UNOG

Workshop on enhancing cooperation between the United Nations and Regional Mechanisms for the promotion and protection of Human Rights with a focus on business and human rights

Join UNOG on 18-19 October, 2022, at the Palais des Nations in Geneva, Switzerland for this important workshop. Read the draft concept note here.
Theme: the role of regional arrangements in the field of Business and Human Rights

Register here: indico.un.org/event/1001270

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

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 bobbinassar@yahoo.com or bknotts@uua.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 Intergenerational Solidarity, please email the vice chair at susanneseperson@gmail.com. For more information on the NGO Committee on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, please visit facebook.com/NGOCoRIP.

Exchange with Mr. Volker Türk, Under-Secretary-General for Policy

Dear Representatives of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) accredited at the United Nations Office at Geneva (UNOG),

We are pleased to invite you to an exchange with Mr. Volker Türk, Under-Secretary-General for Policy in the Executive Office of the Secretary-General, which will take place on Wednesday, 29 June 2022 from 10:00 to 11:00 am in Room XXIV at the Palais des Nations.

Mr. Türk will brief on the Secretary-General’s vision and strategic priorities as set out in the report Our Common Agenda. The report addresses fundamental questions and challenges that humanity is confronted with today and will face in the future, and presents proposals designed to strengthen and accelerate multilateral cooperation, with strong emphasis on turbo-charging the implementation of the 2030 Agenda.

You are kindly invited to confirm the participation of your NGO by providing names of your representative(s) by email to unog.ngo@un.org.

Only NGO representatives in possession of a valid grounds pass will be able to attend.

We wish to inform you that the briefing will be in English only and to remind you of the requirement to wear facial masks in all conference rooms of the Palais des Nations.

With best regards,

NGO Liaison Unit

—————————————————————————————————————————————

Cher(e)s représentant(e)s des organisations non gouvernementales (ONG) accréditées auprès de l’Office des Nations Unies à Genève (ONUG),

Nous avons le plaisir de vous inviter à un échange avec M. Volker Türk, Secrétaire général adjoint chargé de la politique au Cabinet du Secrétaire général, qui aura lieu le mercredi 29 juin 2022 de 10h00 à 11h00 dans la salle XXIV, au Palais des Nations.

M. Türk présentera la vision et les priorités stratégiques du Secrétaire général telles qu’elles sont énoncées dans le rapport Notre programme commun. Le rapport aborde les questions et les défis fondamentaux auxquels l’humanité est confrontée aujourd’hui et sera confrontée à l’avenir, et présente des propositions visant à renforcer et à accélérer la coopération multilatérale, en mettant l’accent sur la mise en œuvre de l’Agenda 2030.

Vous êtes cordialement invités à confirmer la participation de votre ONG en fournissant le(s) nom(s) de votre(vos) représentant(s) par courriel à unog.ngo@un.org.

Seuls les représentants d’ONG en possession d’un badge d’accès à l’ONUG valable seront en mesure de participer.

Nous vous informons que le briefing se déroulera uniquement en anglais et vous rappelons l’obligation de porter un masque facial dans toutes les salles de conférence du Palais des Nations.

Avec nos meilleures salutations,

Unité de liaison avec les ONG

__________________________________________________________________________________________

CoNGO Notes: 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 Social Development, please visit ngosocdev.org.

Geneva Peace Week 2021 “From seeds to systems of peace: Weathering today’s challenges”

Dear Colleagues,

It is our great pleasure to invite you to the eighth edition of Geneva Peace Week that will take place online from 1 to 5 November 2021. The Week is jointly organized by the United Nations Office at Geneva (UNOG), the Geneva Peacebuilding Platform and the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies. The theme of this year’s Geneva Peace Week is: “From seeds to systems of peace: Weathering today’s challenges.”

Geneva Peace Week 2021 (GPW21) aims to galvanize leadership, build trust and contribute to transforming international cooperation. Over five days, Geneva Peace Week will be the umbrella for 30 Online Workshops and a Digital Series (podcasts and videos), brought together by over 100 partner organizations.

Topics for discussions will include:

  • Creating a climate for collaboration: Ways forward for environment, climate change, and peace
  • Moving beyond securitization: What risks (and new horizons) for peacebuilding?
  • Harnessing the digital sphere for peace
  • Confronting inequalities and advancing inclusion, peace, and SDG16

The full programme of Geneva Peace Week is available at genevapeaceweek.ch and attendees must register to participate. We would also like to invite you to three main sessions which will take place in-person (Maison de la Paix) and online:

  • The Opening Ceremony on 1 November at 4:00 p.m.
  • The Kofi Annan Geneva Peace Address on 4 November at 6:00 p.m.
  • The Closing Ceremony on 5 November at 1:30 p.m.

Geneva Peace Week provides a common framework for peace-related workshops for which the respective organizers retain full ownership. Please note that Geneva Peace Week events do not necessarily reflect the views of UNOG, the Geneva Peacebuilding Platform or the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies. We encourage you to share information widely and look forward to welcoming you and your colleagues to Geneva Peace Week 2021.

____________________________________________________________________________________________

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

72nd Session of the Executive Committee of the High Commissioner {for Refugees’s} Programme

In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, and in line with the guidelines issued by the Swiss Federal Council, the cantonal authorities and the United Nations Office at Geneva (UNOG), the seventy-second session of the Executive Committee (ExCom) is expected to be a limited in-person event, with remote participation also available. The in-person event will take place in room XIX at the Palais des Nations.

Interested participants can learn more here: unhcr.org/2021-executive-committee-session.html

Remote participation will be facilitated through Interprefy. Please note that the Interprefy platform should only be used for speakers. Those observing the event remotely will be able to access the webcast on the session webpage as usual.

