humanitarian aid

Geneva Peace Talks: End Racism. Build Peace.

Dear NGO Representatives,

The United Nations Office at Geneva, Interpeace, and the Geneva Peacebuilding Platform are pleased to invite you and your staff to attend the 10th anniversary edition of the Geneva PeaceTalks. Marking the International Day of Peace, the Geneva PeaceTalks will take place on Wednesday, 21 September 2022, from 4:00 p.m. to 5:15 p.m. in Room XVIII at the Palais des Nations and online. The event will be followed by a reception at the Bar Serpent.

The 2022 edition revisits the original theme of the first Geneva PeaceTalks in 2013 to ask again: “What does peace mean to you?” The meaning of the word “peace” can indeed vary according to the context, and its significance is different according to people and their experiences. This event will be an opportunity to explore this question. In addition, for International Day of Peace 2022, the theme is “End Racism. Build Peace.”

The event will feature speakers from a wide range of backgrounds, from the media to peacebuilding, the creative sector and the police service. We will hear from Commissioner Ann-Marie Orler from the UN’s Standing Police Capacity; Ibaa Abusin, a Horn of Africa Social Media Expert at the Centre of Humanitarian Dialogue; Amad Mian, the co-founder of Pakistani creative platform Dastaangoi; Wasim Almasri and Eran Nissan, a peacebuilding duo from Palestine and Israel; Maged Al-Kholidy, a Yemeni activist and founder of a peacebuilding NGO; Amadou Dabitao, founder of the media platform Banlieusard Nouveau; and Ukrainian opera singer, Daria Mykolenko.

Due to COVID-19, the wearing of masks is mandatory in conference rooms and strongly recommended in all public areas at the Palais des Nations. Early registration for in-person participation is recommended as it will be closed once the maximum capacity is reached. To follow the event online or to register, please use the following link: www.peacetalks.net/pt/geneva-2022.

This year’s Geneva PeaceTalks are co-organized, once again, by the United Nations Office at Geneva, Interpeace and the Geneva Peacebuilding Platform. This year’s edition is made possible in partnership with the Permanent Mission of Switzerland to the United Nations Office and other international organizations in Geneva, and with the generous support of B8 of Hope, the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue, Mirabaud, Salesforce and Second Peninsula.

With best regards,

NGO Liaison Unit

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Cher(e)s représentant(e)s d’ONG,

L’Office des Nations Unies à Genève, Interpeace et la Plateforme de Genève pour la consolidation de la paix ont le plaisir de vous inviter, ainsi que votre personnel, à participer à l’édition du 10e anniversaire des Pourparlers de Genève pour la paix. Marquant la Journée internationale de la paix, les Pourparlers de Genève pour la paix auront lieu le mercredi 21 septembre 2022, de 16h00 à 17h15, dans la salle XVIII du Palais des Nations et en ligne. L’événement sera suivi d’une réception au Bar Serpent.

L’édition 2022 revisite le thème original des premiers Pourparlers de Genève pour la paix en 2013 pour demander à nouveau : “Que signifie la paix pour vous ?”. Le sens du mot “paix” peut en effet varier en fonction du contexte, et sa signification est différente selon les personnes et leurs expériences. Cet événement sera l’occasion d’explorer cette question. En outre, pour la Journée internationale de la paix 2022, le thème est “Mettre fin au racisme. Construire la paix“.

L’événement accueillera des intervenants issus d’horizons très divers, des médias à la consolidation de la paix, en passant par le secteur créatif et le service de police. Nous entendrons Ann-Marie Orler, commissaire de la Force de police permanente des Nations Unies; Ibaa Abusin, experte en réseaux sociaux de la Corne de l’Afrique au Centre pour le dialogue humanitaire; Amad Mian, cofondateur de la plateforme créative pakistanaise Dastaangoi ; Wasim Almasri et Eran Nissan, un duo de construction de la paix venus de Palestine et d’Israël ; Maged Al-Kholidy, un activiste yéménite et fondateur d’une ONG de construction de la paix ; Amadou Dabitao, fondateur de la plateforme médiatique Banlieusard Nouveau ; et la chanteuse d’opéra ukrainienne, Daria Mykolenko.

