trade

Webinar on Adaptation Communications

Webinar on Adaptation Communications: draft supplementary guidance for voluntary use by Parties in communicating adaptation information through Adaptation Communications

Pursuant to decision 9/CMA.1, paragraph 15, the Adaptation Committee (AC) is hosting a webinar on adaptation communications: draft supplementary guidance for voluntary use by Parties in communicating adaptation information. During the webinar, the Adaptation Committee will present its progress to date on this work and invite reflections from Party representatives, practitioners, and other experts engaged in work relevant to the adaptation communications. The input received during this webinar will inform the AC’s efforts to refine and finalize this work by June 2022.

The webinar will be guided by the following objectives:

  • 1. Soliciting input on the draft supplementary guidance from Parties, practitioners, scientific actors, and other experts;
  • 2. Hearing experiences of Parties who have already prepared, or are in the process of preparing, their adaptation communications;
  • 3. Hearing experiences of Parties or practitioners who have used other UNFCCC guidance materials relevant to adaptation or other workstreams.

The agenda for the webinar and further details will be made available soon at http://unfccc.int/event/AC-webinar-AdComs.

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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  ngocsdvienna.org.

World Population Day

The COVID-19 crisis has taken a staggering toll on people, communities and economies everywhere. But not everyone is affected equally. Women, who account for the largest share of front-line health workers, for example, are disproportionately exposed to the coronavirus. Supply chains around the world are being disrupted, impacting the availability of contraceptives and heightening the risk of unintended pregnancy. As countries are on lockdown and health systems struggle to cope, sexual and reproductive health services are being sidelined and gender-based violence is on the rise.

Recent UNFPA research highlighted that if the lockdown continues for 6 months with major disruptions to health services, then 47 million women in low- and middle-income countries may not be able to access modern contraceptives resulting in 7 million unintended pregnancies. 31 million additional cases of gender-based violence can also be expected. The disruption of UNFPA’s programmes on the ground could result in 2 million cases of female genital mutilation and 13 million child marriages between 2020 and 2030 that could have been averted.

Moreover, women disproportionately work in insecure labour markets and are harder hit by the economic impacts of COVID-19. Nearly 60 percent of women worldwide work in the informal economy, at greater risk of falling into poverty. Women’s unpaid care work has increased as a result of school closures and the increased needs of older people.

The pandemic is hitting marginalized communities particularly hard, deepening inequalities and threatening to set us back in our efforts to leave no one behind. Our response to COVID-19 in every country is critical and will determine how fast the world recovers and whether we achieve the Sustainable Development Goals or not.

To learn more about how and why the UN commemorates this observance, check out un.org/en/observances/world-population-day.

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

Regular Pathways and Irregular Migration

Join GRFDT in the second round of virtual meetings, this one focused on “Regular Pathways and Irregular Migration.” This round will build on the action points from the first round. A moderator will guide the 90-minute open conversations and will go around the regions to collect participants’ insights.

Register here: https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJMkce6grjsrHtVe4SfYkG-gUWPFyW72hYo3

Recognize that in the absence of adequate, rights-respecting regular migration pathways, people who need to move for livelihood or other reasons will still do so and must not be criminalized for it.

Moderator: Mr. Oscar A. Chacon – Executive Director, Alianza Americas

Action Points:

1. Change the narratives – towards a reconceptualization approach

2. Unpack irregular migration into different thematics (intersectionality)

3. Pushing for the principle of non-discrimination

4. Moving forward with a multilateral approach

5. Family reunification

6. Temporary labour migration

7. Regular pathways and climate change

The Organizers: Migrant Forum in Asia (MFA), the Cross-Regional Center for Refugees and Migrants (CCRM), the Global Research Forum on Diaspora and Transnationalism (GRFDT), the Civil Society Action CommitteeAlianza Americas, the Platform for International Cooperation on Undocumented Migrants (PICUM), and the Climate Migration & Displacement Platform (CMDP)

Simultaneous interpretation in Arabic, English, French, & Spanish

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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 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. 

