2022 Vienna Discussion Forum: Women on the Move

The Permanent Missions of Finland, Norway, and Sweden in Vienna, together with UNODC and UNIDO, invite you to the 2022 Vienna Discussion Forum: “Women on the Move – Surviving Forced Displacement and Building a New Life

The VDF is a hybrid meeting, taking place in MS Teams or in person in the Vienna International Centre, Conference room 4 (7th floor C-Building). Register here!

Agenda:

Opening Remarks

· Ghada Waly, Executive Director, UNODC 

· Fatou Haidara, Managing Director, Directorate of Global Partnerships & External Relations, UNIDO

· Johanna Sumuvuori, State Secretary to the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Finland

· Nadia Murad, Nadia’s Initiative, UNODC Goodwill Ambassador and survivor of human trafficking

Panel Discussion

· Ilias Chatzis, Chief, Human Trafficking and Migrant Smuggling Section, UNODC

· Ciyong Zou, Managing Director, Directorate of Technical Cooperation and Sustainable Industrial Development, UNIDO

· Anna Ekstedt, Ambassador-at-large for Combating Trafficking in Persons, Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Sweden

· Sarah A Tobin, Research Director, Christian Michelsen Institute

Closing Remarks

· Felipe González Morales, United Nations Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants

Background:

The 2022 Vienna Discussion Forum (VDF) will discuss the importance of ensuring that measures to address migration and displacement are gender-responsive and take a human rights-centred approach. This includes understanding the gendered displacement patterns caused by human insecurity and conflict situations, providing effective support for both women and men in their transit to their final destination, safeguarding them from human trafficking and migrant smuggling, as well as supporting them once they have arrived in their final destination through economic empowerment.

Through drawing on the mandates of UNODC and UNIDO, the discussion will identify how the organisations can support the international community in developing gender-responsive policies, programmes and measures to address migration and displacement.

The Vienna Discussion Forum is an annual event to discuss gender equality and the empowerment of women in the context of the Sustainable Development Goals. Details on the 2021 Forum can be found here and here. Details on the 2020 Forum can be found here and here. Details on the inaugural 2019 Forum can be found here and here.

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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/Geneva, please visit ngocsw-geneva.ch. 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 Migration, please visit ngo-migration.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Social Development, please visit ngosocdev.org. For more information on the NGO Committee to Stop Trafficking in Persons, please visit ngocstip.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, please visit facebook.com/NGOCoRIP.

Protecting Education from Attack: A Call for Improving Data Monitoring and Policy Response

Virtual side event to the ECOSOC High-Level Political Forum

The event will be entirely virtual, with simultaneous translation provided in English and French. Please register here, by Tuesday, 5 July, to participate. The event will also be livestreamed on UN Web TV.

Background

Attacks on education have harrowing effects, ranging from tragic deaths on account of damage to physical infrastructure, psychological injuries and threats that lead to school disruption and loss of learning over time. Long recognized by the international community in Article 26 of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Right to Education obliges Member States to ensure its protection, respect, and fulfilment for all. In contexts of armed conflict, this inalienable human right has been further reiterated and reinforced by international humanitarian law and other prominent soft law mechanisms and tools, such as the Safe Schools Declaration and its guidelines, which aim to protect schools from military use. However, as it stands, the right to education is denied for many conflict-affected children and other vulnerable populations who fall victim to attacks on education. To this end, much needs to be done to ensure stronger evidence-based policies and conducive environments at the national level for the effective implementation of international legal frameworks.

Objectives

Organized in the margins of the ECOSOC High-Level Political Forum (HLPF), the virtual side-event will underscore the need for Member States to ensure full protection of the right to education in times of armed conflict, and will particularly aim to enhance government capacities to formulate and implement evidence-based policies on attacks on education within national data systems to better guide their actions towards realizing SDG 4. More particularly, this virtual event will bring together UN Member States, UN agencies and education stakeholders to highlight key challenges and promising practices around the following objectives:

Inform key stakeholders on data, policy measures and tools needed to strengthen national capacities in order to effectively review, respond, prevent, and mitigate occurrences of attacks on education and military use of schools to better deliver and accelerate progress towards SDG 4.
Identify linkages for Member States to strengthen national action on data collection and analysis on attacks on education as enhanced data collection and management will allow for better-informed robust policies to prevent, mitigate and respond to attacks on education and ensure educational continuity for all during times of peace and war.
Promote greater quality and institutionalization of attacks on education data into national education systems to foster greater national ownership and increased harmonization and integration into education sector policies and plans. This will further enable the inclusion of the most vulnerable populations in crisis contexts while bridging the humanitarian-development divide in delivering education for all.
Secure further introduction of tools especially designed to assist refugees and vulnerable migrants, in particular Qualifications Passport for Refugees as a recognition tool particularly designed for these individuals.
Identify key recommendations on how to engage with international actors and mechanisms and optimize national actions in line with ongoing preparations for the Transforming Education Summit (TES), which aims to strengthen and accelerate the implementation of existing multilateral agreements, particularly the 2030 Agenda framework, and galvanize action towards meeting SDG4 goals at the national and global levels.

