Take Action: CSO

Call for Nominations – OPs Ele2024 Call for Nominations for Global and Regional Organizing Partner of the NGO Major Groupctions

 

Dear NGO MG,

Greetings and our very best wishes for this 2024. We hope you are doing well.
We are happy to share the call for Nominations for the OP elections process. According to the ToRs attached, the Nomination Committee is formed by 1 Global OP, 2 Regional OPs, and up to 4 from the wider membership. This time, we have the participation of:
  • Dennis Ekwere
  • Zakir Hossain
  • Aanand Mehta
  • Henry Oriokot (Regional OP)
  • Rosario Díaz Garavito (Regional OP)
  • Lani Anaya (Global OP)

6 positions will be elected: 2 Global OP, and 4 Regional OP: Europe (1), South America (1), Central Asia (1), and Middle East (1).

Here is the form to fill out: https://forms.gle/UVbGVgJTdHwW9rEM6 The application deadline is Sunday 21st January at 23:59 NYC time. Please read carefully the application information before applying.

Our planned timeline runs as follows:
  • Applications: January 3-21
  • Notification to follow-up interview round: January 24
  • Interviews to potential candidates: January 29- February 9
  • Notification of final decision: 19 February
Please do not hesitate to ask questions on this process via email to ngomajorgroupopny@gmail.com cc to lani@myworldmexico.org
All best,
Lani Anaya

on behalf of 

Jessica, Lani and Oli
Global Organizing Partners
NGO Major Group
__

Dear NGO Major Group,

I’m sending this follow-up email to clarify a point.
As I mentioned in my previous email, 6 positions will be elected: 2 Global OPs, and 4 Regional OPs: Europe (1), South America (1), Central Asia (1), and Middle East (1).
Other OP positions are not announced this year because the periods are ongoing: 1 Global OP (Lani), Eastern Africa (Henry), Northern Africa (Ayman), Southern Africa (Joseph), Western (Kofi), North America (Kekhashan), Caribbean (Donovan/Joseph), Pacific (Emeline). These positions continue during 2024.
As per the ToR, page 15 para 42: “The Organizing Partner terms will be staggered. In odd years, the terms of office of two global OPs, up to 4 regional OPs and up to 3 Thematic Cluster Coordinators will expire.  In even years, the terms of office of one global OP, up to 4 regional OPs and up to 2 Thematic Cluster Coordinators will expire. This will help achieve continuity and capacity building for new Organizing Partners.”
 

Here is the form for the available positions: https://forms.gle/UVbGVgJTdHwW9rEM6 The application deadline is Sunday 21st January at 23:59 NYC time. Please read carefully the application information before applying.

Warmly,
Lani

Civil Society FfD List Sign-on Letter: Implementation of UN Resolution on International Tax Cooperation

Photo: https://csoforffd.org/

We invite you all to sign on to the letter, and the deadline for doing so is Friday 16 December 2022. You can find the letter here and the form to sign on is here

__________

To the kind attention of:

Permanent Representatives and Permanent Observers to the United Nations in New York

United Nations Secretariat, Agencies and Programmes

 

X December 2022

 

Subject: Implementation of UNGA Second Committee resolution on promotion of inclusive and effective international tax cooperation at the United Nations (A/C.2/77/L.11/Rev.1)

 

Your Excellencies distinguished representatives of UN Member States,

 

We, the undersigned civil society organisations and trade unions, strongly support and welcome the UNGA resolution on promotion of inclusive and effective international tax cooperation at the UN (A/C.2/77/L.11/Rev.1). We commend the Africa Group for its excellent leadership on this issue and for finally ensuring implementation of the long-standing demand of developing countries for a UN intergovernmental negotiation process on international tax. We urge all UN Member States to maintain and reinforce the spirit of international cooperation that resulted in the adoption by consensus of this historic resolution. 

 

Furthermore, we are writing to you with a call for all governments to work constructively towards the urgent and efficient implementation of the resolution. This includes: 

 

  1. Supporting a speedy approval in the UNGA Fifth Committee of the required budget allocation for the implementation of the resolution, in line with the related Programme budget implications analysis (A/C.2/77/L.75). The budget requirement, totaling US$ 432,700, was presented to Member States ahead of the adoption of the resolution. We now count on all UN Member States to stand by the consensus agreement reached with the resolution and confirm the allocation of the required resources. We also urge all UN Member States to keep in mind that international tax cooperation is urgently needed, not least to combat tax-related illicit financial flows, which are costing governments hundreds of billions of dollars in lost tax income every year. This must therefore be a matter of high importance and urgency.

 

  1. Supporting strong stakeholder involvement in the consultation process related to the UN Secretary General’s report as mandated by the resolution. We strongly welcome the fact that stakeholder consultation is explicitly included in the text of the resolution, and we stand ready to make our contributions. We, the undersigned civil society organisations and trade unions, bring in-depth knowledge from all regions of the world about the devastating impacts of the failure of international tax cooperation, including the continued bleeding of public resources in the form of illicit financial flows. We also bring concrete and specific proposals for solutions, including for how a future UN Convention on Tax could be designed. 

