Issue No. 65 - September 2006
International Migration and Development
This year, the issue of international migration and development is receiving utmost attention at the UN. The General Assembly will hold a high-level dialogue on September 14 and 15 on this issue.
What You Should Know About Migration
 Of 191 million international migrants in 2005:
- Almost 50% were women
- 60% lived in developed countries
- Irregular (often referred to as illegal) migrants are numbered at 30 to 40 million
- An estimated 600,000 to 800,000 of these are victims of human trafficking every year
Sources: Secretary-General Kofi Annan's Report on International Migration and Development (May 18, 2006)
"The Global Struggle with Illegal Migration: No End in Sight" by Demetrios G. Papademetriou (Migration Policy Institute): http://www.migrationinformation.org/Feature/display.cfm?ID=336
The Issues
 Many experts insist that with adequate management, migration can be an important tool in improving global development and achieving the implementation of the Millennium Declaration. A second central issue is the protection of migrants' rights. In many countries, migrant workers are not protected from economic exploitation and arbitrary deportation. Human trafficking and forced labor are huge problems especially for irregular migrants.
Challenges
 Improve the efficiency of remittances (money sent home by migrant workers)
- Improve political, economic, and social conditions in developing countries to prevent emigration (brain drain) and encourage skilled migrants to return (brain gain)
- Improve all migrants' rights globally, including their labor rights
- Approach the phenomenon of irregular migration in a manner that protects migrants' rights and reduces human trafficking
What We Expect From the High-Level Dialogue
- Creation of a permanent forum on migration at the United Nations, as suggested by Secretary-General Kofi Annan
- Broader ratification of the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families
- Multilateral cooperation to utilize migration as a tool for furthering the achievement of the MDGs
Global Civil Society Champion: William Gyude Moore
 Young people play an important role in the fight against poverty and other problems facing the world. William Gyude Moore, one of the speakers at this year's Youth Assembly (August 16-18), is an example of an active, committed and enthusiastic young leader: "I am a citizen of the world and I aim to address structural injustice and violence." Born in Cape Palmas, Liberia, Gyude and his family had to flee from the country's civil war in 1990. They became refugees in the Ivory Coast, where they were thrown into poverty and lived on less than $2 a day for a while - a fate that 515 million people around the world share. It was experiencing this hardship that motivated Gyude to advocate fair trade in the world, and especially in the U.S., where he now lives. "It makes no sense for one group of people to live in seemingly perennial lack while others live in great wealth," he insists.
While attending a conference at Cleveland State University as a Bonner Scholar in 2003, Gyude was introduced to Oxfam America and intrigued by the organization's work. A few months later, he became a Change Leader for the organization and joined its international trade campaign. In this volunteer position, Gyude spreads Oxfam's message by speaking at conferences, workshops and other events. In 2005, Gyude was the student closing keynote speaker at the COOL Conference at UC Berkeley and represented Oxfam America on the Globalization Panel at the 16th Annual National Student Campaign against Hunger and Homelessness in Seattle. Gyude explains why students are central in Oxfam's work: "they travel the country, recruiting friends and family members, attending community events and building constituency. They are telling the stories of millions who do not have a voice." The eventual goal of Oxfam America's work is to produce a strong constituency that lobbies for change in Washington, D.C.
Gyude has also worked with idealist.org, Bread for the World, the Feminist Majority Foundation, and Global Justice and the Student Trade Justice Campaign. He has a clear idea of what he wants his future to look like: "I'm pursuing a career, hopefully in what I enjoy doing the most - meaningful work that changes the living conditions of people who now live in the situation I lived in only a few years ago."
UN Partnerships in Action: Implementing the Millennium Declaration
Amnesty International applauds UN Agreement on New International Treaty to Protect Rights of Persons with Disabilities
Amnesty International warmly welcomes the agreement reached by the General Assembly's Ad Hoc Committee on the text to create a new core human rights treaty to better promote and protect the rights of persons with disabilities. This new Convention on the rights of persons with disabilities, once formally adopted by the General Assembly and entered into force after ratification by the necessary number of UN Member States, will be a key tool in assisting millions of people with disabilities in achieving recognition of their dignity and the effective protection of their human rights.
For the text of the Convention, go to: www.un.org/esa/socdev/enable
Mobilize Against Poverty
 Following-up on the success of last year's White Band Day, the UN Millennium Campaign is planning large-scale events to coincide with the month of mobilization around the International Day of Poverty Eradication on 17 October. The Campaign is inviting UN Agencies and partners from civil society, the faith based community, NGOs, schools, universities and youth groups to join them and attempt to set the first ever Guinness World Record for the largest number of people ever to "Stand Up…to bring poverty down". To find out more about the Millennium Campaign, visit: www.millenniumcampaign.org and start planning your event today!
