civil society

President of the General Assembly Town Hall meeting with Civil Society Organizations

Dear civil society colleagues,

You are kindly invited to join the President of the General Assembly for a Town Hall meeting with Civil Society in the Trusteeship Council Chamber (UN Headquarters, NY) on 2 December 2022, from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm. The meeting will also be webcast live on UN WebTV.

Background and Objective

In his vision statement, His Excellency Csaba KŐRÖSI, President of the seventy-seventh session of the General Assembly stated “It is my intention to hold impact-oriented consultations with civil society organizations, youth representatives, science-based knowledge centres and representatives of business communities, key finance institutions and faith-based organizations. I hope to be able to encourage them to bring their contributions to the General Assembly while keeping in mind the interlinked nature of the risk factors we face and the integrated character of the solutions we need.”

The PGA has further asserted that a more effective and responsive United Nations will require engagement with an array of relevant stakeholders, including civil society, businesses, philanthropic organizations, academia, the scientific community, and other partners on the key issues under discussion in the General Assembly. While Member States remain the decision-makers of the United Nations, all stakeholders must assume their role as decision-shapers.

In this light, the PGA will convene a Town Hall with civil society representatives to discuss his priorities for the seventy-seventh session, with a particular aim to hear proposals for solutions directly from civil society representatives. This Town Hall is supported by the Department of Global Communications, with additional support by the Department of Economic and Social Affairs and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Format

The moderated event will consist of an opening statement by the President of the General Assembly followed by five short keynote statements from civil society representatives that will address the following topics:

  • Solutions through solidarity:  The pandemic has demonstrated how solidarity within societies and among countries has an impact on social and economic stability and security. In times of crisis, focusing on the needs of the poorest and most vulnerable is more important than ever. Civil society is on the ground. What does sustainable solidarity look like?
  • Solutions through sustainability: We must get back on track to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. Next year’s SDG Summit at the UN will be a key opportunity to take stock of gaps and recommit to the achievement of the SDGs. Best practices that can be replicated are needed. Civil society will play a key role in this endeavor.
  • Solutions though science: Our efforts to tackle global challenges such as climate change, biodiversity loss, the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic and the digital revolution have provided us with convincing proof of the role science can play in shaping decisions on complex issues. This transformative agenda must be based on scientific evidence and the political wisdom of negotiators.
  • Solutions from youth: It would be difficult to fix present crises and prevent new ones while adhering to the same mentality and logic that led to their onset. Youth already have a voice, but they need to be heard, particularly as every negotiating process affects them and future generations. In September, the General Assembly decided to establish a UN Youth Office to promote meaningful, inclusive and effective engagement of youth and youth-led organizations in the work of the UN.
  • Solutions through partnership: In times of interlocking crises, no country —without exception— can effectively address global challenges alone. Similarly, the complexities of these problems make it so that governments alone, even when working together, are unable to sustainably implement solutions without partnerships that reach beyond the State. Civil society participants are critical partners in highlighting best practices and lessons learned so that partnerships become the international default when addressing common threats.

The floor will then be opened for discussion and for questions from civil society representatives.

Logistics

Civil Society Organizations in consultative status with ECOSOC, formally associated with the Department of Global Communications, and other stakeholders are invited to attend the meeting in the Trusteeship Council Chamber in person.

All in-person participants are required to register in advance here.

For in-person events at the UN headquarters, the use of masks is strongly encouraged. By registering to attend in-person, all participants attest that their COVID-19 vaccination record is up to date to access the UN Headquarters complex in New York, based on the guidelines provided by local health authorities.

Please note: Civil Society Representatives are reminded to carry proof of COVID-19 vaccination while on UN premises in New York and must be prepared to show them if requested to do so by UN personnel.

To register an interest in delivering a keynote statement, please fill in the online form here no later than 14 November. CSO representatives will be selected by taking into account geographical and gender balance, as well as thematic diversity.

