Tag Archives: United Nations

Opening statement by Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of UN Women for the 61st session of the Commission on the Status of Women

. WOMEN’S EQUALITY .

A report by UN Women

Chair of the Commission on the Status of Women, H.E. Mr. Antonio de Aguiar Patriota, Secretary-General of the UN, President of ECOSOC, President of the General Assembly, Ministers and representatives from capitals, Women and civil society representatives,

At the outset, I would like to thank the Chair of CSW, his Excellency Ambassador Patriota, and his Bureau, for all their work in preparing this complex event.

I also want to thank the UN Women team across the world for their hard work and preparations, including the important regional pre-CSW consultations that allow us all to get together in this session and be as ready as we are.


In Cape Town, South Africa, UN Women Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka meets girls involved in the Grassroots Soccer SKILLZ programme, a grantee of the UN Trust Fund to End Violence against Women. Photo: Karin Shermbrucker
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A special thanks to the representatives of Member States, civil society and youth who have travelled from all over the world to collaborate with us. And I thank Member States for their inclusion of civil society and youth in their delegations, helping to make this meeting truly universal in its deliberations.

There are 750 young people here who on Saturday and Sunday were engaged in an assembly and a festival of ideas. What an engagement that was! We also have 8,600 pre-registrations, which means that we potentially have the largest number ever of civil society representatives with us in this CSW61.

I would also like to acknowledge our Secretary-General, at his first Commission in his new capacity. Secretary-General, it is wonderful to have you with us here. I thank him for leading the agenda on gender equality from the front and for his insightful remarks and unwavering drive to tackle gender inequality from Day One of his tenure.

This Commission concerns itself with the status of women. It reviews the progress made by women and girls, and assesses the remaining challenges. It is a barometer of the progress we are making on achieving a world that is free of gender discrimination and inequality, a world that leaves no-one behind. It will help us measure achievement of the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. It also helps us to pursue action in priority areas and benefits from the Commission’s Agreed Conclusions.

The priority theme for CSW61, as set out in the Secretary-General’s report for the session, is “Women’s Economic Empowerment in the Changing World of Work”. Inclusive economies and a positive world of work are powerful ways of breaking away from the cycles of poverty that besiege our nations.

Currently, in the gender equality agenda, we see progress in some areas, but we also see an erosion of gains. The much-needed positive developments are not happening fast enough. We also need to work together to make sure we reach a tipping point in the numbers of lives changed.

We need swift and decisive action that can be brought about by the world of work so that we do not leave women even further behind.

Excellencies, let us agree to constructive impatience.

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Question for this article

Does the UN advance equality for women?

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The Sustainable Development Goals give us a framework to work for far-reaching changes. In this session of the Commission we will be able to bring renewed focus to the needs of those who are currently being left behind and those who are currently furthest behind.

They include young women; some of whom were at the Youth CSW. They include refugees and migrants. They include women affected by gender-based violence, including workplace sexual harassment.

They include women who are denied sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights and services; and women facing discrimination on multiple and intersecting fronts over and above their gender: such as sexual orientation, disability, older age, race, or being part of an indigenous community.

They include women in the informal sector, and care givers, those who provide services in the home that are much needed to sustain society.

Almost all women do some form of work. If you are a woman you are a worker—period.

Virtually all economies rely on the unpaid care and domestic work that is largely provided by women and girls. Yet this form of work positions masses of women uniquely to be “left behind”.

Positive changes in the world of work must enable care work to be valued and to be shared by parents and within the family unit. This will bring about far-reaching positive changes for women, society and economies.

Investment into the care economy of 2 per cent of GDP in just seven countries could create over 21 million jobs. That would provide child care, elderly care and many other needed services.
The Secretary-General’s report gives greater attention to women who work at the base of the pyramid, as these are the ones who are at the highest risk of being left behind.

The Commission must also look at how to increase the participation of these women, as well as women’s participation in male-dominated sectors that have meaningful economic benefits.

The Commission can make fresh gains in how we bring the informal sector into a structured and meaningful economic relationship with benefits, respecting the rights of women in this sector.

The informal sector is dominated by the millions and millions of women who are the working poor. Women workers in the informal sector are all around us.

They are in the rapidly growing urban communities, as well as in rural areas. They are the under-the radar and under-valued cogs in the bigger wheels of the formal economy. They are the low-cost farm workers, flower sellers, street food vendors, care workers, and home-based producers of garments and car parts. Almost none of them have legal or social protection.

