vaccine apartheid

NGO Committee on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples [regular mtg]

On behalf of the NGO Committee on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, please consider yourselves cordially invited to attend our next regular monthly meeting on Thursday, Dec. 16, 2021 at 1pm EST.

AGENDA

1. Moment of Silence in Honor of the Land we are on and the Native Peoples of this land

2. Welcome, Introductions and Review of Agenda

3. Meeting minutes of November 18, 2021

4. Report of the Executive Committee

5. Announcement – Secretariat Update by Elaine re: Indigenous Forum – April 25 – May 6

6. Speaker –Teresa Darder (invited) from Pointe au Chien in Lafourche Parish, Louisiana on the topic of fragile coastal areas – Intro by Joy

7. Film and Discussion – “Dawnland” –  Intro by Roberto

8. Resource – Native Network Consulting – LaVonne Peck & Nina Vandenburgh (invited) – Intro by Sandy

9. Other announcements

10. Next meeting will be held on Thursday January 20, 2022, 1-3 pm

Access the meeting here: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/2028703180

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CoNGO Notes: The NGO Committee on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples is a Substantive Committee of the Conference of NGOs in Consultative Relationship with the United Nations.

2021 Global People’s Forum

This 2021 People’s Forum will provide an opportunity for Civil Society to come together and strategize on how to further evaluate and advance the many progressive proposals from the Secretary-General’s Our Common Agenda report. Combining survey results with reflections from the Forum, this working meeting will aim to identify elements of an advocacy strategy that will prioritize those OCA proposals and initiatives to advance, as well as identify other key proposals and campaign initiatives that are not reflected in the OCA report.

Further details here.

Register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_hpQFmTECR7KyfDKklmo7EA

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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 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 Financing for Development, please visit ngosonffd.org.

20th anniversary of the adoption of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action

In commemoration of the 20th anniversary of the adoption of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action (DDPA), the General Assembly is holding a high-level meeting, at the level of Heads of States and Governments, on the theme “Reparations, racial justice and equality for people of African descent.”

Consultations

In line with operative paragraph 29 of A/RES/75/237, the President of the General Assembly decided to appoint H.E. Mr. Francisco António Duarte Lopes, Permanent Representative of Portugal and H.E. Ms. Mathu Theda Joyini, Permanent Representative of South Africa to conduct intergovernmental consultations on the political declaration, and carry out consultations on the modalities of the high-level meeting.

Aim

General Assembly in its resolution 75/237 has decided, that the meeting will adopt a short and concise political declaration aimed at mobilizing political will for the full and effective implementation of the DDPA and its follow-up processes.

Invitation to Organize and Support

The General Assembly also invites Member States, United Nations entities, international and regional organizations, civil society, including non-governmental organizations, and other stakeholders to organize and support various high-visibility initiatives, aimed at effectively increasing awareness at all levels, to commemorate the twentieth anniversary of the adoption of the DDPA.

Watch the event live on Sept. 22 here: un.org/en/durban-20-anniversary

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

Panel Discussion on Deepening Inequalities Exacerbated by the COVID-19 Pandemic and their Implications for the Realization of Human Rights

Join us at HRC48 for this half-day panel discussion on 28 September from 15:00 to 17:00 CET.

Background documents, the concept note and full agenda are available here: ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/Panel_Discussion_Inequalities_COVID19.aspx

Date and venue:

Tuesday, 28 September 2021, 3 to 5 p.m. Room XX, Palais des Nations, Geneva and online platform (Zoom)

To be webcast live and archived at http://webtv.un.org

Objectives:

As States work to build back better after the COVID-19 pandemic, this panel discussion will address inequalities exacerbated by the pandemic and their implications for the realization of human rights. This discussion aims to identify ways to alleviate inequality within and among States by sharing best practices, solutions to challenges and lessons learned, including in the context of integrated approaches to the promotion and protection of human rights and the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development – paying particular attention to Goal 10 on reducing inequality. The meeting will also address the role of greater international cooperation in further reducing inequalities within and among States.

