Greatly concerned by the increasing number of people who find themselves excluded and marginalised from the current global economic system, Pope Francis has urged the Church to give particular attention to vulnerable and poor populations who are often “without work, without possibilities, without any means of escape.”   In his recent inauguration of the Jubilee Year of Mercy on December 8th 2015, Pope Francis encouraged Catholics worldwide to...

Fracking is the process of breaking up shale underneath the Earth's surface to extract natural gas and oil.  It has been hailed as the new direction to take in energy production, and promoted as a safe alternative to traditional fossil fuel sources, especially coal.  

Often overlooked in the fracking debate, however, are the systematic breaches of international human rights law that accompany fracking, especially those related to the destruction...

Geneva hosted its 4th Annual Forum on Business and Human Rights, at the UN, from November 16th to 18th, 2015. The meeting brings together civil society, governments, NGOs, and the business sector to discuss global standards for addressing business activities’ negative impacts on human rights.

Along with NGO partners ESCR-Net, FIDH, Friends of the Earth Europe, IBFAN, and Al-Haq, Franciscans International hosted a discussion at the UN in Geneva...