violence prevention

Preventing and Addressing Conflict-Related Sexual Violence (CRSV) as a Tool of War

Dear Colleagues,

Search for Common Ground invites you to join us for a UNGA side-event focused on conflict-related sexual violence as a mechanism of war. This event is hosted in collaboration with the Secretary’s Office of Global Women’s Issues and the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace, and Security.  Against the backdrop of events transpiring in Afghanistan, this panel discussion seeks to showcase the imperative need to prevent and address conflict-related sexual violence around the world, to promote the safety, security, and prosperity of all people.

The panel will cover historic and present-day examples of CRSV; policy and programming approaches to preventing and addressing CRSV; and lessons learned from civil society representatives in conflict-affected countries on the impact of CRSV interventions.

Please use the following link to register: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZUlc-ChpzwtEt171qKG-jP4sgpcZViJVUf2

We look forward to your participation and encourage you to share this invitation with your partners. For questions about the event, please contact Anna Crouch at acrouch@sfcg.org.

Thank you,

Search for Common Ground

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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 Status of Women-NY, please visit ngocsw.org. 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 Human Rights, please email the co-chairs at bknotts@uua.org or bobbinassar@gmail.com. 

National Dialogue on the Elimination of Violence and Harassment in the World of Work in Nepal

As part of Global Action Week to promote the ratification of the Convention No. 190 on violence and harassment, and on the occasion of two-year anniversary of the adoption of ILO Convention 190 (C190) on Violence and Harassment in the World of Work, a National Dialogue on the Elimination of Violence and Harassment in the World of Work in Nepal will be organized on 25 June 2021.

At the event, key findings from a study on violence and harassment in the world of work in the health sector in Nepal will be presented, followed by experience sharing from the key stakeholders in the health sector which has been overburdened due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The event will also feature key speakers working to eliminate violence and harassment in the world of work to share their efforts around raising awareness on C190 and for its ratification in Nepal.

The event will elicit a call for a renewed commitment and ambitious actions to accelerating progress to prevent, address and end violence and harassment in the world of work for all.

Watch live here: youtube.com/watch?v=ACWzBbnT1qg&ab_channel=InternationalLabourOrganization

Learn more here: ilo.org/global/lang–en/index.htm

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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-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 Education, Learning, and Literacy, please visit facebook.com/NGOCELLatUN. For more information on the NGO Committee on Social Development, please visit  ngosocdev.org.

Virtual launch event for Version 3 of the International Ammunition Technical Guidelines

The United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs has the pleasure to invite you to attend the Virtual Launch Event for Version 3 of the International Ammunition Technical Guidelines on Thursday, 8 July from 10 AM – 12 PM (noon) Eastern Daylight Time (NY Time).

Register here!

Background info:

The Virtual Launch will feature presentations by technical and policy experts in the field of ammunition management, providing an overview of the key changes to the IATG and the rationale behind them. Experts will also reflect on the importance of the IATG Version 3 in responding to the increasing risk of explosive events at ammunition sites, resulting in grave humanitarian consequences. Over the past 2 years, the IATG have undergone a comprehensive technical review by the UN SaferGuard Technical Review Board. IATG Version 3 comprises 12 thematic series (or volumes), sub-divided into 41 individual modules. In addition to technical updates to existing modules, Version 3 includes two new modules, namely on organizational capabilities (module 01.35) and on airfields (module 8.20).

The International Ammunition Technical Guidelines First developed in 2011 pursuant to the request contained in General Assembly resolution 63/61, the IATG respond to a growing concern at the international level over explosive events at munition sites and the diversion of ammunition from poorly managed and unsecured stockpiles to the illicit market. The IATG are voluntary, practical and technical guidelines that serve as a foundation and reference framework for national authorities to improve the safety, security and effectiveness of their ammunition management policies and practices.

The UN SaferGuard Programme, managed by the Office for Disarmament affairs, functions as the caretaker of the IATG, allowing for holistic oversight and dissemination of the Guidelines and its supporting toolkit. In doing so, it is supported by a Technical Review Board (TRB) and the Strategic Coordination Group. Over the past two years, the TRB has conducted an extensive review of the IATG, resulting in its endorsement of Version 3 of the Guidelines as current, comprehensive and of the highest standards.

For more information, please contact Ingmar Snabilie at ingmar.snabilie@un.org.

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CoNGO Notes: For more information on the NGO Committee on Disarmament, Peace, and Security, please visit ngocdps.wordpress.com. 