Due to time limitations, it will not be possible to accommodate all requests for interventions. A limited number of speakers will be contacted by the Secretariat. We appreciate your understanding. The time for interventions will be limited to 4 minutes for each speaker.

To ensure a wider participation from all geographical regions, CSO representatives will also have the opportunity to submit pre-recorded questions, a selection of which will be presented during the questions and answers segment of the event. Please register your interest in submitting a pre-recorded question here no later than 14 November.

Provisional Programme

  • Introductory remarks by moderator
  • Opening statement by the President of the General Assembly
  • Remarks by keynote speakers from Civil Society Organizations
  • Discussions, questions and answers with the PGA
  • Closing statement by the President of the General Assembly

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CoNGO Notes: For more information on the NGO Committee on Education, Learning, and Literacy, please visit facebook.com/NGOCELLatUN. For more information on the NGO Committee on Sustainable Development/NY, please visit ngocsd-ny.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Sustainable Development/Vienna, please visit ngocsdvienna.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Language and Languages, please email the co-chairs at tonkin@hartford.edu or fmhult@umbc.edu. For more information on the NGO Committee on Disarmament, Peace, and Security, please visit ngocdps.wordpress.com. For more information on the NGO Committee on Intergenerational Solidarity, please email the chair at susanneseperson@gmail.com. 

SDG Action Zone 2022

Over the course of three days during the UN General Assembly, the SDG Action Zone brings together the highest levels of UN leadership, activists, government officials, business leaders, changemakers and disruptors in a virtual collaborative space – to highlight the ecosystem-wide solutions, plans, and investments needed to positively impact people’s lives and the future of our planet.

With the fierce urgency of the now, we have no choice but to all step up to the most ambitious of global agendas. By amplifying voices, convening thought leaders, connecting changemakers, and calling on all participants to leverage their own sphere of influence, the SDG Action Zone provides everyone with the opportunity to cultivate the community and momentum needed to transform this moment of global upheaval into one of movement-building for people and the planet
September 21-23, 2022
8:00 AM – 12:00 PM (EST)

Learn more, view the full programme, and register here: sdgactionzone.org

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CoNGO Notes: For more information on the NGO Committee on Sustainable Development/NY, please visit ngocsd-ny.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Sustainable Development/Vienna, please visit csr-sustainability.com. For more information on the NGO Committee on Financing for Development, please visit ngosonffd.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Disarmament, Peace, and Security, please visit ngocdps.wordpress.com. For more information on the NGO Committee on Social Development, please visit ngosocdev.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Language and Languages, please email the co-chairs at fmhult@umbc.edu or tonkin@hartford.edu. For more information on the NGO Committee on Education, Learning, and Literacy, please visit facebook.com/NGOCELLatUN. 

 

Supporting Human Rights Defenders in the Occupied Palestinian Territory: Reality, Challenges, and Obligations

The UN Palestinian Rights Committee , will hold the virtual event “Supporting Human Rights Defenders in the Occupied Palestinian Territory: Reality, Challenges, and Obligations” on Tuesday, 7 December 2021 from 10:30 am to 12:30 pm (New York Time), via WebEx. The event will also be livestreamed on UN Web TV.

The event will highlight the engagement of the Committee with civil society partners in the implementation of its mandate towards ending the occupation of the Palestinian territory and advancing the realization of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people. It will shed light on the implications of the Israeli decision of 22 October 2021 to designate six Palestinian human rights and humanitarian NGOs as “terrorist organizations” and more broadly on the work of civil society organizations and human rights defenders in the OPT. Finally, it will underline the role and responsibilities of the international community in the context of a shrinking space for CSOs.

The speakers – Shawan Jabarin (Al-Haq), Heba Morayef (Amnesty International), Michael Sfard (Human rights lawyer) and Omar Shakir (Human Rights Watch) – will brief on the varying dimension of this critical decision and show Israel’s long-time efforts to target organizations that document the ongoing violations of Palestinian human rights and seek to hold Israel accountable.

