public life

UN Trade Forum 2021: Towards a Green and Inclusive Recovery

The COVID-19 pandemic has been a health and economic crisis of tragic proportions for lives and livelihoods everywhere that is jeopardising continued progress towards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. Protecting lives while moving forward with implementation for sustainable recovery has become the world’s priority.

Reigniting global trade is indispensable for the recovery from this crisis. Trade is a source of income, jobs and opportunities for women and men in developed and developing countries. The crisis has also highlighted the fundamental role of trade in allowing goods and services to move from where they are efficiently produced to where they are needed. The crisis has exposed the fault lines of our development path, notably one that depends on effective participation in just-in-time global supply chains. The crisis has also exacerbated the vulnerability and inequality present in our world.

Yet COVID-19 is not the only crisis we face. A climate and environmental emergency may compromise the progress we have achieved and the development prospects of future generations. Thus, recovery is not enough. It must be green and inclusive, and trade and trade policy play a critical role in this process. The United Nations Trade Forum will serve as a space for dialogue on how trade can be harnessed for a more prosperous, inclusive and sustainable world.

In the context of this year’s Forum, UNCTAD will also hold the seventeenth Raúl Prebisch Lecture. This prestigious Lecture is delivered periodically by a prominent thinker or Head of State, and while often tackles trade and development issues, also covers other topical global concerns. This iteration of the Lecture will be given by Nobel Laureate Esther Duflo, Abdul Latif Jameel Professor of Poverty Alleviation and Development Economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (United States of America). Ms Duflo was co-recipient of the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel 2019, with Abhijit Banerjee and Michael Kremer, “for their experimental approach to alleviating global poverty”.

Participation

Registration should be completed online. Early registration is advised to allow timely approval. To do so, please use the following link: United Nations Trade Forum.

Communications concerning representation should be sent to the UNCTAD secretariat, Intergovernmental Support Service, Palais des Nations, CH-1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland; email: meetings@unctad.org.

The forum is open to all member States of UNCTAD. Those wishing to attend the event are requested to provide the UNCTAD secretariat with the credentials of their representatives and the names of their alternative representatives and advisers by Monday, 7 June 2021. Specialized agencies and intergovernmental bodies wishing to participate in the meeting and non-governmental organizations in the general category and those in the special category who wish to participate as observers are requested to inform the UNCTAD secretariat of the names of their representatives by the same date.

Logistics

A link to the formal virtual meeting will be sent to registered participants, at the email address used for registration, one day in advance of the start of the session. For all other enquiries, please contact: Graham Mott at graham.mott@unctad.org, or Tamar van Straten at tamar.vanstraten@un.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 Sustainable Development-Vienna, please visit ngocsdvienna.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Sustainable Development-NY, please visit ngocsd-ny.org. 

International Day for Biological Diversity

Biological diversity is often understood in terms of the wide variety of plants, animals and microorganisms, but it also includes genetic differences within each species — for example, between varieties of crops and breeds of livestock — and the variety of ecosystems (lakes, forest, deserts, agricultural landscapes) that host multiple kind of interactions among their members (humans, plants, animals).

Biological diversity resources are the pillars upon which we build civilizations. Fish provide 20 per cent of animal protein to about 3 billion people. Over 80 per cent of the human diet is provided by plants. As many as 80 per cent of people living in rural areas in developing countries rely on traditional plant‐based medicines for basic healthcare.

But loss of biodiversity threatens all, including our health. It has been proven that biodiversity loss could expand zoonoses – diseases transmitted from animals to humans- while, on the other hand, if we keep biodiversity intact, it offers excellent tools to fight against pandemics like those caused by coronaviruses.

While there is a growing recognition that biological diversity is a global asset of tremendous value to future generations, the number of species is being significantly reduced by certain human activities. Given the importance of public education and awareness about this issue, the UN decided to celebrate the International Day for Biological Diversity annually.

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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.

Virtual Townhall Meeting of Civil Society & UN Secretary-General António Guterres

Virtual Townhall Meeting of Civil Society and United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres

Dear ECOSOC accredited organizations with representatives approved for CSW65,

We welcome you to join the United Nations Secretary-General’s annual Virtual Townhall Meeting with civil society on the occasion of the sixty-fifth session of the Commission on the Status of Women. Moderated by UN Women Executive Director, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, the meeting will provide an opportunity for women’s and youth civil society organizations to engage with the Secretary-General on the session’s priority theme: women’s full and effective participation and decision-making in public life, as well as the elimination of violence, for achieving gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls.

The virtual townhall will also build upon discussions from the Secretary-General’s virtual meeting with women’s civil society in light of the COVID-19 crisis, addressing ways to build back better and continue protecting and promoting women’s rights and agency within this new context.

The event will take place on Webex and will be webcast on UN Web TV, as well as on social media – Twitter, YouTube, Facebook. The session will take place in English only, however translation into other UN languages will be available on the broadcast.

The townhall is open to CSW65 approved representatives of ECOSOC-accredited NGOs. Due to platform limitations, attendance will be limited to two (2) CSW65 approved representatives per organization to allow for equal participation opportunities for registered organizations.

Please register up to a maximum of two CSW65 approved representatives of your organization for the Webex meeting using the following link: https://forms.gle/XZ7taXz3YndBqgGX9

Please note that registration does not guarantee access to the Webex meeting. Registered participants who receive the meeting-specific link will be admitted to the Webex platform until maximum capacity is reached.

All other representatives of your organization are welcome to view the live webcast at http://webtv.un.org/ and via social media – Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube (links to be shared).

Kind regards,
UN Women

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

65th Session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women

The sixty-fifth session of the Commission on the Status of Women will take place at the United Nations Headquarters in New York from 15 to 26 March 2021.

{Click here for information on the Virtual NGO CSW65 Virtual Forum} 

Representatives of Member States, UN entities, and ECOSOC-accredited non-governmental organizations (NGOs) from all regions of the world are invited to attend the session.

Priority theme: Women’s full and effective participation and decision-making in public life, as well as the elimination of violence, for achieving gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls;

Review theme: Women’s empowerment and the link to sustainable development (agreed conclusions of the sixtieth session)

Explore official meetings and organization of the session at unwomen.org/en/csw/csw65-2021/official-meetings.

Bureau

The Bureau of the Commission plays a crucial role in facilitating the preparation for, and in ensuring the successful outcome of the annual sessions of the Commission. Bureau members serve for two years. In 2002, in order to improve its work and ensure continuity, the Commission decided to hold the first meeting of its subsequent session, immediately following the closure of the regular session, for the sole purpose of electing the new Chairperson and other members of the Bureau (ECOSOC decision 2002/234).

The Bureau for the 65th session (2021) of the Commission on the Status of Women comprises the following members:

  • H.E. Mr. Mher Margaryan (Armenia), Chair (Eastern European States Group)
  • Ms. Jo Feldman (Australia), Vice-Chair (Western European and other States Group)
  • Ms. Ahlem Sara Charikhi (Algeria), Vice-Chair (African States Group)
  • Mr. Na Sang Deok (Republic of Korea), Vice-Chair (Asia-Pacific States Group)
  • Vice-Chair for the Latin American and Caribbean States Group; to be nominated

Preparations

  • Expert Group Meeting: Women’s full and effective participation and decision-making in public life, as well as the elimination of violence, for achieving gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls

Organization of the Session

The Commission’s two-weeks session will include the following activities:

Official Documents

Session Outcomes

The outcome of the Commission’s consideration of the priority theme during its 65th session will take the form of agreed conclusions, to be negotiated by all Member States.

NGO Participation

Side Events

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

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