Were you satisfied with the CSW65 Agreed Conclusions? Do you think the CSW working methods need to be changed?
Help us as we campaign for a more inclusive and effective CSW process! The first step is to fill out this survey. Your responses and feedback will provide essential data to support our demands for more effective CSW working methods.
The deadline to complete the survey is Tuesday, 18 May at 12 noon EDT.
Fill out the survey here
In collaboration with Women Have Wings, the NGO CSW Youth Leaders & Young Professionals is delighted to make available five $5,000 grant awards to youth leaders and young professionals who have a project or an idea to advance gender equality in their region. Top projects will be displayed on the NGO CSW65 Virtual Platform. Winners will be announced on 26 March 2021 during the NGO CSW65 Virtual Forum at the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women. Deadline for submissions is 1 March 2021, midnight EST to ylyps@ngocsw.org.
Award:
Five $5,000 grants to youth-led organizations or organizations with projects to advance young feminists’ work. Individual youth leaders (between ages 18 to 40 years old at the time of submission) can be highlighted, but the grants must go to organizations.
Application Criteria:
Organizations must be registered in their country or have a fiscal sponsor who is registered. Priority will be given to young people in the Global South. No US based organizations are eligible. Your application must address one of the following themes.
Project Themes:
Please make sure to include the following components in your written summary:
Submission Guidelines: Write a summary of your project in 500 to 1,000 words. This can be in any of the UN Official languages. Deadline for submission is 1 March 2021, midnight EST. Email your submission to ylyps@ngocsw.org.
Submission Procedures:
Receipt of submissions will be acknowledged via email.
Five winners will be notified via email on 26 March 2021.
Download this information in English, Spanish, French, Arabic, and Chinese.
EXTENDED DEADLINE: 12 FEBRUARY 2021
In the context of the coronavirus pandemic, the Subcommittee on Xenophobia and Social Inclusion of the NGO Committee on Migration, a substantive committee of the Conference of Non-Governmental Organizations in consultative relationship with the United Nations (CoNGO) Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) has prepared a survey to assess the impact COVID-19 has had on the migrant population in relation to xenophobia and social exclusion.
The survey is available here in English, Spanish, and French.
We would very much appreciate it if you could respond to the survey as well as send it out as widely as possible through your networks. Deadline is January 31, 2021.
We are seeking replies from NGOs, academia, civil society institutions and United Nations entities in order to obtain as comprehensive data as possible on this essential grassroots work.
Please consult the attached survey for an account of how we plan to use the data. We will, of course, share all final reports and analyses with the responding organizations. Such surveys have helped the UN move from a prime focus on policy to one that supports grassroots initiatives with a focus on leaving no one behind.
Thank you for your cooperation. We look forward to your response.
The NGO Committee on Migration
Subcommittee on Xenophobia and Social Inclusion
New York, 30 November 2020 (CoNGO InfoNews) – More than a hundred NGOs related to the United Nations have joined CoNGO—the Conference of Non-Governmental Organizations in Consultative Relationship with the United Nations—in a statement reaffirming the importance of NGO access to and at the United Nations. More NGOs are expected to endorse the statement according to Liberato Bautista, CoNGO President, who welcomed the big number of endorsements in the first thirty-six hours since the call to sign on was sent to NGO leaders. (List of endorsements is found at the end of this story).
CoNGO issued the statement on the eve of two important meetings at the United Nations this week, the UN General Assembly Special Session in response to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic on 3 to 4 December 2020 and a panel discussion on 4 December dealing with strengthening participation, protection and participation of civic space.
The statement asserted that “NGO access to and at the UN is a major channel through which NGOs assert their voice and exercise their agency throughout the UN System, contributing their expertise, commitment, energy, and substantive input to policy-making processes. CoNGO has constantly striven to ensure and defend the free exchange of ideas among all parties at the United Nations, including in relation to UN Summits and Conventions.”
A November 18 consultation convened by CoNGO provided the latest assessment by nongovernmental organizations of the state of access experienced by their representatives, especially in UN Centres like New York, Geneva and Vienna. Many participants agreed that the “current coronavirus disease pandemic restrictions are a serious, though unavoidable, handicap to regular NGO contacts with UN officials and government delegates.”
An earlier dialogue, also convened by CoNGO, held 5 March 2020, between NGOs and the acting chief of the civil society branch of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Marc-André Dorel, and the chair of the ECOSOC Committee on NGOs, Mr. Mohamed Sallam provided the opportunities for NGOs to illustrate their determination to reinforce their “long-term engagement in promoting and enhancing NGO access to and participation in the United Nations System”.
