Informal Meeting of the GA Plenary on Syria with President of the GA

Dear Civil Society Partners,

The UN Human Rights Office in NY wishes to inform you about an upcoming informal meeting of the plenary of the General Assembly on Tuesday, 2 March 2021, from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. in the General Assembly Hall of the UN Headquarters. The meeting will allow a high-level panel to brief on the human rights situation in the Syrian Arab Republic pursuant to A/RES/74/169. The meeting will be open and webcast on UN Web TV with interpretation in all official languages.

Further information, including with respect to the modalities for interested civil society representatives to submit questions to the high-level panel, is included in the correspondence below from the President of the General Assembly.

Sincerely,

UN Human Rights NY

Excellency,

I have the honour to inform you that I will convene an informal meeting of the plenary of the General Assembly on Tuesday, 2 March 2021, from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. in the General Assembly Hall of the UN Headquarters. The meeting will allow a high-level panel to brief the General Assembly pursuant to A/RES/74/169, operative paragraph 37, in which the General Assembly,

“Urgently request[ed] the convening of a high-level panel discussion, funded by voluntary contributions, led by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner of Human Rights, the Commission of Inquiry and Syrian civil society to brief the General Assembly at its seventy-fifth session on the situation of human rights in the Syrian Arab Republic, and encourages United Nations monitoring and reporting to help this panel to further document violations of international humanitarian law and violations and abuses of human rights, including those that may amount to crimes against humanity and war crimes, to provide recommendations to facilitate improvements in civilian protection and accountability measures, and to feature witness testimony of Syrian human rights defenders and other Syrian voices through appropriate and safe means”.

In addition to briefing on the situation of human rights in the Syrian Arab Republic the panel will focus on:

(i) violations of international humanitarian law and violations and abuses of human rights, including those that may amount to crimes against humanity and war crimes, in particular arbitrary detention, torture, the missing and disappeared, with a focus on women, peace and security; and,

(ii) recommendations to facilitate improvements in civilian protection and accountability measures.

The high-level panel will be moderated by Ms. Ilze Brands Kehris, Assistant SecretaryGeneral for Human Rights and Head, Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in New York. Ms. Brands Kehris will also present OHCHR’s role in documentation, accountability, and engagement with key counterparts including the United Nations, humanitarian partners and accountability mechanisms such as the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic (COI), the International, Impartial and Independent Mechanism (IIIM), the Syrian Government, and civil society. The high-level panel will be comprised of the following six panelists from the COI and civil society:

Paulo Sérgio Pinheiro, Chair, COI
Karen Koning AbuZayd, Commissioner, COI
Hanny Megally, Commissioner, COI
Mazen Darwish, President, Syrian Center for Media and Freedom of Expression;
Sabah Hallaq, Syrian League for Citizenship
Wafa Moustafa, Families for Freedom.

The meeting will be open and webcast on UN Web TV with interpretation in all official languages. Each panelist will have up to 7 minutes to deliver his/her remarks. The floor will then be open for up to 3-minute interventions and/or questions. Please note that there will be no pre-established list of speakers for this meeting. For planning purposes only, delegations are encouraged to register their interest to speak by 5:00 p.m. EST on Friday, 26 February 2021 via e-mail to Mr. Igor Bondiuk (igor.bondiuk@un.org), Human Rights Adviser, copying Ms. Hila Wesa (wesa@un.org), Team Leader for Human Rights and Humanitarian Affairs.

Civil society representatives interested in submitting questions to the high-level panel are requested to do so by 5:00 p.m. EST on Wednesday, 24 February 2021, via e-email to Ms. Giorgia Passarelli (passarellig@un.org), Human Rights Officer at OHCHR. The moderator will select some of the questions for the panelists to answer during the discussion.

Please accept, Excellency, the assurances of my highest consideration.

Volkan BOZKIR

View this meeting via UN Web TV here on March 2, and read the full schedule of General Assembly Plenary and Related Meetings here.

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

Human Rights Council 46th Session

46th Session of the Human Rights Council: February 22 to March 23, 2021

The Human Rights Council holds no fewer than three regular sessions a year, for a total of at least ten weeks. They take place in March (four weeks), June (three weeks) and September (three weeks). If one third of the Member States requests so, the Human Rights Council can decide at any time to hold a special session to address human rights violations and emergencies.

Please note that in response to the COVID-19 pandemic situation, there will be no access to the Public Gallery during HRC46. We invite you to follow the Council proceedings live at the following link: http://webtv.un.org/live/

Read more about the Human Rights Council and access the slated Programme of Work for its 46th session here: https://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/HRC/RegularSessions/Session46/Pages/46RegularSession.aspx

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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 for Rare Diseases, please visit ngocommitteerarediseases.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Sustainable Development-NY, please visit http://ngocsd-ny.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Sustainable Development-Vienna, please visit ngocsdvienna.org.

