Derechos Humanos / Human Rights

• Humanitarian Needs Recognized

• Secretary Delegate of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development Visits Aleppo  

Aleppo, Jan.25.─ After the end of the hostilities in Aleppo, representatives of the Holy See have made their first official visit to the war-torn Syrian city.

On Pope Francis’ behalf, Msgr. Giampietro Dal Toso, secretary delegate of the Dicastery for Promoting Human Development, visited Jan 18 – 23, along with Cardinal Mario Zenari, apostolic nuncio in Syria, and nunciature advisor, Msgr. Thomas Habib, and assessed the citizens’ needs.

Appreciation for Francis’ Attention

Desde diciembre de 2014
cuando el Presidente Obama
inició una política de acercamiento a Cuba,
era de esperarse la noticia de un cambio importante
de la política migratoria de Estados Unidos frente a Cuba,
pero en la realidad ha tomado a muchos por sorpresa.
Aunque la Ley de Ajuste Cubano sigue vigente
y sólo puede ser derogada por el Congreso,
la política conocida como de «pies secos, pies mojados»
fue una decisión presidencial de Bill Clinton en 1995
que el Presidente actual ha dejado sin efecto,
mediante el acuerdo que figura a continuación.
 

DECLARACIÓN CONJUNTA CUBA-ESTADOS UNIDOS

MOTIVADOS por el interés de normalizar las relaciones bilaterales, sobre la base de la observancia de los propósitos y principios consagrados en la Carta de las Naciones Unidas, incluidos los relacionados con la igualdad soberana de los Estados, la solución de controversias internacionales por medios pacíficos, el respeto a la integridad territorial y la independencia política de los Estados, el respeto por la igualdad de derechos y la autodeterminación de los pueblos, la no intervención en los asuntos internos de los Estados y la promoción y el estímulo del respeto a los derechos humanos y a las libertades fundamentales de todos;

ALENTADOS por el restablecimiento de las relaciones diplomáticas el 20 de julio del 2015, basadas en el respeto mutuo y la voluntad política de fortalecer las relaciones bilaterales y establecer nuevos entendimientos en diversos temas de interés común;

CONSCIENTES de la necesidad de facilitar la migración regular que beneficia a ambos países y desalienta la migración irregular;

COMPROMETIDOS en la prevención a la migración irregular, en impedir las salidas riesgosas de la República de Cuba que ponen en peligro la vida humana y en luchar contra los actos de violencia relacionados con la migración irregular, como la trata y el tráfico de personas; y en comenzar el retorno regular de los ciudadanos cubanos como se establece en esta Declaración Conjunta.

Jan.5.─ The urgent order from their commander was to pick up casualties from an "emergency situation in the center of Istanbul." As the responding members of three Turkish search-and-rescue teams approached Vatan Avenue in their Black Hawk helicopters, they encountered gunfire so intense that only one of the three helicopters could land and collect the injured soldiers. All three then evacuated to nearby Topkule base.

There, they were instructed by their commander not to return to their home base as it was "unsafe." A few minutes later Topkule came under attack, with incoming fire aimed at the helicopters. Eight officers escaped in one Black Hawk to a nearby forest, where they turned to their iPads for news.

It was July 15, 2016. A coup was under way, but little else was known. It wasn't even clear to them for which side, if any, the three Black Hawk crews had just flown their mission.

Pastor Andrew Brunson’s treatment since his detention on October 7th is also symptomatic of growing Christian persecution in Turkey   

Jan. 3 (AINA).─ Andrew Brunson was elated when Turkey's Interior Ministry summoned him on Oct. 7th in the coastal city of Izmir. The ministry, the American pastor imagined, was granting him and his wife, Norine, permanent-resident status after they'd spent more than two decades preaching the gospel in Turkey. Instead they were arrested and detained for unspecified reasons.

So began a Turkish nightmare the couple is living to this day.

Turkish immigration authorities informed the Brunsons that they would be detained pending deportation from the country. Norine was released after two weeks, but her husband was held in the immigration-detention facility for another two months, including two days in solitary confinement. He was initially denied access to legal counsel, and two U.S. consular visits didn't take place until after he'd already spent a month in the facility.