Language and Minority Rights: A Dialogue Forum with the Special Rapporteur on Minority Issues

The United Nations Charter (Article 1) and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (Article 2) affirm the right to non-discrimination based on language while the Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities (Article 2) asserts that persons belonging to minorities have the right to “use their own language, in private and in public, freely and without interference or any form of discrimination.” Yet linguistic minorities throughout the world continue to experience challenges to their language rights as well as inequitable access to other civil and human rights.

In this session, current Special Rapporteur on Minority Issues Fernand de Varennes will discuss the intersection of language and minority rights, including implementational challenges and possibilities. Representatives of NGOs, Secretariat and UN agency staff, colleagues from Member States, scholars, and others interested in linguistic minority rights are invited to participate in an open dialogue with the Special Rapporteur.

Register here by November 27!

About the Special Rapporteur:

Professor Fernand de Varennes, a globally recognized expert on linguistic and human rights, has served as the Special Rapporteur on Minority Issues since 2017 Reporting to the Human Rights Council and to the General Assembly, the Special Rapporteur promotes the implementation of the Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities and guides the work of the Forum on Minority Issues, among other responsibilities.

Programme:

8:45 – 9:00am Sign In
9:00 – 9:05am Introduction – Francis M. Hult, Chair, Committee on Language and Languages
9:05 – 9:35am Fernand de Varennes, Special Rapporteur on Minority Issues
9:35 – 9:55am Open Dialogue
9:55 – 10:00am Closing Remarks – Humphrey Tonkin, Vice-Chair, Committee on Language and Languages

_________________________________________________________________________________________

CoNGO Notes: The NGO Committee on Language and Languages is a Substantive Committee of the Conference of NGOs in Consultative Relationship with the United Nations. For more information, please email the chair at fmhult@umbc.edu. Likewise, 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. For more information on the NGO Committee on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, please visit un-ngocrip.net.

NGO Committee on Financing for Development regular monthly meeting

Join the NGO Committee on Financing for Development for their regular monthly meeting on November 4 from 1:00 – 3:00 pm EST at the Baha’i International Community Office at 866 UN Plaza, with Zoom access capabilities for those who are unable to attend in person. As the conference room can accommodate up to 25 participants, in-person attendance will be on a first come first served basis for those who have registered at this link by 4:00 pm October 31.

To attend virtually, kindly register to receive the Zoom access link here: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZctdu6urD4qGdG5uqTnKvZAqzQHuY_QnaQq

The agenda, minutes of the last meeting, and resource material are being uploaded to the meeting folder here.

Note to members:

Save the Date for upcoming FfD workshop! The Committee’s annual workshop on FfD, titled “Financing for Development Post COVID” will be held on November 9 from 8:30 am – 10:00 am via Zoom. This workshop is being organized by the Executive Committee. Interested participants are encouraged to register here.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________

CoNGO Notes: The NGO Committee on Financing for Development is a Substantive Committee of the Conference of NGOs in Consultative Relationship with the United Nations. Likewise, 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.

Digital Equity: Policies, Access, Literacy & Safety

The NGO Committee on Ageing-New York’s program provides a platform for a multi-stakeholder dialogue with a call to action. Speakers will address digital equity, including adequate policies, access, digital literacy, and safety. The virtual program will take place October 1^st from 10:00—11:30am EDT.

Register here: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe6cE7POAkqrbuCIgY3L2HFJghTde6BlqlF2HrEayaE4gwoCA/viewform

____________________________________________________________________________________________

CoNGO Notes: The NGO Committee on Ageing-New York is a Substantive Committee of the Conference of NGOs in Consultative Relationship to the United Nations, and more information is available at ngocoa-ny.org. Likewise, for more information on the NGO Committee on Ageing-Geneva, please visit ageingcommitteegeneva.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Ageing-Vienna, please visit ngoageingvie.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 Intergenerational Solidarity, please email the vice chair at susanneseperson@gmail.com.

International Day for Universal Access to Information

On 17 November 2015, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) declared 28 September as International Day for Universal Access to Information. Considering that several civil society organizations and government bodies in the world have adopted and currently celebrate this observance, the UN General Assembly also adopted 28 September 2019 as the International Day for Universal Access to Information.

UNESCO and its intergovernmental programs – the International Programme for Development of Communication and the Information for All Programme – provide a platform and frame for all the stakeholders to participate in international discussions on policy and guidelines in the area of access to information. Both programs also enable positive environment for ATI to flourish through the development of projects aimed to strengthen open science, multilingualism, ICTs for disabled and marginalized, and media and information literacy.

Access to information

Informed citizens can make informed decisions, for instance, when going to the polls. Only when citizens know how they are governed, can they hold their governments accountable for their decisions and actions. Information is power. Therefore, universal access to information is a cornerstone of healthy and inclusive knowledge societies.

Universal access to information means that everyone has the right to seek, receive and impart information. This right is an integral part of the right to freedom of expression. The media plays a crucial role in informing the public about issues of interest, but it relies on the ability to seek and receive information, too. Hence, the right to universal access to information is also bound up with the right to freedom of the press.

To learn more about why and how the UN commemorates this day, please visit un.org/en/observances/information-access-day.

____________________________________________________________________________________________

CoNGO Notes: For more information on the NGO Committee on Education, Learning, and Literacy, please visit facebook.com/NGOCELLatUN. For more information on the NGO Committee on Human Rights, please email the co-chairs at bobbinassar@gmail.com or bknotts@uua.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Disarmament, Peace, and Security, please visit ngocdps.wordpress.com.

[UNCTAD15 civil society discussion] Frontier technologies, the digital economy and development

#UNCTAD15 Civil Society Discussion Series

This event is part of a series of online discussions with civil society held in preparation for the UNCTAD15 ministerial conference that will take place in the week of 3 October 2021.

Senior officials from UNCTAD and civil society leaders will discuss issues related to frontier technologies, the digital economy and development. The key issues identified will be reported to member states as part of the intergovernmental preparatory process for UNCTAD15.

The event, which will be opened by Shamika Sirimanne, director of UNCTAD’s division on technology and logistics, is open to the public.

Registration is mandatory: unctad.us17.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=69d5b141e8ba277f176908a58&id=856c168864

_______________________________________________________________________________________

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. For more information on the NGO Committee on Education, Learning, and Literacy, please visit facebook.com/NGOCELLatUN.

Artificial Intelligence: Ethical Dimensions of the Virtual World

Dear colleagues,

You are warmly invited to an online dialogue on “Artificial Intelligence: Ethical Dimensions of the Virtual World” during a side event for the Commission on Social Development, hosted by the Bahá’í International Community’s United Nations Office, the United Arab Emirates and NGO Committee on Social Development. The details for the event are:

The growing influence of artificial intelligence (AI) raises fundamental questions about the type of societies we want to build and the kinds of lives they support. This online dialogue will explore vital questions of values, vision, ethics, and purpose with regard to AI, and ways that they are being addressed in social, technological, and political terms.

Panelists:

Major Hamad Khatir, Director of International Partnership, Ministry of Interior of the United Arab Emirates
Ms. Eline Chivot, Senior Adviser on Digital Policy for the European People’s Party
Ms. Yu Ping Chang, UN representative on behalf of the Secretary General’s Special Advisor on Technology
Dr. Douglas Allen, Associate Professor of the Daniels College of Business at the University of Denver

We look forward to seeing you on Wednesday.

Sincerely,

Daniel Perell
Representative to the United Nations
Bahá’í International Community

_________________________________________________________________________________

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

cybercrime

Recent Posts