7th Session of the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction

Seventh Session of the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction (GP2022)

The Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction is the main global forum to assess and discuss progress on the implementation of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction. The seventh session of the Global Platform (GP2022) will be organized by the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) from 23 to 28 May 2022, in Bali, Indonesia, hosted by the Government of Indonesia. The event will be co-chaired by the Government of Indonesia and UNDRR.

The Global Platform takes place at a critical time: seven years from the adoption of the Sendai Framework and just over two years since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has exposed how underlying vulnerabilities and inequities have catastrophic consequences for the most exposed across the world. The pandemic has demonstrated just how essential prevention and the risk reduction agenda is if we are to achieve a sustainable future for all. The 2022 Global Platform will provide a unique and timely opportunity to showcase the importance of international solidarity and cooperation, as well as to discuss ways to tackle underlying risk drivers both locally and globally. Additionally, it will explore how to strengthen disaster risk governance and how to build stronger systems for managing all types of risks. GP2022 offers a chance for all stakeholders to recommit, with urgency, to accelerate progress on disaster risk reduction towards the achievement of sustainable development.

How to apply:

Please refer to the GP2022 concept note and GP2022 list of sessions for information on the Global Platform focus and sessions. For information on the Organizing Teams, please refer to the Terms of Reference.

To apply to join an Organizing Team, please fill in the online form by 23 June, 2021. In the form, please indicate if your participation in an Organizing Team requires the provision of disability-related accommodation. For any questions, please reach out to the Global Platform team on globalplatform@un.org

Stakeholder coordination:

The GP2022 will be organized in an inclusive, consultative, and open manner. Wide stakeholder consultation and participation in the Global Platform will be encouraged, ensuring inclusivity and accessibility by all groups. The engagement of stakeholder groups in the GP2022 will be facilitated through the UNDRR Stakeholder Engagement Mechanism, with stakeholder representatives invited to contact their relevant stakeholder focal points for more information.

GP2022 format:

The official programme of the GP2022 will be conducted in all six official UN languages. Additional information on the format of, and participation in, the GP2022 will be made available on a dedicated website as planning progresses and the current global context evolves.

For further information on the GP2022, please contact globalplatform@un.org.

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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 Rights of Indigenous Peoples, please visit facebook.com/NGOCoRIP. For more information on the NGO Committee on the NGO Committee on Education, Learning, and Literacy, please visit facebook.com/NGOCELLatUN. 

Combating Corruption: The Relevance & Capacities of Faith-Based Organizations

Special Session of the United Nations General Assembly Against Corruption (UNGASS)

Side meeting: “Combating Corruption: The Relevance and Capacities of Faith-Based Organizations”

Representatives from diverse faith traditions, along with UN officials with direct experience in combating and proposing solutions to corruption—trafficking, public corruption, organized crime—will discuss the role of FBOs in corruption prevention and intervention efforts to improve ethics, justice, rule of law, good governance, and sustainable development.

Moderator: Dr. Thomas G. Walsh, Chairman, Universal Peace Federation; Co-Chair, Coalition of Faith-Based Organizations, USA

Panelists:

  • Amb. Thomas Stelzer, Dean, International Anti-Corruption Center, Vienna
  • Mrs. Livia Krings, Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Officer in the Corruption and Economic Crime Branch of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Austria
  • Dr. Liberato “Levi” Bautista, President of The Conference of Non-Governmental Organizations (CoNGO) in Consultative Relationship with the United Nations and Main Representative to the UN for the United Methodist Church-General Board of Church and Society
  • Imam Sheikh Mohammad Ismail, The Muslim Chaplain, The University of Sheffield, The Octagon Centre, Sheffield, UK
  • Bishop Munib Younan, Former President, Lutheran World Federation; Honorary President, Religions for Peace, State of Palestine

Question and Answer:

For Q&A, please email questions to coalitionfbo@gmail.com Thank you!

This webinar is sponsored by:

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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 Drugs & Crime-NY, please visit nyngoc.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Financing for Development, please visit ngosonffd.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Freedom of Religion or Belief, please visit unforb.org.

A Matter of Faith: Comprehensive Sexuality Education as a Gender-based Violence Prevention Strategy in Faith Settings

Dear Colleagues,

Greetings. The Webinar, “A Matter of Faith: Comprehensive Sexuality Education as a Gender-based Violence Prevention Strategy in Faith Settings,” will be convened by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in collaboration with the Joint Learning Initiative on Faith and Local Communities (JLI)  to promote an open conversation on the potential and the challenges of engagement by faith actors on CSE.

