Issue No. 73 - July 2007
In this issue:
oOverview
o UN Perspectives: Ambassador Anwarul Chowdhury
o UNA in Every Member State Campaign and the LDCs
o UNAs and Development
o NGOs on the Move
o Book recommendations
o Film Recommendation
 Message from Dr. Hans Blix, President of the World Federation of UN Associations
"No civil organization is more closely wedded to and supportive of the UN than the associations created all over the world specifically for the UN. They are not single agenda organizations. They are organizations aware that the UN and the many specialized agencies are the most important instruments that the global community has created to tackle a wide variety of problems ". Dr. Hans Blix to the Permanent Representatives of LDCs, LLDCs and SIDS on 7 May 2007
Who's Who at the UN
James G. Butler of the United States has been appointed Deputy Director-General of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization.
An Inuit activist who has raised global awareness about climate change, Sheila Watt-Cloutier, received the Mahbub ul Haq Award for Excellence in Human Development award.
Ambassador Sergio de Queiroz Duarte of Brazil was appointed High
Representative for Disarmament at the Under-Secretary-General level.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon named Hilde Johnson a former Norwegian development minister, as Deputy Executive Director of UNECEF.
Jorge Sampaio, the former President of Portugal, was designated as High Representative for the Alliance of Civilizations.
Tamrat Samuel has been appointed Ban Ki-moon's Deputy Special Representative and Deputy Head of the UN mission in Nepal.
Tanzanian singer Stara Thomas joined forces with the UN to advocate for safe motherhood.
What's Happening at the UN
ECOSOC Innovation Fair
Innovation and Transformation for Poverty Eradication and Hunger
2-5 July, Geneva
Global Compact Leaders Summit
5-6 July, Geneva
Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women
23 July - 10 August, New York
WFUNA Fifth Human Rights Seminar
30-31 July, Geneva
Open Ended Working Group for the fourth special session of the General Assembly devoted to disarmament
30 July - 3 August New York
60th Annual DPI-NGO Conference
5-7 September 2007, New York
General Assembly 62nd Session
18 September - December, New York
UN Partnerships in Action: The Three Tiers
 Disarmament Blog and Podcast
The Geneva Forum is a joint initiative of the Quaker UN Office, UN Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR), and the Programme for Strategic and International Security Studies of the Graduate Institute of International Studies. Its overarching objective is to contribute to international peace and security by building partnerships among and between governments, international organizations and NGOs on disarmament and arms control issues. Together, the Geneva Forum and a project called "Disarmament as Humanitarian Action: Making Multilateral Negotiations Work" at UNIDIR have set up the Disarmament Insight initiative blog aimed at negotiators, policy wonks, activists, researchers and anyone curious about disarmament and human security. There is space on the blog to add your thoughts on these issues. Go to: http://disarmamentinsight.blogspot.com
Disarmament Insight has a podcast entitled "War and Peace and Primates", go to: http://web.mac.com/john_borrie/iWeb/Disarmament%20Insight%20pod%20cast%20site/Podcasts/Podcasts.html
 General Assembly President Urges Partnership to End Poverty
Tackling global poverty requires a concerted effort by governments of developed and developing countries supported by the private sector, civic society groups, the media and other players on the international scene, UN General Assembly President Sheikha Haya Rashed Al Khalifa told a gathering on financing for development in Doha. Emphasizing the importance of partnerships, the President said there is a "desperate need to accelerate progress" toward achieving the MDGs. For more information, see:
www.un.org/ga/president/61/statements/statement20070617.shtml
 2007 UNFPA Report
In 2008, the world reaches an invisible but momentous milestone: for the first time in history, more than half its human population will be living in urban areas. In the UN Population Fund Report released on 27 June, The State of World Population 2007: Unleashing the Potential of Urban Growth, the agency states that over the next 30 years, the population of African and Asian cities will double, adding 1.7 billion people-more than the populations of China and the United States combined. Download the full report at: www.unfpa.org/swp/2007/english/introduction.html
The UN Global Alliance for ICT for Development launched the website of the Forum on Youth and ICT for Development:
www.digitalopportunity.org/article/view/150637/1/1138
WFUNA Seminar on the Human Rights Council
The World Federation's fifth Human Rights Seminar in cooperation with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights will be held at the Palais des Nations in Geneva from 29-31 July. The seminar will review and assess the work of the Council during the first year of its existence and explore the possibilities for follow-up initiatives to ensure that awareness about the Council and related activities is enhanced and strengthened at national and international levels. Participants will include UNAs, government representatives, civil society and academia. A similar follow-up event will be held at the UN in New York this August. More information, including the programme and registration, is available at: www.wfuna.org/what/humanrights/index.cfm .