Participants in the Webex event will consist of the invited panellists, Committee Members / Observers and other Member States. Intergovernmental and civil society organizations as well as the public and media will be invited to follow the event via live stream. While participation in the virtual platform will be limited to UN Member and Observer States, panellists, IGOs ​​and CSOs, the general public can send their questions via the Committee Facebook page, Twitter account  or email dpr-meeting @ un.org.

For further information, please visit un.org/unispal.

Viewers are encouraged to use the hashtags #Rights4Palestine and #ForPalestineRefugees on their social media and to tag the Committee’s social media pages using Twitter & Instagram: @UNISPAL, Facebook: @ UN.palestinianrights.

Watch the live stream on UN Web TV: webtv.un.org

Share live updates from the Committee Twitter account and Facebook page.

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CoNGO Notes: For more information on the NGO Committee on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, please visit facebook.com/NGOCoRIP. For more information on the NGO Committee on Disarmament, Peace, and Security, please visit ngocdps.wordpress.com. For more information on the NGO Committee on Human Rights, please email the co-chairs at bobbinassar@gmail.com or bknotts@uua.org.

Civil Society Prep Meeting for the 9th Conference of the States Parties to the UNCAC (COSP9)

Dear Civil Society Representatives, 

Since you have been invited to participate as an observer in the ninth session of the Conference of the States Parties to the United Nations Convention against Corruption (COSP9 UNCAC), which will be held in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, from 13 to 17 December 2021, we would like to inform you that on 12 December 2021, UNODC and the UNCAC Coalition will carry out a CSO Preparatory session and we would like to invite you to participate.

Civil Society Preparatory Meeting 9th Conference of the States Parties to the UNCAC (COSP 9)

Opening:

  • Mathias Huter, Managing Director, UNCAC Coalition
  • Member of the Bureau (TBC)
  • John Brandolino, Director, Division for Treaty Affairs, UNODC (TBC)

UNODC Session: Briefing on COSP & Explaining the role of CSOs at the Conference

Moderator: Mirella Dummar Frahi, Chief, Civil Society Unit, UNODC

Speakers:

  • Brigitte Strobel-Shaw, Chief, Corruption and Economic Crime Branch (CEB), UNODC
  • Livia Krings, Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Officer, CEB, UNODC

UNCAC Coalition Session: Coordinating civil society advocacy and messaging at the Conference

Moderator: UNCAC Coalition representative

  • Overview of on-site CSO activitiesLightning talks on priority topics: Preventive measures
  • Beneficial ownership transparency
  • Asset recovery
  • Civic space & improved UNCAC review mechanism
  • Follow-up to the UN General Assembly Special Session (UNGASS) on corruption
  • Other issues (identified by participants, dependent on proposed resolutions

Register here: indico.un.org/event/1000235

*An official letter indicating the names of the persons constituting your organization’s delegation, including individual email addresses, must be uploaded to the INDICO system, together with the mandatory details for each participant (name, title, individual email address, photo, in-person or online participation and copy of passport). Registration requests will be approved by the secretariat only after being cross-checked against the official letter of the organisation, uploaded to INDICO. In line with requirements by the Host Country, participants are requested to complete the registration process as early as possible before the Conference and not later than 12 November 2021.

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CoNGO Notes: For more information on the NGO Committee on Financing for Development, please visit ngosonffd.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Sustainable Development-NY, please visit ngocsd-ny.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Sustainable Development-Vienna, please visit congocsd.wordpress.com. For more information on the NGO Committee on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, please visit facebook.com/NGOCoRIP. 

Expert Mechanism on the Right to Development Online Dialogue with Civil Society

The purpose of this dialogue is to provide a platform for the Expert Mechanism to engage with Civil Society Organizations and Movements (CSOs) on promoting and operationalizing the right to development.

