UN Biodiversity Conference

The Conference will bring together the Parties and Observers to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity in Kunming, China to discuss the action needed to reverse biodiversity loss and its impact on ecosystems, species and people.

The fifteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP 15) to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) will review the achievement and delivery of the CBD’s Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020. It is also anticipated that the final decision on the post-2020 global biodiversity framework will be taken, together with decisions on related topics including capacity building and resource mobilization.

The “zero draft” for a post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework has included a focus on ensuring work to preserve biodiversity contributes to “the nutrition, food security, and livelihoods of people, especially for the most vulnerable.”

As more information becomes available, it will be posted here: un.org/en/food-systems-summit-2021-en/un-biodiversity-conference

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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-Vienna, please visit ngocsdvienna.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Sustainable Development-NY, please visit ngocsd-ny.org.

Addressing the tensions between extreme poverty & environmental conservation

Join us July 8 for “Addressing the tensions between extreme poverty and environmental conservation,” an ATD Fourth World webinar at HLPF, in collaboration with the Maryknoll Sisters.

Register here!

This fascinating dialogue will bring together:

Activists from the Quilombola community in Brazil and the Maasai community in Tanzania, both facing
threats to their lands, identities and cultures
Professionals in the field of social and environmental justice and human rights
International policy-makers in the realm of environmental conservation and management

Together, panelists will discuss how environmental conservation should not be used against the human
rights of people and communities living in poverty and will highlight examples of communities acting to
protect and preserve their environment and culture.

Speakers:

Seela John Sainyeye: Coordinator of Women Empowerment and Gender Equality at the Pilot Light Development Organization in Arusha, Tanzania
Leidyane Quilombola: Activist from Quilombo Nazaré, Maranhão, Brazil
David Smith: Chief Economist and Regional Coordinator – Africa. UNDP-UNEP, Poverty-Environment Action for the SDGs (PEA), UNEP

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

Changing narratives about unpaid care work and the economy

The pandemic has shown the critical importance of Care. It also exposed the challenges that women, particularly mothers, face in juggling paid work and unpaid Care responsibilities. At the heart of the problem is our current economic system, which considers unpaid care work – and nature – as endless and free commodities.

The Covid-19 crisis provides a unique opportunity to repurpose our economy, so that it serves the wellbeing of people and our planet. Bringing about such systemic change begins by changing narratives and perspectives on both unpaid care work and the economy.

Programme and list of speakers

Introductions:

Anne-Claire de Liedekerke, President, Make Mothers Matter
Olivier De Schutter, UN Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights

Moderator: Susan Himmelweit, Feminist economist, Emeritus professor of economics for the Open University in the UK, member of the UK Women’s Budget Group Commission for a Gender Equal Economy

Presentations:

Gary Barker, Founder and CEO, Promundo Global
Sonia Malaspina, Human Resources Director, Danone SN Italy
Anam Parvez, Research Lead in Evidence and Strategic Learning, Oxfam Great Britain
Shahra Razavi, Director, ILO Social Protection Department

Q&A

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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 Vienna NGO Committee on the Family, please visit viennafamilycommittee.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on the Family-NY, please visit ngofamilyny.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Social Development, please visit ngosocdev.org.

Breaking the Cycle of Poverty and Hunger: Our Asks

In order to engage with the themes of the HLPF and CSocD60 in 2022, the NGO CSocD is hosting an event to supplement the priority themes of resilience and recovery from Covid-19, addressing multidimensional poverty and hunger. The event is titled ‘Breaking the Cycle of Poverty and Hunger: Our Asks.’

True to the spirit of the Copenhagen Declaration of which this committee is guided by, this online webinar features three grassroots speakers from different continents who will share their unique experiences of poverty and hunger during or prior to Covid-19 and the solutions they have created or propose to overcome these difficulties. After presenting accounts of their lived experiences, there will be reactions to the presentations by UN agencies and Member States. This will form the basis of an authentic dialogue between diverse voices in society.

Register here!

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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 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.

Recovering Tourism for Sustainable Development: Safety, resilience, and incentives

Virtual side-event on the margins of the High-level Political Forum

Tourism is one of the sectors most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic throughout the world, impacting economies, international travel, creative industries, and the protection of nature. Recovering tourism must consider building back better and be a driving force to achieve sustainable development.