The objectives are:

  • To highlight and address the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the goal to reduce inequality, with a particular emphasis on the requirement of the right to the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health to eliminate vaccine inequality. Recognition that no one is safe until everyone is safe will also be looked at from a human rights perspective as will the necessity of vaccine equality in promoting and protecting all human rights;
  • To identify the role of the promotion and protection of human rights and technical cooperation in setting priorities and addressing gaps in the global vaccine roll out. The focus will be on the importance of the human rights approach in addition to the moral and ethical case;
  • To understand how to better use the United Nations human rights mechanisms to advance vaccine equality as a necessary step in the promotion and protection of all human rights and how to provide technical cooperation in this regard;
  • To address how the COVID-19 pandemic has amplified the digital divide – using education to illustrate how the divide detrimentally affects the realisation of human rights – and to engage in a constructive dialogue among States and other stakeholders about sharing good practices and experience with regard to overcoming the digital divide and ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education for all;
  • To identify concrete steps for building back better, including by reversing the impact of austerity and economic inequalities and realising a human rights-based economy.

Organized by:

Development Economic Social issues Branch
Thematic Engagement, Special Procedures and Right to Development Division
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights

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CoNGO Notes: For more information on the NGO Committee on Human Rights, please email the co-chairs at bobbinassar@gmail.com or bknotts@uua.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Financing for Development, please visit ngosonffd.org. For more information on the NGO Committee for Rare Diseases, please visit ngocommitteerarediseases.org.

Spotlight on Sustainable Development 2021: Demanding Justice Beyond Rhetoric

Policy responses to the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting economic crisis have exacerbated rather than reduced global inequalities. The most visible example of this is the global disparity in the distribution of vaccines. So far more than 60 percent of people in high-income countries have received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine, but less than 2 percent have done so in low-income countries. In view of this dramatic disparity, the “leave no one behind” mantra of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development remains hollow. In fact, the vested interests of economic elites continue to dominate political decision-making. Given the urgency of the COVID-19 crisis and the other unresolved global problems, most notably the climate emergency, it is high time for transformative policies, strategies and structural changes.

This year’s Spotlight on Sustainable Development Report describes the highly uneven socio-economic impact of the COVID-19 crisis and analyses the policy responses to it. It explores beyond the rhetoric, highlighting deepening inequalities, self-serving and hypocritical policies and governance failures at national and international level. Addressing the imbalance in global vaccine production and distribution, the report also examines a few key areas where political and structural changes are necessary to correct the limited and asymmetric recovery. With this virtual launching event, we will present key findings of the report.

Brief snapshots by:

  • K.M. Gopakumar, Third World Network
  • Vanita Mukherjee, Development Alternatives with Women for a New Era (DAWN)
  • Roberto Bissio, Social Watch

Policy conclusions by:

  • Kate Donald, Center for Economic and Social Right
  • Daria Cibrario, Public Services International (PSI)
  • Isabel Ortiz,Global Social Justice

Moderators:

  • Bodo Ellmers, Global Policy Forum
  • María Graciela Cuervo, Development Alternatives with Women for a New Era (DAWN)

Register here: rsvp.globalpolicy.org/report-launch-spotlight-on-sustainable-development-2021-demanding-justice-beyond-rhetoric.

Participants will receive the login details one day before the event. Further information on the Spotlight Report 2021 will be available shortly at www.2030spotlight.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 congocsd.wordpress.com. For more information on the NGO Committee on Financing for Development, please visit ngosonffd.org.

From Words to Action: The UN Secretary General’s “Our Common Agenda” Report

The UN Secretary-General’s much anticipated “Our Common Agenda” report will be presented to the General Assembly on Friday, September 10 2021 at 10am EDT.

Watch live on UN webTV at 10:00 am EDT here: media.un.org/en/webtv

The report follows the UN75 Declaration, adopted September 21 2020, when member states commemorating the 75th anniversary of the United Nations promised to fulfill 12 key commitments across the global agenda and mandated the Secretary-General “to report back with recommendations to advance our common agenda and to respond to current and future challenges.”

Reflecting the importance of the Our Common Agenda report, the Secretary-General’s office initiated preparations earlier this year that included consultations with Member States, youth representatives, UN officials, academic experts and civil society. The report on the “We the Peoples” online consultations with civil society, which generated 523 proposals for a stronger UN from 1,759 participants from 147 countries, will also be released September 10.