 

  1. Supporting a strong intergovernmental UN process to strengthen international tax cooperation. Through the resolution, all UN Member States have agreed to “begin intergovernmental discussions in New York at United Nations Headquarters on ways to strengthen the inclusiveness and effectiveness of international tax cooperation”. We strongly welcome this vital initiative, and stress the importance of moving forward with urgency. As stated in the adopted resolution, combating illicit financial flows is an essential development challenge, and developing countries are particularly susceptible to the negative impact of illicit financial flows. Therefore, we believe that the modalities for the foreseen process must be adopted as a matter of high priority, and this should take place no later than the seventy-eighth session of the UN General Assembly. Furthermore, we would like to stress the importance of ensuring that the modalities provide for a transparent and inclusive member state-led negotiation process with full participation of stakeholders, including civil society. 

 

Despite the fact that international tax rules and standards affect all countries and people of the world, there has until this point been no inclusive international body where all countries were able to participate on an equal footing in the decision-making on international tax matters. This injustice is at the heart of the failure of the international tax system, which has continued to be characterised by injustice, inefficiency, incoherence, unilateral actions and beggar-thy-neighbor policies. All countries have paid a high price for this failure, but the impacts on developing countries have been particularly hard. The UN remains the only truly universal body where all countries participate as equals, and the consensus adoption of the UN resolution, including the decision to begin intergovernmental discussions on international tax matters under the auspices of the UN, constitutes a truly historical shift towards fairness and inclusivity. 

The urgency of this matter cannot be overstated. In light of the Covid-19 pandemic and the “cost of living crisis”, the fight to increase domestic resource mobilisation and combat illicit financial flows has never been more vital. In 2021, the State of Tax Justice report estimated that countries around the world are losing over US$450 billion per year due to international tax dodging and abuse by multinational corporations and wealthy individuals. Faced with the challenges of financing the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals and combatting the global environmental crises, it is clear that the international community must take urgent action to strengthen international tax cooperation and stop the immense bleeding of public resources. 

We remain at your disposal if you would like to receive more information or would like to meet to discuss this issue further. 

 

Yours sincerely,

Civil Society Financing for Development Group (www.csoforffd.org)

 

Signatories

 

  1. Civil Society Financing for Development (FfD) Group
  2. Global Alliance for Tax Justice (GATJ): Alliance of five continental tax and fiscal justice networks in Asia (Tax & Fiscal Justice Asia), Africa (Tax Justice Network Africa), Latin America (Red de Justicia Fiscal de América Latina y el Caribe), Europe (Tax Justice-Europe) and North America (Canadians for Tax Fairness & FACT Coalition), collectively representing hundreds of organisations. 
  3. European Network on Debt and Development (Eurodad)

 

ACUNS 2023 Annual Meeting: Call for Proposals

THE ACADEMIC COUNCIL ON
THE UNITED NATIONS SYSTEM
2023 ANNUAL MEETING

“MAKING, KEEPING, AND SUSTAINING PEACE”

 

CALL FOR PROPOSALS

 

Location: United States Institute of Peace, Washington, D.C.
Dates: Wednesday, 21 June – Thursday, 22 June 2023

Opening Keynote Address, 21 June:
Dr. Rosemary A. DiCarlo
United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs

Holmes Lecture, 22 June:
Mr. Jean-Pierre Lacroix
United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations

The United Nations and other organizations laid the foundations for international peace after World War II, and those foundations remained robust at the end of the Cold War. In this time of change and turmoil, what entities serve as the pillars of international cooperation and peace? What can we learn from previous efforts at making, keeping, and sustaining peace? The year 2023 marks the 75th anniversary of the advent of both UN special political missions and UN peacekeeping. In the current geopolitical context, what are the prospects for future special political missions and peacekeeping operations? How must they adapt? How can the rules-based order adapt? How do climate change, gender, inequality, strategic risk, new weaponry, and other issues intersect with war and peace? As in previous years, we also welcome substantive contributions on the UN’s broader agenda, e.g., sustainable development, gender, human rights, the rule of law, environmental and health governance, etc. How might scholars, policy-makers, and policy-shapers help render the UN more effective, in all areas of its essential work?

The meeting supports ACUNS’ core mission of bringing together scholars and practitioners who are active in the work of the UN to better understand and address major global problems. ACUNS especially appreciates submissions from the Global South. ACUNS welcomes proposals from scholars, students, practitioners, policymakers, policy-shapers, and UN staff and delegates, in the following forms (click the blue boxes for links to submission forms):

Group-Organized Panels, Theme Roundtables, or Book Roundtables Individual Working Papers, Policy Briefs, or Digital Tools

Group-organized: A group organizes a panel or roundtable, striving for diversity in many forms, such as scholar/practitioner mix, gender, geography, career stage, and methodology. In cooperation with the other participants, one member of the group submits all details (including names, affiliations, abstracts, etc). Note that group-organized proposals are more likely to be accepted into the final program. Group-organized proposals can take one of the following forms:

  • Panel (3-4 working papers and/or policy briefs plus a chair and a discussant)
  • Book roundtable (5 experts, including the author/editor, discuss a book)
  • Theme roundtable (5 experts discuss a theme)

Individual: An individual or co-authors submit a paper, policy brief or tool. You will need to submit name(s), affiliation(s), and an abstract. ACUNS vets the proposals, groups into panels, and assigns a chair and discussant. Individual proposals can take one of the following forms:

  • Working paper (unpublished research paper or book chapter)
  • Policy brief (4-6 pages that lay out a problem, its causes, and solutions)
  • Digital tool (for example, an app to display and share information)

The deadline to submit proposals is 20 January 2023. You will have to create an account with Oxford Abstracts, which is free and takes just a few minutes. Selected participants will be notified in early February 2023.

