human rights monitors

International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict

2021 observance: “Building back better: Supporting survivors of conflict-related sexual violence in the context of pandemic recovery”

Join us from 2:00 pm – 3:30 pm EDT on Thursday, 17 June 2021 via UN WebTV live webcast

Commemorating the 7th official observance, this year’s virtual event is co-hosted by the Office of the SRSG on Sexual Violence in Conflict, the Office of the SRSG on Children and Armed Conflict and the Permanent Mission of Argentina to the United Nations.

The purpose of the event is to stand in solidarity with the survivors and those working to support them on the frontlines, often at great personal risk, particularly in the current climate of intersecting crises. The event will provide a platform for strategic reflection on ways to integrate the specific rights, needs and perspectives of survivors of CRSV into national and regional COVID-19 response and recovery plans, to ensure they are not forgotten in a climate of intersecting crises and constrained resources.

The impact of COVID-19 on survivors of conflict-related sexual violence

The chronic underreporting of conflict-related sexual violence, due to stigma, insecurity, fear of reprisals, and lack of services, has been compounded by COVID-19 containment measures. Lockdowns, curfews, quarantines, fears of contracting or transmitting the virus, mobility restrictions, and limited access to services and safe spaces, as shelters closed and clinics were repurposed for the pandemic response, added a layer of complexity to existing structural, institutional and sociocultural barriers to reporting.

Proactive measures to foster an enabling environment for survivors to safely come forward and seek redress have become more urgent than ever. The pandemic has laid bare the intersecting inequalities that plague our societies, as compounded by conflict, displacement, and institutional fragility. The only solution for these overlapping ills is an injection of political resolve and resources equal to the scale of the challenge.

____________________________________________________________________________________________

CoNGO Notes: For more information on the NGO Committee on the Status of Women-NY, please visit ngocsw.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on the Status of Women-Vienna, please visit ngocswvienna.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on the Status of Women-Geneva, please visit ngocsw-geneva.ch.  For more information on the NGO Committee on Disarmament, Peace, and Security, please visit ngocdps.wordpress.com. For more information on the NGO committee on Human Rights, please email the co-chairs at bknotts@uua.org or bobbinassar@gmail.com. 

7th Session of the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction

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

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

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

How to apply:

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

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

Stakeholder coordination:

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

GP2022 format:

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

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

____________________________________________________________________________________________

CoNGO Notes: For more information on the NGO Committee on Disarmament, Peace, and Security, please visit  ngocdps.wordpress.com. For more information on the NGO Committee on Social Development, please visit ngosocdev.org. For more information on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, please visit facebook.com/NGOCoRIP. For more information on the NGO Committee on the NGO Committee on Education, Learning, and Literacy, please visit facebook.com/NGOCELLatUN. 

Access Ends Hunger: How Can We Improve Access to Essential Resources?

This last year has highlighted incredible disparities in access to essential resources. The World Food Programme estimates that, due to COVID-19, 111 million more people are without access to sufficient nutrition. And UNICEF has determined that 500 million students are cut off from remote learning options at a time when remote learning is their only option.

Equitable access to critical resources such as education, technology and healthcare is an essential part of ending hunger. With access, people are able to leverage their own capacity and build better futures for themselves and their communities. So, how exactly does bridging gaps in access end hunger and poverty?

Join us Thursday, May 27 from 9:00 – 10:15 AM ET to find out!

Join Hunger Project leaders and our Goodwill Ambassador, Dora Nyambe, in a conversation about the importance of improving access to technology, health care and education. Importantly, they’ll also explore the challenges of removing barriers that prevent equitable access in Africa.

Speakers:

  • Irene Naikaali Ssentongo, Head of Programs in Uganda
  • Samuel Mutambo, National Program Director in Zambia
  • Dora Nyambe, Goodwill Ambassador to The Hunger Project
  • Moderated by our President & CEO Tim Prewitt

Learn more about the speakers and register for the event here.

______________________________________________________________________________________________

CoNGO Notes: 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 Financing for Development, please visit ngosonffd.org. 

