The Association "Comunità Papa Giovanni XXIII" at the United Nations
In July 2006 the Association "Comunità Papa Giovanni XXIII" was granted Consultative Special Status in Ecosoc, the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) of the United Nations.
The commitment that the "Comunità Papa Giovanni XXIII" promotes at the United Nations is the result of sharing the life with the poor and is the fruit of the international elaboration and synthesis of the action of removing the causes of injustice. Moreover, it represents the affirmation of those human rights promoted by the Association in every country where it is present.
The Association has actively taken part in some sessions; in particular, in the one regarding children's rights in Geneva, the one discussing gender inequality in New York and the one dealing with drug abuse and traffic in human beings held in Vienna.
In April 2009 the Association started a permanent presence in Geneve in the person of Dott.ssa Maria Mercedes Rossi as its representative at the United Nations.
Our areas of intervention
The Rights of the child
Sharing life directly with the poor, marginalised and oppressed is the guideline for all interventions of the Community of Pope John XXIII. The most profound needs of children, and of every person, are knowing that someone cares about them and their life, and of being loved in a unique, personal, individual and continuous way. The distinction between the receiver and giver disappears: everybody shares his/her own abilities and difficulties, building a community which deeply renews relationships among people.
Sharing life goes beyond assistance: instead of giving bread to the hungry, they are invited to sit at the table with us; instead of placing children in institutions, they are welcomed into our families.
Sharing life with children implies guaranteeing and safeguarding their rights. It also implies helping the child to develop individual awareness, self-determination abilities, positive relationships and solidarity with others.
Global Health
Too many people, adults and children, are dying in the world of diseases that are preventable and curable often for no reason other than their poverty, a lack of access to adequate and affordable health services or access to weak health systems, poor water and sanitation, poor housing conditions... AIDS is among the greatest development and security issues facing the world today.
The sharing of life with AIDS victims, especially in Sub-Sahara Africa, urges the members of the Association to advocate because the fight against the HIV epidemic to be put as a top an trasversal priority in the agenda of international dialogue and decision-making process.
Gender Equality
Gender equality is, first and foremost, a human right. Women are entitled to live in dignity and in freedom from want and from fear.
Women continue to have fewer rights, lower education and health status, less income, and less access to resources and decision-making than men. Nevertheless, women's critical roles in food production, income generation, management of natural resources, community organization and domestic responsibilities are essential for sustainable development.
The Association "Comunità Papa Giovanni XXIII", called to sharing life with the most vulnerable in society, is committed to advocating for gender equality according to the Social Doctrine of the Catholic Church.
Fighting drugs abuse
The society in which we are living is based on “profit”, not “gratuitousness”, and the human being is considered as an instrument to be used, as an element to take advantage of or eliminate if not useful. Economic profit is the aim of life.
Drugs are nothing but a way to escape from oneself, from a reality which can neither be faced nor accepted.
The "Comunità Papa Giovanni XXIII" has experienced through the years that the problem of drug abuse can disappear if young people are given the opportunity to experience and realise positive and non-utopian ideals.