Overview on Development and the LDCs
 July 7, 2007 marks the midpoint of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) target period. This is a vital opportunity for the global community to pause and asses our progress and future work towards meeting the Goals by 2015.
The MDGs were established through the Millennium Declaration in 2000 with the aim of cutting extreme poverty in half by 2015. They rely on quantitative targets and allow for progress to be measured through a set of indicators. To view the MDGs, please click here >>
Since their inception, the MDGs have transformed the context of development policy discourse. Poverty reduction has become a priority on the global agenda and the MDGs extend this responsibility to the entire international community.
In 2002, Heads of State signed the Monterrey Consensus, pledging to take concrete steps to meet Goal 8 of forming a global partnership to finance development. Since this point, the UN has met regularly to follow up on financing for development. Many donors are on track to meet the target of allocating 0.7 per cent of their gross national income to Official Development Assistance (ODA) by the year 2015, but achievement of the Goals still requires a stronger political commitment to improved ODA quantity and quality.
 The 2005 World Summit mandated the establishment of an Annual Ministerial Review, a high-level forum to bring the international community back on track in meeting the MDGs. The first AMR on development will be held in Geneva on July 3-4.
Progress toward achieving the MDGs on the country level has been mixed. The midpoint mark is an opportunity to review policies in those countries where the MDGs are likely to be achieved, and determine how that success can be replicated in other countries.
Meeting the MDGs is especially important for the most vulnerable countries in the world; namely the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developed Countries, and Small Island Developing States. While these countries are very diverse, they share common challenges related to natural resources and environmental security.
The quantifiable result of achieving the MDGs translates into over 500 million people lifted out of poverty, 250 million alleviated from chronic hunger, and 30 million additional children survive past the age of five. With seven years remaining to reach the Goals, the midpoint mark calls for a renewed commitment to eradicate poverty, especially for the least vulnerable of the global community.
UN Perspectives: Ambassador Anwarul K. Chowdhury: "Giving Voice to the Most Vulnerable"
"Every morning I wake up and think, what else can I do for LDCs?"
 For the past five and a half years, UN Under Secretary-General Anwarul K. Chowdhury has been working to bring the most vulnerable countries of the world to the forefront of the UN's agenda. As the USG and High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries, and Small Island Developing States, Ambassador Chowdhury's role is to speak up for the "poorest and weakest segment of global society".
Since the Office -- UN-OHRLLS - started functioning in 2002 under Ambassador Chowdhury's leadership, it has made significant progress in reaching towards goals for the 90 countries it represents. Take me to the full article>>
UNA in Every Member State Campaign
 On 18 April, the General Assembly President wrote to the Permanent Representatives to the UN in New York, encouraging them to support the UNAs in their country or, if necessary, to promote the establishment of one. Following-up on that letter, Ambassador Anwarul Chowdhury, Under Secretary-General and High Representative for the 90 Least Developed Countries, Land Locked Countries and Small Island Developing States, hosted a meeting of the Permanent Representatives of these countries as well as other interested groups on 7 May. The World Federation, President Hans Blix addressed the gathering, noting that while about one third had a UNA, there were benefits for every member of this group to set up a UNA.
The World Federation is committed to expanding the membership-base to strengthen support for the United Nations as a people's movement that is truly global in reach. The Executive Committee has appointed a Task Force to promote this effort, which is comprised of members from 11 UN Associations around the world.
The Geneva and New York offices are working in close collaboration to compile materials to distribute to groups interested in establishing a UNA. At this stage, new UNAs are in the process of being set up in Cote D'Ivoire, Togo, United Arab Emirates, and Portugal. Existing ones are being revived in Cameroon and Liberia, and interest to establish new ones has been expressed in Bahrain, Fiji, Kazakhstan, Mauritania, Niger, Paraguay and Timor Leste..
There is a special focus on youth in this undertaking. Partnerships have been formed with the Global Youth Action Network and Taking IT Global to identify youth groups who might be interested in working with existing and new UNAs. Interested delegations from three countries that do not yet have a UNA will be invited to attend the two regional Model UN conferences being organized this year in the hopes of facilitating new efforts to establish UNAs in their countries.
