security

Preserving Life on Land: Plans, Projects, Pitfalls and Partnerships for Rainforest Preservation

Dear UN partners and participants at the HLPF,

On behalf of co-sponsors The Episcopal Church, Interfaith Rainforest Initiative Colombia, World Council of Churches, and the Parliament of the World’s Religions, you are warmly invited to a virtual parallel event on the occasion of the HLPF review of Goal 15 – Life on Land:

“Preserving Life on Land: Plans, Projects, Pitfalls and Partnerships for Rainforest Preservation”

Monday, July 11th, 1 – 2:30 pm EDT

Register here: https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJItfu6tpz4vG9Q-XsUmPdh2r5SPPQ4H8CRv

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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 the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, please visit facebook.com/NGOCoRIP. 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.

Invest in SDG 4.7 to Unleash the Transformative Power of Education

This side event sponsored by Salesian Missions, addresses the critical need for a holistic education focused on target 7 of SDG 4. Even though we are yet to achieve the various targets under Goal 4, considerable progress has been made in this regard. This has not resulted in a more equal world despite the fact education has always been seen as a great leveler. Globally inequality has continued to grow. What can make education truly transformative are the aspirational goals set out in target 4.7.

The World Program of Human Rights Education that followed the Decade of Human Rights Education, the Decade of Education to Sustainable Development, and the United Nation’s Gyeongju Action Plan for Education for Global Citizenship, not only add content to target 7 but also set the framework for Sustainable Development Goals and its overarching goal: Leave No One Behind. They have the power to make education transformative. The call of Pope Francis for a Global Compact on Education also reinforces the need for addressing target 4.7.
In conversation with experts from OHCHR, UNESCO, Development Cooperation Agencies, and field practitioners, this side event will attempt to deepen this understanding even as it examines the progress already made in this respect.

The side event while presenting good practices that highlight the transformative power of education where there has been a focus on target 4.7. will also strengthen the call for investment and commitment to pursue target 4.7.

Register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0td-2trDgoEtIO29WYZajXTVG3O6m0N68H

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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 Financing for Development, please visit ngosonffd.org. 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.

Leadership for Change: A Call to Action from Sisters Supporting Vulnerable Communities

This side event will address SDGs 14, 15, and 17 – under review at this year’s High-Level Political Forum – by featuring panelists with expertise in creating environmental initiatives that serve and support our planet’s most vulnerable communities. Panelists will include Sisters engaged in grassroots advocacy, speakers from civil society sharing best practices for partnerships around the SDGs, and representatives from Member States with experience of collaborating to make the 2030 Agenda a reality for all. With this event, we aim to model effective implementation of SDG 17, Partnerships for the Goals. UNANIMA and UISG are partnering to produce a concise and powerful call to action, drawing from the experiences of Sisters as development leaders, with concrete policy recommendations on achieving the relevant SDGs.

Join live here on July 7 at 1pm Eastern / 7pm CET:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82672796766?pwd=uuOs9L9gjyMT_WOZAq3SV38ZlU4CWs.1&mc_cid=13e5b4d572&mc_eid=e1bba69d46#success

Through this event, UNANIMA International and the International Union of Superiors General (UISG) will bring to Member States the distinctive voices of Catholic Sisters – women leaders supporting marginalized communities around the world – with a strong call to action on SDGs 14, 15 and 17, under review at this Forum.

The Goals:

SDGs 14 and 15 were established by the UN in 2015. Life Below Water aims to “conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development.” Life on Land was created to “protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss.” The Earth’s delicate ecosystems sustain and nourish life for all humans.

However, extractive industries, plastic pollution, and many other toxic practices are disrupting the relationship between people and our planet. Marginalized groups, Small-Island Developing States, and countries in the global south are particularly reliant on oceans and land for food security and wellbeing. Habitat loss caused by rising sea levels, deforestation, and other climate-related factors is wreaking havoc around the globe, forcing people to seek out temporary, crowded, and unsafe shelters where illness and infection spread quickly.