The full statement may be viewed here.
NGOs related to the UN may endorse the Statement here.
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Organizational Endorsements as of 09 January 2021, 12:00 PM EST New York
and the following NGOs in consultative status with the UN, plus others in associated and observer relations (*) and other arrangements (**), have joined together to endorse the Statement on NGO Access to and at the United Nations in the Time of COVID-19 Pandemic:
Photo courtesy of Globalt Fokus.
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The Conference of Non-Governmental Organizations in Consultative Relationship with the United Nations (CoNGO) is an international NGO founded in 1948. It has general consultative status with the UN Economic and Social Council. For more information about this story, the Statement, and CoNGO, contact Liberato C. Bautista, CoNGO President at president@ngocongo.org.
Fundamental to the work of the United Nations is the spoken and written word. The United Nations is a place of negotiation and action in which language and communication underlie everything that it does. The UN Secretariat works in two languages; the General Assembly works in six; the various members of the UN family have their own language policies, intended to promote inclusion. Beyond its official languages, the United Nations interacts with the public in a host of other languages. “We need to come together,” Secretary-General Guterres recently declared, “not only to talk but to listen.” Multilingualism is honoured and encouraged in the work of the United Nations.
Written into many international instruments created or promoted by the United Nations is the principle of non-discrimination on the basis of language. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights stresses access to education, a right to enjoy one’s own culture, a right to a fair trial, and numerous other rights that are dependent on language.
There is currently no NGO committee that concerns itself with language and language policy, despite the fact that all international NGOs must grapple, to a greater or lesser extent, with language difference. And there are numerous NGOs directly concerned with the teaching of language, with interpretation and translation, and with communication with the public.
An NGO Committee on Language and Languages could give its attention to UN language policy, to the work of interpreters and translators, to the use of language in the field, and to numerous other aspects of language, among them also the preservation of endangered languages and the promotion of language learning.
Put in concrete terms, the proposed Committee will cover both language use at the UN (sexist language, the language of hate, the language of peace, human rights language) and the use of languages at the UN (provision of translation and interpretation, documentation, outreach to speakers of other languages, parity among languages, protection and promotion of indigenous languages, etc.).
There already exists an informal Study Group on Language and the United Nations, which organizes an annual symposium on language and the UN. The symposium is always well attended by NGO representatives, UN staff, diplomats, and academics. This Study Group could form the core of the proposed NGO committee.
Add your NGO endorsement to constitute this committee here.
Humphrey Tonkin
December 7, 2019
tonkin@hartford.edu
CoNGO Statement on COVID-19 Recovery: Building Back Better
12 May 2020
Seventy-five years ago, the world was in a deep crisis after the devastation of World War II. Negotiations between governments began that resulted in the founding of the United Nations in 1945 and the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948. Joint efforts to fight poverty and illiteracy, protect human rights, strengthen cooperation, and maintain peace have been steps towards a vision of the world “free from fear, free from want” imagined in the UN Charter.
In 2020, the international community honored the seventy-fifth anniversary of the United Nations and the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Beijing Platform for Action. We embarked on a Decade of Action for the Sustainable Development Goals to accelerate sustainable solutions to the world’s biggest challenges. However, we now live in a world struggling to address the coronavirus pandemic, which has dramatically affected political, economic, and social life across the globe.
Global cooperation and solidarity are urgently needed during a crisis, but nationalism, racism, intolerance, xenophobia, and border closures have too often prevailed. Measures to fight the pandemic have restricted long-established civic rights and democratic structures. An effective global response will require building consensus and strengthening concerted action to mitigate the multiple challenges we all face.
The pandemic is casting a shadow on hopes for sustainable development, achievements in the status of women, and other human and environmental concerns. The impacts of the virus magnify existing inequalities and vulnerabilities, making us painfully aware of gaps in social protection systems. Before COVID-19, over one billion people were without access to basic human needs, and 700 million lived in extreme poverty, primarily women and children. Many countries’ health and social protection systems are inadequate, as revealed by the lack of provisions to protect and test medical staff and treat the infected. Older persons are particularly vulnerable to the disease and face increased discrimination.
