. There will be an official report to the U.N. secretary-general on global access to medicines, estimated by June so it is available for meeting on HIV and AIDS later that month.

THE HUMAN RIGHTS UP-FRONT INITATIVE: On Wednesday, Jan. 27, LOWC attended a briefing by the U.N. deputy secretary-general on the Human Rights Up Front Initiative. Launched in 2013, the initiative hopes to guarantee early and effective action on behalf of the U.N. system to prevent or respond to “large-scale violations of human rights or international humanitarian law.” The deputy secretary-general called for a “cultural change” of the United Nations to make sure that the staff understand effective prevention tactics – as well as an “operational change” – shared information between development, humanitarian and human rights agencies and organizations. The deputy secretary-general also called for further engagement with member states, encouraging them to adopt aspects of the initiative into their own national and foreign policies. While most member states that spoke during the briefing outlined their support for the initiative, some members had reservations about what they described as an encroachment of U.N. initiatives into national policies, especially concerning human rights.

FOLLOW-UP AND REVIEW OF SUSTAINBLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS: On Thursday, Jan. 21, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon released a report on the global follow-up and review of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which includes the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). Most importantly, this report highlights ways to “fully use the potential” of the next meeting of the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development, scheduled for July 11-20. This report suggests four parts to the forum: a review of the progress in achieving the SDG, including voluntary national reviews by member states; a specific review of Goal 17, as well as other global partnership agreements, thematic reviews and emerging issues. The report also outlines two potential frameworks for SDG evaluation at all forums on sustainable development convened over the next 15 years. The first is a comprehensive review of all 17 goals to be completed within one year. The second option allows for a comprehensive review but also an in-depth review of each goal, covering all 17 goals within a four-year timespan. According to both options, however, Goal 17 will be evaluated each year.