In a world where violence forces hundreds of families to flee each day, the UN Refugee Agency believes now is the time to show world leaders that the global public stands with refugees, and it will launch its #WithRefugees petition on June 20th to send a message to governments that they must work together and do their fair share for refugees.

The #WithRefugees petition will be delivered to UN headquarters in New York ahead of the UN High Level Meeting on Refugees and Migrants, scheduled for the 19th September. The petition asks governments to:

• Ensure every refugee child gets an education.

• Ensure every refugee family has somewhere safe to live.

• Ensure every refugee can work or learn new skills to make a positive contribution to their community.

"Our responses to refugees must be grounded in our shared values of responsibility sharing, non-discrimination, and human rights and in international refugee law, including the principle of non-refoulement."

UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon

World Environment Day invites people all over the world to set aside their differences in pursuit of the health of the natural world. It is imperative to protect nature for future generations as many general practices today threaten the future integrity of animals, plants, and natural systems.

'Without a healthy environment we cannot end poverty or build prosperity. We all have a role to play in protecting our only home: we can use less plastics, drive less, waste less food and teach each other to care.'  

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres

As the month of Ramadan begins, the Parliament of the World’s Religions (Global Interfaith Movement) wishes our Muslim brothers and sisters around the globe a blessed time of worship, reflection, and community. The Parliament of the World’s Religions cultivates harmony among the world’s religious and spiritual communities, and celebrating with our Muslim neighbours and honouring their traditions is a concrete way to cultivate such harmony.

Ramadan offers a time for Muslims to reflect on what the values of gratitude, service, and community means to them. It is also a time of intentional, heightened solidarity between Muslims and their neighbours across the spectrum of faith, philosophical, and ethical traditions. Muslim and non-Muslim communities alike are increasingly partnering together and utilizing Ramadan as an important touchstone for interfaith engagement through iftars, community events, and other outreach activities.

This month, the Parliament invites you to engage with us in our Interfaith Ramadan series. Throughout the month, Muslim and non-Muslim leaders will be sharing reflections on the Parliament website about how they are building solidarity along lines of division and connecting with the values of Ramadan.

Australia’s national policy should be directed to destroying human trafficking by 2030, Bishop Terry Brady told a parliamentary inquiry on 5 May 2017.

Bishop Brady was giving evidence on behalf of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference to the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Law Enforcement in Sydney at their hearing on human trafficking. Bishop Brady is Chair of the Bishops Commission for Pastoral Life.

‘Australians have a moral imperative to eradicate the injustice of human trafficking and modern slavery,’ Bishop Brady said. ‘If we know that the human dignity of people is being harmed in this way, we should do what we can to free them from that ill-treatment.

‘As an example to others and to spur reform in Australia, the Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney announced in March that it would slavery-proof its supply chains.

‘This announcement is significant as the Catholic Church is one of the largest purchasing groups in Australia after government.’

Click here for complete statement - Australian Catholic Bishops call for end of Human Trafficking

Some other key dates to save in your calendars

March 8 - International Women's Day (IWD)

April 22 - International Mother Earth Day

April 24 - Feastday of St Mary Euphrasia Pelletier

May 26 - June 24 - Ramadan (varies)

June 5 - World Environment Day

June 14 - 20 - Refugee Week

June 20 - World Refugee Day

June 24 - Good Shepherd Day (Australia)

July 22 - Good Shepherd Day (Aotearoa/New Zealand) 

July 30 - World Day against Trafficking in Persons

August 9 - International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples

August 19 - Feastday of St John Eudes

September 1 - World Day of Prayer for Care of Creation

September 21 - International Day of Peace

October 11 - International Day of the Girl Child

October 11 - 18 - Anti Poverty Week

November 2 - All Souls Day

November 11 - Diwali festival

November 25 - International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women

November 25 - 10 Dec - 16 Days of Activism against Gender Violence

December 2 - International Day for the Abolition of Slavery

December 5 - International Volunteer Day

December 10 - Human Rights Day