And they are missing out on the opportunities offered by the changing world of work, which has technology as one of its advantages…

[Editor’s note: We found it too difficult to abbreviate this speech into the usual length for a CPNN article without losing important statements; hence it is continued on the following page.]

global, United Nations, WOMEN'S EQUALITY,

CSW at UN: Supporting People’s Actions to Empower Women at the Margins

. WOMEN’S EQUALITY .

An announcement by the International Institute for Peace Education

Pasos Peace Museum and the International Institute on Peace Education invite you to join in a participatory, action-planning program to build solidarity with women’s movements to claim rights proclaimed by the world community in international human rights instruments, yet denied or ignored by national governments. Among the relevant rights instruments are: UNSCR 1325 on Women, Peace and Security; the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination; and the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, all of which have the potential to empower citizens to advance their full participation in striving toward a just and peaceful world. Within the context of the potential of law and international standards the symposium will comprise action-planning discussions based on women’s experience with self-empowerment campaigns.


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Women’s international efforts toward the implementation of UNSCR 1325 through civil society initiatives at the local and regional levels in Africa and Asia will be introduced by Mavic Cabrera-Balleza of the Global Network of Women Peacebuilders and Asha Hans of Sanristi, India. National campaigns to assert the civil and political rights of Native Americans and African Americans will be introduced by Betty Lyons of the American Indian Law Alliance and Farah Tanisof Black Women’s Blue Print.

As the conclusion of our action planning discussions law students will reflect on how their future professional endeavors might enhance gender justice, social equity and political equality using law and international standards as practical and strategic instruments of justice.

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Question for this article

Does the UN advance equality for women?

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Please consider reviewing these legal instruments and important background documents in preparation for your participation.

* UNSCR 1325 on Women, Peace and Security

* the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination

* the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples

Book Party

You are also cordially invited to a celebration of the publication of Openings for Peace: UNSCR 1325, Women and Security in India, Edited by Asha Hans and Swarna Rajagopalan. A presentation of the book will be made by Ambassador Anwarul K. Chowdhury and Asha Hans.

The book party will begin at approximately 4:15pm and conclude at 5:30pm.

RSVP Required: Please RSVP for the book party using the registration form below.

Register / RSVP
Registration for this year’s event is $20. Registration fee covers lunch and the post-event book celebration and reception.

A two-step registration is required.

1) Please complete the registration form for each individual who will attend.

2) After registering please submit your registration fee using the PayPal button below. (Your registration fee will be paid to Pasos Peace Museum)

global, United Nations, WOMEN'S EQUALITY,

UN Commission on the Status of Women – 2017

. WOMEN’S EQUALITY .

A press release from UN Women (abbreviated)

The sixty-first session of the Commission on the Status of Women will take place at the United Nations Headquarters in New York from 13 to 24 March 2017. Representatives of Member States, UN entities, and ECOSOC-accredited non-governmental organizations (NGOs) from all regions of the world are invited to attend the session.


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Download the CSW61 Brochure for more information:
Arabic | English | French | Spanish

Themes

Priority theme: Women’s economic empowerment in the changing world of work

Review theme: Challenges and achievements in the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals for women and girls (agreed conclusions of the fifty-eighth session)

Emerging issue/Focus area:The empowerment of indigenous women

Preparations

Regional CSW61 Preparatory and Consultative Meetings

Multi-Stakeholder Forum On 30 January 2017, UN Women convened a forum to engage a range of stakeholders in the preparations for CSW61 at UN Headquarters in New York.

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(Click here for a Spanish version of this article or here for a French version)

Question for this article

Does the UN advance equality for women?

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Expert Group Meeting: In preparation for the sixty-first session of the Commission on the Status of Women, UN Women convened an Expert Group Meeting on the priority theme: “Women’s economic empowerment in the changing world of work.” The Expert Group Meeting was held with the technical contribution and support of the International Labour Organization (ILO) at ILO Headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, from 26 to 28 September 2016.

Organization of the session

The Commission’s two-week session includes the following activities: Organization of work

Agreed conclusions

The outcome of the Commission’s consideration of the priority theme takes the form of agreed conclusions, negotiated by all States: Draft agreed conclusions

Official Documents

Official documents for the session

NGO Participation

Modalities of NGO participation

Eligibility

Registration

Opportunities for NGOs to address the Commission

Side events

Information about side events and activities organized outside the formal programme of the session

More information regarding the 61st session (2017) of the Commission on the Status of Women to be uploaded as it becomes available.

global, United Nations, WOMEN'S EQUALITY,

UN Security Council underlines need to halt proliferation of weapons of mass destruction

DISARMAMENT & SECURITY .