This is a part of a series of webinars co-hosted by OHCHR, UNFPA, UNWOMEN and JLI and the Sexual Violence Research Initiative (SVRI) Faith and GBV Hub using the peer-to-peer learning methodology of the #Faith4Rights Toolkit.

Kindly share this throughout your networks. Further information along with the connection details will be shared soon. Register here by 14 June 2021: unfpa.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_S2CSmG2aSPSwvwe2SUTjQA

This webinar is offered with French-English-Spanish interpretation. For questions or feedback regarding the webinar, please reach out to Dawn Minott (minott@unfpa.org) or Caterina Tino (tino@unfpa.org). We look forward to engaging with you on this topic.

Thank you and best regards,

United Nations Population Fund

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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 Status of Women-NY, please visit ngocsw.org. 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 Education, Learning, and Literacy, please visit facebook.com/NGOCELLatUN.

Redefining Leadership, Re-Envisioning Faith and Reconstructing Humanitarianism

Dear Religions for Peace Leaders,

We are so pleased that many of you have already registered for the UN Commission on the Status of Women (UN CSW 65). If you have not already registered on the NGO/CSW platform, please be informed that the event will be live-streamed on 25 March at 9AM ET from our Facebook page.

Kindly be sure to select our event, “Redefining Leadership, Re-Envisioning Faith, and Reconstructing Humanitarianism” on 25 March here. To join the webinar, please select the button “Join Meeting,” which will appear exactly at 9:00 am ET.

Program Agenda

  • Moment of Silence

PART I: WELCOME AND OPENING REMARKS

Prof. Azza Karam, Secretary General, Religions for Peace

PART II: A CONVERSATION ON WOMEN IN PUBLIC LIFE: REDEFINING LEADERSHIP

Moderated by Prof. Azza Karam, Secretary General, Religions for Peace

  • Dr. Mary McAleese, Former President, Republic of Ireland; Advisor to the Religions for Peace Secretary General
  • H.E. Sima Samar, Former Minister of Women’s Affairs; Member, Religions for Peace Standing Commission on Advancing Gender Equality, Afghanistan
  • Mr. Humberto Carolo, Executive Director, White Ribbon Campaign Canada, MenEngage Network, Religions for Peace Standing Commission on Advancing Gender Equality, Canada
  • Hon. Ela Gandhi, Trustee, Gandhi Development Trust and Religions for Peace Co-President, South Africa
  • Rabbi Rick Jacobs, President, Union for Reform Judaism and Religions for Peace Honorary President, United States

PART III: A CONVERSATION ON RE-ENVISIONING FAITH AND RECONSTRUCTING HUMANITARIANISM

Moderated by Grand-Mother Marie-Josée Rankin-Tardif, President, Kina8at Together; Elder from the Anicinape (Algonquin) Tradition, Canada

  • Rev. Clement Joseph, Secretary General of the Social Mission of Haitian Churches; Secretary General, Religions for Peace-Haiti, Haiti
  • Rt. Rev. Francisco Duque-Gomez, Anglican Bishop and leader of Religions for PeaceColombia, Colombia
  • Ms. Nageeba Hassan Tegulwa, Board Member, Women of Faith Uganda, Executive Member, African Women of Faith Network; Board Member, ACRL; Member, IWCC, Uganda
  • Ms. Fatima Hallal, Junior Researcher, Hartford Seminary-Interreligious Relations; Member, International Youth Committee, Lebanon

PART IV: Q&A 

PART V: CLOSING REMARKS

  • Prof. Azza Karam, Secretary General, Religions for Peace

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to Mr. Pietro Bartoli at pbartoli@rfp.org or Ms. Lexie Ruth Mitchell at lrmitchell@rfp.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 Freedom of Religion or Belief, please visit unforb.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 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. 

VAWG and COVID-19: Policies and Practices needed to build back better

VAWG and COVID-19: Policies & Practices needed to build back better

Sign in here to view/participate in the session.

This webinar’s panel of experts includes Dubravka Šimonovic (UN Special Rapporteur on VAW), Diana Arango (Senior Gender-Based Violence Specialist, World Bank), Hilary Gbedemah (Member and Immediate Past Chair of UN CEDAW Committee), Hyeshin Park (Economist, Gender Programme Coordinator, OECD), Grizelda Grootbroom (Director of Survivor Exit Foundation and a survivor-turned-activist helping survivors of the sex trade) and Mohinder Watson (Founder Action on Child, Early and Forced Marriage and a survivor-advocate working against forced marriage and honour based violence). The panel will be moderated by Linda Liu (Vice-President, ICW-CIF).