In a letter sent to UN missions in August, Maria Fernanda Espinosa, Co-Chair of the Coalition for the UN We Need (C4UN) and Danilo Türk, President of the Club de Madrid called on world leaders at the upcoming General Assembly High-level segment to reinforce the necessity of collective action to strengthen multilateralism.

According to Espinosa, “We recognize that responding to the challenges and threats posed by the COVID-19 pandemic is the overriding priority for governments around the world. But the pandemic also reinforces the social solidarity and awareness of humanity’s shared need to strengthen global cooperation.”

Upcoming C4UN communications will provide additional information and analysis on the Common Agenda report as well as events in September and October where the reports recommendations will be discussed in greater detail. Read the Regional Consultations report here.

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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 Human Rights, please email the co-chairs at bknotts@uua.org or bobbinassar@gmail.com. For more information on the NGO Committee on Disarmament, Peace, and Security, please visit ngocdps.wordpress.com.

Sustainable Recovery pledge launch

Join the launch of the Sustainable Recovery pledge

COVID-19 continues to have a devastating effect on people and countries across the world. Not only does it take lives and affect livelihoods, economies and societies – it also poses serious threats to the enjoyment of human rights.  And it is hampering progress towards achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

As countries are preparing to build back after the pandemic, it is important that this is done using the 2030 Agenda, grounded in States’ human rights obligations, as well as the Paris Agreement, as the blueprint. But how exactly?

Join the high-level online event on Wednesday 30 June at 2:00-3:00 PM (CEST) and follow the launch of the Sustainable Recovery Pledge which until now has backing from 39 states across the world.

Learn more & register here: humanrights.dk/events/launch-pledge-building-better-future-all-human-rights-its-heart

Among speakers will be senior UN officials and high level members of governments, including:

  • UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Ms. Michelle Bachelet
  • Minister of Foreign Affairs of Denmark, Mr. Jeppe Kofod
  • Minister of Foreign Affairs of Chile, Mr. Andrés Allamand

You will also meet representatives from civil society and business alongside human rights experts. The event will have interpretation to English, Spanish and French. It will be recorded and made publicly available.

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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 for Rare Diseases, please visit ngocommitteerarediseases.org.

Building Global Momentum for Adult Vaccination Policy within COVID-19: Making COVID-19 a Springboard for Adult Vaccinations

The COVID-19 pandemic has unearthed an uncomfortable structural and societal ageism affecting the human rights of millions of people around the world. From hospital triaging guidelines to chronic understaffing of long-term care facilities, national health systems did not take the necessary steps to ensure that vulnerable people had access to life-saving health services, regardless of age or socioeconomic background.
Now is a critical time to collectively inform post-pandemic policies needed to recover and rebuild national health systems and consider investment strategies that prevent resurgence of infectious diseases and associated strain on health system capacity.
As part of a four-part series to build global momentum on vaccination within COVID-19, IFA invites you to the fourth and final webinar entitled “Making COVID-19 a Springboard for Adult Vaccinations.” Dr. Michael Moore and Dr. Monika Arora provide their perspectives on essential post pandemic multi-sectoral actions to keep on the agenda the critical importance of immunization for older people and those with noncommunicable diseases.
Register here!
Speakers:
  • Dr. Michael Moore, World Federation of Public Health Associations (WFPHA)
  • Dr. Monika Arora, Non-communicable Disease (NCD) Alliance

This session will be recorded and streamed live on Facebook. Should you be unable to participate, a recording will be available on the IFA Facebook page at facebook.com/intfedageing and resources will be available at: ifa.ngo/ifa-virtual-town-hall-resources.

For any questions or concerns please contact zchouhdry@ifa.ngo.

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CoNGO Notes: For more information on the NGO Committee on Ageing-NY, please visit ngocoa-ny.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Ageing-Vienna, please visit ngoageingvie.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Ageing-Geneva, please visit ageingcommitteegeneva.org. For more information on the NGO Committee for Rare Diseases, please visit ngocommitteerarediseases.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Intergenerational Solidarity, please email the co-chair at susanneseperson@gmail.com.

