#115

During the week of July 13 to 19, the meeting of G20 finance ministers on July 18 was a focus because of strong faith advocacy for action on debt relief and other financial support for countries struggling because of COVID-19 related measures. Tropical rainforest protection issues put the Interfaith Rainforest Initiative in the spotlight. Reports of stigma and discrimination linked to COVID-19 keep emerging from different world regions, with some overlap with the heated ongoing debates about racism. Concerns about high mortality and special vulnerability of care networks for the elderly are of concern, again with faith advocacy but also direct involvement in relevant facilities.
 
Ahead of the virtual G20 Finance Minister Meeting on July 18, 213 wide-ranging religious, labor, and development organizations signed a letter coordinated by Jubilee USA directed towards the G20, IMF, and the U.S. White House, calling for more action to confront the global health and economic fallout from the pandemic. The letter called for action on the debt standstill, debt workouts, and extension of provisions to more countries, as well as new financing and measures to confront tax evasion and corruption. The UN relief chief also called on G20 to step up support for the 63 low-income nations currently fighting the pandemic.
 
Regarding rainforest protection, a new primer report from the Interfaith Rainforest Initiative, directed towards religious leaders and groups, pleads for action as the current pandemic and future ones are closely tied with tropical forest deforestation, habitat loss, and ecosystem decline. Human encroachment into forests (driven by demand for meat, soy, and palm oil) has led to increased animal-human interaction, enabling pathogens to jump to humans. The report seeks to inform and inspire faith communities to help safeguard forests and their inhabitants and to lead to increased advocacy for their protection. 
 
The continued plight of the Uighur community in China has seen more global coverage during the COVID-19 pandemic and recent United States economic sanctions imposed on China. The pandemic has heightened human rights abuses against religious minorities in China, and those accounts are being brought to the fore. The Chinese government justifies the arrests and detainment on the basis that Uighurs harbor religious extremism and that they are being re-educated. The current worry is that the detainment camps are already unhygienic and overcrowded; this exacerbates the spread of the virus among detainees, and infection numbers could go unreported.
 
An interfaith partnership in Vietnam between Catholics and Buddhists to help former South Vietnamese soldiers kicked off this month. The former soldiers are some of the most marginalized people in Vietnam (due to their alliance with the U.S.-backed Republic of Vietnam and their loss to North Vietnam) and have serious injuries; many are unable to earn a living. Many resort to begging on the streets. Local Buddhist and Catholic groups have been caring for them in Saigon, but the pandemic disrupted the usual flow of aid, and a Vietnamese community in the United States raised $60,000 to donate to the Redemptorist Fathers (a local Catholic group) to care for the marginalized war veterans. Aid groups across the world continue to see lack of donations and funds flowing in due to the economic crisis following the pandemic outbreak. 

The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops released a report [EN, FR] entitled “They Still Bring Forth Fruit in Old Age: A Lesson on Caring in the Midst of the COVID-19 Pandemicic” in early July imploring the Catholic community to continue to serve, care, and advocate for the elderly population, particularly those in care homes and those living alone.