human rights mechanisms

UNOG Media Seminar on Peace in the Middle East

Dear Representatives of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) accredited at the United Nations Office at Geneva (UNOG),

The United Nations Information Service in Geneva has the honour to invite you to the forthcoming 2022 United Nations International Media Seminar on Peace in the Middle East. This annual seminar will be held in room XXVI at the United Nations Office at Geneva, Switzerland, on 3 and 4 November 2022, in cooperation with the Permanent Mission of Switzerland to the United Nations Office at Geneva.

Over two days, participants will discuss a range of issues, such as how to protect journalists covering the conflict, how political news are eclipsing the coverage of economic challenges, and which are the opportunities and challenges for young journalists in the region. For over two decades, the media seminar has created a platform to enhance dialogue and understanding between Palestinian and Israeli media practitioners and to foster and encourage their contribution in support of peace efforts.

Participants will include His Excellency Mr. Riyad Mansour, Permanent Observer of the State of Palestine to the United Nations in New York, and His Excellency Mr. Cheikh Niang, Permanent Representative of Senegal to the United Nations in New York and Chair of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, as well as several respected journalists, academics and UN representatives.

Ms. Melissa Fleming, United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Global Communications and Ms. Tatiana Valovaya, Director-General of the United Nations Office at Geneva, will open the seminar, together with His Excellency Ambassador Wolfgang Amadeus Brülhart, Swiss Envoy for the Middle East and North Africa.

Registration for this event is now open under this link https://indico.un.org/event/1002079/.

With best regards,

NGO Liaison Unit

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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 Committee of Religious NGOs at the United Nations, please visit rngos.wordpress.com. For more information on the NGO Committee on Language and Languages, please email the co-chairs at tonkin@hartford.edu or fmhult@umbc.edu. For more information on the NGO Committee on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, please visit facebook.com/NGOCoRIP.

Ending impunity for severe housing rights violations – should domicide be recognized as an international crime?

Virtual side event – 77th session of the UN General Assembly 27 October 2022, 13:15-14:30 EST

Massive violations of the right to adequate housing continue in unprecedented fashion during and after violent conflict. The attacking, bombing and shelling of civilian targets and the destruction of entire cities and villages – displacing millions into homelessness – have continued unabated despite the development of modern human rights and humanitarian law. While international law outlaws all forms of arbitrary destruction of housing, arbitrary displacement, forced evictions and other serious and large-scale violations of the right to adequate housing, there is an alarming continuity of gross violations of the right to adequate housing in times of conflict. Those severe human rights violations have been largely met with impunity.

In his report to the General Assembly of the United Nations, the Special Rapporteur on the right to adequate housing, Mr. Balakrishnan Rajagopal (A/77/190) argues to recognize systematic or widespread violations of the right to adequate housing as domicide, a crime against humanity of its own standing. The Special Rapporteur urges the international community to enhance its efforts to prevent and respond to such egregious human rights violations. Gross violations of the right to adequate housing should be investigated and prosecuted with similar effort as any other systematic or widespread human rights violation irrespectively where they take place. Similarly, Mr. Rajagopal suggested to ban the use explosive weapons with wide-area effects in populated areas through a binding international treaty.

This side event provides will discuss his recommendations to prevent domicide and explore opportunities for ending impunity of severe housing rights violations.

Register here!

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CoNGO Notes: For more information on the NGO Committee on the Family, please visit ngofamilyny.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Social Development, please visit ngosocdev.org. 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 Rights of Indigenous Peoples, please visit facebook.com/NGOCoRIP.

Stemming the role of criminal groups in contemporary forms of slavery within Nigeria

Jubilee Campaign is hosting a side event this Friday, October 29, 2021, 9:00 am to 11:00 am EST on “Stemming the role of criminal groups in contemporary forms of slavery within Nigeria.” This event is in light of the soon to be released report of the UN Special Rapporteur on Contemporary Forms of Slavery, Tom Obokata. His report will be presented on the 27^th and this event will further explore this issue with a particular emphasis on Nigeria and the enslavement of women and children.

To register for this event, please click this link.

Co-sponsored by the Permanent Mission of the Sovereign Order of Malta to the United Nations Office at Geneva

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CoNGO Notes: 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 Rights of Indigenous Peoples, please visit facebook.com/NGOCoRIP. For more information on the NGO Committee on Social Development, please visit ngosocdev.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. For more information on the NGO Committee to Stop Trafficking in Persons, please visit ngocstip.org.

