land

Panel discussion on Kiss the Ground documentary & regenerative agriculture

Greetings, Colleagues!
You are warmly invited to join in on a panel discussion on regenerative agriculture this coming Monday, September 13, 7 PM EDT.  We have three stellar panelists lined up to discuss the documentary “Kiss the Ground.”
This event is free and open to anyone who’s interested in learning more about regenerative agriculture and how it can stabilize our local foodsheds.

Watch the documentary Kiss the Ground in advance (for free!) if you haven’t already!  We will not be showing the film during our panel session, so be sure to check out the instructions below to view it ahead of time. Our panelists are Vel Scott, Stephen Cochenour, and Cody Rakes, and they’ll share some unique perspectives from urban to rural, classroom to community and beyond!

From Loretto Community’s Farm & Land Committee and Loretto Earth Network (LEN):
You may have heard of regenerative agriculture as a practical way to address climate change, but do you know what it is? Join us for a two-part educational series to learn more.  All are welcome!
1. Watch the documentary Kiss the Ground at your own convenience before September 13. (See below for instructions on how to access it.)
2. On Monday, 13 September, 2021, at 7:00 pm EDT: Join us for an online panel discussion of the film via Zoom:

Join Zoom Meeting:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89759791735?pwd=OS94L2RUR3R3bWxhdGJmR05HbVdpdz09

Meeting ID: 897 5979 1735
Passcode: 371451

Instructions on how to access the documentary Kiss the Ground:
If you have time, we encourage you to watch the full length feature version which is 1 hour 25 minutes.  Here is the link:

Kiss the Ground full length

Password: viva

Some may be interested but find yourselves short on time.  In that case, you have the option of watching this 45 minute educational version:

Kiss the Ground 45 min. educational

Password: schools

The panel discussion will be kick started by your questions and comments.  After watching the film, please send any questions or responses to Jessie Rathburn, Loretto Earth Education and Advocacy Coordinator, at jrathburn@lorettocommunity.org.

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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 the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, please visit facebook.com/NGOCoRIP. For more information on the NGO Committee on Financing for Development, please visit ngosonffd.org. 

Covid, Conflict & Climate: Food Insecurity Today and the Way Forward

Food insecurity is at the core of the many challenges facing the world today. It overlaps with the “three Cs” shaping international politics in the new decade—Covid, conflict, and climate—in complex and profound ways.

This event aims to discuss the report, Peace Through Food: Ending the Hunger-Instability Nexus, which is the outcome of a working group series led by the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University. The report analyzes the relationship between hunger and conflict, and proposes ways to establish food security as a means to promote stability and end conflict.

RSVP here!

Opening Remarks:

  • Brian Finlay, President and CEO, Stimson Center

Speakers:

  • Kelly McFarland, Director of Programs and Research, Institute for the Study of Diplomacy, Georgetown University
  • Chase Sova, Senior Director of Public Policy and Research, World Food Program USA
  • Adriana Abdenur, Co-Founder and Executive Director, Plataforma CIPÓ
  • Ron Schoonover, Founder and Principal, Ecological Futures Group
  • Devry Boughner Vorwerk, Founder and CEO, DevryBV Sustainable Strategies
  • Barbara Bodine, Director, Institute for the Study of Diplomacy, Georgetown University
  • Johanna Mendelson Forman, Distinguished Fellow, Food Security Program, Stimson Center (Moderator)

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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 ngocsdvienna.org. 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.

The Southeast Asia Nuclear Weapon-Free Zone Treaty: Protocol and the Way Forward

The Southeast Asia Nuclear Weapon-Free Zone Treaty (SEANWFZ Treaty) was signed in Bangkok on 15 December 1995 by 10 Southeast Asian States (ASEAN Member States) and entered into force on 27 March 1997, committing the region to nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation in line with the 1971 Declaration on the Zone of Peace, Freedom and Neutrality (ZOPFAN). The webinar falls under the implementation of Action 5 of United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres’ Agenda for Disarmament: Securing Our Common Future, which aims to strengthen and consolidate nuclear-weapon-free zones, including by facilitating enhanced cooperation and consultation between existing zones, encouraging nuclear-weapon States (NWS) to adhere to the relevant protocols to the treaties establishing such zones.

Co-organized by the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs and the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies (CNS) of the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey, this event aims to raise awareness on the issue of the SEANWFZ Treaty and to generate ideas for accelerating the signing and ratification of the Protocol to the Treaty by the NWS.

The webinar is open for participation by New York, Geneva and Vienna-based diplomats, academia and representatives of civil society. Speakers will engage in a moderated discussion representing different perspectives on the challenges surrounding implementation of the SEANWFZ, followed by a Q&A session with the audience.

Register here!

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CoNGO Notes: 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 the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, please visit facebook.com/NGOCoRIP.