En raison du COVID-19, le port du masque est obligatoire dans les salles de conférence et fortement recommandé dans tous les espaces publics du Palais des Nations. Il est recommandé de s’inscrire rapidement pour participer en personne, car les inscriptions seront closes lorsque la capacité maximale sera atteinte. Pour suivre l’événement en ligne ou pour vous inscrire, veuillez utiliser le lien suivant : www.peacetalks.net/pt/geneva-2022.

Cette année encore, les Pourparlers de Genève pour la paix sont co-organisés par l’Office des Nations Unies à Genève, Interpeace et la Plateforme de Genève pour la consolidation de la paix. L’édition de cette année est rendue possible en partenariat avec la Mission permanente de la Suisse auprès de l’Office des Nations Unies et des autres organisations internationales à Genève, et grâce au généreux soutien de B8 of Hope, du Centre pour le dialogue humanitaire, de Mirabaud, de Salesforce et de Second Peninsula.

Bien cordialement, 

Le bureau de Liaison avec les ONG

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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 Human Rights, please email the co-chairs at bobbinassar@yahoo.com or bknotts@uua.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Social Development, please visit  ngosocdev.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Intergenerational Solidarity, please email the vice chair at susanneseperson@gmail.com. For more information on the NGO Committee on Language and Languages, please email the co-chairs at fmhult@umbc.edu or tonkin@hartford.edu.

We Champion Speaker Series: Yasmine Sherif

Dear Global Citizens,The upcoming “We Champion Speaker Series” session, hosted by the Ban Ki-moon Centre for Global Citizens, has been POSTPONED to Tuesday, July 5 at 4.30 PM CEST.

Register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZUrf-2oqjIvEtydHYbot-npojJ5YnlFSw-w

Following the UNESCO Transforming Education Pre-Summit, join a conversation with the Director of Education Cannot Wait Yasmine Sherif to discuss the importance of delivering quality education in humanitarian crises like those occurring in Ukraine, Afghanistan, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo – especially to children and adolescents. Learn how Education Cannot Wait supports rapid responses to urgent education needs, turns investments into concrete public goods, and faces challenges in the field.Building on Mission 4.7’s #WeChampion social media campaign, the “We Champion” speaker series showcases best practices and innovative approaches to Transformative Education from across the Mission 4.7 community and beyond. The series will help further collective thinking around SDG 4.7 implementation and gather momentum on various thematic areas pertaining to SDG 4.7.AGENDA:

  • Interview with Director of Education Cannot Wait Yasmine Sherif and BKMC CEO Monika Froehler
  • Q&A Session with audience

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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 Social Development, please visit ngosocdev.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Children’s Rights-NY, please visit childrightsny.org.

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

HRC48 Panel Discussion on Inequalities Exacerbated by COVID-19

Join us at the 48th Session of the Human Rights Council for the panel discussion on Deepening Inequalities Exacerbated by the COVID-19 Pandemic and their Implications for the Realization of Human Rights on 28 September, 2021.

We invite you to consult the Human Rights Council Extranet webpage to view the full program agenda.

The panel discussion will be webcast live at http://webtv.un.org

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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.

The Human Face of the Migration Crisis: A Faith-Based Response

The scale of human migration can be overwhelming—estimates are that more people are on the move in our time than at any time in human history. To each “number” there is a human face, a person made in the image of God.

How can people of faith respond to this crisis in tangible ways? How can the Bible inform our response? To look at these and other questions related to the migration crisis we will be joined by a panel from across North America with a variety of experiences and perspectives on migration.

Register here!

Speakers:

vănThanh Nguyễn, S.V.D., is the author of the new book What Does the Bible Say About Strangers, Migrants and Refugees?. Nguyễn came to the United States as a refugee from Vietnam in 1975 and he is today Professor of New Testament Studies and the holder of the Francis X. Ford, M.M., Chair of Catholic Missiology at Catholic Theological Union.

Dannia and Aida Pena were born in San Salvador, El Salvador. In the 1990s they fled the Civil War in El Salvador and came to Los Angeles, California. Today, Dannia serves as an Accounting Manager at a Mental Health Center in San Antonio and Aida works just outside San Antonio in Bilingual Education. Both sisters are married with children and are active in the Focolare Movement.

Sean Ryan and Monica Nugent are university students living in Vancouver, British Columbia. As an outgrowth of their Catholic faith, both are both active in Dignity Inherent, a group working to raise awareness about human trafficking and Canada’s laws on prostitution.

