Every year, on December 10, Human Rights Day is observed to mark the date on which the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, proclaiming its principles as the “common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations.”
“This year’s slogan, Human Rights 365, encompasses the idea that every day is Human Rights Day. It celebrates the fundamental proposition in the Universal Declaration that each one of us, everywhere, at all times is entitled to the full range of human rights, that human rights belong equally to each of us and bind us together as a global community with the same ideals and values.”
Pope Francis: Why He Leads the Way He Leads (Loyola Press, 2013, 155 pages).
So many books out there about Pope Francis! How to choose? One of my happy selections is this book by Chris Lowney, Managing Director with JP Morgan and Co., author, and one-time Jesuit seminarian. This is not the usual kind of biography; it is more like a case study about leadership – understanding a mission and being an example of how to live it; giving invitation and example, not orders. Interviews with people who have journeyed with Pope Francis describe his leadership qualities and skills; workable ideas that can be appreciated and practiced by pastors, parents, principals and prelates, and by any of us who exercise leadership in any capacity. The book’s author believes this book is for all of us. It gets us thinking about why we are so often disappointed in leaders, and how we might imagine (articulate, even) inspiring new ways to be leaders and affirm leaders.
Human Trafficking is a violation of human rights and a serious crime. The BC Action Plan to Combat Human Trafficking defines trafficking as “the recruiting, harbouring and/or controlling of a person for the purpose of exploitation.” The exploitation of a trafficked person can take many forms including sexual exploitation, forced labour and coerced organ removal.