An article from The UN News Centre

Expressing concern over the threat of terrorism and the risk that non-State actors may acquire or use nuclear, biological or chemical weapons, the United Nations Security Council today [15 December 2016] called on all countries to establish national controls to prevent proliferation of such weapons as well as their means of delivery.

In a resolution adopted today, the 15-member Council also reiterated the need to continue to strengthen ongoing cooperation among various intergovernmental bodies and entities concerning terrorist groups such as Al-Qaida, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL/Da’esh), as well as counter-terrorism, through enhanced information sharing, coordination and technical assistance.

The Council further called on all UN Member States to ensure the full implementation of its resolution 1540 (2004) on non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

It also called for strengthening the UN Trust Fund for Global and Regional Disarmament Activities through additional funding so that it is able to better assist countries in implementing their obligations under resolution 1540. . . .

STATEMENT BY JAN ELIASSON

Prior to today’s adoption of resolution by the Council, Deputy-Secretary-General Jan Eliasson issued the following statement:

Mr. President of the Security Council, Mr. Minister, I am extremely grateful for your generous and warm words. I thank the Security Council and the Spanish Presidency for arranging today’s debate. I am honoured to be here before you today in what is my final appearance at the Security Council. Let me take this opportunity to thank all of your for your friendship and cooperation over the past almost five years. I have highly treasured our dialogue and many professional and personal exchanges.

I also want to thank the Resolution 1540 Committee and its Panel of Experts, under the leadership of Ambassador Roman Oyarzun, for their work on the important subject under consideration today.

Preventing non-state actors from acquiring and using weapons of mass destruction is among the most important responsibilities of the international community.

The Nuclear Security Summits, the International Convention on the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism and the close engagement by this Council on allegations of chemical weapon use have all played an important role in keeping us safe.

The Secretariat has also played its part.

In 2012, the Secretary-General convened a high-level meeting to strengthen legal frameworks against nuclear terrorism.

And after the accident at Fukushima, he chaired a high-level event to emphasize the connection between nuclear safety and security.

In 2013, he launched the investigation into the use of chemical weapons in the Syrian Arab Republic.

Yet in our rapidly evolving global security environment, gaps will continue to open.

We have seen the rise of vicious non-state groups with no regard for human life. They actively seek weapons of mass destruction I am sure. And these weapons are increasingly accessible.

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(Click here for an article in french on this subject)

Question related to this article:

What is the United Nations doing for a culture of peace?

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We have seen this in the use of chemical weapons by Da’esh in Syria and Iraq.

There are legitimate concerns about the security of large stockpiles of weapons-usable fissile material outside international regulation.

Scientific advances have lowered barriers to the production of biological weapons. And emerging technologies, such as 3D printing and unmanned aerial vehicles, are adding to threats of an attack using a WMD.

We must also beware of the growing nexus between WMDs, terrorism and cyber security.

Malicious actions in cyberspace have real world consequences.

Non-state actors already have the capacity to abuse cyber technologies to create mass disruption.

The nightmare scenario of a hack on a nuclear power plant causing uncontrolled release of ionizing radiation is growing.

To stay ahead of this technological curve, the international community needs robust defences that are nimble and flexible.

Preventing a WMD attack by a non-state actor will be a long-term challenge that requires long-term responses.

Tools such as Resolution 1540 need to be fit for purpose.

I am pleased to see the Comprehensive Review, which has called for greater efforts to build the capacity of all States.

After all, this is a threat to our collective security.

We all need to boost our ability to respond.

A biological attack would be a public health disaster.

Yet there is no multilateral institutional response capability.

The Council also has a role to play in holding those that use chemical or other inhumane weapons accountable.

There can be no impunity.

This is a complex web of global threats and risks that requires a sophisticated global response.

We must take advantage of every opportunity to strengthen our collective defences.

In this regard, the Biological Weapons Convention Review Conference was in many ways disappointing.

I count on all States to work together to prevent potential disasters.

And I count on this Council to lead.

In closing, let me emphasize that it is not simply a case of letting these weapons fall into the wrong hands.

There are no right hands for wrong weapons.