Organizers

This virtual event is co-organized by Belgium, Malta, Norway, the State of Qatar, Gabon, UNESCO and OSRSG-CAAC.

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

International Migrants Day

Today, more people than ever live in a country other than the one in which they were born. While many individuals migrate out of choice, many others migrate out of necessity. In 2019, the number of migrants globally reached an estimated 272 million, 51 million more than in 2010.

A broad range of factors continue to determine the movement of people. They are either voluntary or forced movements as a result of the increased magnitude and frequency of disasters, economic challenges and extreme poverty or conflict. Approximately 281 million people were international migrants in 2020, representing 3.6 per cent of the global population.

All these will significantly affect the characteristics and scale of migration in the future and determine the strategies and policies countries must develop in order to harness the potential of migration while ensuring the fundamental human rights of migrants are protected.

For more information on why and how the United Nations commemorates International Migrants Day, visit un.org/en/observances/migrants-day.

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

Supporting Human Rights Defenders in the Occupied Palestinian Territory: Reality, Challenges, and Obligations

The UN Palestinian Rights Committee , will hold the virtual event “Supporting Human Rights Defenders in the Occupied Palestinian Territory: Reality, Challenges, and Obligations” on Tuesday, 7 December 2021 from 10:30 am to 12:30 pm (New York Time), via WebEx. The event will also be livestreamed on UN Web TV.

The event will highlight the engagement of the Committee with civil society partners in the implementation of its mandate towards ending the occupation of the Palestinian territory and advancing the realization of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people. It will shed light on the implications of the Israeli decision of 22 October 2021 to designate six Palestinian human rights and humanitarian NGOs as “terrorist organizations” and more broadly on the work of civil society organizations and human rights defenders in the OPT. Finally, it will underline the role and responsibilities of the international community in the context of a shrinking space for CSOs.

The speakers – Shawan Jabarin (Al-Haq), Heba Morayef (Amnesty International), Michael Sfard (Human rights lawyer) and Omar Shakir (Human Rights Watch) – will brief on the varying dimension of this critical decision and show Israel’s long-time efforts to target organizations that document the ongoing violations of Palestinian human rights and seek to hold Israel accountable.

Participants in the Webex event will consist of the invited panellists, Committee Members / Observers and other Member States. Intergovernmental and civil society organizations as well as the public and media will be invited to follow the event via live stream. While participation in the virtual platform will be limited to UN Member and Observer States, panellists, IGOs and CSOs, the general public can send their questions via the Committee Facebook page , Twitter account or email dpr-meeting @ un.org.

For further information, please visit un.org/unispal.

Viewers are encouraged to use the hashtags #Rights4Palestine and #ForPalestineRefugees on their social media and to tag the Committee’s social media pages using Twitter & Instagram: @UNISPAL, Facebook: @ UN.palestinianrights.

Watch the live stream on UN Web TV: webtv.un.org

Share live updates from the Committee Twitter account and Facebook page.

Sign up for the Committee’s mailing list: https://app.mdirector.com/render-subscription-form/empId/84424/formId/2/lang/en
Visit the Committee’s Website: http://www.un.org/unispal
Like the Committee’s Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/UN.palestinianrights
Follow the Committee on Twitter at @UNISPAL: https://twitter.com/UNISPAL
Follow the Committee on Instagram at @UNISPAL: https://www.instagram.com/unispal/
Subscribe to the Committee YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/UNpalestinianrights/

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CoNGO Notes: 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 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.

2021 Global People’s Forum

This 2021 People’s Forum will provide an opportunity for Civil Society to come together and strategize on how to further evaluate and advance the many progressive proposals from the Secretary-General’s Our Common Agenda report. Combining survey results with reflections from the Forum, this working meeting will aim to identify elements of an advocacy strategy that will prioritize those OCA proposals and initiatives to advance, as well as identify other key proposals and campaign initiatives that are not reflected in the OCA report.

Further details here.

Register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_hpQFmTECR7KyfDKklmo7EA

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

2021 Geneva Peace Talks: Recovering better for an equitable & sustainable world

We are pleased to invite you and your staff to attend the 9th edition of the Geneva Peace Talks. Marking the International Day of Peace, the Geneva Peace Talks will take place on Tuesday, 21 September 2021 from 4:00 p.m. to 5:15 p.m. in Room XVIII at the Palais des Nations and online.

The 2021 edition is organized under the theme “Recovering better for an equitable and sustainable world”. In 2021, as we heal from the COVID-19 pandemic, we are inspired to think creatively and collectively about how to help everyone recover better. People around the world are facing not only a global health crisis, but also other imminent crises: climate change, poverty, inequalities, stigma and discrimination. We must transform our world into one that is more equal, inclusive, sustainable, and healthier. We must make peace with one another.