Membership-based non-profit associations such as ACUNS rely on fees for operations. If selected, participants who are not ACUNS members will be asked to join the ACUNS membership. The meeting fee is $100 for in-person attendance and $30 for virtual. If the fees present a financial hardship, and for any other questions, contact annualmeeting@acuns.org.

Invitation to participate in an ONLINE SURVEY: Assessment on ASEAN Women, Peace and Security

Survey Form Link:  https://forms.gle/GPVJK7fSa4iUFaTr8

Assessment on ASEAN Women, Peace and Security

Salaam to all and a blessed day!

The Philippine Center for Islam and Democracy, in collaboration with the Southeast Asian Women Peacebuilders and ASEAN Society Philippines, and supported by UN Women – Indonesia, is undertaking  efforts to  enhance awareness of and build  support for  the implementation of the WPS agenda in Southeast Asia. The initiative falls under the UN Women and  Global Affairs Canada (GAC) regional programme, “Empowering Women for Sustainable Peace: preventing violence and promoting social cohesion in ASEAN.”

This questionnaire has been formulated to collect information on knowledge, actions and priorities from stakeholders of WPS in the region. Your participation is vital to the creation of an inclusive and gender-responsive repository which will guide us as we undertake awareness-raising activities on the WPS.

Your participation in this survey is voluntary. You may skip any question you do not wish to answer for any reason. Your survey answers will be stored initially with Google Sheets.  Data will later be downloaded and stored for the purpose of analytics.

You may access the survey form at https://forms.gle/GPVJK7fSa4iUFaTr8

At the end of the survey, you will be asked if you are interested in participating in an additional interview [by Zoom or email]. If you choose to participate, please provide your contact information. Kindly note that your survey responses may no longer be anonymous to the researcher. However, no names or identifying information would be included in any publications or presentations based on these data, and your responses to this survey will remain confidential unless you expressly allow otherwise.

Thank you very much for your invaluable support.

Should you have any questions, please email Salma T. Rasul, Esq., Project Coordinator, Philippine Center for Islam and Democracy at pcid.mainsecretariat@gmail.com.

Sincerely,

Draw up and enforce legal and moral redlines on crimes against the environment, NGOs urge ongoing CCPCJ session in Vienna

Photo: @CCPCJ Twitter

Vienna, Austria, 18 May 2022 (CoNGO InfoNews) – Close to 50 non-governmental organizations in consultative relationship with the United Nations Economic and Social Council have joined to endorse a statement that asserted “the imperative for the international community to strengthen the international legal framework and international cooperation in the field of crime prevention and criminal justice”.

The statement was drafted under the leadership of the NGO Committee on Sustainable Development in Vienna (NGO CSD Vienna). It was submitted to the thirty-first Session of the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice (CCPCJ) now meeting in Vienna, Austria,  from 16th to 20th of May. Accredited NGOs participate in meetings of CCPCJ. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, participation in person remains severely limited. Side events to the ongoing session are only online.

In the statement, civil society leaders asserted that “criminal law has a crucial role to play in drawing up and enforcing the legal and moral ‘red lines’ upon which the global population’s very ability to thrive and survive in its planetary home may well depend.”

Ingeborg Geyer, Chair of the NGO CSD Vienna, described the work of the committee, saying that “it started two years ago  on topics of crimes that affect the environment and followed up with resolutions which were tabled in previous sessions of UNTOC, Crime Congress and CCPCJ sessions.” This statement reinstates and spotlights once more the need to develop the international legal framework and cooperation in preventing what the statement calls “ecocide”.

The Conference of NGOs (CoNGO) and the NGO CSD Vienna collaborated in gathering endorsements of the statement by NGOs around the world. Many NGOs, including CoNGO members, engage the agenda of CCPCJ through the Alliance of NGOs on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice. See their event here. To learn more about the work of CCPCJ, visit https://twitter.com/CCPCJ. Watch the 31st session live, here.

 

FULL STATEMENT

NGO Statement to the 31st Session of the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice (Vienna, Austria, 16-20 May 2022)

Strengthening the international legal framework and international cooperation in the context of crimes that affect the environment

“If crime crosses borders, so must law enforcement. If the rule of law is undermined not only in one country, but in many, then those who defend it cannot limit themselves to purely national means.” (Kofi Annan, address to the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, 2000).

In the context of crime prevention and criminal justice as they pertain to the environment, the international community faces two major challenges. The first challenge relates to the urgent need to respond forcefully to the rapid rise in crimes affecting the environment. Eurojust,1 the European Union Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation, ranks environmental crime as the fourth largest criminal activity in the world – on a par with drug-trafficking. Most regrettably, law enforcement in this sector remains pitifully low and out of all proportion to the threat it poses. The reasons are manifold. The most significant factors are: (i) the failure of the criteria set out in the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime2 to categorize numerous environmental crimes as ‘serious’; and (ii) the inadequacy of training in the law enforcement agencies, whose staff frequently lack the all-essential investigation and prosecution capabilities.