Briefing for representatives of the civil society by the President of the Human Rights Council

On behalf of the President of the Human Rights Council, Ambassador Nazhat Shameem, OHCHR New York Office is pleased to invite you to a virtual briefing on Thursday, 28 October 2021 from 1500 – 1600 New York time. The briefing in virtual setting will provide an opportunity for the President of the Human Rights Council to present the outcomes of the 46th, 47th and 48th sessions of the Human Rights Council. Some limited time will be set aside during the briefing for questions and answers.

The meeting will be held virtually via MS Teams. Please register here. The link for the meeting will be communicated to all who registered closer to the date of the briefing.

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

Expert Mechanism on the Right to Development Online Dialogue with Civil Society

The purpose of this dialogue is to provide a platform for the Expert Mechanism to engage with Civil Society Organizations and Movements (CSOs) on promoting and operationalizing the right to development.

The Right to Development offers a useful framework for advocacy on a wide range of economic, social, cultural and environmental rights, particularly related with inequalities and sovereignty and the duty to cooperate. However, many right-holders and civil society organizations and movements do not use the Right to Development in their advocacy work as widely and effectively as they can. In some cases, civil society groups are unaware of the Right to Development and the possibilities it holds as a tool for legal and social advocacy. Although the Declaration on the Right to Development itself does not create a cause of legal action, many of the elements of the right to development are reaffirmed in binding international law. The right to development is also affirmed in some legally-binding regional human rights instruments.

This EMRTD Dialogue offers a forum to promote the Right to Development among civil society groups, especially grassroots movements and organizations, learn from them, and inform them on the possibilities of the right to development as an instrument of human rights advocacy and development practice. A key focus of the dialogue will be identifying and addressing the conceptual and practical difficulties of using the right to development in human rights advocacy. A related goal of the dialogue is to encourage CSOs’ engagement in the drafting process of a global legally binding instrument on the right to development.

Programme:

Session 1 on The Right to Development Agenda – 16:00-17:00 CET and;
Session 2 on Civil Society Organizations and Movements and their perspectives about Development and the Right to Development – 17h10-19:30 (with a 10-min break included)

Preparatory Documents:

· Declaration on the Right to Development [English/French/Spanish]

· Draft Covenant on the Right to Development [English/French/Spanish]

· EMRTD Position Document on Legally Binding Instrument (LBI)

· EMRTD Thematic Studies

· Right to Development promotional publications of the OHCHR

The dialogue has the following specific aims:

To assess civil society engagement with the right to development in their agendas and activities
To address challenges and barriers that civil society groups face in their engagement with the right to development
To explore strategies for enhancing civil society engagement with the right to development
To share good practices, initiatives, and strategies on using the right to development framework for human rights advocacy and development work
To encourage CSOs’ engagement in the drafting process of a global legally binding instrument on the right to development

French and Spanish translations of the concept note will available shortly on the website. Do not hesitate to contact the Secretariat of the Expert Mechanism on the Right to Development at ohchr-emrtd@un.org in case of questions.

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CoNGO Notes: For more information on the NGO Committee on Sustainable Development-NY, please visit ngocsd-ny.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Sustainable Development-Vienna, please visit congocsd.wordpress.com. For more information on the NGO Committee on Social Development, please visit ngosocdev.org.

Multilateralism & Multi-stakeholderism: Where does accountability for the corporate sector fit in?

Join this UNGA76 side event exploring corporate influence across the United Nations System, and identifying ways in which civil society and all actors can resist corporate influence with a view to build a more accountable and equitable system that operates in the interests of people and planet, rather than profit.

Register: bit.ly/AccountabilityForCorporateSector

Speakers will include:

Moderator: Barbara Adams, Global Policy Forum
Cai Yiping, Development Alternatives for Women (DAWN)
Emilia Reyes, Campaign of Campaigns/Equidad de Genero
Debbie Stothard, ALTSEAN / Steering Committee of Corporate Accountability Working Group at ESCR-Net

Some guiding questions:

How can pushes for inclusivity have unintended consequences for enhancing corporate influence across the United Nations system?
How do states and governments use PPPs and the idea of multistakeholderism to obfuscate responsibilities to their populations?
How can corporations be held accountable to Human Rights mechanisms and international law?
What changes are needed to transform the way in which the UN System is funded to reduce or combat corporate capture of decision-making?

This event will be recorded and uploaded to the Women’s Major Group YouTube Channel. Interpretation will be available in French and Spanish.

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CoNGO Notes: For more information on the NGO Major Group, please visit ngomg.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 congocsd.wordpress.com.