COVID-19 and the Increasing Risks of Substandard and Falsified Pharmaceutical Products in Africa

Dear CoNGO members,

I am delighted to get in touch with you for the first time since the Brazzaville Foundation’s membership in November 2020 to the Conference of NGOs in Consultative Relationship with the United Nations (CoNGO).

On the occasion of the upcoming World Health Assembly and Africa Day, the Brazzaville Foundation is pleased to invite you to an online high-level roundtable on Tuesday 25th May to discuss “Covid-19 and the Increasing Risks of Substandard and Falsified Pharmaceutical Products in Africa: A public health and security issue”. High-level speakers are expected such as Prof. Moustafa Mijiyawa, Minister of Health of the Republic of Togo; Michel Sidibé, African Union Special Envoy for the African Medicines Agency (AMA) and Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa.

If you are interested in taking part in global health and security discussions, please register here: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Z0sYZHfPQnWICzmnQY2r0g. Simultaneous translation will be available in French/English.

We are eager to share this event with you and we look forward to collaborating together in the future.

Best regards,

Richard Amalvy, Chief Executive, The Brazzaville Foundation

À l’occasion de la 74e Assemblée mondiale de la Santé et de la Journée de l’Afrique, la Fondation Brazzaville réunira des intervenants de haut niveau pour discuter des enjeux de santé publique et de sécurité liés aux risques croissants des médicaments falsifiés et de qualité inférieure dans le contexte de la pandémie de la COVID-19. Traduction simultanée en français/anglais.

Background notes:

Poor-quality medicines can be both falsified and substandard:

  • Falsified medicines are deliberately fake medical products. Criminals manufacture, traffic and sell fake products to unsuspecting customers.
  • Substandard medicines can be the result of poor manufacturing and quality-control practices in the manufacture or distribution of the product.

Poor-quality medicines lead to death and illness:

  • Both fake and substandard medicines pose a threat to public health because they can lead to death, additional illness in individuals, the spread of disease within a community and antibiotic resistance.
  • The link between the traffic in falsified medicines and organised crime has been well established by intelligence services and law enforcement agencies. They are smuggled onto markets using the same routes and techniques as drug, weapon, or human trafficking.
  • Transnational organised crime also funds terrorism, destabilising countries and weakening state structures.

______________________________________________________________________________________________

CoNGO Notes: For more information on the NGO Committee on Drugs-NY, please visit nyngoc.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 Social Development, please visit ngosocdev.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Financing for Development, please visit ngosonffd.org. 

Open Virtual Meeting of the IAEG-SDGs

Dear Colleagues,

The United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD) is pleased to announce an open virtual meeting of the Inter-agency and Expert Group on the Sustainable Development Goal Indicators (IAEG-SDGs). The meeting is open to all countries, international and regional agencies and entities, and other stakeholders.

Please visit the event page for more information and kindly register—which includes the opportunity to submit questions for the Q&A session with IAEG-SDG members. Please feel free to share this information with interested colleagues.

Regards,
UNSD

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

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 ngocsdvienna.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Financing for Development, please visit ngosonffd.org.

The Contribution of Development to the Enjoyment of all Human Rights

Dear NGO colleagues,

Please consider yourselves invited to participate in a one-day intersessional seminar on the contribution of development to the enjoyment of all human rights, which will be held online on 28 May 2021, from 11 am to 1 pm and from 3 to 5 pm Central European Standard Time (CEST). The seminar is organized as requested by the Human Rights Council, in its resolution 41/19 (para.14), in order to allow Member States, relevant United Nations agencies, funds and programmes, international organizations, national human rights institutions, civil society organizations and other stakeholders to identify challenges and gaps and share good practices and experiences in this regard.

More information, including the concept note and programme of work is available at this link: ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Development/Pages/contributionofdevelopment.aspx

All participants are required to register at indico.un.org/event/35807. The link to the meeting and instructions about the list of speakers will be made available to the registered participants.

Delegations are reminded to submit copies of their statements prior to delivery to r2d@ohchr.org.

