Issues

Criminal Justice
The Rockefeller Drug Laws
Over 22,000 people are currently imprisoned in New York state under these drug laws, including many first time offenders. The harsh sentences and profiles of the convicted have raised questions of institutional racism and moved people throughout the state to demand the laws' repeal. Additional Information
Death Penalty
As of January 15, 2001, 686 people have been executed in the United States since the reinstatement of capital punishment in 1976. Issues such as wrongful convictions, the role of race in the application of the death penalty, and Catholic Social Teaching's belief in the inherent sanctity of human life are just a few of the many reasons for which ICJP and its member congregations are committed to standing against the death penalty and actively working to abolish it. Additional Information

Immigrant Justice
Justicia para los Inmigrantes
“We live in a rainbow world, rich in endless colors, rich in diverse cultures and races. The human rainbow, however, is not always a smooth, blending of differences. Despite the teaching of scripture that all people are created in the image and likeness of God, we see in our society that there are those who still believe that one race is superior to others.” - National Migration Week
Additional Information

Economic Justice
Welfare Reform
The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunities Act was enacted in 1996. Although caseloads are dropping and many former welfare recipients are employed, there is no indication that welfare reform has decreased poverty or increased standards of living for persons who are poor. Additional Information

Labor Justice
Labor Justice is inextricably connected to the GLOBALIZATION movement. Globalization contains the potential for creating interdependent and cooperative initiatives across geographic distances and national, ethnic, cultural, gender and racial diversities. Globalization in search for increasing bottom line holds the potential for exploitation and abuse, of labor. ICJP and its member congregations is committed to upholding and advocating for the basic tenets of Catholic Social Teaching with respect to labor justice: the dignity of the worker, the rights to organize, a livable wage with adequate benefits, good working conditions. Additional Information

Children's Rights
The membership of ICJP has a deep commitment to the advancement of children’s rights. We continue to advocate for US ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. We continue to focus on three areas of children’s rights in our advocacy work: child labor, children in detention, children of war, (Iraq). This year ICJP is piloting a Children’s Right Program in several high schools. It is our goal to animate young people to become activists and community organizers around the following issues:
Child Labor
The International Labor Organization estimates that 250 million children under the age of 14 are working in the world today. Because they have been born into families which are poor, these children are deprived of the opportunity to get an education because they must help support their family. Additional Information
Children in Detention
It is estimated that 4,000 children in the United States are in custody. Many immigrant children who are not properly documented are detained in facilities administered by the Immigration and Naturalization Service. Nationwide, as many as one-third of immigrant children in INS detention centers are placed in secure centers for juvenile with children being detained for violent crimes. Since the death penalty was reinstated in 1973 in the United States, 13 people who committed crimes when they were children have been executed. Ten of those executions occurred in the 1990’s. Additional Information
Children in War
The sanctions and embargo imposed on Iraq by the United Nations is adversely affecting the health and well being of Iraqi children. UNICEF estimates that the privations of sanctions are largely responsible for deaths of 5,000 children every month in Iraq. Additional Information