Climate injustice – including the loss of homes, biodiversity, and essential food and water supplies – is one of the most pressing obstacles to achieving the SDGs. Indigenous and local communities suffering from changes to their environments can often provide solutions to the challenges we face below water and on land: their insights will be essential in caring for the Earth as we approach 2030.

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CoNGO Notes: For more information on the NGO Committee on the Status of Women-NY, a Substantive Committee of the Conference of NGOs in Consultative Relationship at the United Nations, please visit  ngocsw.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 Financing for Development, please visit ngosonffd.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.

ICTs for Well-Being, Inclusion and Resilience: WSIS Cooperation for Accelerating Progress on the SDGs

Date and Time: 7 July 2022, 08:00-09:00 AM New York time / 14:00-15:00 PM CEST

About: Highlighting the theme of the WSIS Forum 2022, this session will focus on how the ICTs and the WSIS Action Lines can help accelerate the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), learning from the COVID-19 experience to build an inclusive, resilient, and sustainable societies and economies. It is important to strengthen partnerships and digital cooperation towards achieving goals and targets across the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Register here:  https://itu.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Av6zKxyzTK65UxwzzIXmjQ

Speakers:

  • Mr. Malcolm Johnson, Deputy Secretary-General, ITU (Chair of UNGIS)
  • H.E. Professor Isa Ali Ibrahim (Pantami), Minister, Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy, Nigeria, Government
  • Dr. Tawfik Jelassi, Assistant Director-General for Communication and Information, UNESCO (Vice Chair of UNGIS)
  • Mr. Torbjörn Fredriksson, Head of E-Commerce and Digital Economy Branch, UNCTAD (Vice Chair of UNGIS)
  • Mr. Jean-Paul Adam, Director Technology, Climate Change and Natural Resources Management Division, United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), (Vice Chair of UNGIS)
  • Mr. Moshe Kao, Programme Management Officer, UN Technology Bank for Least Developed Countries
  • Mr. Liberato C. Bautista, President, Conference of Non-Governmental Organizations in Consultative Relationship with the United Nations (CoNGO), Civil Society
  • Ms. Mei Lin Fung, Chair and Co-Founder, People Centered Internet, WSIS Gender Trendsetter
  • Mr. Michael Hodin, CEO, Global Coalition on Aging, Private Sector

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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 Sustainable Development-Vienna, please visit congocsd.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 Financing for Development, please visit ngosonffd.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Language and Languages, please contact the co-chairs at tonkin@hartford.edu or fmhult@umbc.edu.

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.

Sustainable and resilient transport and trade facilitation in times of pandemic and beyond: Key challenges and opportunities

Multi-year Expert Meeting on Transport, Trade Logistics and Trade Facilitation [Ninth session]

Sustainable and resilient transport and trade facilitation in times of pandemic and beyond: Key challenges and opportunities

Geneva, 12–14 July 2022

The ninth session of the Multi-year Expert Meeting on Transport, Trade Logistics and Trade Facilitation will be held from 12 to 14 July 2022 in room XVIII of the Palais des Nations in Geneva. The session will commence at 10 am on Tuesday, 12 July 2022.

Background and purpose of the meeting

The disruption from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and uncertainty about a lasting recovery are stark reminders of how unprepared transport and logistics are in the face of disruptions. Pandemic-induced shifts in supply, consumption and demand patterns, the rise in logistical bottlenecks, port congestion and delays, the surge in shipping rates and costs, and deterioration in service reliability have all become a constant feature of the current transport and logistics landscape.

The short-term outlook remains one of continued disruption amid emerging virus variants and new waves of infections, as well as a riskier geopolitical landscape. Several trends are making a rapid return to “normal” more challenging, while at the same time generating opportunities for transport and logistics, including trade facilitation. Transport and logistics are facing multiple imperatives spanning digitalization, climate change mitigation and adaptation, transition to low carbon fuels, environmental sustainability, and energy and food security. Addressing the challenges, balancing competing priorities and seizing opportunities call for adequate policies and strategies that prioritize the future proofing of transport and logistics.

