ISHRI’s Introductory Statement
Since its accreditation with the United Nations in 2011, International Solidarity and Human Rights Institute has promoted and defended solidarity in the fields of human rights and development internationally. ISHRI’s goal is to train a new generation of leadership in these fields through academic education and field experience based on Catholic social teaching. ISHRI has been active in North America, Europe, Asia and the Pacific and intends to expand its influence in Central and South America and the Caribbean.
Changes that may have had a significant impact on ISHRI
ISHRI was accredited as a Civil Society Organization (CSO) with the Organization of American States (OAS) in 2015. ISHRI intends to expand its activities to include working with the bodies of the Organization of American States.
ISHRI’s contributions to the work of the United Nations
ISHRI’s president was a respondent at Ave Maria School of Law “Distinguished Guest Lecture” by Ronald J. Rychlak, Associate Dean of the University of Mississippi School of Law, on “The International Criminal Court: An Obstacle to Peace?” February 1, 2011.
Moderated a workshop in Rome at a conference sponsored by the Pontifical Council for the Family on “Using Positive Language – a Handbook for NGOs,” June 3, 2011.
ISHRI’s president was invited to participate in the academic colloquium of the World Congress of Families in Madrid, Spain, May 25-27, 2012 where he addressed human rights issues.
Invited to give two lectures, one on “Human Rights Mechanisms in ASEAN” and another on “Demographic Issues,” in Rome for the Pontifical Council for the Family, September 14-16, 2012.
ISHRI’s president presented a lecture on “Human Rights Mechanisms in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)” at the World Congress of Families in Sydney, Australia, May 17-20, 2013.
Provided introductory talk on the Freedom of Education at the International Conference on The Rights of the Family and the Challenges of the Contemporary World, jointly hosted by the Holy See Secretary of State, Pontifical Council for the Family and the Union of Catholic Jurists, September 19-21, 2013.
Submitted information to the web page of the International Center on Law, Life, Faith and Family (ICOLF - Rome) for the section on the Human Rights Protection Systems of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), January, 2014.
National Catholic Register interviewed ISHRI’s president for an article on “U.N. Committee to Vatican: Change Church Teaching,” February 8, 2014.
ISHRI president gave a lecture at Cambridge University, St. Edmund College, UK, sponsored by the Von Hugel Institute and St. Thomas School of Law on “Patenting Human DNA – a Violation of the Public Trust and Common Heritage of Humanity Doctrines,” September 4, 2015.
ISHRI president gave a lecture in Gaming, Austria, sponsored by the Language &
Catechetical Institute on issues concerning international constitutional law, September 17-20, 2015.
Amici Curiae of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptists Convention and Prof. D. Brian Scarnecchia in Support of Petitioners, On Writ of Certiorari to the Supreme Court of the United States, Association For Molecular Pathology, et al. v Myriad Genetics, Inc., et al. 569 U.S. ____ (June 13, 2013).
Human Rights Mechanisms in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (AESAN), presented at the “The Foundation of Human Rights: Catholic Contributions,” co-sponsored by Ave Maria School of Law, Ave Maria University and Sacred Heart Seminary, March 3-4, 2011, published in the Ave Maria International Law Journal, Spring 2013 and also presented at the “World Congress of Families” conference in Sydney, Australia, May 15-18, 2013.
Public Policy Recommendation Concerning Prenatal Adoption of Frozen Embryos in Light of Fetal Microchimerism, Ave Maria Law Review, Vol. 11, No. 2 (2013) pp. 263-297.
“NGOs of Catholic Inspiration,” Lay Witness, January, 2013
ISHRI’s participation in the fora of the United Nations
Trained and accredited university students to participate in the 55th session of the Conference on the Status of Women, February 27-March 4, 2011.
Trained and accredited university students for the UN Youth Conference, July 22-28, 2011.
Trained and accredited students to participate in the 56th session of the Conference on the Status of Women, March 6-13, 2012.
Trained and accredited university student as NGOs to the UN headquarters in Geneva and met privately with Archbishop Tomasi, Holy See Permanent Observer to the United Nations, in Geneva in March, 2012.
Trained and accredited university students as NGOs to UN headquarters in New York for the Conference on the Status of Women, March, 2013.
Trained and accredited university students as NGOs to UN headquarters in New York for the Conference on the Status of Women, March, 2014.
Trained and accredited university faculty and undergraduate students to the Conference on the Status of Women at United Nations headquarters in NYC, March 8-13, 2015.
ISHRI’s Cooperation with United Nations bodies
Cosponsored a side-event at the Conference on the Status of Women with The Institute for Family Policy “Fighting Maternal Discrimination: A New Challenge for the 21st Century,” March 5, 2012.
Drafted a student submission for the UN conference on “The World We Want post 2015 development and health goals,” February 19, 2013.
Documentation: Response to a Call for Papers from World Health Organization, Health in the Post-2015 Development Agenda, Measurement of Progress towards the Health Goals: What are the best Indicators and Targets for Health? “Recommendation: Preeclampsia should be included as an Indicator for improving Maternal Health and reducing Child Mortality, Millennium Development Goal 4 and Goal 5” submitted by D. Brian Scarnecchia, on behalf of the Society of Catholic Social Scientists and International Solidarity and Human Rights Institute, December 30, 2012. Vol. 19 Catholic Social Science Review, 2014, p. 309.
NGO Response to Draft General Comment on Human Rights Council resolution 29/22 on “Protection of the Family” submitted October 28, 2015.
ISHRI’s initiatives taken in support of the MDGs
ISHRI president, Brian Scarnecchia and Terrence McKeegan, co-authored The Millennium Development Goals in Light of Catholic Social Teaching, (Catholic Family and Human Rights Institute (C-Fam), 2009).
ISHRI president, contributing author – “The Millennium Development Goals,” Encyclopedia of Catholic Social Thought, by the Society of Catholic Social Scientists Vol. 3 (Lanham, MD, Scarecrow Press, 2012)
Documentation: Response to a Call for Papers from World Health Organization, Health in the Post-2015 Development Agenda, Measurement of Progress towards the Health Goals: What are the best Indicators and Targets for Health? “Recommendation: Preeclampsia should be included as an Indicator for improving Maternal Health and reducing Child Mortality, Millennium Development Goal 4 and Goal 5” submitted by D. Brian Scarnecchia, on behalf of the Society of Catholic Social Scientists and International Solidarity and Human Rights Institute, December 30, 2012. Vol. 19 Catholic Social Science Review, 2014, p. 309.
Additional Information
ISHRI president published a book that touches on many issues concerning the human rights and development projects. This book is still in print and enjoys an international circulation: Bioethics, Law and Human Life Issues: A Catholic Perspective on Marriage, Family, Contraception, Abortion, Reproductive Technology and Death and Dying (Lanham, MD, Scarecrow Press, 2010)