For further details, please contact Mr. Diego Valadares (ext. 79177; dvaladares@ohchr.org) or Ms. Helen Ochero (ext. 89668; hochero@ohchr.org).

______________________________________________________________________________________________

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

International Day of UN Peacekeepers

2021 Theme

The road to a lasting peace: Leveraging the power of youth for peace and security

The International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers, 29 May, offers a chance to pay tribute to the uniformed and civilian personnel’s invaluable contribution to the work of the Organization and to honour more than 4,000 peacekeepers who have lost their lives serving under the UN flag since 1948, including 130 last year

This year, the challenges and threats faced by our peacekeepers are even greater than ever as they, like people around the world, are having to cope not only with the COVID-19 pandemic but also the continued requirement to support and protect the people in the countries in which they are based.

The theme for this year’s Day is “The road to a lasting peace: Leveraging the power of youth for peace and security.”

Today, tens of thousands of young peacekeepers (between the ages of 18 and 29 years) are deployed around the world and play a major role in helping the missions implement their mandated activities including the protection of civilians.  And UN peace operations — in line with a series of Security Council resolutions (2250, 2419 and 2535) — are increasing their collaboration with youth and youth groups to help build sustainable peace and implement their mandates on the ground.

The first UN peacekeeping mission was established on 29 May 1948, when the Security Council authorized the deployment of a small number of UN military observers to the Middle East to form the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO) to monitor the Armistice Agreement between Israel and its Arab neighbors.

Since then, more than 1 million women and men have served in 72 UN peacekeeping operations, directly impacting the lives of millions of people and saving countless lives. Today, UN Peacekeeping deploys more than 89,000 military, police and civilian personnel in ;12 operations.

To mark the Day at the UN Headquarters in New York on 27 May, the Secretary-General will lay a wreath in honour of all peacekeepers who have lost their lives while serving under the UN flag over the past seven decades. And a virtual ceremony will be held at which the Dag Hammarskjold medal will be awarded posthumously to peacekeepers who lost their lives in 2020 and in January 2021. The Military Gender Advocate of the Year award will also be presented at the virtual ceremony.

To keep apprised of this year’s events and learn more about the origins of this observance, visit  un.org/en/observances/peacekeepers-day.

______________________________________________________________________________________________

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 Human Rights, please email the co-chairs at bobbinassar@gmail.com or bknotts@uua.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Intergenerational Solidarity, please email the vice chair at susanneseperson@gmail.com. 

Special session of the General Assembly on challenges and measures to prevent and combat corruption and strengthen international cooperation

Special session of the General Assembly on challenges and measures to prevent and combat corruption and strengthen international cooperation

United Nations Headquarters, June 2-4, 2021,

For the upcoming General Assembly Special Session (UNGASS) against Corruption, kindly note the following guidelines for NGOs in consultative status with ECOSOC, as per resolutions 73/191 and 74/276, as well as decisions 74/568 and 75/562 entitled “Special session of the General Assembly against corruption”:

  • According to Paragraph 2 (d) of UN General Assembly resolution 74/276, representatives of non-governmental organizations in consultative status with the Economic and Social Council are invited to participate in the special session in accordance with the established practice of the General Assembly.
  • In line with this paragraph, the representatives of non-governmental organizations in consultative status with ECOSOC are invited to register to participate in the special session by Wednesday, 5 May 2021, until 5:00 p.m. Proceedings of the special session will be webcast and all ECOSOC accredited NGOs will be provided by DESA with the link to the UN Web TV, where the proceedings of the special session can be virtually followed live. Additional information related to the special session can also be accessed in advance through the website of the Office of the President of the General Assembly (https://www.un.org/pga/75/special-session-against-corruption/) which will be regularly updated.
  • Additionally, as per paragraph 2 (c) of resolution 74/276,  plenary meetings of the special session shall include “statements by […] and, time permitting, a limited number of representatives from relevant organizations attending the special session, in line with subparagraphs (d) and (e) below, selected by the President of the General Assembly, in consultation with Member States, with due regard for geographical balance and gender equity…”
  • Should your organization also wish to be considered for making a statement at the plenary meeting, time permitting and if selected in accordance with the General Assembly resolution 74/276, please indicate your interest to DESA by no later than 5 p.m. on Wednesday, 5 May 2021

*Please note that this indication does not guarantee a speaking opportunity. Only a limited number of representatives from relevant organizations, selected by the President of the General Assembly in accordance with resolution 74/276 will be contacted in due course.