In the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, SDG target 8.9 stablished to “by 2030, devise and implement policies to promote sustainable tourism that creates jobs and promotes local culture and products”, and SDG target 12.b. calls to “develop and implement tools to monitor sustainable development impacts for sustainable tourism that creates jobs and promotes local culture and products.”

Sustainable tourism calls for partnerships and commitment from Governments, the UN system, and all relevant stakeholders. The side event will provide a platform to share views and experiences on how safety, resilience and incentives can be addressed to recovering tourism for sustainable development, including through harnessing national cultural and natural assets.

Register here: unesco-org.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Taw2rMxHTkSoBKhfS23qPA?_x_zm_rtaid=mp1140ZXTRe0vKjPhaeqfA.1625083204505.2494613014130801cc63cbb406979426&_x_zm_rhtaid=265

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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 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-Vienna, please visit ngocsdvienna.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Sustainable Development-NY, please visit ngocsd-ny.org.

World Youth Skills Day

In 2014, the United Nations General Assembly declared 15 July as World Youth Skills Day, to celebrate the strategic importance of equipping young people with skills for employment, decent work and entrepreneurship. Since then, World Youth Skills Day events have provided a unique opportunity for dialogue between young people, technical and vocational education and training (TVET) institutions, firms, employers’ and workers’ organizations, policymakers and development partners.

World Youth Skills Day 2021 will take place in a challenging context, with the continuation of the COVID-19 pandemic resulting in the widespread disruption of the TVET sector. While vaccination rollouts offer some hope, TVET still has a long road to recovery, especially in those countries which continue to be overwhelmed by the spread of the disease. Youth skills development will face a range of unfamiliar problems emerging from a crisis where training has been disrupted in an unprecedented manner on a virtually universal scale.

Young people aged 15-24 are particularly exposed to the socio-economic consequences of the pandemic. School and workplace closures are leading to learning and training losses. Major life-cycle transitions are made difficult if not impossible, including graduation from general education or TVET at secondary or tertiary level, residential autonomy, and labour market insertion.

TVET has a key role to play in fostering the resilience of young people. It is crucial for all stakeholders to ensure the continuity of skills development and to introduce training programmes to bridge skills gaps. Solutions need to be reimagined in a way that considers not only the realities of the present, but also the full range of possibilities for the future.

To learn more about how and why the UN commemorates this day, check out un.org/en/observances/world-youth-skills-day.

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CoNGO Notes: For more information on the NGO Committee on Intergenerational Solidarity, please email the vice chair at susanneseperson@gmail.com. For more information on the NGO Committee on Children’s Rights-NY, please visit childrightsny.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Education, Learning, and Literacy, please visit facebook.com/NGOCELLatUN.

[HLPF side event] Stakeholder Group on Ageing presents “COVID-19 Pandemic: A Stress Test of Global Ageing”

SGA Official Side Event at the UN High-level Political Forum

Older persons have been among the first and hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. In many respects the pandemic could be viewed as a test of how prepared/or not Member States are for the rapidly ageing society.

Pandemics disrupt and have the potential to drive change. Only a whole-of-society, whole-of-government approach can respond effectively to the dynamic challenges of this time.

In his report, the UN Secretary-General presented new research on how longevity has the power to transform labour markets, economies and societies. The recently released WHO Global Report on Ageism shows that one in two people hold ageist attitudes towards older people.

This side event will focus on: Health and Long Term Care, Economic Development and Work and Technology in ageist environment during the pandemic

Register here: zoom.us/meeting/register/tJUofuqrrD4rG9XfaonPbRnBxmTDIDOXF4yw

Program

Welcome: Ms. Erica Dhar, Co-Chair, Stakeholder Group on Ageing

Keynote address: Prof. Andrew Scott, Professor of Economics, London Business School

Panel moderator: Dr. Jane Barratt, Secretary General, International Federation on Ageing

5 Minute Lightning Round Interventions

H.E. Ms. Barbro Westerholm, Member of Parliament, Sweden
Dr. Ad van Berlo, Chief Executive Officer and R&D Manager, Smart Homes
Ms. Aura Sevilla, Programme Consultant for South East Asia and Older Workers, Women in Informal Employment: Globalizing and Organizing (WIEGO)
Ms. Grace Chan, Business Director, Hong Kong Council of Social Service

Closing remarks: Ms. Amal Abou Rafeh, Chief of the Programme on Ageing Unit, United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA)

This event will be available at no cost and a recording will be available following the live event. For more information regarding the programme and speaker biographies please visit ifa.ngo/driving-our-agenda/united-nations.