The event will feature speakers from a wide range of backgrounds, from health equity to environmental action. We will hear from the former Director-General of the International Committee of the Red Cross Mr. Yves Daccord, the Head of the Secretariat of the Principles for Peace Initiative Ms. Hiba Qasas, Senegalese singer and champion for climate action Mr. Baaba Maal, Chief Executive Officer of the World Health Organization Foundation Mr. Anil Soni in an interview, three high school students from the first-ever Peace Talks club, a choreographer from South Africa; as well as two film makers creating a documentary on climate refugees.

Due to COVID-19 preventive measures, only a limited number of seats will be available in Room XVIII. Early registration for in-person participation is required as it will be closed once the maximum capacity is reached.

To follow the event online or to register, please use the following link: peacetalks.net.

This year’s Geneva Peace Talks are co-organized, once again, by the United Nations Office at Geneva, Interpeace and the Geneva Peacebuilding Platform, in partnership with the Permanent Mission of Switzerland to the United Nations Office and to other international organizations in Geneva.

The Geneva Peace Talks are an annual highlight of International Geneva. We look forward to your participation, which will send a strong signal of support and demonstrate our collective commitment to peace across the world.

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

Accelerating the Effective Implementation of the Global Compact for Migration: A Necessary Step to Achieve the 2030 Agenda

The Migration Children and Youth Platform (UN Major Group for Children and Youth) and the Civil Society Action Committee invite you to a dialogue on the side-lines of the HLPF to talk about migration and interlinkages with the 2030 Agenda, focusing on concrete actions to accelerate the implementation of the Global Compact for Migration.

Register here: us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_7W-ljtWJRSyfAr0OnsKqew

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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 NGO Committee on Children’s Rights-NY, please visit childrightsny.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.

Promising Practices: Protecting Migrant and Refugee Victims of Xenophobia and Intolerance in the Context of the Coronavirus Pandemic

The NGO Committee on Migration‘ s Subcommittee on Xenophobia, Racism and Social Inclusion invites you to a virtual Side Event in parallel with the UN High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) to present and discuss a just-completed survey on promising practices developed by front-line organizations working with migrants in this COVID-era.

Read the full concept note here and register here!

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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 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 Children’s Rights, please visit childrightsny.org.

Migration and the COVID-19 Pandemic: Implications on the Sustainable Development Goals

Migrant Forum in Asia, in partnership with Asian People’s Partnership for Peace, Planet and Prosperity (APSD) is organizing an official HLPF side-event to explore the challenge COVID-19 represented for migrants and the impact of the pandemic on SDGs progress.

Open Global Civil Society Consultation on IMRF

First Open Global Civil Society Consultation on the International Migration Review Forum (IMRF)

To prepare for collective civil society self-organizing towards the IMRF, we will review initial civil society ideas, expectations and strategies for our engagement in the IMRF during the consultation. These inputs will then be presented to Member States in a series of dialogues over the next 12 months.

All civil society organizations are invited to join us for this global civil society consultation on the IMRF. Register here! Consultation co-facilitators: Alma Maquitico (NNIRR), Apolinar Tolentino (BWI/CGU), Cecilie Kern (NGO CoM), Marta Verani (MGCY)

Agenda

A. Opening Plenary: Setting the Stage

i. Technical intro

ii. Welcome and introduction to the agenda

iii. Context and road to IMRF, AC survey results, IMRF modalities for civil society etc.

iv. Summary reports on GCM implementation (reports from RMRFs from regional networks) – what has been accomplished, what has not?

i. Africa
ii. Arab States
iii. Asia-Pacific
iv. Europe and North America
v. Latin America and Caribbean

B. Breakout discussions on civil society priorities in GCM implementation, and IMRF modalities

Intro: breakout goals and questions, and Zoom rooms mechanics

2 i. Discussion on civil society benchmarks for GCM implementation (For this discussion, you may choose from one of these following thematic priorities to discuss benchmarks and progress, or use any other themes you wish to highlight…)

Labor Migration and a New Social Contract
Racism, Ethnicity and Discrimination
Detentions and Returns
Regular Pathways and Irregular Migration
Climate Change
Other

a. What benchmarks should be used to measure GCM implementation?

b. What would GCM progress look like in a national/regional context? ii.

Discussion on IMRF modalities

a. Based on the current IMRF modalities for civil society participation, do you see any challenges that you and your members will face to participate fully in the IMRF?
b. How do you think the official civil society rapporteur for the IMRF should be selected?

C. Plenary discussion on main points

i. Short reports by group rapporteurs
ii. Summary of the discussions and identifying key inputs to present to Member States

D. Closing remarks and next steps

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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 NGO Committee on Financing for Development, please visit ngosonffd.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.

refugees

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