And weapons of mass destruction are simply wrong.

There is only one sure way to prevent terrorists from acquiring weapons of mass destruction – that is their complete elimination.

We live in a world that is over armed.

A world where peace is under-funded.

I urge on behalf of the Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon all States to fulfil their commitment to building a world free of all weapons of mass destruction.

Thank you Mr. President.

DISARMAMENT & SECURITY, global, United Nations,

Chinese diplomat calls for new security concept at UN debate

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An arrticle from Global Times

A senior Chinese diplomat on Tuesday [January 10] called for forging a new security concept while attending the UN open debate on conflict prevention and sustainable peace. “No single country can achieve absolute security purely on its own, nor can any country harvest security from the insecurity suffered by others,” said Wu Haitao, China’s deputy permanent representative to the UN.


Wu Haitao, China’s deputy permanent representative to the UN

The international community must firmly uphold the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, and foster a common, integrated, cooperative and sustainable new security concept, he said.

It is important to build a global partnership based on dialogue instead of confrontation, partnership instead of alliance, to give full play to the crucial role of the UN and its Security Council in stemming war and maintaining peace, and to build a shared security architecture based on equity, justice, joint contribution and shared benefits, he said.

Wu also urged promoting common development “as peace and development are interdependent and mutually enforcing,” adding that causes of security and threats, such as war, conflicts and terrorism can all be traced back to poverty and backwardness.

Thus, relevant solutions are also to be found in development, he noted.

“It is important to effectively implement 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, forge a global governance concept based on the principles of achieving shared growth by pooling together our minds and strength,” he said.

Wu also said “preventive diplomacy and peace building” must be strengthened, adding peaceful solutions must be favored at all times in dispute settlement and confrontations should be resolved through political means.

While calling for respecting diversity of civilizations, Wu said “there is no superior civilization, culture or religion,” adding “there must be mutual respect, equal treatment among all civilizations, cultures and religions.”

“The United Nations should advocate a culture of peace,” he said.

By affirming harmony can be achieved through diversity and strength can be attained by embracing inclusiveness and differences, the UN should actively promote dialogue, mutual learning among different civilizations, cultures and religions, he said.

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Making history in the United Nations: the General Assembly adopts a Declaration on the Right to peace promoted by civil society organizations

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An article by David Fernández Puyana from Elaph

On 19 December 2016, the plenary of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) ratified by a majority of its Member States the Declaration on the Right to Peace as previously adopted by the UNGA Third Committee on 18 November 2016 in New York and the Human Rights Council (HRC) on 1 July 2016 in Geneva. This Declaration was presented by the delegation of Cuba with the support of many other delegations and some civil society organizations.

Along the inclusive and transparent negotiation process of the Declaration, conducted by the Chairperson-Rapporteur of the Open Ended Working Group (OEWG) on the right to peace Ambassador Christian Guillermet-Fernández of Costa Rica, all delegations and some civil society organizations actively participated in the three consecutive sessions of the OEWG in Geneva (2013-2015).

Thanks to this consensual approach, a majority of Member States supported the Declaration on the Right to Peace, which is the clear result of a complex and difficult negotiation process. This positive approach was elaborated in light of the following elements: firstly, international law and human rights law; secondly, the mandate of the HRC in the field of human rights and thirdly, the human rights elements elaborated by the resolutions on the right of peoples to peace adopted by the HRC in the past years.

As indicated by a Group of Western States within the Third Committee, the Declaration has some value because it develops the New Agenda 2030 and also reinforces the three UN pillars – peace and security, development and human rights-. Also they pointed out that the Preamble of the Declaration additionally contains many elements that will benefit for the clarity and greater balance in order to ensure and to represent the full range of views among memberships.

In the adoption of the Declaration on the Right to Peace by the Third Committee and the plenary of the UNGA, the mobilization and strong voice of some civil society organizations was properly heard in its 71st session, when they openly called on Member States to take a step forward by adopting a declaration that can be meaningful for generations to come.

The UNESCO Chair on Human Rights, Democracy and Peace at the University of Padova (Italy) in a legal study about the Declaration adopted by the HRC concluded in November 2016 that «the conjunction of Article 1 with the very title of the Declaration presupposes that a human right to peace does already exist as implicitly proclaimed by Article 28 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights: “Everyone is entitled to a social and international order in which the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration can be fully realized”.