Faith & Climate Summit: The Final Sprint to COP26

We are at the precipice of a crucial decade that will decide the trajectory of our future. We must mitigate greenhouse gas emissions substantially in the next ten years. As COP26 rapidly approaches, Parliament and its partners will hold a Faith & Climate Summit. We will discuss the ways faith communities around the world can best support, influence, and respond to the COP26 negotiations and integrate climate action into their work.

Join us for a discussion with the global interfaith community about our role heading into COP26 and beyond. The UK COP26 Presidency will give an update on the status of negotiations. We will also announce new faith-based climate commitments. Reach out to Joshua Basofin at joshua@parliamentofreligions.org to discuss your organization’s climate commitment.

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 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.

72nd Session of the Executive Committee of the High Commissioner {for Refugees’s} Programme

In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, and in line with the guidelines issued by the Swiss Federal Council, the cantonal authorities and the United Nations Office at Geneva (UNOG), the seventy-second session of the Executive Committee (ExCom) is expected to be a limited in-person event, with remote participation also available. The in-person event will take place in room XIX at the Palais des Nations.

Interested participants can learn more here: unhcr.org/2021-executive-committee-session.html

Remote participation will be facilitated through Interprefy. Please note that the Interprefy platform should only be used for speakers. Those observing the event remotely will be able to access the webcast on the session webpage as usual.

Program:

  1. Opening of the session, adoption of the agenda and other organizational matters.
  2. Statement by the High Commissioner.
  3.  General debate.
  4. Consideration of reports on the work of the Standing Committee:
    (a) International protection;
    (b) Programme budgets, management, financial control and administrative
    oversight.
  5. Consideration of reports relating to programme and administrative oversight and
    evaluation.
  6. Consideration and adoption of the programme budget for 2022.
  7. Review of the consultations with non-governmental organizations.
  8. Other statements.
  9. Meetings of the Standing Committee in 2022.
  10. Consideration of the provisional agenda of the seventy-third session of the Executive
    Committee.
  11. Election of officers.
  12. Any other business.
  13. Adoption of the report of the seventy-second session of the Executive Committee.
  14. Closing of the session.

View the full provisional agenda and annotations here: https://www.unhcr.org/60fade424

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CoNGO Notes: For more information on the NGO Committee on Human Rights, please email the co-chairs at bknotts@uua.org or bobbinassar@gmail.com. For more information on the NGO Committee on Social Development, please visit ngosocdev.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Migration, please visit ngo-migration.org.

International Day Against Nuclear Tests

Since nuclear weapons testing began on 16 July 1945, over 2,000 have taken place. In the early days of nuclear testing little consideration was given to its devastating effects on human life, let alone the dangers of nuclear fallout from atmospheric tests. Hindsight and history have shown us the terrifying and tragic effects of nuclear weapons testing, especially when controlled conditions go awry, and in light of the far more powerful and destructive nuclear weapons that exist today.

On 2 December 2009, the 64th session of the United Nations General Assembly declared 29 August the International Day against Nuclear Tests by unanimously adopting resolution 64/35. The resolution calls for increasing awareness and education “about the effects of nuclear weapon test explosions or any other nuclear explosions and the need for their cessation as one of the means of achieving the goal of a nuclear-weapon-free world.” The resolution was initiated by the Republic of Kazakhstan, together with a large number of sponsors and cosponsors with a view to commemorating the closure of the Semipalatinsk Nuclear Test site on 29 August 1991.

2010 marked the inaugural commemoration of the International Day against Nuclear Tests. In each subsequent year, the day has been observed by coordinating various activities throughout the world, such as symposia, conferences, exhibits, competitions, publications, lectures, media broadcasts and other initiatives.

Since its establishment, many bilateral and multilateral governmental level developments as well as broad movements in civil society have helped to advance the cause of banning nuclear tests.

Moreover, “convinced that nuclear disarmament and the total elimination of nuclear weapons are the only absolute guarantee against the use or threat of nuclear weapons,” the General Assembly designated 26 September as the “International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons”, which is devoted to furthering the objective of the total elimination of nuclear weapons, through the mobilization of international efforts. The International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons was observed for the first time in September 2014. The International Day against Nuclear Tests, together with other events and actions, has fostered a global environment that strongly advocates for a world free of nuclear weapons.

The international instrument to put an end to all forms of nuclear testing is the 1996 Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT). Unfortunately, this has yet to enter into force.

As the Secretary-General recognized in his disarmament agenda “Securing our Common Future” launched on 24 May 2018, the norm against testing is an example of a measure that serves both disarmament and non-proliferation objectives. By constraining the development of advanced new types of nuclear weapons, the CTBT puts a brake on the arms race. It also serves as a powerful normative barrier against potential States that might seek to develop, manufacture and subsequently acquire nuclear weapons in violation of their non-proliferation commitments.