WFUNA Launches Global Essay Competition on WMDs
 The World Federation has launched its Online Global Essay Competition in honor of Dr. Hans Blix on Weapons of Mass Destruction disarmament. High school, college, and university students from all across the globe are invited to participate. The views and unique perspectives of today's youth are of great interest to the World Federation, and their voices will now contribute to renewed efforts towards a world freed from the threats of nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons. Essays can be submitted until October 1st, 2006, and the five winners will receive trips to the World Federation's Plenary Assembly and International Symposium in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on November 6-10, 2006.
For more information and all the details, please go to: www.wfuna.org/what/education/essay_competition.cfm
Future Generations Need Forests Too
  The UN Environmental Programme sponsored the Tunza International Children's Conference for the Environment, which brought together more then 200 children from 70 countries from 26-30 August. The children, who in their schools or communities are already involved in environmental projects, came together to voice their concerns about the current state of the world's environment. Each participant was required to provide a short write-up of his/her project, and the best environmental projects were presented during the event. The Conference aims to increase children's understanding of environmental issues and of the most up-to-date technology. The outcome of the event is a list of environmental challenges to world leaders and the United Nations.
For more information see: www.unep.org/tunza/children/Events/ICC-2006/index.asp
Electing the Next SG: The General Assembly and the Security Council
As the time for electing the next Secretary-General is getting closer, there are intense discussions concerning the procedure and transparency of the process. In mid-August, the drafting group for a resolution on Revitalization of the General Assembly met to discuss the Secretary-General selection. At the heart of the discussion were the roles of the General Assembly and the Security Council in the process - another form of an issue that has always been a source of conflict at the organization.
A major point of difference throughout the meeting of the draft group was over the method of nominating candidates and the General Assembly's proper role in the process. Some states want to strengthen the GA's role in identifying candidates and raise it's profile as a filter for Member States' nominees. Others, especially Germany and Finland speaking on behalf of the EU, prefer to maintain the Security Council's right to receive Member States' nominees directly. Many critics say that instead of focusing on the politics of the election, both the GA and the SC should put their energies into finding the most qualified candidate.
Article 97 of the UN Charter provides that the Secretary-General be appointed by the General Assembly upon a nomination from the Security Council.
For more, go to: www.reformtheun.org , www.unsg.org or www.unausa.org
Who's Who at the UN
Per Lindgarde, a Swedish foreign affairs official, has been appointed Deputy Special Representative for Somalia.
The Dutch climate expert Yvo de Boer will be the new Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
Brazilian soccer star Ronaldinho has been appointed UN Spokesperson for Sport for Development and Peace.
German Ambassador Joachim Rücker was appointed the Secretary-General's Special Representative and Head of the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo.
Former Special Envoy to Timor-Leste, Ian Martin, has been appointed the Secretary-General's Personal Representative in Nepal for Support to the Peace Process.
What's Happening at the UN
DPI/NGO Conference
6 - 8 September, New York
High Level Dialogue on International Migration and Development
14-15 September, New York
General Assembly, high-level meeting on the midterm comprehensive global review of the implementation of the Programme of Action for the Least Developed Countries for the decade 2001-2010
18 - 19 September, New York
States Parties to the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-personnel Mines and on Their Destruction
18 - 22 September, Geneva
Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families, Fifth Session
30 October - 3 November, Geneva
WFUNA Highlights
On 2 August, the day of the 60th anniversary of the World Federation, the Secretariat held a press conference at UN headquarters to commemorate the event. The conference was hosted by the Permanent Mission of Luxembourg, and was webcast live.
An archive of the webcast can be found at: www.un.org/webcast/pc2006.htm
Human Rights Seminar
The WFUNA Seminar on the Human Rights Council took place at the Plais des Naations, Geneva from 26 to 28 July 2006. Grants allowed representatives from UNA Kenya, UNA South Africa, UNA Nepal, UNA Sri Lanka to take part in the event together with UNA France, UNA Spain, UNA Bulgaria, UNA China, UNA Ireland, UNA UK and UNA USA (Hawaii and Francisco chapters). The Seminar took place over three days, beginning with a welcome ceremony where statements were given by Mr Bacre Ndiaye, Director of Human Rights Procedure Division at the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and Ambassador Blaise Godet, Vice-President of the Human Rights Council and Permanent Representative of Switzerland to the UN. The programme was packed with experts on the Human Rights Council and finished with a Panel Discussion about NGO Participation in the Council.