Covid-19 Vaccination: How churches can ensure that stateless people are not left behind

Covid-19 vaccination: How churches can ensure that stateless people are not left behind

Link to join the webinar on Monday 15 March @ 13:00-14:30 CET: oikoumene.org/live

As any virus, Covid-19 is an invisible threat which has changed our lives and affected our economies a great deal. The current Covid-19 pandemic has been a good reminder that the right to health is a universal right, as enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (article 25). It is a right that every individual is entitled to, irrespective of his or her legal status.

The pandemic is also a reminder that we need to work together as a global family to escape this global health crisis. This means that vaccination should be accessible to all, ideally as soon as possible before the virus mutates and becomes resistant to existing vaccines.

In these times of health crisis, governments have been confronted with difficult decisions to make, including avoiding economic disaster while at the same time finding a decent response to the pandemic. It is almost natural that their primary concerns are their nationals. Yet, there are many individuals living on the margins in their territory, such as undocumented migrants, refugees, and stateless people.

Stateless people, i.e. people with no legal identification, have been in most cases overlooked and forgotten. Invisible, yet living in our midst.

How can governments ensure that an invisible threat like Covid-19 does not disproportionately affect people and communities who have been always been overlooked and treated as invisible in other times? The pre-existing vulnerability of stateless people, i.e. their invisibility, put them at greater risk of being left behind when national public health campaigns (such as vaccinations) are planned.

How can churches and ecumenical bodies ensure that the vaccinations are accessible to all, including stateless people and other people undocumented people living on the margins during this time of pandemic?

The current pandemic is an important reminder that we are all equally vulnerable in the face of the current pandemic: Covid-19 does not discriminate, but our responses to it does.

Speakers include (alphabetical order):

  • Mr. Amal de Chickera, Co-Director, Institute of Statelessness and Inclusion
  • Dr. Ronald Lalthanmawia, Programme Coordinator for Prophetic Diakonia, Christian Conference of Asia (CCA)
  • Ms. Mira Neaimeh, Regional Executive, World Student Christian Federation – Middle East
  • Ms. Marcella Rouweler, Legal Officer, UNHCR Statelessness Section
  • Mr. Gorden Simango, Director, All Africa Conference of Churches (AACC)

The webinar will be moderated by Rev. Prof. Dr Cornelia Füllkrug-Weitzel, member of CCIA.

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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 Committee of Religious NGOs at the United Nations, please visit rngos.wordpress.com.

[Book Launch] “Critical reflections on Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs)”

You are invited to the online launch of the book entitled “Critical reflections on Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs)”, edited by Jasmine Gideon (Birkbeck Geography Department) and Elaine Unterhalter (Institute of Education, University of London). The session will take place on Friday 5th February from 2:30 PM – 4:15 PM CET.

The studies in this newly-published book argue that despite the hype within many policy circles, there is little evidence to support the presumed benefits of PPPs in reducing poverty and addressing inequalities in the provision of and access to public services. The book adopts a cross-sectoral comparative approach to investigate how PPPs have played out in practice, and what the implications have been for inequalities. Participants at the session will be commenting on the issues raised in the book, notably the implications of the growing reliance of PPPs as a means of funding and delivering key services, and what this means for inequalities.

Speakers will be: 

-Philip Alston – Director and Chair of the Center for Human Rights and Global Justice, and former UN Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights (2014-2020).

-Rama Baru – Professor at the Centre of Social Medicine and Community Health, Jawaharlal Nehru University.

-Sonia Languille – Acting Co-Director of the Higher Education Support Program at the Open Society Foundations, and research fellow at the Centre for Education and International Development at the Institute of Education (University of London).

-Jasmine Gideon – Reader in Gender, Health, and International Development in the Department of Geography, Birkbeck, University of London.

-Elaine Unterhalter – Professor of Education & International Development at University College London, Institute of Education and Co-Director of CEID.

-María José Romero – PhD candidate in Development Economics at SOAS University of London, and policy and advocacy manager at Eurodad

Online registration is mandatory: https://lshtm.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJIof-6tpzoqHNw5qh63BP-4GbixY5431aMH (but the event is open for everyone!)

There is also a 30% discount code for the book included in this link: https://lidc.ac.uk/event/book-launch-critical-reflections-on-public-private-partnerships/

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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 Financing for Development, please visit ngosonffd.org. 

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