Every effort needs to be made to ensure the entry into force of the CTBT and to preserve its place in the international architecture. In this regard, the Secretary-General appeals to all remaining States whose ratifications are required for the CTBT to enter into force to commit to sign the Treaty at an early date if they have not already done so, and to accelerate the completion of their ratification processes.

It is the hope of the UN that one day all nuclear weapons will be eliminated. Until then, there is a need to observe International Day against Nuclear Tests as the world works towards promoting peace and security.

To learn more about the background and significance of this observance, please visit un.org/en/observances/end-nuclear-tests-day.

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

Past, Present and Future: Conflict and Cooperation in U.S. – China Relations

The U.S. and China

Past, Present and Future: Conflict and Cooperation in U.S.-China Relations

The prophetic historian Howard Zinn taught that if we don’t know our history, we can’t be free.  Without that knowledge, he warned, whenever a president comes on TV and says that we are in danger from here or there, we lack the framework needed to critically judge its truth.  Today the near unanimous Washington, media, and even scholarly and expert consensus is that China poses a dire threat to democracy and freedom around the world, and that our freedom requires defend them by challenging and containing China militarily, economically, technologically, diplomatically, and politically.  Provocative military operations near Taiwan or in the South China Sea carry the danger of an accident or miscalculation escalating to war, even a nuclear war.  Demonization of China also drives anti-Asian racism and violence across the United States, which must immediately be ended.

Understanding Chinese history and the history of U.S.-China relations provides us what we need to advocate for mutually beneficial policies and diplomacy, bringing the world back from the brink and opening the way for collaborations to address the existential threat of nuclear weapons, the climate emergency, and pandemics. Professors Mark Seldon and Zhiqun Zhu are uniquely qualified to share the essential histories of China and of U.S.–Chinese cooperation and competition.

Register here: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZModOmorz4rHtwRKZ9w0MwVaDenIP6Hy8GI

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CoNGO Notes: 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 Financing for Development, please visit ngosonffd.org. 

Faith + Biodiversity briefing

Dear colleagues,
At our June 30th Faith and Biodiversity meeting we agreed to meet every 3-4 weeks to share updates and progress towards the CBD COP15. Over the past few weeks our Faith and Biodiversity Working Group has been working hard drafting a response to the First Draft of the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework. We plan to finalize our response by late August in order to submit it to the next round of negotiations, due to start on August 23rd.
We would like to invite you to a call on Thursday, August 5th, 10am ET, for a presentation on the key items our group have identified that we feel need to be included in the First Draft of the GBF from a faith perspective. Zoom details are below.
Meeting ID: 528 839 2946
Passcode: Bhumi
 
Many thanks, Bhumi Global
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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 the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, please visit facebook.com/NGOCoRIP. 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. For more information on the NGO Committee on Social Development, please visit ngosocdev.org. 

Climate Investment Summit 2021: Accelerating Green Investments

Climate Investment Summit 2021 is a leading summit aimed at increasing investments in climate and green recovery – built on the experience of practitioners, best practice business models and cross-sector collaboration.

Read full program here.

The Climate Investment Summit is a pivotal milestone in the Climate Investment Coalition’s investment roadmap leading to a historical COP26 and beyond. The Summit will showcase the UK’s leading global position, commitment to net zero and the investment opportunities that this provides across the whole of the UK to catalyse billions of pounds of investment for the Ten Point Plan for a green industrial revolution.

Participate virtually here: climateinvestmentsummit.org

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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 the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, please visit facebook.com/NGOCoRIP. 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. 

Pre-COP 26 Summit

The Pre-COP 26 Summit will take place ahead of the 26th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 26) to the UNFCCC, which is taking place from 1-12 November 2021. The Pre-COP is a preparatory meeting for COP26, bringing together ministers from a representative group of countries to discuss and exchange views on key political aspects of the negotiations, to find solutions to outstanding issues and set the tone for COP26.

The Italian Ministry of Environment, in collaboration with Connect4Climate – World Bank Group and the Office of Secretary-General’s Envoy on Youth, as part of the initiatives organized ahead of COP26, has also launched a programme of virtual and interactive meetings addressed to young people around the world. The webinars programme titled, ‘Youth4Climate Live Series: Driving Momentum Towards Pre-COP26’, includes one meeting per month, from June to February 2021.

To learn more about the Pre-COP26 Summit, and/or subscribe to receive SDG event notices, news and analysis to your email, click here or visit mite.gov.it/pagina/towards-cop26-pre-cop-and-youth-event-youth4climate-driving-ambition.

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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 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. For more information on the Committee of Religious NGOs at the United Nations, please visit rngos.wordpress.com. 

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