From commitment to reality: Building forward a world of work free from violence and harassment

The ILO is pleased to invite you to join the launching event of the ‘ILO Action Week on Convention No. 190. This high-level dialogue will mark the momentous entering into force of Convention No. 190 and elicit a call for a renewed commitment and ambitious actions to accelerating progress to prevent, address and end violence and harassment in the world of work for all.

Register here: ilo-org.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_2SXaXNDGSleGIKsMCB7bZQ

Speakers:

  • Mr. Guy Ryder, ILO Director-General
  • Ms. Gisèle Ranampy, Minister of Labour, Employment, Public Services and Social Legislation, Madagascar
  • Mr. Claudio Moroni, Minister of Labour, Employment and Social Security, Argentina
  • Mr. Roberto Suárez Santos, Secretary-General, International Organisation of Employers (IOE)
  • Ms. Marie Clarke Walker, Secretary-Treasurer, Canadian Labour Congress (CLC)
  • Ms. Helena Dalli, Commissioner for Equality, European Commission
  • Ms. Susan Kihika, Senator in the Kenyan Parliament and Member of the Bureau of Women Parliamentarians of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU)

Live Captioning, International Sign, EN, FR, ES Interpretation available.

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

Build Your House on Your Own Pillars: Key Issues for Developing Countries at the OECD Inclusive Framework Negotiations on the Taxation of the Digital Economy

Key Issues for Developing Countries at the OECD Inclusive Framework Negotiations on the Taxation of the Digital Economy

15 June 2021, 13:00 – 15:00 (CET)

The South Centre and the Global Alliance for Tax Justice invite you to a webinar titled Build Your House on Your Own Pillars: Key Issues for Developing Countries at the OECD Inclusive Framework Negotiations on the Taxation of the Digital EconomyThe webinar will feature prominent voices of the Global South, including negotiators in the Inclusive Framework, who will share their views on the key issues for developing countries in the “Two Pillar Approach” on taxing the digitalized economy. It seeks to introduce a new taxing right in Pillar One focused on reforms to existing nexus and profit allocation rules, while Pillar Two is focused on a global minimum tax. The Two Pillar approach aims to introduce new elements into international taxation, such as limited formulary apportionment, multilateral dispute resolution and the allocation of taxing rights through a multilateral agreement. There are several pending issues which need resolution and are of importance to developing countries.

The webinar will be a panel discussion followed up with a Question-and-Answer session.

Registration: https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJAlcuGrrDwoE9YjHBEhFvPPgTRl17BO-HtF

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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 ngocsdvienna.org.

Alternatives to Debt and Austerity in Latin America

Alternativas frente a la Deuda y Austeridad en América Latina | Alternatives to Debt & Austerity in Latin America

Panel:

  • Oscar Ugarteche, Coordinator of the Economic Observatory of Latin America (OBELA) from the Economic Research Institute (UNAM).
  • Isabel Ortiz, Director of Global Social Justice

Comments:

  • How do austerity policies affect workers? Jocelio Drummond, Regional Secretary of the Public Services International (PSI) for the Americas
  • How do austerity policies affect women’s rights? Verónica Serafini, Latindadd
  • How was the IMF´s return to Latin America? Mario Valencia, Latindadd

Moderator: Patricia Miranda, Latindadd

Register here: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/5516215289568/WN_lCE-A_smQ_GEr946KztoZQ

Background:
Latin America is going through one of the worst social and economic crises, which drags structural failures of the economic model deepened during the pandemic.

In the face of confinement decisions, developed countries have responded with fiscal stimuli and monetary emissions, and some poor countries have managed to access temporary debt service suspensions. However, middle-income countries -that is to say, almost all countries in Latin America- face difficulties in accessing the neccesary financing to address health and economic emergencies.