As suggested by the Foundation Culture of Peace, this Declaration will pass to the UN history for being the first peace Declaration adopted by the General Assembly in this new Millennium. They also stressed in its statement that “the UNESCO initiative in which in 1997 Member States were invited to discuss a draft Declaration on the Human Right to Peace soon will be realized within the General Assembly”.

On 2 September 2016 the International Association of Peace Messenger Cities adopted the Wielun Declaration in Poland by which it welcomed the adoption by the HRC of the Declaration on the Right to Peace contained in the annex to its resolution 32/28 and called upon the General Assembly of the United Nations to adopt this Declaration by consensus.

An important group of civil society organizations, led by the International Association of Democratic Lawyers (IADL), Comunità Papa Giovanni XXIII (APG23) and the UN Network of United Network of Young Peacebuilders (UNOY), stressed in an Open Letter addressed to the diplomatic community of November 2016 that: “in today’s world, devastated by armed conflicts, hate and poverty, the recognition and declaration by an overwhelming majority of states that “Everyone has the right to enjoy peace”, would send to Humanity, and in particular to young and future generations, a very much needed message of peace and hope …. The adoption of the UN Declaration on the Right to Peace will represent a little step forward toward the fulfilment of the solemn promises we made in 1945”. This letter was supported by some 60 NGO with UN-ECOSOC Status and well-known peace and human rights activists.

(Article continued in right column)

Question(s) related to this article:

What is the United Nations doing for a culture of peace?

(Article continued from left column)

In parallel, the Chairperson of the Drafting Group on the right to peace at the Advisory Committee (AC) of the HRC, Ms. Mona Zulficar, and the Chairperson-Rapporteur of the OEWG at the HRC, Ambassador Christian Guillermet-Fernández, published in the Arab newspaper Elaph in December 2016 a reflection in which they stressed that the OEWG witnessed that the text presented by the AC was not properly supported by Member States. For this reason, the Chairperson-Rapporteur decided to promote the effective implementation of the Declaration and Programme of Action on a Culture of Peace, taking into account that all the main elements on the right to peace identified by the AC had been elaborated in the Programmes of Action on Vienna and Culture of Peace.

Finally, on 22 October 2016, Paz sin Fronteras (PSF), created by Mr. Miguel Bosé and Mr. Juanes, began the campaign called #RightToPeaceNow by which well-known personalities urged Member States of the Third Committee of the General Assembly to adopt a Declaration on the Right to Peace at the end of the 71th regular session. Throughout this campaign, several personalities of the world of culture and art raised their voices to demand a Declaration on the Right to Peace through their media and social networks. They expressed their support so that the process was definitively closed in New York with the adoption of a Declaration on the Right to Peace, such as occurred in this case.

It is strongly desirable for the promotion of peace worldwide to strengthen the positive trend on this matter already initiated by Cuba within the UN Commission on Human Rights in 2002 and after developed at the HRC in 2006. In particular, some Latin American, African and Asian States, which currently support the right to peace, abstained on this topic in both the Commission and the HRC. However, after many years of intensive work by different stakeholders, at present all the Latin American, the African and most of the Asian States positively support this notion. In addition, it should be taken into account that currently an important number of Western States abstained for the first time ever in the General Assembly.

In order to strengthen the positive trend and to move towards a more consensual and inclusive approach, the legislator desired to stress the idea that everyone has the right and is entitled to enjoy and access the benefits stemmed from peace, human rights and development, founding pillars of the whole UN system. Denying this access to the three pillars is to deny the same existence of the United Nations.

The three UN pillars have been recognized by the HRC as a fundamental element aimed to promoting the right of peoples to peace. In particular, resolutions 11/4 of 2009, 14/3 of 2010 and 17/16 of 2011 on the right to peace have constantly stressed these pillars in its operative sections. In this line, the resolution 60/251 of the HRC adopted by the General Assembly on 15 March 2006 recognized in its preambular paragraph 6 that “peace and security, development and human rights are the pillars of the United Nations system and the foundations for collective security and well-being, and recognizing that development, peace and security and human rights are interlinked and mutually reinforcing.”

In 1996, the General Assembly recognized by consensus in its resolution Resolution 48/126 the human rights approach of the right to in peace. In particular, art. 1.4 of the UNESCO Declaration of the Principles of Tolerance states that “human beings, naturally diverse in their appearance, situation, speech, behaviour and values, have the right to live in peace and to be as they are”.