The ninth session of the Multi-year Expert Meeting on Transport, Trade Logistics and Trade Facilitation provides a timely opportunity to reflect on the key issues at stake and provide recommendations on the best way forward, identify priority action areas, in particular for the most vulnerable group of countries, among these the least developed countries, small island developing States and landlocked developing countries, and define the role of relevant stakeholders, including from industry, Government, the public and private sectors and development partners and financial institutions.

Nomination and participation

Online registration is mandatory. To register, please use the following link: Multi-year Expert Meeting on Transport, Trade Logistics and Trade Facilitation. Nominations and communications concerning representation should be sent to the UNCTAD secretariat, Intergovernmental Outreach and Support Service, Palais des Nations, CH-1211 Geneva 10; emails: meetings@unctad.org and trade.logistics@unctad.org.

Member States of UNCTAD are requested to nominate experts in the relevant fields by 30 June 2022. Experts, who will participate in the meeting in their personal capacities, are expected to have proven expertise in the subject areas and may be selected from governmental and non-governmental organizations, the private sector or academia. Specialized agencies and intergovernmental bodies that wish to participate in the meeting, as well as non-governmental organizations in the general category and those in the special category that wish to participate as observers, are requested to register by the same date.

Further information and contact details

All enquiries concerning substantive issues should be addressed to the coordinators in the substantive division, Mr. Jan Hoffmann and Ms. Wendy Juan; tel: 41 22 917 2032; fax: 41 22 917 0050; email: trade.logistics@UNCTAD.org.

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

Common security, nuclear risks and the OSCE in the wake of the Ukraine conflict

Register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_yqRRAyjZR8KLbjkYmMi7Xw

The Russian invasion of Ukraine is impacting significantly on the European security framework. The European Union has facilitated a sweeping package of economic sanctions against Russia, unlike anything undertaken by the EU in any previous conflict. The invasion has elevated the risks of nuclear war, and stimulated Sweden and Finland to abandon their historical neutral status and apply to join NATO – a nuclear alliance.In light of Russia’s violation of the UN Charter and security arrangements such as the Budapest Memorandum and Minsk agreements, it would be tempting to conclude that common security frameworks such as the United Nations and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) are becoming irrelevant to address security concerns. However, this event will highlight the opposite – that it is in times of such conflict and high tension that common security approaches and other mechanisms for diplomacy and nuclear risk-reduction are vital and should be strengthened, not abandoned. Common Security refers to building security between nations through international law, diplomacy and conflict resolution. It is based on the notion that national security cannot be achieved or sustained by threatening or reducing the security of other nations, but only by ensuring that the security of all nations is advanced.For more background see For Our Shared Future: Common Security 2022 Report, Olof Palme International Centre. Also of relevance is the recent resolution of the U.S. Conference of Mayors Forging a Path to Peace and Common Security.

Co-sponsors: Basel Peace Office, Détente Now, Initiatives pour le désarmement Nucléaire, G100 (Group of 100 Women Leaders) Defence and Security Wing, Parliamentarians for Nuclear Non-proliferation and Disarmament, World Future Council, Youth Fusion

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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 Children’s Rights-NY, please visit childrightsny.org. 

International Day of Solidarity with Palestinian People

As customary, in accordance with General Assembly resolution 32/40 B of 2 December 1977, the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People (Solidarity Day) will be marked by the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People (CEIRPP) with a Special Meeting of the Committee where UN Members States express their solidarity with the Palestinian people through messages by Heads of States and Government. Similar events are held at UNOG, UNON, UNOV and UNICs around the world.

This year, the Special Meeting will be held on Monday, 29 November from 10.00 a.m. to 12.30 p.m. (New York time) and will be livestreamed on UN WebTV.

The International Day of Solidarity provides an opportunity for the international community to focus its attention on the fact that the question of Palestine remains unresolved and that the Palestinian people are yet to attain their inalienable rights as defined by the General Assembly, namely, the right to self-determination, the right to national independence and sovereignty and the right to return.

The Special Meeting will be presided by the Chair of the Committee, Ambassador Cheikh Niang, who will deliver the opening statement, followed by remarks by the President of the General Assembly, the President of the Security Council, and by the Chef de Cabinet, speaking on behalf of the Secretary-General.

