NGO Committee on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples [monthly meeting]

The monthly meeting of the NGO Committee on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples will convene on February 18 from 1:00 – 3:00pm EST. Interested parties and civil society partners are welcome to join.

Agenda:

1. Moment of Silence in Honor of the Lands we are on and the Native Peoples of this land

2. Welcome and Introductions

3. Approval of Agenda

4. Minutes – January 21, 2021 meeting

5. Executive Committee Report

6. Treasurer Report – Dues for 2021

7. Film – Conscience Point

8. Other announcements

Please RSVP – The ZOOM link will be sent out the night before the meeting.

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CoNGO Notes: For more information on the NGO Committee on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, please visit facebook.com/NGOCoRIP.

International Day of Happiness

The General Assembly of the United Nations in its resolution 66/281 of 12 July 2012 proclaimed 20 March the International Day of Happiness, recognizing the relevance of happiness and well-being as universal goals and aspirations in the lives of human beings around the world and the importance of their recognition in public policy objectives. It also recognized the need for a more inclusive, equitable and balanced approach to economic growth that promotes sustainable development, poverty eradication, happiness and the well-being of all peoples.

The resolution was initiated by Bhutan, a country which recognized the value of national happiness over national income since the early 1970s and famously adopted the goal of Gross National Happiness over Gross National Product. It also hosted a High Level Meeting on “Happiness and Well-Being: Defining a New Economic Paradigm” during the sixty-sixth session of the General Assembly.

To learn more and stay apprised of planned events, please visit un.org/en/observances/happiness-day.

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

2021: A Defining Year for Accelerating Gender Equality, Equity and Justice (7th Annual Symposium on the Role of Religion in International Affairs)

REGISTRATION IS GROWING. REGISTER NOW TO RESERVE SPACE: https://bit.ly/34ir0Tx

Please join us for the 7th Annual Symposium on the Role of Religion and Faith-Based Organizations in International Affairs.

2021 Theme: “2021: A Defining Year for Accelerating Gender Equality, Equity and Justice.”

Tuesday, 26 January 2021

8:00 am – 12:30 pm (New York)
2:00 pm – 6:30 pm (Geneva)
8:00 pm – 12:30 am (Bangkok)
10:00 pm – 02:30 am (Seoul)
12:00 am – 4:30 am (Sydney)

The Symposium will focus on overcoming pervasive gender inequalities and discrimination as an essential contribution to reshaping the world as we recover and rebuild from the COVID-19 pandemic and to achieving sustainable peace and development. It will explore how faith actors and institutions can work in tandem with governments, the United Nations, and broader civil society to accelerate the pace towards gender equality, equity and justice, presenting directions based on innovative approaches. The Symposium will not shy away from honest appraisal of both the contributions of faith actors to this agenda as well as pointing to where and how they are hindering progress, but will primarily serve as a space to recommit to achieving gender justice, grounded in both faith values and universal human rights, and as part of our commitment to begin a more critical understanding of race, post-colonialism and intersectionality within international development discourse and practice.

Those gathered online will focus on overcoming pervasive gender inequalities and discrimination as an essential contribution to reshaping the world as we recover and rebuild from the COVID-19 pandemic. The overarching goal is to provide the opportunity to explore together ways to scale up work for gender justice, and to recommit to achieving it.

Participants will explore how faith actors and institutions can work in tandem with governments, the United Nations, and broader civil society to accelerate the pace towards gender equality, equity and justice.

Symposium is organized by the World Council of Churches, ACT Alliance, General Board of Church and Society of The United Methodist Church, Islamic Relief, Seventh-Day Adventist Church, Soka Gakkai International, United Religions Initiative, and UN Women and the United Nations Population Fund UNFPA, for the United Nations Inter-agency Task Force on Religion and Development.

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CoNGO Notes: 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 the Status of Women-New York, please visit ngocsw.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on the Status of Women-Vienna, please visit ngocswvienna.org.

Educating Against Racism

Episode 2: Educating against Racism

RSVP HERE.

In our second episode, we will consider how education and educators can challenge racism, prejudice and discrimination – the legacies of histories of oppression, mass atrocities and genocide. How can teachers facilitate difficult conversations about identity, discrimination, racism and prejudice, and remind students of the other legacy – the legacy of resistance, solidarity and empathy?

Beyond the long shadow: engaging with difficult histories is organized together with the Outreach Programmes on the transatlantic slave trade, the Holocaust and the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda. The aim of the collaborative series is to develop a deeper understanding of the legacies of these painful histories – and through examining the past, consider how best to build a world that is just, where all can live in dignity and peace.

Date: Thursday, 29 October 2020
Time: 10:00 a.m. EDT

[Cyber Conference] There’s Still Hope and Here’s Why

On Nov. 5, join PEAC Institute and the United Methodist Church-General Board of Church and Society for a cyber conference designed to foster post-election reflections, healing, and mobilization.

Register here: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_OArdeLrcSaO4A4JHpXdDQA

Background: From Tulsa to Hiroshima, from Auschwitz to the Trail of Tears, the scenes of death and destruction are the same. The root causes of these atrocities are the same too: cultures of violence fueling systems of oppression.

What can the people do to reclaim their rightful democratic power when corrupt governments fail to honor the contracts that ensure we live in a civil society with a sustainable future?

This action-driven conversation, co-sponsored by PEAC Institute and the General Board of Church and Society, will explore the challenge of dismantling cultures of violence. Through both historical and contemporary lenses, we will highlight some of the terrifying consequences we’re facing due to not fixing our culture of violence while also offering examples of nature-based solutions that people are successfully executing today. Speakers from multiple continents will include foreign policy experts, peace activists, and volunteer humanitarians reporting from the field.

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CoNGO Notes: For more information on the Decolonization Alliance, please email President Bautista at lbautista@umcjustice.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Disarmament, Peace, and Security, please visit ngocdps.wordpress.com.

Islamophobia & Race: What Are We Afraid Of?

Islamophobia and Race: What Are We Afraid Of?

October 23, 2020 at 10AM EST

Join the Unitarian Universalist Association at the United Nations (UUA), the NGO Committee on Human Rights, and the Burma Task Force for a global conversation on faith-based discrimination and ethnic genocide. This discussion will explore the experiences of the Muslim community worldwide, while examining the intersectional ways in which Islamophobia and racism interact to perpetuate harmful preconceptions and prejudice. Speakers representing Myanmar, Sudan, Tibet, and the United States will reflect on their unique sociocultural identity and how Islamophobia continues to intricately impact multiple dimensions of their lives. Our esteemed panelists include: Zaw Win Nyunt, Intercommunal Peacemaker in Burma; Mariam Abdalgadir, Sudanese community activist and artist based in Bay Area, California; and Mariam Osmanu, Ghanaian and Nigerian graduate student from NYU Silver School of Social Work based in the Bronx, New York. As we interrogate structural and interpersonal bias against those who practice Islam, we should be asking ourselves: What are we afraid of?

Register in advance for this meeting: https://uua.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJYkceuprDIsHNTk4eU8OiubL-GmdvgA_-r3