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From Catholic Relief Services:
ENCOURAGE HOUSE LEADERSHIP TO SUPPORT PEACE AND DEMOCRACY IN THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO
TAKE ACTION NOW! Please contact House leadership (Speaker of the House Rep. Dennis Hastert and Majority Leader Rep. John Boehner) today and encourage them to immediately place Democratic Republic of the Congo Relief, Security, and Democracy Promotion Act (S.2125) on the House suspension calendar for this week. Take action now by visiting the CRS Action Center. On the right hand navigation bar click on "Find elected officials" and enter your zip code.
WHY THIS ISSUE IS IMPORTANT: The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) recently completed its first round of democratic elections in 45 years. After decades of dictatorship and conflict that has cost 4 million lives, displaced more than 2 million people and devastated a resource-rich economy, the DRC is finally on a path of peace and democracy. A United Nations peacekeeping force has been put in place to help during this transition. But the country has a long way to go before stability and development can take hold and will need all the assistance and support from wealthy nations such as the United States.
Catholic Relief Services (CRS) has been working in the DRC on and off since 1961 and currently provides development assistance through education, health and agriculture programs and is responding to the needs of people with HIV/AIDS. CRS also supports people affected by the war and natural disasters that have seriously affected the DRC in recent years. To prepare the population for the recently held elections, CRS’ extensive peace and justice work has centered on civic education and election monitoring.
In the United States, CRS has actively supported increased humanitarian assistance for the DRC as well as for passage of the Democratic Republic of Congo Relief, Security, and Democracy Promotion Act. S. 2125 advances key U.S. policy objectives for promoting peace, justice, democracy, and development in the DRC, and also allocates much-needed additional funds for the DRC. Specifically, the bill authorizes a 25 percent increase in U.S. foreign assistance to the DRC; calls for a special envoy to this region; recommends the strengthening of the current UN peacekeeping force; and sustaining U.S. commitment for at least 3 years in rebuilding the DRC.
WHY WE SHOULD GET INVOLVED: Our Church’s social teaching calls on us to protect life and uphold the dignity of all human person, establishing the basis of CRS’ mission to alleviate human suffering, promote development of all people, and to foster charity and justice throughout the world. Earlier this year, Pope Benedict XVI reiterated his appeal to the international community to engage in “determined action to consolidate [the Congo’s] political and economic stability.” We call on all Catholics in the United States to support the people of the DRC as they move from war towards peace and democracy.
TAKE ACTION NOW! Contact House leadership today and encourage them to immediately place the Democratic Republic of the Congo Relief, Security, and Democracy Promotion Act (S.2125) on the House suspension calendar for this week. Take action by visiting the Contact House leadership today and encourage them to immediately place the Democratic Republic of the Congo Relief, Security, and Democracy Promotion Act (S.2125) on the House suspension calendar for this week. Take action by visiting the CRS Action Center at http://actioncenter.crs.org today.
OTHER THINGS YOU CAN DO:
- Order a free DVD to learn more about DR Congo's life or death transition by clicking here.
- Get involved in the CRS Africa Campaign. For more information click here.
For further information contact:
Tina Rodousakis, Legislative Network Specialist, 1-800-235-2772 x 7462 trodousa@crs.org
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