The Permanent Observer of the State of Palestine will deliver a statement on behalf of Mahmoud Abbas, President of the State of Palestine. Video messages of solidarity by H.E. Ms. Tarja Halonen, Former President of Finland, Ms. Agnès Callamard, Amnesty International Secretary-General, and Ms. Hanan Hroub, Palestinian winner of “Global Teacher Prize,” will be broadcast.  Mr. Mohammed El-Kurd, Palestinian activist from Sheikh Jarrah and Representative of civil society, will also deliver a statement.

The Chair of the Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices Affecting the Human Rights of the Palestinian People and Other Arabs of the Occupied Territories and representatives of regional organizations (AU, LAS, OIC, NAM) will deliver statements in the second part of the Meeting.

This year, the Special Meeting will be held in-person, in the General Assembly Hall, with some of the COVID-19 restrictions and limits to access to the UN compound.

The Special Meeting will be open to the media. The Special Meeting will be conducted in the six official languages.The meeting will be broadcast on UN Web TV

Updates, including on the programme of the event and press releases, will be posted online at Home – Question of Palestine (un.org).

There will be live updates from the Committee Twitter account and Facebook page.

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

International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression

In recent years, the number of violations perpetrated against children have, in many conflict zones, increased. More needs to be done to protect the 250 million children living in countries and areas affected by conflict. More must be done to protect children from targeting by violent extremists, to promote international humanitarian and human rights law, and to ensure accountability for violations of the rights of children.

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development provides us with the universal masterplan to secure a better future for children. The new agenda includes for the first time a specific target (16.2) to end all forms of violence against children, and ending the abuse, neglect and exploitation of children is mainstreamed across several other violence-related targets.

To learn more about how and why the UN commemorates the International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression, please visit un.org/en/observances/child-victim-day.

Background:

Following on the ground-breaking Graça Machel report, which drew global attention to the devastating impact of armed conflict on children, in 1997 The General Assembly adopted 51/77 Resolution on the Rights of the Child. It was a landmark development in efforts to improve the protection of children in conflict situations. This signaled the start of a new consensus among Member States, on the need for dedicated attention, advocacy and coordinated effort, by the international community, to address the vulnerabilities and violations faced by children in conflict-related situations.

Resolution 51/77 built on existing General Assembly efforts to protect the rights of children, including through the Convention on the Rights of the Child and its Optional Protocol, and the annual Rights of the Child resolutions. And it established the mandate of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict.

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CoNGO Notes: For more information on the NGO Committee on Children’s Rights-NY, please visit childrightsny.org. 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 Disarmament, Peace and Security, please visit ngocdps.wordpress.com.

Multi-year Expert Meeting on Trade, Services and Development

The ninth session of the Multi-year Expert Meeting on Trade, Services and Development will be held with physical and remote participation from 4 to 6 July 2022. The substantive topic of the session is the evolving landscape of digital trade in services.

Participation and Registration:

Member States are invited to nominate experts from the public and/or private sectors. Nominated experts are encouraged to participate in all sessions of the Multi-year Expert Meeting on Trade, Services and Development to ensure continuity. Each State is encouraged to nominate up to five experts to participate remotely. This session is open to all member States of UNCTAD. Other organizations, including specialized agencies, intergovernmental bodies and non-governmental organizations in the general and special categories, as well as academia, research institutions and the private sector, may participate as observers.

Online registration is mandatory for all those wishing to attend the meeting and is required in order to be included in the list of participants. Please register for this session at indico.un.org/event/1000971/.

Registration requires uploading an official letter of nomination to represent an organization at this meeting. For government representatives, a note verbale or an email from the permanent mission in Geneva will suffice. Further inquiries regarding registration should be sent to the UNCTAD secretariat, Intergovernmental Outreach and Support Service, Palais des Nations, CH-1211 Geneva 10; email: meetings@unctad.org and tncdb@unctad.org.

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CoNGO Notes: 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-NY, please visit ngocsd-ny.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Sustainable Development-Vienna, please visit congocsd.wordpress.com.

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