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CoNGO Notes: 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 on Ageing-NY, please visit ngocoa-ny.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Intergenerational Solidarity, please email the vice chair at susanneseperson@gmail.com.

World Drug Report 2021: Africa & the Americas

The Vienna NGO Committee on Drugs (VNGOC) together with the UNODC Civil Society Unit will be holding two webinars to present and discuss the World Drug Report 2021, which was launched on 25^th June. The yearly publication is the most comprehensive source of facts and knowledge on drugs and the world drug market, sourced straight from evidence-based studies and data compiled by UNODC experts. The participants of the webinars will learn about the newest trends, both global and regional. This webinar will be held on 15th July 2021 (16:00-17:30, CEST, Vienna) and will focus on Africa and the Americas.

Register here: https://bit.ly/3ipmlHf

Interpretation in French and Spanish will be available. The full agenda can be viewed on the VNGOC website.

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CoNGO Notes: For more information on the NGO Committee on Drugs-NY, please visit nyngoc.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Mental Health, please visit ngomentalhealth.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Social Development, please visit ngosocdev.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on the Family-NY, please visit ngofamilyny.org.

World Population Day

The COVID-19 crisis has taken a staggering toll on people, communities and economies everywhere. But not everyone is affected equally. Women, who account for the largest share of front-line health workers, for example, are disproportionately exposed to the coronavirus. Supply chains around the world are being disrupted, impacting the availability of contraceptives and heightening the risk of unintended pregnancy. As countries are on lockdown and health systems struggle to cope, sexual and reproductive health services are being sidelined and gender-based violence is on the rise.

Recent UNFPA research highlighted that if the lockdown continues for 6 months with major disruptions to health services, then 47 million women in low- and middle-income countries may not be able to access modern contraceptives resulting in 7 million unintended pregnancies. 31 million additional cases of gender-based violence can also be expected. The disruption of UNFPA’s programmes on the ground could result in 2 million cases of female genital mutilation and 13 million child marriages between 2020 and 2030 that could have been averted.

Moreover, women disproportionately work in insecure labour markets and are harder hit by the economic impacts of COVID-19. Nearly 60 percent of women worldwide work in the informal economy, at greater risk of falling into poverty. Women’s unpaid care work has increased as a result of school closures and the increased needs of older people.

The pandemic is hitting marginalized communities particularly hard, deepening inequalities and threatening to set us back in our efforts to leave no one behind. Our response to COVID-19 in every country is critical and will determine how fast the world recovers and whether we achieve the Sustainable Development Goals or not.

To learn more about how and why the UN commemorates this observance, check out un.org/en/observances/world-population-day.

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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.

Regular Pathways and Irregular Migration

Join GRFDT in the second round of virtual meetings, this one focused on “Regular Pathways and Irregular Migration.” This round will build on the action points from the first round. A moderator will guide the 90-minute open conversations and will go around the regions to collect participants’ insights.

Register here: https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJMkce6grjsrHtVe4SfYkG-gUWPFyW72hYo3

Recognize that in the absence of adequate, rights-respecting regular migration pathways, people who need to move for livelihood or other reasons will still do so and must not be criminalized for it.

Moderator: Mr. Oscar A. Chacon – Executive Director, Alianza Americas

Action Points:

1. Change the narratives – towards a reconceptualization approach

2. Unpack irregular migration into different thematics (intersectionality)

3. Pushing for the principle of non-discrimination

4. Moving forward with a multilateral approach

5. Family reunification

6. Temporary labour migration

7. Regular pathways and climate change

The Organizers: Migrant Forum in Asia (MFA), the Cross-Regional Center for Refugees and Migrants (CCRM), the Global Research Forum on Diaspora and Transnationalism (GRFDT), the Civil Society Action Committee, Alianza Americas, the Platform for International Cooperation on Undocumented Migrants (PICUM), and the Climate Migration & Displacement Platform (CMDP)

Simultaneous interpretation in Arabic, English, French, & Spanish

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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 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.

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