Families Coping with COVID: Challenges and Opportunities in Child Welfare

Families Coping with COVID: Challenges & Opportunities in Child Welfare

Please RSVP by 6pm EST Wednesday, Nov. 18th, via this form.

Families around the world are struggling with the added pressures of the COVID-19 health crisis due to the effects of job losses, changes in schooling, and affected family members, especially those which are vulnerable. For families involved in child welfare proceedings, there is an additional risk of prolonging family separation between children and parents who are capable but may need additional support. We are pleased to host Prof. Jane Spinak of Columbia University School of Law , who examines this in “Child Welfare and COVID-19: An Unexpected Opportunity for Systemic Change,” in Law in the Time of COVID-19. Prof Spinak will discuss the impact of covid on child welfare systems and ways in which it may spur reforms which will benefit children and families.

Note: If you were not able to attend our October members meeting, or would like to revisit the excellent remarks of our speakers, the recording is available on our YouTube channel.

NGO Committee on the Family New York

website: http://www.ngofamilyny.org/

Facebook: www.facebook.com/NGOFAMILYNY

email: ngofamilycommittee@gmail.com

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CoNGO Notes: For more information on the NGO Committee on the Family, visit www.ngofamilyny.org. For information on the NGO Committee on the Rights of the Child, please email the co-chair at marjones@nyc.rr.com. For more information on the NGO Committee on Education, Learning, and Literacy, please visit facebook.com/NGOCELLatUN.

[UN Day event] Multilateralism of the Future: How Will Global Cooperation Evolve in the 21 Century?

Join us for this important Geneva-based conversation on Oct. 22 to honor UN Day 2020!

UNTV live broadcast: webtv.un.org/

UN75 and the Global Conversation:

Fabrizio Hochschild, Under-Secretary-General, Special Adviser on the Preparations for the Commemoration
of the UN 75 Anniversary

In-focus dialogue:

Mary Robinson, Chair of The Elders, former President of Ireland, and former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights
Tatiana Valovaya, Director-General, United Nations Geneva

Moderators:

Alessandra Vellucci, Director at United Nations Information Service at Geneva
Francesco Pisano, Director, United Nations Geneva Library & Archives

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CoNGO Notes: For more information on the NGO Committee on Human Rights, please email the co-chars at bknotts@uua.org or bobbinassar@gmail.com.

[UN Observance] International Day to End Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists

The United Nations recognizes the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists every year on November 2.

Help keep the investigations of killed journalists alive and perpetuate their legacy by sharing their articles and their stories. Learn more about the #TruthNeverDies campaign, developed jointly by UNESCO and DDB Paris, here: https://unesco.exposure.co/truth-never-dies.

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CoNGO Notes: For more information on the NGO Committee on Drugs and Crime, please visit nyngoc.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Human Rights, please email the co-chairs at bknotts@uua.org or bobbinassar@gmail.com. For more information on the NGO Committee on Social Development, please visit ngosocdev.org.

Gender Equality & Human Rights in a time of COVID-19 & Climate Change

Event: Gender Equality and Human Rights in a time of COVID-19 and Climate Change

Date: Tuesday, 22 September

Time: 09:00-10:00 EDT [9am New York | 4pm Nairobi | 10am Buenos Aires | 3pm Geneva]

Registration & more information: https://ungaguide.com/event/gender-equality-and-human-rights-in-a-time-of-covid-19-and-climate-change/

Hosts: ACT Alliance, Church World Service, World Student Christian Federation

We are thrilled to be joined by Speakers from CWS Africa, Koinonia Brazil and the Women’s Environment and Development Organization!

Please share with your contacts and register if you are interested in attending! For your information, we will have Spanish interpretation available via Zoom.

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

[Interactive Webinar] Radical Inclusion for Advancing Social Justice: LGBTQ Human Rights in the Caribbean

Radical Inclusion for Advancing Social Justice: LGBTQ Human Rights in the Caribbean

An interactive webinar organized by PCI Media

Wednesday, July 22, 2020
12:00 PM EST

Register now: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfe4C_1nasrkr55HuslN6LzDx8hb-OLY8WydmGgfbC_m9Lbpg/viewform

Sustainable social justice movements require organization, creativity, and participation from all levels of society.

Join PCI Media’s President, Meesha Brown, and Bennet Charles, Communications Officer, in a discussion about the importance of authentic partnerships in advancing human rights for the LGBTQ community. The webinar will focus on the One Community Many Voices program in the Eastern Caribbean Region.