The Right to Development offers a useful framework for advocacy on a wide range of economic, social, cultural and environmental rights, particularly related with inequalities and sovereignty and the duty to cooperate. However, many right-holders and civil society organizations and movements do not use the Right to Development in their advocacy work as widely and effectively as they can. In some cases, civil society groups are unaware of the Right to Development and the possibilities it holds as a tool for legal and social advocacy. Although the Declaration on the Right to Development itself does not create a cause of legal action, many of the elements of the right to development are reaffirmed in binding international law. The right to development is also affirmed in some legally-binding regional human rights instruments.

This EMRTD Dialogue offers a forum to promote the Right to Development among civil society groups, especially grassroots movements and organizations, learn from them, and inform them on the possibilities of the right to development as an instrument of human rights advocacy and development practice. A key focus of the dialogue will be identifying and addressing the conceptual and practical difficulties of using the right to development in human rights advocacy. A related goal of the dialogue is to encourage CSOs’ engagement in the drafting process of a global legally binding instrument on the right to development.

Programme:

  • Session 1 on The Right to Development Agenda – 16:00-17:00 CET and;
  • Session 2 on Civil Society Organizations and Movements and their perspectives about Development and the Right to Development –  17h10-19:30 (with a 10-min break included)

Preparatory Documents:

· Declaration on the Right to Development [English/French/Spanish]

· Draft Covenant on the Right to Development [English/French/Spanish]

· EMRTD Position Document on Legally Binding Instrument (LBI)

· EMRTD Thematic Studies

· Right to Development promotional publications of the OHCHR

The dialogue has the following specific aims:

  • To assess civil society engagement with the right to development in their agendas and activities
  • To address challenges and barriers that civil society groups face in their engagement with the right to development
  • To explore strategies for enhancing civil society engagement with the right to development
  • To share good practices, initiatives, and strategies on using the right to development framework for human rights advocacy and development work
  • To encourage CSOs’ engagement in the drafting process of a global legally binding instrument on the right to development

French and Spanish translations of the concept note will available shortly on the website. Do not hesitate to contact the Secretariat of the Expert Mechanism on the Right to Development at ohchr-emrtd@un.org in case of questions.

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CoNGO Notes: For more information on the NGO Committee on Sustainable Development-NY, please visit ngocsd-ny.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Sustainable Development-Vienna, please visit congocsd.wordpress.com. For more information on the NGO Committee on Social Development, please visit ngosocdev.org.

World Bank CSO Monthly Call Briefing

Dear Colleagues in Civil Society,

Please save the date for the next CSO Monthly Call. It will take place on Thursday, July 29, 2021, from 10:00 to 11:00 AM EST.

Preliminary Agenda

Speakers:

  • Dilip Ratha, Head, Global Knowledge Partnership on Migration and Development (KNOMAD), World Bank
  • Enrique Blanco Armas, Manager, International Development Association (IDA), World Bank

Objectives to discuss:

  1. The latest Migration and Development Brief, that highlights the resilience of remittances flows during the year 2020, despite the COVID-19 pandemic.
  2. An update on the IDA20 replenishment process.

The CSO monthly call will take a break during the month of August and will resume in September.

Kind regards,

World Bank Civil Society Team

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CoNGO Notes: For more information on the NGO Committee on Financing for Development, please visit ngosonffd.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Sustainable Development-NY, please visit ngocsd-ny.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Sustainable Development-Vienna, please visit ngocsdvienna.org. 

NGO Committee on Social Development [monthly meeting]

Please consider yourself invited to the NGO Committee on Social Development’s monthly meeting.

Let’s put people at the centre of development and pledge to make the eradication of poverty, full employment, and social integration the overriding objectives of development.

Register here: zoom.us/meeting/register/tJwrcOqqpj8uHtHqW8yFsbkrjk4wp3k-jSYv

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CoNGO Notes: The NGO Committee on Social Development is one of the substantive committees of CoNGO--the Conference of Non-Governmental Organizations in Consultative Relationship with the United Nations. For more information on the NGO Committee on Social Development, please visit ngosocdev.org.