And as indicated by Oscar Arias, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and former President of Costa Rica, “Peace is a never ending process… It cannot ignore our differences or overlook our common interests. It requires us to work and live together”.

* Christian Guillermet Fernández, former Chairperson/Rapporteur of the Working Group on the Right to Peace (2013-2015)

* David Fernández Puyana, former legal Assistant of the Chairperson/Rapporteur (2013-2015)

(Thank you to the Global Campaign for Peace Education for calling our attention to this article)

FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION, global, United Nations,

Civil Society and the UN High Level Conference on Nuclear Disarmament

DISARMAMENT & SECURITY .

December 2016 Newsletter of UNFOLD ZERO

On December 3, 2016, the UN General Assembly adopted ground-breaking Resolution 71/71, supported by over 140 countries, calling for the start of negotiations on an international treaty to prohibit and eliminate nuclear weapons, and affirming its earlier decision to hold a High Level Conference on Nuclear Disarmament no later than 2018 to review progress on such a treaty.

The UN has previously held high level meetings on nuclear disarmament, but these were not much more than talk-shops.

In contrast, the 2018 event will be the first time the UN General Assembly has held a high level conference on nuclear disarmament. Such an event carries with it the expectation of deliberations to reach an agreement or agreements on concrete nuclear disarmament measures.

The 2018 UN Conference, and its preparatory process, provide a unique opportunity for civil society and like-minded governments to elevate the issue of nuclear disarmament globally and build political pressure on the nuclear-reliant States to agree to specific nuclear disarmament proposals at the conference.

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Question related to this article:

Can we abolish all nuclear weapons?

A UN High-Level Conference on Nuclear Disarmament: Distraction or progress?

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Similar UN high level conferences on other difficult global issues – such as sustainable development, climate change and refugees – have had considerable success engaging all relevant States and civil society to achieve concrete results.

The UN conference on nuclear disarmament could, for example, aim for:

• Non-nuclear States (and maybe others) to announce at the conference their ratification of the nuclear prohibition treaty which will most likely be negotiated by 2018 (see UN agrees to nuclear prohibition negotiations);

• Agreement by the nuclear armed and allied States that their sole purpose for nuclear weapons is to deter other nuclear weapons and that they would never use nuclear weapons first;

• A decision to convene a conference for the establishment of a Middle East Zone free from nuclear weapons and other WMD;

• A framework agreement (or political declaration) to achieve the prohibition of any use of nuclear weapons and the phased elimination of nuclear weapons.
 
UNFOLD ZERO is organising a number of private meetings on the UN High Level Conference with governments, as well as open consultation meetings with non-governmental organisations in Geneva, London, New York, Vienna, Washington and other locations in early 2017.

At these meetings we will discuss strategy and campaign activities to build success for the UN High Level Conference.

For more information see UN to hold High Level Conference on nuclear disarmament.

DISARMAMENT & SECURITY, global, United Nations,

Over 100 countries sponsor annual resolution on the culture of peace at the UN General Assembly

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The following is adapted from emails received from Ambassador Anwarul K. Chowdhury, Former Under-Secretary-General and High Representative of the UN

Dear activists — The 71st session of the UNGA has adopted its resolution on the follow up of the UN Programme of Action on Culture of Peace on 23 December by consensus with a final total of 102 co-sponsors.


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Ever since the initiative taken in 1997 to include a separate agenda item on the culture of peace and the UNGA decision to do so allocating the item to the plenary of the General Assembly, every year the Assembly has adopted by consensus a comprehensive, self-standing resolution on the culture of peace.

The text of the draft resolution issued by the UN as an L. document is attached. Attached also is the full list of 102 Member States which joined Bangladesh as co-sponsors making it possible for crossing the century mark.

[Editor’s note: Conspicuously absent from the co-sponsors are the United States and its principal allies such as the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Canada, Japan, Australis.]
 
Please note additional elements and changes over the resolution (A/Res./70/20) adopted last year in  the following:

– preambular para 9 (adding the two UN proclaimed days in addition to International Day of Non-Violence at the proposal of Armenia);

– preambular para 17 (adding the increased interest, particularly of the Member States to make country statements in its Plenary segment of the High Level Forum and the President’s Summary issued for the first time in the Forum series);

– operative para 6 (adding reference to vulnerable children in the of the UNICEF’s Early Childhood Peace Consortium);

– operative para 8 ( adding “global citizenship” overcoming insistence by Myanmar and Cuba on referring to only “active citizenship”),

– operative para 12 ( adding the International Day of Non-Violence to the International Day of Peace requesting all to accord increasing attention to their observance); and

– operative para 13 (requesting the Secretariat to support the effective organization of the High Level Forum). 