The second challenge relates to the absence of legal provisions addressing the many and varied instances of severe widespread or long-term harm to the environment. All too frequently, the environmental damage caused is a deleterious side-effect of industrial practices which, though patently dangerous, are nonetheless permissible under law. Similarly, those outcomes represent all too common a breach of civil environmental regulations or are attributable to sheer negligence with regard to safety protocols. In many cases, the environmental damage qualifies as a transnational offence as set out in article 3.2 (a) (b) and (d) of the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime.

An offence is transnational in nature if:

(a) It is committed in more than one State;

(b) It is committed in one State but a substantial part of its preparation, planning, direction or control takes place in another State;

(d) It is committed in one State but has substantial effects in another State.

Both of the above challenges arise in the highly perturbing context of the critical global interlinkage between climate change, pollution and nature (biodiversity) loss. Furthermore, recent international reportstell us that these crises must be addressed with immediate urgency if we are to maintain the ability to support human civilization without severe, even irreversible loss and damage, mass migration and food crises.4

Moreover, the two challenges above relate both directly and causally to the current global crisis. The destruction or removal of carbon sinks and keystone species (e.g. via deforestation, poaching and trafficking), as well as severe soil, water and atmospheric pollution are all factors that inevitably exacerbate ecosystem collapse and climate change.

In the light of the foregoing, the imperative for the international community to strengthen the international legal framework and international cooperation in the field of crime prevention and criminal justice could not be clearer. Criminal law has a crucial role to play in drawing up and enforcing the legal and moral ‘red lines’ upon which the global population’s very ability to thrive and survive in its planetary home may well depend.

What form should this strengthening of frameworks and cooperation take? Recent meetings of this Commission have pointed in some useful directions, as indicated in the Chair’s summary documents of November 2021 and February 20225. Themes that emerged from those meetings included: ‘a robust legislative framework’; ‘measuring the impact of crime prevention’; and ‘treating environmental crimes as serious crimes.

The types of cooperation suggested are noteworthy in that they involve both international and cross-sector cooperation. They include the need for: ‘alternative sustainable livelihoods’, ‘the involvement of the private sector’; and ‘consideration of a crime prevention and criminal justice perspective within the broader “nature agenda”’.

Public perception and understanding are acknowledged as key elements in the successful enactment of criminal law: impunity was mentioned as a factor that undermined trust and perception of security, while a number of speakers noted that a culture of integrity was of crucial importance to crime prevention.

Inclusion was also a recurrent theme. Emphasis was placed on the importance that ‘governments and the international community as a whole, including the UN, listen [to] and support youth voices and recommendations.’

In this context it is worth focusing on the consistent demand for the recognition of ecocide as a crime before the International Criminal Court that the young as well as citizens’ assemblieshave voiced in recent years. Criminalizing ecocide would serve several purposes: to hold to account the leaders of criminal organisations and key decision-makers in government and industry alike; remove impunity; and to deter dangerous practices that incur environmental damage, thus strengthening the efficacy of current civil regulations.

We note that an independent expert panel convened by the Stop Ecocide Foundation reached consensus on the legal definition of ‘ecocide’ in 20217. The definition has since gained significant political traction around the world, while the European Law Institute, for its part, is moving ahead on a related EU- specific definition8.

In the light of the foregoing, the undersigned non-governmental organizations in consultative relationship with the United Nations urge the participants in the 31st Session of the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, in particular the States Parties to the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, to strengthen the international legal framework and international cooperation in the context of crimes that affect the environment.

We call on Member States to:

(a) strengthen the sanctioning of crimes incurring severe environmental effects, especially transborder effects, and treating them as ‘serious’ crimes as defined in the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime;

(b) encourage international cooperation between law enforcement agencies so as to improve awareness-building and training related to investigation into and prosecution of transnational offences that affect the environment;

(c) encourage consideration of criminal law frameworks in the context of the broader ‘nature agenda’;

(d) assess current international legal frameworks in the context of the global ‘triple crisis’ and their impact on climate change, pollution and nature loss;

(e) acknowledge and support the recommendations of civil society, in particular the voices of the young, with respect to the international legal framework in the context of the ‘triple crisis’;

(f) ensure participation of local populations and stakeholders in the scope of the Aarhus Convention and Escazú Agreement;

(g) support expansion of existing international legal frameworks for combating crimes affecting the environment, including hazardous legacies, abandoned sites and zones afflicted by war and other belligerent activities;

(h) recognize ‘ecocide’ as a new international crime;

(i) enact policies and enforce legislation with the highest integrity, as well as investigate and punish corruption with respect to crimes that affect the environment;

(j) encourage consideration of the relationship between economic factors and environmental neglect, and its impact on criminal activities;

(k) secure the support of the private sector by providing a reliable framework for combating the destruction of nature and the persistence of corruption, thus enabling those concerned to proceed without incurring existential risks;

(l) strengthen communication with and cooperation between secretariats of the relevant UN agencies so as to sharpen the focus on crimes affecting the environment; and

(m) cooperate with the relevant UN agencies in the implementation of reporting systems so as to facilitate assessment of the impact of crime prevention measures.