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

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

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

Date and venue:

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

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

Objectives:

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

The objectives are:

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

Organized by:

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

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

High-level meeting of the GA on the Appraisal of the UN Global Plan of Action to Combat Trafficking in Persons

Special Accreditation for the high-level meeting of the General Assembly on the appraisal of the United Nations Global Plan of Action to Combat Trafficking in Persons

Pursuant to General Assembly resolutions 75/283, a high-level meeting of the General Assembly on the appraisal of the United Nations Global Plan of Action to Combat Trafficking in Persons will be held from 22 to 23 November 2021, at the United Nations Headquarters, in New York.

PARTICIPATION

In accordance with General Assembly resolution 75/283, representatives of non-governmental organizations in consultative status with the Economic and Social Council will be invited to participate in the high-level meeting in accordance with the established practice of the General Assembly.

*If you are a representative of an ECOSOC accredited NGO, please contact the NGO Branch of the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs for the details.

Furthermore, in accordance with the same resolution, the President of the General Assembly will draw up a list of other relevant representatives of non-governmental organizations, civil society organizations, academic institutions and the private sector who may attend the high-level meeting, taking into account the principles of transparency and equitable geographical representation, with due regard for the meaningful participation of women, in accordance with the established practice of the General Assembly. The President of the General Assembly will submit the list to Member States for their consideration, in accordance with General Assembly resolution 75/283. The application for special accreditation is now open until 14 October 2021.

Learn more and register here: https://indico.un.org/event/36771/

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CoNGO Notes: For more information on the NGO Committee to Stop Trafficking in Persons, please visit ngocstip.org. This committee is independent from CoNGO’s substantive committees. For more information on the NGO Committee on Human Rights, please email the co-chairs at bobbinassar@gmail.com or bknotts@uua.org.

Global Interfaith Dialogue on Food Systems

In the run up to the UN Food Systems Summit later in September, the Global Inter-faith Dialogue on Food Systems builds up on the dialogue held in July, aiming to bring together faith-based organisations, Indigenous communities, and others whose work is grounded in values and spirituality and who play an essential role in the sustainable transformation of the food systems.

Register here: https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJEqcO-vqzMiGNDWKYK3YiRDYqg0G0IkyAL7

The specific objectives of the consultation are:

1. Promote engagement and partnerships between faith-based organisations, indigenous peoples, governments, multilateral organisations, and corporations for more sustainable and just food systems

2. Facilitate conversation around the role of values, ethics, and belief systems into new and better food systems, with a focus on areas for action

Expected outputs:

1. Increased awareness of the important role of faith, values, and belief systems in food systems transformation

2. Lift up good practices and areas for collective action between the work of faith-based, indigenous communities, and other stakeholders in support of achieving the SDGs by 2030

3. An interfaith reflection and a Statement for a sustainable food system

Co-Convenors: Dr. Agnes Kalibata, UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy of the 2021 Food Systems Summit, and Andrew Schwartz, Director of Sustainability and Global Affairs, Center for Earth Ethics. Curator: Dr. Manoj Kurian, Coordinator, World Council of Churches- Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance

The programme will have brief inputs from key discussants and there will be a substantial session for group work and reporting. The discussants include Ms. Karenna Gore, Director of the Center for Earth Ethics, Rev. Andrew Morley, President and CEO, World Vision International, and ordained curate of the Anglican Church, Ms. Lyla June Johnston, representing Indigenous Peoples, Mr. Anwar Khan, President, of Islamic Relief USA and Bishop Rev. Dr. Sabu K. Cherian, from the Church of South India.

As part of the output, an interfaith Reflection and Statement that is addressed to the UN Food Systems Summit will be introduced and be read by Mr. Steve Chiu – Buddhist Tzu Chi Foundation and Dr. Meera Baindur – Associate Professor (Philosophy), Department of Arts, Manipal University Jaipur.

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CoNGO Notes: For more information on the Committee of Religious NGOs at the United Nations, please visit rngos.wordpress.com. For more information on the NGO Committee on Sustainable Development-NY, please visit ngocsd-ny.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Sustainable Development-Vienna, please visit ngocsdvienna.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Financing for Development, please visit ngosonffd.org.

The Firearms Protocol and the Programme of Action on small arms turn 20

A Double Anniversary: The Firearms Protocol and the Programme of Action on small arms turn 20

2021 marks the 20th anniversary of the Programme of Action on small arms and light weapons and the Firearms Protocol. To celebrate this double anniversary, the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA) and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) invite you to a joint high-level side event on the continued importance of the two instruments, a reflection on past achievements and challenges, and thoughts on the way forward in the framework of the Decade of Action to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. The event will also feature voices from around the world through interactive video contributions.

Register here!

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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 Human Rights, please email the co-chairs at bknotts@uua.org. or bobbinassar@gmail.com.

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