The panel will present current policies, measures, and best practices to prevent and eliminate violence against women and girls as we build back better, as well as provide personal insights from two survivor advocates – one related to the sex trade and the other on forced marriage and honour based violence.

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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. For more information on the NGO Committee for Rare Diseases, please visit ngocommitteerarediseases.org.

Civilian Safety in Armed Conflict: Strategies and approaches for direct prevention of violence

Civilian Safety in Armed Conflict: Strategies and approaches for direct prevention of violence

In this first of two webinars exploring existing efforts to improve the safety of civilians during armed conflict, we at PHAP will be discussing “primary” prevention programs, which focus on advocacy, armed actor behavior change, and direct engagement with armed actors, either by the humanitarian organization or by facilitating this engagement by communities. We will hear from civil society organizations and UN agencies about their approaches to primary prevention – what the main considerations are and in which situations they are effective. We will also discuss what other organizations can learn from their approach and the implications this has for the humanitarian community as a whole.

The event will be held virtually, and participants will need to connect via Zoom. Simultaneous interpretation will be provided in Spanish, English, and French. Register here!

Background:

In armed conflict, the humanitarian community continues to witness highly disturbing situations where the safety of civilians is ignored or not addressed, or where civilians are purposely targeted by parties to a conflict. While protection services continue to provide much-needed support to vulnerable and marginalized groups and individuals and respond to protection concerns with remedial service provision, limited progress has been made on contributing to civilians’ safety in armed conflict. As Hugo Slim expressed it in the recent Oxford Lecture Series on Protection: “When you look at protection’s track record through wars, protection is at its weakest here, in this challenge in protecting people from physical harm and unlawful devastating attacks on their persons and homes.”

In the last few years, there has been a push by both humanitarian agencies and donors to examine how we can prevent and protect civilians from physical harm during conflict. Key questions remain: what does prevention mean and look like within our protection of civilians programming? Where does civilian safety “fit” within the humanitarian architecture?

There are, however, several existing approaches to mitigate and reduce risk in armed conflict for the civilian population, including how to prevent violence from happening in the first place and how to strengthen civilian self-protection strategies through community-based initiatives. This two-part webinar series aims to provide an overview of the range of strategies currently undertaken by national and international civil society organizations, UN agencies, and donors, providing examples of good practice, and discuss how such efforts can be advanced and systematized in the wider humanitarian community.

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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 Financing for Development, please visit ngosonffd.org. 

Civilian Safety in Armed Conflict: Community-based protection, early warning, and conflict preparedness

Civilian Safety in Armed Conflict: Community-based protection, early warning, and conflict preparedness

In this webinar, the second of a two-part series exploring existing efforts to improve the safety of civilians during armed conflict, we at PHAP will be discussing “secondary” prevention programs, in particular those focusing on strengthening communities in conflict-affected areas to reduce the risk of harm and mitigate the effects of armed conflict on civilian populations. We will hear from NGOs active in situations of armed conflict around the word about how they approach building capacity for prevention in communities – what the main considerations are and in which situations they are effective. We will also discuss what other organizations can learn from their approach and the implications this has for the humanitarian community as a whole.

Register here!

Background:

In armed conflict, the humanitarian community continues to witness highly disturbing situations where the safety of civilians is ignored or not addressed, or where civilians are purposely targeted by parties to a conflict. While protection services continue to provide much-needed support to vulnerable and marginalized groups and individuals and respond to protection concerns with remedial service provision, limited progress has been made on contributing to civilians’ safety in armed conflict. As Hugo Slim expressed it in the recent Oxford Lecture Series on Protection: “When you look at protection’s track record through wars, protection is at its weakest here, in this challenge in protecting people from physical harm and unlawful devastating attacks on their persons and homes.”

In the last few years, there has been a push by both humanitarian agencies and donors to examine how we can prevent and protect civilians from physical harm during conflict. Key questions remain: what does prevention mean and look like within our protection of civilians programming? Where does civilian safety “fit” within the humanitarian architecture?

There are, however, several existing approaches to mitigate and reduce risk in armed conflict for the civilian population, including how to prevent violence from happening in the first place and how to strengthen civilian self-protection strategies through community-based initiatives. This two-part webinar series aims to provide an overview of the range of strategies currently undertaken by national and international civil society organizations, UN agencies, and donors, providing examples of good practice, and discuss how such efforts can be advanced and systematized in the wider humanitarian community.

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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 Financing for Development, please visit ngosonffd.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Migration, please visit ngo-migration.org.

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