______________

ENDNOTES

1   Eurojust, Report on Eurojust’s Casework on Environmental Crime, January 2021
UNCTOC Article 2 (b)
3 IPCC WGII & WGIII, 2022
4 In the context of preparations for Stockholm+50 conference, there have even been references to the current mindset of humanity as “war on nature”.
5 https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/commissions/CCPCJ/session/31_Session_2022/docu mentation.html
6 Citizens Climate Assembly, France 2020; Global Citizens Assembly, Glasgow 2022
7  See https://ecocidelaw.com/legal-definition-and-commentary-2021/
8  See https://www.europeanlawinstitute.eu/projectspublications/current- projects/current- projects/ecocide

_____________________________

Endorsing organizations as of 11 May 2022 were gathered under the auspices of the Conference of NGOs in Consultative Relationship with the United Nations (CoNGO) and its NGO Committee on Sustainable Development-Vienna which drafted this statement. Endorsements for purposes of showing continued collaboration among NGOs on the issues raised in this statement are still welcome. To endorse the statement, send an email to the CoNGO President at president@ngocongo.org.

  1. African Action on Aids (AAA)
  2. American Association for Psychosocial Rehabilitation (AAPR)
  3. Bangladesh Mahila Parishad (BMP)
  4. CGFNS International, Inc.
  5. Credo-Action (Lomé, Togo)
  6. Criminologists Without Borders
  7. Fracarita International
  8. Graduate Women International (GWI)
  9. Imam Mahdi Association of Marjaeya (I.M.A.M.)
  10. International Alliance of Women (IAW)
  11. International Association of Applied Psychology (IAAP)
  12. International Association of Democratic Lawyers (IADL)
  13. International Council of Psychologists (ICP)
  14. International Council of Women (ICW)
  15. International Federation of Business and Professional Women (IFBPW)
  16. International Federation of Women Lawyers (IFWL)
  17. International Federation of Women in Legal Careers (IFWLC)
  18. International Federation on Ageing (IFA)
  19. International Inner Wheel (IIW)
  20. International Organization for the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (EAFORD)
  21. International Progress Organization (IPO)
  22. International Women’s Year Liaison Group, Japan (IWYLG)
  23. Islamic Relief Worldwide (IRW)
  24. Japan Asia Cultural Exchanges, Inc. (JACE)
  25. Le  Comite Francais des ONG pour la Liaison et l’ Information des Nations
  26. New Humanity
  27. Organization for Defending Victims of Violence (ODVV).
  28. Pan Pacific and South East Asia Women’s Association (PPSEAWA)
  29. Pax Romana | ICMICA
  30. Servas International
  31. Sisters of Charity Federation (SCF)
  32. Socialist International Women (SIW)
  33. Soroptimist International
  34. Sovereign Military Order of the Temple of Jerusalem (OSMTH)
  35. Teresian Association
  36. United Methodist Church-General Board of Church and Society (UMC-GBCS)
  37. Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA)
  38. Universal Peace Federation International (UPFI)
  39. Verein zur Förderung der Völkerverständigung
  40. VIVAT International
  41. WUZDA Ghana
  42. Women’s Federation for World Peace International  (WFWPI)
  43. Women’s International Zionist Organization (WIZO)
  44. World Circle of the Consensus (CMDC-SPOC)
  45. World Society of Victimology  (WSV)
  46. Zonta International

_________________

For information about this statement and the work of the  NGO Committee on Sustainable Development–Vienna, email its Chair, Dr. Ingeborg Geyer (http://ingeb.geyer@gmail.com) and visit the Committee’s website (https://ngocsdvienna.org/). Visit www.ngocongo.org to learn more about the work of CoNGO and its substantive committees.

Cease the war against Ukraine and resolve it peacefully and diplomatically, civil society organizations said in a joint statement

New York City, 4 March 2022 (CoNGO Infonews) – Civil society organizations that are predominantly women’s NGOs today issued a statement against the war in Ukraine. The seven initiating groups called for “an immediate halt to hostilities, for all troops to be withdrawn, and for good-faith, peaceful, diplomatic negotiations to begin in a neutral territory.” They issued the statement after the United Nations General Assembly and UN Secretary-General António Guterres have called for an immediate cessation to the conflict, outlining that it contravenes the UN Charter.

CoNGO President Liberato Bautista welcomed the initiative of the organizations, stating that the joint drafting process demonstrated “the best example of NGO good practice”. The call to endorse the statement leverages CoNGO’s convening platform for NGOs to consult, collaborate and cooperate together.

The original proponents of the statement welcome endorsement of the statement by other civil society organizations.  To add your endorsement, please send an email to infonews@ngocongo.org with the name and headquarter location of the organization, and the name of the responsible person agreeing to the endorsement.

 

Statement Against the War in Ukraine

5 March 2022

Soroptimist International, Associated Country Women of the World, International Federation of Business and Professional Women, Graduate Women International,  International Alliance of Women, Federation of American Women’s Clubs Overseas, Zonta International and the NGO Committee on Aging-Vienna stand in solidarity with the people of Ukraine, who have found themselves in an unwanted conflict.

During the 20th Century, Europe and the world strove to recover from devastating wars. Now, war has returned to the continent to the detriment of humanity. The human impacts of this war will reach far into the future. This conflict is in clear violation of international law, which forbids acts of aggression, the UN Charter and human rights for all. International humanitarian and human rights law must be upheld; the targeting of civilians constitutes a crime against humanity and a war crime.

Together, we call for an immediate halt to hostilities, for all troops to be withdrawn, and for good-faith, peaceful, diplomatic negotiations to begin in a neutral territory. The actions of states must place the good of citizens and humanity at their heart, accordingly, all civilians must be protected.