Concerns in the region grow around the need to alleviate the situation of millions of people living below the poverty line, closing the deepening gender gaps, applying urgent measures in the face of job losses, preventing lack of education from becoming a structurally lagging factor and also, preventing countries from continuing to depend on the extractive economy as the only form of economic growth, among others.

The financing needs to face the crisis have led countries to borrow, increasing their external and internal debt in the midst of a critical fiscal situation, as well as to implement austerity measures. The IMF has returned to the region and there are no signs of a sustainable recovery in this new lost decade for Latin America. In this seminar we seek to address responses and solutions to the situation in Latin America, in the midst of a multiple crisis. Additionally, we seek to address alternatives leading to the recovery of the region.

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

International Day of Families: Family-Friendly Business Enterprises

Dear Colleagues,

It is a pleasure to invite you to a virtual high-level side event organized by the Partnership for Families (Brazil, Hungary, and Poland) on the occasion of the International Day of Families.  The event will take place on Tuesday, 18 May 2021, from 10 am – 11:30 am. New York time.

To attend the event, please register on the following link: https://forms.gle/zmKEqdnLNC1evp1dA. The connection details for the event will be sent by email to registered participants.

Background:

During the 58th Session of the Commission for Social Development (CSocD58), which took place in New York in February 2020, the “Partnership for Families” initiative was launched with the aim of raising awareness and promoting families and family-friendly policies in the international agenda. As we celebrate the 2021 International Day of Families, the Partnership will hold a virtual panel to discuss policies to promote and support family-friendly business enterprises.

In the Side Event to be held on the occasion of the International Day of Families, the members of the Partnership will present a scientific and evidence-based approach on the implementation of policies to support family-friendly business enterprises, and how they can improve the well-being of families, which also translates into the general well-being of the society on a country level. Such practices also promote social and economic development, the enjoyment of human rights and support individuals and their families all over the world. Considering all systemic changes in the world of work caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, we expect a comprehensive debate over this increasingly influential theme during the scheduled event.

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CoNGO Notes: For more information on the NGO Committee on the Family, please visit ngofamilyny.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Social Development, please visit ngosocdev.org.

World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development

Cultural events cancelled, cultural institutions closed, community cultural practices suspended, empty UNESCO World Heritage sites, heightened risk of looting of cultural sites and poaching at natural sites, artists unable to make ends meet and the cultural tourism sector greatly affected… The impact of COVID-19 on the cultural sector is being felt around the world. This impact is social, economic and political – it affects the fundamental right of access to culture, the social rights of artists and creative professionals, and the protection of a diversity of cultural expressions.

The unfolding crisis risks deepening inequalities and rendering communities vulnerable. In addition, the creative and cultural industries (CCI) contribute US$2,250bn to the global economy (3% of GDP) and account for 29.5 million jobs worldwide. The economic fall-out of not addressing the cultural sector – and all auxiliary services, particularly in the tourism sector – could also be disastrous. (source “Culture & COVID-19: Impact and Response Tracker – Issue 2

Why does cultural diversity matter?

Three-quarters of the world’s major conflicts have a cultural dimension. Bridging the gap between cultures is urgent and necessary for peace, stability and development.

Cultural diversity is a driving force of development, not only with respect to economic growth, but also as a means of leading a more fulfilling intellectual, emotional, moral and spiritual life. This is captured in the culture conventions, which provide a solid basis for the promotion of cultural diversity. Cultural diversity is thus an asset that is indispensable for poverty reduction and the achievement of sustainable development.

At the same time, acceptance and recognition of cultural diversity – in particular through innovative use of media and Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs) – are conducive to dialogue among civilizations and cultures, respect and mutual understanding.

To read more about the origin of this observance and peruse relevant materials, visit un.org/en/observances/cultural-diversity-day.

