Swords into plowshares
About this blog
Swords into Plowshares is the blog of the Peacemaking Program and the Presbyterian Ministry at the United Nations of the Presbyterian Mission Agency of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).
Seeking peace. Striving for justice. Together.
Recent posts
- Summer 2013 intern at the Presbyterian Ministry at the United Nations – Onaje Crawford
- Remarks by Ambassador Jeffrey DeLaurentis, U.S. Alternate Representative for Special Political Affairs at the United Nations, at a Security Council Open Debate on Children and Armed Conflict, June 17, 2013
- Together, We Have the Power to Protect the Ocean
- 1 is too many
- A prayer for World Refugee Day
Categories
- Peace (531)
- United Nations (516)
- Prayer (471)
- Human Rights (424)
- Justice (391)
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Archives
Posts with tag: trafficking
May 16, 2013US remarks at high-level talks on trafficking
Remarks by Luis CdeBaca, Ambassador-at-Large Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons at the high-level meeting on the Appraisal of the Global Plan of Action to Combat Trafficking in Persons.
AS DELIVERED
Mr. President, ladies and gentlemen, good morning. I’m pleased to join so many partners and stakeholders today to discuss progress and the path forward on our shared commitment to combat modern slavery, what we also call trafficking in persons. We’re here today because modern slavery is a crime that hurts our countries and communities. It rips families apart, undermines the rule of law, creates instability ...
January 15, 2013
Children are children, not soldiers - 11 years on
‘Let the little children come to me, and do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of heaven belongs.’ – Matthew 19:14
February 12, 2013 marks the eleventh anniversary of the entry into force of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict.
Find worship resources, ideas for participating in the Red Hand Campaign, and suggestions for further study for this occasion. 
They may be used at any time.
UNICEF estimates that more than 300,000 children – boys and girls under the ...
December 2, 2012
International Day for the Abolition of Slavery
Today is the International Day for the Abolition of Slavery. The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)'s Human Trafficking Roundtable has ways for Presbyterians to get involved in ending modern day slavery.
Below is the statement from UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
Eighty-five years have passed since the entry into force of the Slavery Convention, yet this dehumanizing practice has acquired new manifestations in the 21st century.
Every day, in all regions of the world, women are trafficked, sold and locked in brothels for sexual exploitation. Little girls are forcibly married, sexually abused and used as domestic workers. Children work in ...
October 12, 2012
No child soldiers: more steps on the journey
As representatives of the Member States gathered for the 67th Session of the United Nations General Assembly, several important events took place in the effort to create a world where children are children not soldiers:
- On 19 September 2012, the Security Council demanded that "parties to armed conflict which commit grave abuses against children, including those who recruit and use children, kill and maim, commit sexual violence or attack schools and hospitals, immediately halt such practices and take special measures to protect children."
- Indonesia, Nigeria, and Swaziland announced that they have ratified the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the ...
June 25, 2012
UN Committee on the Rights of the Child examines the US
The United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child met last week with nongovernmental organizations that offered recommendations to the United States to improve its efforts to stop the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography. ECPAT-USA, a partner of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)’s human trafficking roundtable submitted an alternate report to the Committee.
ECPAT-USA has posted a description of the process as well as the alternate report.
To learn more about what Presbyterians are doing around the issue of human trafficking, visit the Human Trafficking Roundtable.
June 6, 2012
Summer volunteers work on Red Hands
Sophie Beal and Elodie de Bethmann are summer volunteer interns at the Presbyterian Ministry at the United Nations. This is their first week with us, their first blog with us, and their first time getting involved with Red Hands. Below is the blog from Sophie and Elodie.
More photos are available on our Facebook Page.
The Presbyterian Ministry at the United Nations has taken on two new volunteer interns for the summer. We are both excited to have this incredible opportunity to experience the ministry of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) General Assembly Mission Council at the United Nations ...
December 8, 2011
How to make Red Hands
The Red Hand Campaign asks nation states to ratify the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict and make clear their commitment to ending the use of child soldiers. The goal is for every country in the world to ratify the optional protocol by 2012, the tenth anniversary of when it took effect.
To take part in the Red Hand Campaign:
- Create red hand prints on paper (using finger paint, drawing an outline, using red paper, or in some other way) and then add their names, hometowns, and ...
September 22, 2011
Red Hands make a difference
Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of heaven belongs.” (Matthew 19:14)
We moved another step closer a world where children are children and not soldiers today. Presbyterian Red Hands helped make it happen!
Saint Lucia signed the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on Children and Armed Conflict.
Saint Lucia received Red Hands from Presbyterians asking them to sign and ratify the Prototocol. Signing takes the crucial first step; Saint Lucia still needs to ratify the ...
July 22, 2011
Red Hands at work
What difference do Presbyterian Red Hands make?
This year three states: Djibouti, Saudi Arabia, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines have ratified or acceded to the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict. Chad recently signed an action plan to end the use of children by the country’s security forces.
Clearly the international consensus that "Children are children, not soldiers" is building.
Presbyterians are playing a part. The Red Hands made by Presbyterians are delivered to permanent missions at the United Nations asking them to encourage their ...
July 21, 2011
Red Hands say no child soldiers
Let the little children come to me, and do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of heaven belongs.
Matthew 19:14
Red Hands, made by Presbyterians across the church, were sent to the permanent missions of 26 member states of the United Nations today. The Red Hands, in a variety of styles, all bear the same message: "Children are children, not soldiers."
With the Red Hands went a request that the state sign and ratify the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in ...
March 1, 2011
New Presbyterian representative to the United Nations
Ryan Smith has been called as the new Presbyterian representative to the United Nations on the staff of the Presbyterian Ministry at the United Nations. Ryan brings experience working in faith-based non-governmental organizations in the United Nations community and Washington....
March 15, 2010
A Prayer for the People of Myanmar (Burma)
Gracious God, we pray for the people of Myanmar. Guide them in the paths of peace and the ways of justice. We pray for the children of Myanmar, especially those who are soldiers, orphans, refugees, or forced into labor and...