NJPN North West J&P e-bulletin - December 2016

The National Justice and Peace Network and CAFOD have welcomed both the Paris Climate Agreement of a year ago coming into force and the UK's ratification of the agreement. And global faith leaders have urged governments meeting in Morocco for climate talks to divest from fossil fuels and invest in the green economy. Both are stories in the December NJPN North-West J&P bulletin.

Another story focuses on peace groups voicing concern that that the British army continues to recruit under-age soldiers. New figures out last week showed that 24 percent of British Army recruits are under 18 years old. This is despite public opposition from the Quakers and other Christian and lay organisations campaigning to raise the age of enlistment. The UK is the only permanent member of the UN Security Council that still recruits 16 year olds.

On the issue of poverty in Britain, the bulletin points out that Church Action on Poverty is working alongside many other organisations as part of the End Hunger UK coalition - www.endhungeruk.org. Until the end of 2018, the initiative will campaign for a UK where everybody has access to good food and nobody has to go to bed hungry. The campaign starts with a Big Conversation, going on across the UK until March 2017.

And VMM International has launched its short-term volunteering programme for 2016/17, offering the chance of a three-to-six-week placement in Africa tailored to the individual applicant. Opportunities range from teaching and community development work to construction in countries such as Uganda, Malawi and Ghana - all within the framework of an unforgettable experience of international development.

The bulletin also contains a diary of J&P events until the end of March 2017.

Link to the full newsletter: https://jpshrewsbury.files.wordpress.com/2012/09/njpn-nw-justice-and-peace-e-bulletin-december-2016.pdf