UNA Activities on Development
 UNA-Cuba is the UNA of the month for July. To read about this UNA click here>> Many UNAs are prioritizing development issues on their agendas:
- UNA-Argentina takes into account that 53 million people in Latin America suffer from hunger. They have developed and drafted a law called "Colonias Productivas" (Food Productive Colonies).
- UNA-Uganda educates university and grade school students on the MDGs by establishing debates and UNA-clubs. They reach out to local communities through MDG talks. UNA-Uganda addresses immediate poverty issues through its piggery project. Families are given a small piglet, which grows and reproduces, allowing that family to generate income through the sale of the offspring. The family in turn gives back a portion to the project, allowing it to be sustainable.
- UNA-Albania hosts forums in the twelve districts of the country where youth discuss and develop resolutions on the MDGs. The groups come together at a national forum and produce a concrete national youth action plan and implementation timeline for achieving the MDGs in Albania.
- Chapters of UNA-USA and the Global Young Professionals Network are working with the UNA-Dominican Republic to build a school house.
NGOs on the Move
NGOs are at the forefront of creating innovative solutions to the challenges faced by people living in LDCs. Many organizations are working in the framework of the MDGs, and are focusing both on advocacy and substantive support through projects and educational initiatives.
HungerFree - ActionAid launched a five year campaign to end hunger, starting with a call to governments to deliver on their existing commitment to halve hunger by 2015. The campaign is an urgent response to the reality that the number of people in the world going hungry is rising not falling.
http://us.oneworld.net/external/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.actionaid.org%2Fmain.aspx%3FPageID%3D678
 Mercy Corps USA is strengthening local health agencies, helping to build locally sustainable health and nutrition networks, and operating feeding centers in Niger - a country where successive poor harvests have put over 3.5 million at risk of malnutrition. More than 33,000 children have enrolled in the organization's feeding programs.
www.mercycorps.org/silentdisasters/nigerhunger
 British NGO Send a Cow is providing training and an initial supply of livestock to poor farmers and families in Uganda. All beneficiaries of the programs are given either dairy cows, rabbits, or goats, and are trained in organic farming methods. Send a Cow has enabled many families to become self-sufficient.
www.sendacow.org.uk/default2.asp?active_page_id=119
 Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee is striving to empower women in Bangladesh through organizing forums where they can discuss social and economic issues affecting their lives. This enables women to have their issues represented in local level institutions. Recently, the organization opened a Women's Development Center in the Rajbari district, with the goal of empowering helpless and vulnerable women.
www.brac.net/sociopoliticalassets.htm
African Women's Development Fund provides support to local, national and international development initiatives led by women. As of November 2006, the organization had awarded grants worth nearly 5 million dollars to 386 women's organizations in 40 African countries. www.awdf.org/index_en.php
Read the Center for UN Reform's latest UN Reform Update on System-wide Coherence at: www.centerforunreform.org:80/node/268
Book Recommendation: "NGOs and the Millennium Development Goals: Citizen Action to Reduce Poverty"
 by Jennifer Brinkerhoff, Stephen Smith, and Hildy Teegen, 2007
"The book's scholarly contributions, tempered through direct input from leading practitioners in the field, provide invaluable insight into how and why NGOs matter for poverty alleviation. National leaders, policy scholars and society at large will benefit immensely from the knowledge captured here as we work together in the fight against global poverty." --Leonel Fernandez, President of the Dominican Republic
This newly released edited volume examines the role of NGOs in ending global poverty and reaching the other Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The authors examine NGO impact in the promotion of development, and highlight the ways in which NGOs have comparative advantage over other institutions on certain issues.
The contributing authors provide theoretical and policy-oriented analyses of the NGO role in health, education, environment, gender, hunger alleviation and, most prominently, poverty reduction issues. The volume also offers a critical look at NGOs limitations in assistance with reaching of MDGs, evaluates their role in promotion of pro-poor policies, and shows the value of NGOs-government partnerships.
This book is now available in hardcopy.