  • As per subparagraph (a) of General Assembly decision 75/562,  those who are invited to participate in line with paragraphs 2 (d) and (e) of its resolution 74/276, may submit a pre-recorded statement, which would be played in the General Assembly Hall after introduction by the President of the General Assembly at the special session.

To register their interest, NGOs are therefore invited to do so at: https://indico.un.org/event/35977/ by no later than Wednesday, 5 May 2021, by 5:00 pm.

________________________________________________________________________________________

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.

Informal meeting of the Chairs of the Subsidiary Bodies of UNFCCC with Observers

The SBI, at its thirty-fourth session, invited the presiding officers to increase opportunities for regular briefings and debriefings as a means for dialogue for observer organizations with presiding officers and Parties.  Such meetings have been a good opportunity for the SBI and SBSTA Chairs to keep observer organizations (admitted non-governmental organizations, admitted intergovernmental organizations and UN organizations) informed of the work of the subsidiary bodies and for observer organizations to share their views with the SB Chairs on the work of the subsidiary bodies.

Objective:

The objective of this meeting is for the SB Chairs to update interested observer organizations on the current planning for the June session and informal activities that have been planned and to create space for observer organizations to share their views and expectations on the organization and the work of the SBs.

Description:

The briefing will be a webinar-style virtual meeting with 75 minutes in duration. The invitation will be sent to all UNFCCC observer organizations. The SB Chairs will open the meeting, provide updates on respective areas of work and invite participants to share their views both on the substance and the planning of the June session. Due to the potentially high number of participants, it is foreseen that the NGO Constituencies will be given the floor then interested IGOs and UN present at the meeting will be invited.

Contact/Additional Information:  Megumi Endo at mendo@unfccc.int, or the Climate Observer Organizations Liaison at cool@unfccc.int.

When it’s time for the live event on Microsoft Teams, (15:00 CEST or 9:00am EST) click here: Join live event

Conference ID: 156 375 441#

________________________________________________________________________________________

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 ngocsdvienna.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Financing for Development, please visit ngosonffd.org. 

Lessons and Actions From the 11th Session of the UN Open-ended Working Group on Ageing

IFA Global Cafe: In Conversation with Ms. Margaret Gillis “The Lessons and Actions From the 11th Session of the UN Open-ended Working Group on Ageing”

As part of the 11th Session of the United Nations Open-ended Working Group on Ageing, the important side-event entitled “The Impact of COVID-19 on the Human Rights of Older Persons: An International Dialogue will unite UN officials and global leaders in the fields of ageing and beyond to address the need for a UN Convention on the rights of older peoples.

As an award-winning executive and innovative leader of the ILC Canada, Ms Gillis has contributed to a range of issues affecting all ages through a human rights lens. The IFA would be grateful to have Ms Gillis discuss how to strengthen the protection of the human rights of older peoples post-OEWG.

This Global Cafe takes place at 07:00 am (Eastern Standard Time) on Friday 9 April 2021 (additional time zones below):

Geneva, Switzerland: 12:00
Lagos, Nigeria: 12:00
New Delhi, India: 16:30
Perth, Australia: 19:00

This Global Cafe will be recorded and streamed live on Facebook. Should you be unable to participate, a recording will be available on the IFA Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/intfedageing/ and resources will be available at: https://ifa.ngo/ifa-virtual-town-hall-resources/

______________________________________________________________________________________________

CoNGO Notes: For more information on the NGO Committee on Ageing-Geneva, please visit ageingcommitteegeneva.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Ageing-New York, please visit ngocoa-ny.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Ageing-Vienna, please visit ngoageingvie.org.

1 2 3 4 … 6

Recent Posts