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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 ngocsdvienna.org

 

Investments in social protection and their impacts on economic growth

The International Trade Union Confederation, the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung and Development Pathways invite you to the webinar: The Economic Benefits of Social Protection” with key findings from the new report.

Pre-register here: https://ituc-csi-org.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJYqc-yhqj8jG9ROvibSsRNfLvEAulZYJe9f

Opening remarks by Sharan Burrow, General Secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation
Presentation by Diloa Bailey-Athias, Economist at Development Pathways

Reactions:

  • Juan Carlos Durán Castro, Secretary of Social Security, Costa Rican Confederation of Workers (CTRN)
  • Reema Nanavaty, Head of Economic and Rural Development Activities, Self-Employed Women’s Association (SEWA), India
  • Kwabena Ootoo, Director of Research, Ghana Trades Union Congress
  • Shahra Razavi, Director of Social Protection, International Labour Organisation

Followed by open discussion

Closing statement by Hajo Lanz, Director of the Fredrich Ebert Stiftung’s Geneva Office
Moderation by Evelyn Astor, Economic and Social Policy Advisor at the ITUC

Simultaneous interpretation will be available in English, French and Spanish

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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 Social Development, please visit ngosocdev.org.

UN Trade Forum 2021: Towards a Green and Inclusive Recovery

The COVID-19 pandemic has been a health and economic crisis of tragic proportions for lives and livelihoods everywhere that is jeopardising continued progress towards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. Protecting lives while moving forward with implementation for sustainable recovery has become the world’s priority.

Reigniting global trade is indispensable for the recovery from this crisis. Trade is a source of income, jobs and opportunities for women and men in developed and developing countries. The crisis has also highlighted the fundamental role of trade in allowing goods and services to move from where they are efficiently produced to where they are needed. The crisis has exposed the fault lines of our development path, notably one that depends on effective participation in just-in-time global supply chains. The crisis has also exacerbated the vulnerability and inequality present in our world.

Yet COVID-19 is not the only crisis we face. A climate and environmental emergency may compromise the progress we have achieved and the development prospects of future generations. Thus, recovery is not enough. It must be green and inclusive, and trade and trade policy play a critical role in this process. The United Nations Trade Forum will serve as a space for dialogue on how trade can be harnessed for a more prosperous, inclusive and sustainable world.

In the context of this year’s Forum, UNCTAD will also hold the seventeenth Raúl Prebisch Lecture. This prestigious Lecture is delivered periodically by a prominent thinker or Head of State, and while often tackles trade and development issues, also covers other topical global concerns. This iteration of the Lecture will be given by Nobel Laureate Esther Duflo, Abdul Latif Jameel Professor of Poverty Alleviation and Development Economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (United States of America). Ms Duflo was co-recipient of the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel 2019, with Abhijit Banerjee and Michael Kremer, “for their experimental approach to alleviating global poverty”.

Participation

Registration should be completed online. Early registration is advised to allow timely approval. To do so, please use the following link: United Nations Trade Forum.

Communications concerning representation should be sent to the UNCTAD secretariat, Intergovernmental Support Service, Palais des Nations, CH-1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland; email: meetings@unctad.org.

The forum is open to all member States of UNCTAD. Those wishing to attend the event are requested to provide the UNCTAD secretariat with the credentials of their representatives and the names of their alternative representatives and advisers by Monday, 7 June 2021. Specialized agencies and intergovernmental bodies wishing to participate in the meeting and non-governmental organizations in the general category and those in the special category who wish to participate as observers are requested to inform the UNCTAD secretariat of the names of their representatives by the same date.

Logistics

A link to the formal virtual meeting will be sent to registered participants, at the email address used for registration, one day in advance of the start of the session. For all other enquiries, please contact: Graham Mott at graham.mott@unctad.org, or Tamar van Straten at tamar.vanstraten@un.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-Vienna, please visit ngocsdvienna.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Sustainable Development-NY, please visit ngocsd-ny.org

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