Wishing you all the best for 2017 in every way

— Anwarul Chowdhury

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Building on gender promise, Guterres names three women to top UN posts

DISARMAMENT & SECURITY .

An article from the UN News Centre

The United Nations Secretary-General-designate, António Guterres today [December 15] announced that he will be appointing Amina J. Mohammed of Nigeria as the UN deputy chief, on his assumption of office as the ninth chief of the global Organization in January 2017.


Amina J. Mohammed of Nigeria. UN Photo/Mark Garten

Ms. Amina J. Mohammed is currently the Minister of Environment of Nigeria, where she steers the country’s efforts to protect the natural environment and conserve resources for sustainable development, read a statement issued by Mr. Guterres’s office.

She also served as Special Advisor to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Post-2015 Development Planning, where she was instrumental in bringing about the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, including the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Before joining the UN, Ms. Mohammed worked for three successive administrations in Nigeria, serving as Special Advisor on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). She is also an Adjunct Professor in Development Practice at New York’s Columbia University, and serves on numerous international advisory boards and panels.

Born in 1961, and educated in Nigeria and the UK, Ms. Mohammed is married with six children.

The Secretary-General-designate also announced the appointment of Maria Luiza Ribeiro Viotti of Brazil as his Chef de Cabinet and that he will create the position of Special Advisor on Policy, and appointed Ms. Kyung-wha Kang of the Republic of Korea to this new role.

“I am happy to count on the efforts of these three highly competent women, whom I have chosen for their strong backgrounds in global affairs, development, diplomacy, human rights and humanitarian action,” said Secretary-General-designate Guterres, in the statement adding:

“These appointments are the foundations of my team, which I will continue to build, respecting my pledges on gender parity and geographical diversity.”

Ms. Ribeiro Viotti is presently the Under-Secretary for Asia and the Pacific at the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. A career diplomat since 1976, she served most recently as Brazil’s Ambassador of to Germany (from 2013 to 2016) and as Brazil’s Permanent Representative to the UN (from 2007 to 2011).

Ms. Kang is currently the Chief of the Secretary-General-designate’s Transition Team. She has served as Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator since April 2013, and was Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights from January 2007 to March 2013.

Question for this article:

Proposals for Reform of the United Nations: Are they sufficiently radical?

DISARMAMENT & SECURITY, global, United Nations,

UN Women: 16 days of activism against gender violence

. . WOMEN’S EQUALITY . .

An article from UN Women

From 25 November, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, to 10 December, Human Rights Day, the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence Campaign is a time to galvanize action to end violence against women and girls around the world. The international campaign originated from the first Women’s Global Leadership Institute coordinated by the Center for Women’s Global Leadership in 1991.

In 2016, the UNiTE campaign strongly emphasizes the need for sustainable financing for efforts to end violence against women and girls towards the fulfilment of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
One of the major challenges to efforts to prevent and end violence against women and girls worldwide is the substantial funding shortfall. As a result, resources for initiatives to prevent and end violence against women and girls are severely lacking. Frameworks such as the Sustainable Development Goals, which includes a specific target on ending violence against women and girls, offer huge promise, but must be adequately funded in order to bring real and significant changes in the lives of women and girls.

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(Click here for a Spanish version of this article or here for a version in French.)

Question related to this article:

Protecting women and girls against violence, Is progress being made?

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To bring this issue to the fore, the UN Secretary-General’s campaign UNiTE to End Violence against Women’s call for the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence in 2016 is ‘Orange the World: Raise Money to End Violence against Women and Girls’. The initiative provides a moment to bring the issue of sustainable financing for initiatives to prevent and end violence against women to global prominence and also presents the opportunity for resource mobilization for the issue.

Join us!

Share your photos, messages and videos showing how you orange the world at facebook.com/SayNO.UNiTE and twitter.com/SayNO_UNiTE using #orangetheworld and #16days. For more information about “Orange the world,” see this year’s Call to Action and download the fundraising toolkit. For more information about Orange Day, please contact Anna Alaszewski, UNiTE Campaign Coordinator,  anna.alaszewski[at]unwomen.org

(Thank you to Janet Hudgins, the CPNN reporter for this article)

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