"Least Developed Countries Report 2007"
by the UN Conference on Trade and Development
The report provides quality socio-economic analysis and data on the world's poorest nations. It is intended for broad audiences ranging from researchers to anyone involved with work on LDC's development policies. This year's report, to be released on 19 July, will focus on national and international policies to promote knowledge as a catalytic input to the development of productive capacities in the LDCs. It will highlight ways to promote technological learning and innovation, enhancing technology transfer, and the role of intellectual property rights. The full report will be available for free online. www.unctad.org
Film Recommendation: 8
France, 2008, 100 min
 "8" is a feature film composed of eight shorter segments, each telling a story related to one of the MDGs. LDM Productions, in cooperation with the United Nations Development Programme is producing "8" to draw attention to the stakes of reaching the MDGs by 2015. Each of the segments is directed by a different acclaimed director, and collectively represents diverse perspectives and approaches to the MDGs. Jane Campion's "The Water Diary", for example, conveys the urgency of Goal 7: to ensure environmental sustainability, through a fictional recount of a girl living through the worst drought in history. To date, the films on Goals 5-7 have been completed and screened at the Cannes Film Festival. The full feature will be released internationally in 2008. www.ldmproductions.fr/8/
WFUNA Highlights
Reflecting the high priority that the World Federation's Plenary Assembly gave to the MDGs, funds generated from sales at the WFUNA kiosk at UN Headquarters, New York, are to be dedicated to a special MDG fund to support innovative and effective activities by UNAs to achieve each of the 8 goals. UNAs are encouraged to submit project proposals to the New York office, addressed to MDG@wfuna.org.
The World Federation of UN Associations is working with the Indian Federation of UN Associations, and several NGO partners to organize the "Global Youth MDG Summit - Mumbai 2008" in Spring 2008. The Summit will be a five-phased process focused on empowering young people to take action to achieve the MDGs, and will conclude with the production of eight MDG films, which will be featured in a film festival at the UN in New York and on the internet.
Please see article "UNA in Every Member State Campaign" Click here>>
"A spirit of renaissance is stirring on the continent as nations pursue common goals and former leaders work together with current leaders to establish traditions of peace and good governance". An article entitled "Let Us Make Africa the Tree of Life" by Mussie Hailu, Executive Director of UNA-Ethiopia was published in Good Governance Winter 2006. The article is available at:
www.worldandi.net/winter06/good.html
 On the occasion of World Environment Day, the Indian Federation of UNAs celebrated by bringing together children from different schools with the Indian President Dr. A.P.J.Abdul Kalam and the President of the Indian Federation. The children presented a Charter of environmental protection on the theme of "Melting Ice: A Hot Topic", in which they showed deep concern about the increase in greenhouse gases, rise in sea level, threat to flora and fauna, and impact on livelihoods in agrarian economies and pledged to do what they can to conserve energy. The President asked the children to involve their families in keeping their communities clean, and to work towards making India free of pollution from fossil fuels by 2030.
Delegations from the UNAs of Russia and Sweden visited the World Federation's office in New York in June in the context of their annual study tours at the UN. Delegations from UNA-Israel and UNA-UK was welcomed by the Geneva office.
The UNA-Sudan's General Assembly on 28 May saw high-level participation, including the Foreign Minister and the UNDP Country Director.
 Hosted by the UN Youth and Student Association of Austria, the 13th Vienna International Model United Nations will be held from 5-9 August 2007 at the UN in Vienna. The conference will include seven Committees, including the Peacebuilding Commission working on an action plan for sustainable development in Liberia, and a special session of the Human Rights Council on the situation in North Korea. Register at: www.vimun.at
 Allen Abi-Yaghi has been appointed as administrative assistant in the New York office and is handling the organization's accounts. He joins the team with a Masters of Arts in International Relations, with a concentration in the Middle East, a Bachelors of Science in International Business, and professional experience at JPMorgan Prime Broker. Allen moved to the United States from Beirut, Lebanon at a young age. abiyaghi@wfuna.org
Stephanie Aigner is a Communications Intern at the World Federation's New York Office and is primarily interested in Women's Rights and the European Union. She is a student at the Whitehead School of Diplomacy and International Relations at Seton Hall University. aigner@wfuna.org
Eli Groener is a student at the Whitehead School of Diplomacy and International Relations at Seton Hall. He has studied in France and China and hopes to one day travel to Africa. Eli is interested in the field of international security and is currently working on the World Federation's Disarmament website in the New York Office. groener@wfuna.org
Hayley Herman is a graduate student in International Studies at Stellenbosch University, South Africa. Her areas of interest are the MDGs and Human Rights. During her internship at the World Federation she has followed developments at the 5th session of the Human Rights Council and helped conduct a workshop on youth involvement with the MDGs at the Civil Society Development Forum in Geneva. She is currently working on WFUNA's Human Rights Seminar. herman@wfuna.org
Anita Kabikire, Programme Officer from UNA-Uganda, is currently completing an Internship in the New York office of the World Federation. She will mainly be involved in the preparations for the African Regional Model UN and other youth initiatives. kabikire@wfuna.org
 Alexander Metcalf is a
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