The pandemic has significantly restricted people’s freedom of movement and peaceful assembly; the misuse of emergency measures may further erode human rights. We have seen authoritarian forces seize the opportunity to expand their power, which has adverse impacts on civic space and the ability of communities and individuals to exercise their rights. The prospects of a long-term global recession raise serious concerns over how long and to what extent restrictions will be in force. After the public health crisis recedes, we must ensure that measures curtailing civil liberties are fully lifted to protect democratic institutions and citizen participation.
We, representatives of international NGOs in consultative relationships with the UN, fear that while attention is focused on the global health crisis, efforts to address the ongoing climate crisis, achieve sustainable development and gender equality, protect human rights, and promote peace are being neglected.
We continue to work in partnerships to develop a global plan of action to address the multiple challenges we all face while promoting human rights, democracy, climate action, gender equality, justice, peace and security, and sustainable development.
We are determined to emerge from this crisis and build a better world for all.
We call on the 193 UN Member States to renew their commitment to the UN and to turn this international crisis into an opportunity, using it as a starting point to rebuild economies that are inclusive and based on sustainable production and consumption:
- To accelerate climate action by rebuilding economies, transport, and industries in a carbon-neutral manner;
- To recognize and address the disproportionate impacts of the pandemic on women, children, older persons, and vulnerable and marginalized groups;
- To change the militarized discourse of war and threat to one of care and solidarity within countries as well as between Member States;
- To provide universal access to and funding for health and social protections for all people;
- To reallocate military spending and increase investments in meeting human needs to create a healthier and more peaceful planet and achieve Agenda 2030;
- To support non-governmental community organizations, human rights defenders, and women’s groups and include them in national and global recovery and reconstruction efforts;
- To strengthen the UN System and provide the necessary funding to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and ensure inclusive societies and economies, a sustainable environment, and a more peaceful world.
“Only if we continue to work in partnerships and promote human rights, democracy, the rule of law, climate action, gender equality, sustainable development, peace, and security can we emerge from this crisis and build a better world for all.”
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Related matter: UN General Assembly Special Session in Response to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Disease Pandemic
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ENDORSEMENTS OF THE CoNGO STATEMENT ON COVID-19 BY NGOs IN RELATIONSHIP WITH THE UNITED NATIONS (as of 29 January 2021)
The Conference of Non-governmental Organizations in Consultative Relationship with the United Nations (CoNGO) is an independent, international association facilitating the participation of NGOs at the United Nations. Since 1948, CoNGO engages with the UN through more than thirty NGO Substantive Committees. CoNGO endorses the goals and values enshrined in the United Nations Charter, and advocates for multilateralism to resolve political, environmental, health and other challenges. We reaffirm the centrality of the United Nations to a more peaceful and more just world, where all people have access to education, health, judicial remedy, democratic participation, and economic advancement. On the occasion of the 75th Anniversary of the United Nations, CoNGO salutes the achievements of the United Nations in the maintenance of peace and security, the promotion of human rights, and the advancement of sustainable development.
Agenda 2030 is a framework to eliminate poverty, reduce inequality, and protect the planet. Yet progress has fallen short of what is required. Achieving the World We Want and the World We Need calls for active partnerships among international bodies, governments, local authorities, corporations, and civil society. On the occasion of the 75th Anniversary, we must move from a climate of nationalism, conflict and injustice to a culture of multilateralism, peace, and security, for the good of all humankind.
CoNGO calls for the 75th Anniversary to be an occasion for strengthening the United Nations, expanding its role to more effectively engage civil society everywhere. It is an occasion to enter into a dialogue to achieve a structure of relationships that responds to the challenges of a changing world. On this 75th Anniversary, we urge all governments to strengthen their commitment to the United Nations not only morally but also financially and materially.
The United Nations must adapt to changing needs and realities, to increase its credibility and effectiveness, and ensure inclusive decision-making at all levels. Strengthening the United Nations will require the broad support and involvement of civil society and citizens everywhere, and flexibility in engaging with them and listening to their concerns.
As the United Nations celebrates its first 75 years, we have an opportunity to revisit the past, define the present, and shape a new future. Humanity cannot wait. Peace, justice and development depend on people-centred approaches to transforming our economy, society and environment. We must increase momentum to ensure that no one is left behind.
12 October 2019 | New York | Geneva | Vienna
For more information about this Declaration, email: Liberato C. Bautista, CoNGO President (president@ngocongo.org)
(as of 13 November 2021)
(To add your NGO in the endorsement list, please email Liberato Bautista, CoNGO President, at president@ngocongo.org)