 Environmental Activism in Peru
On the International day of the Environment, the United Nations Youth Association of Peru (UNYA-Peru), in coordination with UNA-Peru, created an "environmental wall" where every body could put their thoughts about the environment. People wrote about the troubles and challenges they are concerned about, as well things we could all do to help, such as recycling and making compost. To continue their engagement with environmental issues, the UNYA-Peru is embarking on a project in which they train young people in skills such as making recycled paper, that they can use to run their own environmentally-friendly enterprises.
CILA 2006 in the Dominican Republic
 As part of their mission to support the UN locally, the UNA-Dominican Republic contributes to the training of young Dominican students enabling them to succeed in an increasing globalized world. To accomplish their goals, the UNA-DR, in collaboration with the Global Foundation for Democracy and Development, is organizing the International Conference of the Americas (CILA) from 11 to 15 October 2006. CILA 2006 will be the largest conference of international affairs for young people in Latin America and the Caribbean. This event will be an opportunity for engaging and networking with young leaders and organizations from around the region. For details, go to: www.unadr.org
Reform Forum in China
The UNA-China, in collaboration with UNA-Sweden, will be hosting the International Forum on United Nations Reform from 12-13 October 2006 in Beijing. The Forum will discuss the Peacebuilding Commission, the Human Rights Council, Management/ Secretariat Reform, and the Responsibility to protect. About 80 participants are expected, including representatives of the World Federation, senior diplomats, NGOs, and academics.
Global Civil Society: How it Networks
The dangers of global warming, pollution, and resource depletion are real, they are happening now, and they suggest a moral imperative to act. The media success of Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth", and the recent G8 talks on energy security, are examples of a broad agreement that significant changes in our relations to nature and natural resources are necessary. As part of their ongoing work on environmental issues, the Carnegie Council has published the book Forging Environmentalism: Justice, Livelihood, and Contested Environments. This publication trains a spotlight on the big players in environmental politics-China, Japan, India, and the United States. It examines the social and cultural values that people bring to bear on environmental problems and how they mobilize those values to create and sustain programs of environmental action. There is an Online Companion to the book.
Go to: http://carnegiecouncil.org/forgingenvironmentalism.
According to UNAIDS, new HIV infections every year are exceeding AIDS-related deaths. HIV is an epidemic of global proportions; it affects the family, the community and the nation as a whole of those who are infected. Over 25,000 delegates attended the International AIDS conference in Toronto from 13-18 August. The conference theme, 'Time to Deliver', set the tone for a week of reflection on lessons learned from the past 25 years of the epidemic. Several high-profile participants, such as Bill Clinton, and Bill and Melinda Gates joined government representatives, civil society groups, UN officials, persons living with AIDS, and youth and women's groups at the conference. One of the outcomes of the event was that a coalition of African civil society groups called on G8 nations to renew their commitment to providing near universal access to AIDS treatment by 2010. The "ABC" approach - 'Abstinence, Be faithful, Condom use' - advocated by the Bush administration, met with nearly unanimous disapproval. At the end of the conference, most participants seemed to express "cautious optimism" about the results.
For more: www.irinnews.org/AIDSReport.ASP?ReportID=6286
World Water Week in Stockholm is the leading annual global meeting place for capacity-building, partnership-building, and follow-up on the implementation of international processes and programmes in water and development. Held from 20-26 August this year, World Water Week brought together experts from the scientific, business, policy and civil society communities in order to advance efforts related to water, the environment, livelihoods and poverty reduction. Professor Asit K. Biswas, a tireless water proponent who constantly challenges the "status quo", received the 2006 Stockholm Water Prize Laureate, presented to him by H.R.H. Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden. For more, go to: www.worldwaterweek.org
Expressing concern over the pervasiveness of corruption in the management of water, a coalition of six international non-governmental organisations has created a new global anti-corruption watchdog body: the Water Integrity Network. Launched during "World Water Week" in the Swedish capital, the network vows to root out unethical behaviour by promoting good governance and transparency in the water sector. For more information, see http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=34423
Ekta Parishad is a Gandhian organisation working towards community based governance, local self-reliance, and responsible government in India. In working towards this vision, the organization has taken up a land rights campaign to assist poor people in gaining control over their livelihood resources. The campaign is geared towards both acquiring and properly managing these resources. Ekta Parishad is organizing Janadesh 2007 during which more than 25,000 landless would walk from Gwalior to Delhi to demand their legitimate rights over land, water, forest and other livelihood resources. For more, go to www.ektaparishad.org
"We the Peoples" Forum
Share your insights and experiences of participating in networks and partnerships shaping relationships between the emerging global civil society and the UN.
Tell us all about "best practices", new initiatives, and how to optimize the benefits of information communication technologies.
Send your feedback, comments, and suggestions for future issues to the Editor at editor@wfuna.org.
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the Environment? Perspectives from the Carnegie Council