War is never gender-neutral. Women and girls in all their diversity are always disproportionately affected by war, and it is no different in this conflict. The projections that millions will be displaced and will become refugees, are being realised with thousands fleeing daily. Many of those on the move are women and girls; specific, targeted, gender-transformative programmes must be immediately developed and implemented to ensure that their lives, hopes and dreams are not irreparably damaged by this war.

Women and girls caught up in this humanitarian crisis will miss out on valuable education. They are at increased risks of early or child marriage, trafficking, sexual exploitation and gender-based violence. Women and girls will now be unable to access vital medical services, including sexual and reproductive health treatment and support. The UN Population Fund has shared how pregnant women, new mothers and babies are having to be cared for in make-shift underground bunkers or are giving birth in metro stations as health facilities become unsafe or are too damaged to function.

Older and disabled women struggle to escape conflict areas as transportation becomes unsafe and usual support is no longer available. Girls and women of all ages are now facing an uncertain future with increasing fear under shelling. Many will be left with long-term trauma. The infrastructure damage caused by war sets back sustainable development, and the achievement of gender equality.

With the presence of working nuclear power plants in a war zone, the environmental risks are significant during a time when the world is already facing a climate crisis. Now, Russian nuclear forces are on high alert. The consequences of any nuclear fallout would be unimaginable and devastating to the Ukrainian people, the environment of neighbouring countries and the world. International institutions and the global political system have been constructed to avoid just such an eventuality. In 2017, the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons was negotiated and the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, both major steps towards a non-nuclear world. Any nuclear threats must be stepped down.

Civil society organisations such as Soroptimist International, Associated Country Women of the World, International Federation of Business and Professional Women, Graduate Women International,  International Alliance of Women, Federation of American Women’s Clubs Overseas, Zonta International and the NGO Committee on Aging-Vienna are frequently the first responders on-the-ground, as they live in the affected communities, witnessing these challenges first hand, finding immediate solutions and distributing aid.

Members of civil society open their homes to refugees, feeding those on the move, and promoting their safety. This is already happening in Ukraine and neighbouring countries; these humanitarian efforts must be supported. Due to the nature of refugee dispersal and internally displaced persons, collecting thorough and reliable disaggregated data on women and girls in all their diversity will be almost impossible. This will make it difficult to assess the total impacts of this war on women and girls, including those living in rural and remote communities and those from indigenous communities less well-known outside of Ukraine.

The United Nations General Assembly and UN Secretary-General António Guterres have called for an immediate cessation to the conflict, outlining that it contravenes the UN Charter. The UN General Assembly has now voted overwhelmingly to condemn the invasion of Ukraine and has called for Russia to withdraw its forces. Soroptimist International, Associated Country Women of the World, International Federation of Business and Professional Women, Graduate Women International,  International Alliance of Women, Federation of American Women’s Clubs Overseas, Zonta International  and the NGO Committee on Aging-Vienna support these calls.

Soldiers must be withdrawn from hostilities on Ukrainian soil and political leaders must seek a peaceful resolution. International law and diplomacy should always be the mechanism to peacefully address disagreements between states; the needless destruction of war is only to the detriment of all people. In our interconnected world, we can see first-hand the rapidly increasing impacts of this conflict. We can all learn from the human stories which demonstrate the pointlessness, futility and devastation of war. Protests and acts of resistance and human understanding are being joined worldwide. The signatories of this statement join the call of many across the world for this war to end now.

_________________

{To endorse the statement, send email to infonews@ngocongo.org, including the name and headquarter location of the organization, and the name of the responsible person agreeing to the endorsement).

ENDORSING ORGANIZATIONS (As of March 11, 2022, 01:030PM EDT):

Original Proponents
Soroptimist International
Associated Country Women of the World | ACWW | United Kingdom
International Federation of Business and Professional Women | IFBPW
Graduate Women International | GWI
International Alliance of Women | IAW
Federation of American Women’s Clubs Overseas | FAWCO
Zonta International
NGO Committee on Aging-Vienna

Co-endorsers in the order received
Pan Pacific South East Asia Women’s Association | PPSEAWA
Universal Esperanto Association | UEA
Servas International
International Association of Applied Psychology | IAAP | France
World Association for Psychosocial Rehabilitation | WAPR
L’Association des Femmes de l’Europe Méridionale | AFEM | France
International Office for Catholic Education | OIEC | Italy
Sisters of Charity Federation | SCF
Mother’s Legacy Project | MLP | USA
World Council for Psychotherapy | WCP
Sovereign Military Order of the Temple of Jerusalem | OSMTH | Scotland
Greek League for Women’s Rights | GLWR | Greece
Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers | USA
World Federation of Methodist and Uniting Church Women | WFMUCW | Global
Credo Action | Togo
Maryknoll Sisters | USA
Virinoj por la Mondo | Women for the World
International Women’s Development Agency | IWDA | Australia
VIVAT International | USA
Japan Asia Cultural Exchanges, Inc. | JACE | USA
Soka Gakkai International | SGI | Japan
International Women’s Year Liaison Group | IWYLG | Japan
International Council of Women
Make Mothers Matter | MMM | France
Young Global Leadership Foundation | YGLF
United Methodist Church—General Board of Church and Society | UMC-GBCS | USA
Mercy International Association | Sisters of Mercy of the Americas
Pax Christi International | PCI
United Methodist Women | UMW | USA
International Federation on Ageing | IFA | Canada
Servicio Profesionales Desarollo Rural / Agricultura | SEDRA | Chile
World Organization for Early Childhood Education | OMEP |
US Women’s Caucus at the UN | USA
The Imam Mahdi Association of Marjaeya | I.M.A.M. | USA
Generations United | GU | USA
The World Federation of Ukrainian Women’s Organizations | WFUWO | Canada
Women First International Fund | USA
CGFNS International | USA
Miriam College (Philippines)
International Council of Women | ICW-CIF |
Kolping International | Germany
STUF United Fund | USA
Club Ohada Thies | Senegal
International Federation of Settlements and Neighborhood Center | IFSNC | Sweden/Finland
Inner Wheel International | IIC | United Kingdom)
Council of Organizations of the United Nations Association of the USA
The Unforgotten | unforgotten.org
National Grange | USA
National Judicial Conduct and Disability Law Project, Inc. | NJCDLP | USA
NGO Committee on Sustainable Development-NY