Trilateral Meeting of Regional FBOs Networks for the SDGs

Dear colleagues,

You are invited to the Trilateral Meeting of Regional FBOs Networks for the SDGs at the 2021 Meeting of the High Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) to be held on Friday, July 16, 2021, at 9:00 am New York City time.

Register here!

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CoNGO Notes: For more information on the Committee of Religious NGOs at the United Nations, please visit rngos.wordpress.com. For more information on the NGO Committee on Spirituality, Values, and Global Concerns-NY, please visit csvgc-ny.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Freedom of Religion or Belief, please visit unforb.org.

Generation Equality Forum [registration deadline]

The Generation Equality Forum will be the largest global feminist gathering since 1995: governments, international organizations, civil society, the private sector and young people will come together to drive gender equality forward.

You wish to interact with the participants, ask a question, follow a conference: 90 events involving 500 panelists will be offered to you. All these events are digital and broadcasted on the event platform which will be accessible from June 29.

Register for the Forum now!

The closing date for registration is 27 June 2021 at 23:59 (GMT+2). No new participants will be admitted after this date.

For any technical issues during registration, contact us by email at registration.fge@calypso-event.net from Monday to Friday, 9:00 to 18:00 (GMT+2).

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CoNGO Notes: For more information on the NGO Committee on the Status of Women-Geneva, please visit ngocsw-geneva.ch. For more information on the NGO Committee on the Status of Women-Vienna, please visit ngocswvienna.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on the Status of Women-NY, please visit ngocsw.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Social Development, please visit ngosocdev.org.

Open Global Civil Society Consultation on IMRF

First Open Global Civil Society Consultation on the International Migration Review Forum (IMRF)

To prepare for collective civil society self-organizing towards the IMRF, we will review initial civil society ideas, expectations and strategies for our engagement in the IMRF during the consultation. These inputs will then be presented to Member States in a series of dialogues over the next 12 months.

All civil society organizations are invited to join us for this global civil society consultation on the IMRF. Register here! Consultation co-facilitators: Alma Maquitico (NNIRR), Apolinar Tolentino (BWI/CGU), Cecilie Kern (NGO CoM), Marta Verani (MGCY)

Agenda

A. Opening Plenary: Setting the Stage 

i. Technical intro

ii. Welcome and introduction to the agenda

iii. Context and road to IMRF, AC survey results, IMRF modalities for civil society etc.

iv. Summary reports on GCM implementation (reports from RMRFs from regional networks) – what has been accomplished, what has not?

  • i. Africa
  • ii. Arab States
  • iii. Asia-Pacific
  • iv. Europe and North America
  • v. Latin America and Caribbean

B. Breakout discussions on civil society priorities in GCM implementation, and IMRF modalities

Intro: breakout goals and questions, and Zoom rooms mechanics

2 i. Discussion on civil society benchmarks for GCM implementation (For this discussion, you may choose from one of these following thematic priorities to discuss benchmarks and progress, or use any other themes you wish to highlight…)

  • Labor Migration and a New Social Contract
  • Racism, Ethnicity and Discrimination
  • Detentions and Returns
  • Regular Pathways and Irregular Migration
  • Climate Change
  • Other

a. What benchmarks should be used to measure GCM implementation?

b. What would GCM progress look like in a national/regional context? ii.

Discussion on IMRF modalities 

  • a. Based on the current IMRF modalities for civil society participation, do you see any challenges that you and your members will face to participate fully in the IMRF?
  • b. How do you think the official civil society rapporteur for the IMRF should be selected?

C. Plenary discussion on main points

  • i. Short reports by group rapporteurs
  • ii. Summary of the discussions and identifying key inputs to present to Member States

D. Closing remarks and next steps

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CoNGO Notes: For more information on the NGO Committee on Migration, please visit ngo-migration.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Financing for Development, please visit ngosonffd.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Sustainable Development-Vienna, please visit ngocsdvienna.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Sustainable Development-NY, please visit ngocsd-ny.org. 

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