Program:

  1. Opening of the session, adoption of the agenda and other organizational matters.
  2. Statement by the High Commissioner.
  3.  General debate.
  4. Consideration of reports on the work of the Standing Committee:
    (a) International protection;
    (b) Programme budgets, management, financial control and administrative
    oversight.
  5. Consideration of reports relating to programme and administrative oversight and
    evaluation.
  6. Consideration and adoption of the programme budget for 2022.
  7. Review of the consultations with non-governmental organizations.
  8. Other statements.
  9. Meetings of the Standing Committee in 2022.
  10. Consideration of the provisional agenda of the seventy-third session of the Executive
    Committee.
  11. Election of officers.
  12. Any other business.
  13. Adoption of the report of the seventy-second session of the Executive Committee.
  14. Closing of the session.

View the full provisional agenda and annotations here: https://www.unhcr.org/60fade424

______________________________________________________________________________________________

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 Social Development, please visit ngosocdev.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Migration, please visit ngo-migration.org.

World Humanitarian Day

Dear NGO Representatives,

Ms. Tatiana Valovaya, UNOG Director-General, is pleased to invite you to take part in the annual observance of World Humanitarian Day at the Palais des Nations, which will take place on Thursday, 19 August 2020 at 3.00 p.m., outside the Human Rights and Alliance of Civilizations Room (Room XX). 

Designated by the General Assembly to be observed on 19 August – the day when 22 colleagues were killed at the United Nations Office in Baghdad, World Humanitarian Day is an opportunity to pay tribute to colleagues who have lost their lives in humanitarian service and to honour the thousands of aid workers who continue to provide much needed support to people suffering from conflicts or disasters across the world.  As the world’s humanitarian capital, Geneva plays a central role in bringing together the partners to ensure an effective humanitarian response.

The Geneva World Humanitarian Day commemoration is organized in collaboration with the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). Due to COVID-19, the solemn ceremony will be organized in a hybrid format, with a limited physical presence outside Room XX. Due to the setup, no interpretation will be provided, however the speakers will address the event in either English or French. For any queries, please contact unog.political@un.org. 

We also take this opportunity to encourage you to be part of the 2021 World Humanitarian Day global campaign #TheHumanRace, which aims to get the world racing against the climate crisis clock ahead of the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) in November. Together with some famous persons in sport, the United Nations is encouraging people across the world to run, walk, swim, row or cycle for climate action. Learn more at https://www.unocha.org/world-humanitarian-day-2021.

The commemoration of World Humanitarian Day is a highlight in the agenda of International Geneva. Ms. Tatiana Valovaya looks forward to your participation which will send a strong signal of support, demonstrating our collective commitment to the humanitarian cause.

Program:

Wreath laying and candle lighting ceremony with Ms. Tatiana Valovaya, Director-General, United Nations Office at Geneva and Ms. Michelle Bachelet, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights

Ms. Tatiana Valovaya, Director-General, United Nations Office at Geneva

Minute of silence

  • Ms. Michelle Bachelet, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights
  • Ms. Laura Dolci, Family of the victim of the attacks against the United Nations Office in Baghdad on 19 August 2003
  • H.E. Mr. Abdul-Karim HASHIM MOSTAFA, Permanent Representative of the Republic of Iraq to the United Nations Office and other international organizations in Geneva
  • Ms. Prisca Chaoui, Executive Secretary, UNOG Staff Coordinating Council
  • Ms. Wafaa Saeed, Acting Director of the Coordination Division, UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)

Laying of floral arrangements by participants

Master of ceremonies: Ms. Alessandra Vellucci, Director, United Nations Information Service

Join the World Humanitarian Day global campaign on the climate crisis. Sign up or pledge your part to the #TheHumanRace now.

To attend in person, register here. The event will also be webcast live at webtv.un.org.

________________________________________________________________________________________

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

UN Office at Geneva and World Academy of Art and Science lead e-Conference on Global Leadership in the 21st Century; partners include CoNGO

UPDATE: See UNOG news release.

14 December 2020, New York City (CoNGO InfoNews) – An e-conference on Global Leadership in the 21st Century will be held on 15 and 16 December, under the joint leadership of the  United Nations Office at Geneva and the World Academy of Art and Science (WAAS). The Conference of Non-Governmental Organizations in Consultative Relationship with the United Nations (CoNGO) is one among 24 partner organizations from the UN System, academia, civil society, foundations and the private sector.

In an advance message, CoNGO President Liberato C. Bautista said: “Global leadership today must have a focus and a locus at once local and global. It will require transborder and transnational organizing, and mobilizing for glocal consciousness and action.”

At this two-day conference, the results of a year-long project to develop catalytic strategies to address the challenges of global leadership facing the world will be presented.  Online events will include sessions on peace and human security, economy and employment, health and food security, environment, finance, education, civil society, the media, youth networks, social movements, and integration of research and implementation.

Speakers include UN Office at Geneva Director General Tatiana Valovaya, Columbia University Center for Sustainable Development Director Jeffrey Sachs, actress and activist Jane Fonda, WAAS President and CEO Garry Jacobs, and numerous political, civil society and thought leaders from around the world.

The President of CoNGO, Liberato C. Bautista, will address the conference at 11:00AM (Geneva) | 05:00AM (New York) at the panel on “Mobilizing Civil Society: Building Global Social Consciousness”.

For further information and registration, please see http://bit.ly/3oGUtOO, the agenda and schedule at https://bit.ly/3gNcuYF and speaker bios here. Videos will be available online after the event, at the World Academy of Art and Science.

Recent Posts