Call for Applications: CCPCJ Expert Discussions on Crimes that Affect the Environment – February 2022

Debt & climate campaign – sign the statement!

The climate emergency and the debt crisis are deeply interconnected. We CSOs want to raise awareness of the vicious circle in which the impact of the climate crisis and the increasing public debt keep fueling each other.

We call on world leaders, national governments, financial institutions, public and private, to take urgent, just, ambitious action, in compliance of their obligations and responsibilities. We demand for much more than climate finance and “debt relief”: we demand climate justice and debt justice. We demand a system change.

IUHPE World Conference on Health Promotion – Call for Abstract

Call for Abstracts
Appel de résumés
Convocatoria para el envío de resúmenes

 

Les versions française et espagnole suivent
Hello,

Under the conference theme “Promoting policies for health, well-being and equity”, the Call for Abstracts is now open for the 24th IUHPE World Conference on Health Promotion – IUHPE 2022, being held in Montréal (Québec) Canada and in hybrid format from 15 to 19 May 2022. Submissions can be made in English, French and Spanish.

We invite all abstract submitters, including individual contributors, to interact and collaborate with other presenters and participants wherever possible. Participatory, collaborative and non-traditional session formats will be given priority in the selection process.

Abstracts can be submitted in eight different formats: 1) symposium, 2) workshop, 3) research oral/poster presentation, 4) innovation in policy and practice oral/poster presentation, 5) round table discussion, 6) alternative showing/new technology, 7) alternative showing/art, and 8) lunch with an author. For further information on each of these formats, please click here.

The deadline to submit an abstract is Friday 17 September 2021.

Registration and hotel reservations for the 24th IUHPE World Conference on Health Promotion will open in May.
We look forward to welcoming you to Montreal, or online, in May 2022. For any questions, please contact the IUHPE 2022 Conference Secretariat – JPdL (iuhpe2022@jpdl.com).

Sincerely,

Carl-Ardy Dubois
Dean, École de santé publique de l’Université de Montréal
Co-Chair 24th IUHPE World Conference on Health Promotion

Margaret Barry
President, IUHPE
Co-Chair 24th IUHPE World Conference on Health Promotion
IUHPE 2022 Conference Secretariat – JPdL
1555 Peel Street, Suite 500 | Montréal QC H3A 3L8 | Canada
Tel: +1 514-287-9898 Ext. 300 | Fax: +1 514-287-1248
iuhpe2022@jpdl.com
www.iuhpe2022.com

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Version en français
Bonjour,

Sous le thème « Promouvoir des politiques pour la santé, le bien-être et l’équité », l’appel à la soumission de résumés est maintenant ouvert pour la 24e Conférence mondiale de l’UIPES sur la promotion de la santé – Montréal 2022, qui se tiendra à Montréal (Québec) Canada et en format hybride, du 15 au 17 mai 2022. Les soumissions peuvent être faites en français, en anglais ou en espagnol.

Nous invitons toutes les personnes qui soumettent un résumé, y compris les contributeurs individuels, à interagir et à collaborer avec d’autres présentateurs et participants chaque fois que cela est possible. Les formats de séances participatives, collaboratives et non traditionnelles seront choisis en priorité au cours du processus de sélection.

Les résumés peuvent être soumis dans huit formats différents : 1) symposium; 2) atelier; 3) présentation orale/affichée de recherche; 4) présentation orale/affichée d’une innovation en termes de politiques et de pratiques; 5) table ronde; 6) présentation alternative/nouvelles technologies; 7) présentation alternative/art; et 8) déjeuner avec un auteur. Pour plus d’informations sur chacun de ces formats, consulter le site web.

La date limite pour soumettre un résumé est le vendredi 17 septembre 2021.

L’inscription à la 24e Conférence mondiale de l’UIPES sur la Promotion de la Santé sera ouverte en mai.

Il nous fera plaisir de vous accueillir à Montréal, ou en ligne, en mai 2022. Pour toute question, veuillez communiquer avec le Secrétariat de la conférence IUHPE 2022 – JPdL (iuhpe2022@jpdl.com).