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CoNGO Notes: For more information on the NGO Committee on Migration, please visit ngo-migration.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 Spirituality, Values, and Global Concerns-NY, please visit csvgc-ny.org.

Redefining Leadership, Re-Envisioning Faith and Reconstructing Humanitarianism

Dear Religions for Peace Leaders,

We are so pleased that many of you have already registered for the UN Commission on the Status of Women (UN CSW 65). If you have not already registered on the NGO/CSW platform, please be informed that the event will be live-streamed on 25 March at 9AM ET from our Facebook page.

Kindly be sure to select our event, “Redefining Leadership, Re-Envisioning Faith, and Reconstructing Humanitarianism” on 25 March here. To join the webinar, please select the button “Join Meeting,” which will appear exactly at 9:00 am ET.

Program Agenda

  • Moment of Silence

PART I: WELCOME AND OPENING REMARKS

Prof. Azza Karam, Secretary General, Religions for Peace

PART II: A CONVERSATION ON WOMEN IN PUBLIC LIFE: REDEFINING LEADERSHIP

Moderated by Prof. Azza Karam, Secretary General, Religions for Peace

  • Dr. Mary McAleese, Former President, Republic of Ireland; Advisor to the Religions for Peace Secretary General
  • H.E. Sima Samar, Former Minister of Women’s Affairs; Member, Religions for Peace Standing Commission on Advancing Gender Equality, Afghanistan
  • Mr. Humberto Carolo, Executive Director, White Ribbon Campaign Canada, MenEngage Network, Religions for Peace Standing Commission on Advancing Gender Equality, Canada
  • Hon. Ela Gandhi, Trustee, Gandhi Development Trust and Religions for Peace Co-President, South Africa
  • Rabbi Rick Jacobs, President, Union for Reform Judaism and Religions for Peace Honorary President, United States

PART III: A CONVERSATION ON RE-ENVISIONING FAITH AND RECONSTRUCTING HUMANITARIANISM

Moderated by Grand-Mother Marie-Josée Rankin-Tardif, President, Kina8at Together; Elder from the Anicinape (Algonquin) Tradition, Canada

  • Rev. Clement Joseph, Secretary General of the Social Mission of Haitian Churches; Secretary General, Religions for Peace-Haiti, Haiti
  • Rt. Rev. Francisco Duque-Gomez, Anglican Bishop and leader of Religions for PeaceColombia, Colombia
  • Ms. Nageeba Hassan Tegulwa, Board Member, Women of Faith Uganda, Executive Member, African Women of Faith Network; Board Member, ACRL; Member, IWCC, Uganda
  • Ms. Fatima Hallal, Junior Researcher, Hartford Seminary-Interreligious Relations; Member, International Youth Committee, Lebanon

PART IV: Q&A 

PART V: CLOSING REMARKS

  • Prof. Azza Karam, Secretary General, Religions for Peace

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to Mr. Pietro Bartoli at pbartoli@rfp.org or Ms. Lexie Ruth Mitchell at lrmitchell@rfp.org.

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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 Freedom of Religion or Belief, please visit unforb.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. 

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.

Interreligious Council (IRC) Development: Multi-Religious Humanitarian Support

Dear Esteemed Partners of Religions for Peace,

It is our honor to extend to you a special invitation to join in the fifth Religions for Peace Global Webinar on Interreligious Council (IRC) Development onWednesday 21 October 2020.

This forthcoming Global Webinar will focus on the theme of Multi-Religious Humanitarian Support, bringing together the World Council, Honorary Presidents, Trustees, National IRCs, Regional IRCs, Women of Faith Networks, and Interfaith Youth Networks from over 90 countries in six continents.

Register in advance for this meeting by Tuesday, 20 October 2020, with this link:  https://religionsforpeace.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJwrceirqz8uG9NVn9–1EFozTE_o-rOD4sL

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

Any questions or comments can be sent to ejackson@rfp.org. We look forward to our collaboration in further developing, equipping and strengthening our IRCs and the Religions for Peace global movement.

Read the IRC Development Strategy Paper here.

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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 Spirituality, Values, and Global Concerns, please visit csvgc-ny.org. For more information on the Committee of Religious NGOs at the United Nations, please visit rngos.wordpress.com. 

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