Cordialement,

Carl-Ardy Dubois
Doyen, École de santé publique de l’Université de Montréal
Co-président, 24e Conférence mondiale de l’UIPES sur la Promotion de la Santé

Margaret Barry
Présidente, IUHPE
Co-présidente, 24e Conférence mondiale de l’UIPES sur la Promotion de la Santé

IUHPE 2022 Secrétariat de la Conférence – JPdL
1555 Peel, bureau 500 | Montréal (Québec) H3A 3L8 | Canada
Tél: +1 514-287-9898 poste 300 | Fax: +1 514-287-1248
iuhpe2022@jpdl.com
www.iuhpe2022.com

Call for Project Proposals for Keepers of the Earth Fund

CALL FOR PROJECT CONCEPTS  

Español Abajo / Português abaixo

Deadline: March 2, 2021
Keepers of the Earth Fund

Cultural Survival is pleased to announce our next call for project proposals for our Keepers of the Earth Fund. The Keepers of the Earth Fund awards grants of $5,000 USD, on average, to directly support Indigenous communities, organizations, and traditional governments in their self-determined development projects based on their Indigenous values. We seek to financially support collective projects, working in collaboration for the benefit of the community.

Applicants are encouraged to propose projects on any topic that is of importance to their community. Of special interest for the 2021 call for proposals, projects focused on the following topics and their intersections may include: Protection of Mother Earth and strengthening biodiversity; mitigation of climate change; leadership of Indigenous women and youth; food systems; long-term projects in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in all its aspects: community health, food and economic sovereignty, etc.

To apply you must fill out a questionnaire and at the end, attach your project concept in text, video, or audio format. We accept project concepts in Spanish, English, Portuguese, Ayuujk, Maya K’iche, Kaqchikel and Poqomam, Sunuwar, Afrikaans, Nepali, French, or Russian. From the project concepts received, the strongest candidates will be invited to submit a full project proposal for evaluation and final selection. Visit our website for more information!

Project concepts will be accepted until March 2, 2021.

Guidelines:

English    Spanish  Português

______________________________________________________________________________________

Convocatoria abierta para Conceptos de Proyectos  

Guardianes de la Tierra

 Fecha limite de entrega: 28 de febrero de 2021

Cultural Survival se complace en anunciar la convocatoria de solicitudes de proyectos para el Fondo Guardianes de la Tierra. El fondo Guardianes de la Tierra otorga subvenciones de $5,000 dólares estadounidenses en promedio, que van directamente a comunidades, organizaciones y gobiernos tradicionales Indígenas para apoyar sus proyectos de desarrollo autodiseñados en sus valores indígenas. Buscamos financiar proyectos colectivos, trabajados en colaboración para beneficio de la comunidad.

Los aplicantes deben sentirse libres de proponer proyectos sobre cualquier tema que sea de importancia para su comunidad. De especial interés para la convocatoria 2021 son proyectos enfocados en los siguientes temas y sus intersecciones: Protección y recuperación de la madre tierra y la biodiversidad; mitigación del cambio climático; liderazgo de mujeres y jóvenes indígenas; sistemas alimentarios; proyectos a largo plazo en respuesta ante emergencia por Covid-19 en todos sus aspectos: salud comunitaria, soberanía alimentaria y económica, etc.

Para aplicar deben llenar un cuestionario y al final adjuntar su concepto de proyecto en formato de texto, video o audio. Aceptamos conceptos de proyectos en español, inglés, portugués, ayuujk, maya k’iche, kaqchikel y poqomam, sunuwar, afrikaans, nepalí, francés o ruso. De los Conceptos de proyectos que recibamos, los candidatos más fuertes serán invitados a enviar una propuesta completa de proyecto para su evaluación y selección final. Conozcan todos los detalles de nuestra convocatoria en nuestra página de internet.

Los conceptos de proyectos serán aceptados hasta el 2 de marzo de 2021.  Lean los lineamientos y apliquen aquí. 

______________________________________________________________________________________

Chamada aberta para financiamento de projetos

Fundo Guardiões da Terra

 Prazo de inscrição:  2 de março de 2021

A Cultural Survival tem o prazer de anunciar a convocatória para inscrições de projetos do Fundo para os Guardiões da Terra. O fundo dos Guardiões da Terra concede concessões de US $ 5.000 em média, que vão diretamente para comunidades indígenas tradicionais, organizações e governos para apoiar seus projetos de desenvolvimento autodefinidos em seus valores indígenas. Procuramos financiar projetos coletivos, trabalhados em colaboração para o benefício da comunidade.

Os candidatos devem se sentir à vontade para propor projetos sobre qualquer tópico que seja importante para sua comunidade. De especial interesse para a chamada 2021 são os projetos focados nos seguintes temas e suas interseções: Proteção e recuperação da Mãe Terra e da biodiversidade; mitigação das mudanças climáticas; liderança de mulheres e jovens indígenas; sistemas alimentares; projetos de longo prazo em resposta à emergência pela Covid-19 em todos os seus aspectos: saúde comunitária, alimentação e soberania econômica, etc.

Para se candidatar devem preencher um questionário e ao final anexar o conceito do projeto em formato de texto, vídeo ou áudio. Aceitamos conceitos de projeto em espanhol, inglês, português, ayuujk, maya K’iche, kaqchikel e poqomam, sunuwar, afrikaans, nepali, francês ou russo. A partir dos Conceitos de Projeto que recebemos, os candidatos mais fortes serão convidados a enviar uma proposta de projeto completa para avaliação e seleção final. Descubra todos os detalhes do nosso call em nosso site.

Os conceitos de projeto serão aceitos até  2 de março de 2021Leia as diretrizes e inscreva-se aqui.

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