Issue No. 69 - February 2007
NGO Accountability - Two New Publications Launched
Global Civil Society Champions: Environmental Activists: Clarifying Climate Change Responsibility
UN Partnerships in Action: Implementing the Millennium Declaration
Who's Who at the UN
What's Happening at the UN
WFUNA Highlights
Inside Global Civil Society: How it Networks
"We the Peoples" Forum
NGO Accountability - Two New Publications Launched
 "The ideal is a society where all decision making is accountable to those affected by those decisions or indecisions. This ideal of 'democratic accountability' is one that concerns the whole of society, not just a particular organization. However, for this principle to be workable for the management and regulation of organizations, the challenge is to identify a form of accountability for individual organizations that is constitutive of this broader societal democratic accountability" - Jem Bendell
Concerns about the role and accountability of NGOs have been voiced from different sectors in recent years. NGOs have recognized the need to ensure good practice in the wider voluntary sector. For this emerging agenda to lead to positive development outcomes there is a need to examine what initiatives will improve the accountability of all institutions to the people whose lives they shape, and what initiatives might serve merely to undermine NGOs' useful and largely accepted role in holding business and government accountable for their actions. With this in mind, the new Development Dossier from the NGO Liaison Service (NGLS), Debating NGO Accountability by Dr. Jem Bendell, puts democracy and human rights firmly at the centre of the debate about NGO accountability
 NGLS sponsored a duel book launch and panel discussion on 19 January 2007 on the topic of NGO accountability. The first book featured was the Development Dossier by Jem Bendell. The second book, NGO Accountability: Politics, Principles and Innovation, is a compilation of the work of several authors.
In the NGLS Development Dossier, Jem Bendell argues that it is crucial for NGOs to be accountable not only to their donors, but also to the people who they are advocating for. Furthermore, discussing how NGOs conceptualize their own identity and role in international relations, Bendell suggests that organizations should highlight their goals and mission, instead of limiting their function in terms of what they are not (i.e. non-government, not for profit…ect).
 The second book addresses a wide array of NGO concerns, and makes useful suggestions for improving accountability. One such suggestion, made by Steve Charnovitz is that NGOs need to increase their focus on improving their internal operations while at the same time remaining steadfast in their mission and advocacy. NGOs have to ask themselves: what are you an agent of, and where does your authority lie? An important point raised by the panel in conjunction with this book was that political will coupled with transparency will add validity to the many important causes of NGOs. Both the NGLS Development Dossier and the book on NGO accountability show that more accountability means a stronger voice for NGOs.
The NGLS Dossier is available for download at: www.un-ngls.org). If you prefer to order a hard copy version, send a request to ngls@unctad.org.
Global Civil Society Champions: Environmental Activists: Clarifying Climate Change Responsibility
 On 2 February 2007, Working Group I of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) adopted the Summary for Policymakers of the first volume of "Climate Change 2007: The Physical Science Basis". This document, encompassing the work of scientists from 113 countries, assesses the current scientific knowledge of the natural and human drivers of climate change. "We can be very confident that the net effect of human activity since 1750 has been one of warming," co-lead author Dr. Susan Soloman told delegates in Paris at the launch of the Summary.
 The report used stronger language than it has done before in assessing humanity's impact on climate change. The panel concluded that it was at least 90% certain that human emissions of greenhouse gases rather than natural variations are warming the planet's surface. The report warns that continued greenhouse gas emissions at or above current rates would cause further warming and induce many changes in the global climate system during the 21st century that would very likely be larger than those observed during the 20th century.
 People around the world are becoming increasingly aware of the existing dangers of climate change and the possible devastating future damage if action is not taken now. Al Gore's movie, "An Inconvenient Truth", which has now been nominated for two Academy Awards, and has given rise to chatter of a Nobel Peace Prize nomination for the former Vice-President, has helped to bring this issue into the mainstream. Although many people are only becoming exposed to the threats of climate change recently, NGOs and environmental activists around the world have been engaging with this issue, and raising awareness about it, for many years. A good indicator of the commitment and fervor of such organizations was demonstrated just a day before the launch of the ICPP Summary, on 1 February. On this day, The Alliance for the Planet, a group of environmental associations, called out to all the citizens of the world to turn off their electricity for 5 minutes in order to call on the attention of the media, politicians, and social figures telling them of the importance of immediate action on climate change. In Paris the Eiffel Tower, usually lit by 20,000 bulbs, went dark.
One of the many outstanding organizations that have been doing work on climate change is Environmental Defense, a non-profit dedicated to protecting the environmental rights of all people, including future generations. Since they are based in the U.S., Environmental Defense pays special attention to U.S. environmental problems and to America's role in causing and solving global problems. Reflecting on the IPCC report, Dr. Bill Chameides, Chief Scientist at the organization stated, "[The report] adds to the avalanche of scientific evidence that the planet is warming and humans are largely responsible - something almost no serious climate scientist disputes any longer. The IPCC report is one more warning that we need to act quickly to cut our greenhouse gas emissions. The best and most cost-effective way to make these cuts is a cap-and-trade system, like the one enacted in 1990 that so successfully reduced acid rain pollution. This is the approach now endorsed by many of America's leading companies, including General Electric, DuPont, and Caterpillar…Those hesitating on quick, bold action must now explain why the world's leading scientists are wrong about the science, and many of America's leading companies are wrong about the economics". For more visit:
www.environmetaldefense.org
The Summary can be downloaded in English from www.ipcc.ch and http://ipcc-wg1.ucar.edu. A webcast of the final press conference has also been posted.
UN Partnerships in Action: Implementing the Millennium Declaration
Partnership Project for IDPs in Somalia
The port city of Bosaso is located in the Galkayo area of Somalia's northern autonomous Puntland region. It is currently the home of a pilot resettlement program for internally displaced persons (IDPs) of Somalia living in one of 16 settlements in Bosaso. Involved in this program are six UN agencies and an NGO, the Dutch Refugee Council. Bosaso has approximately 30,000 IDPs. A town committee will select 120 families or about 900 persons to receive a plot of land donated by local landowners. The UN agencies will provide each family with a shelter kit and material to build the first room of their new home. A wall will be built around each group of 30-40 land plots to provide some security. For the full article, visit: www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=21411&Cr=somalia&Cr1=
Cross-Sector Partnerships for a Better World
 The Global Compact Leaders Summit that will be held from 5-6 July 2007 in Geneva will be an historic gathering of top executives from participating businesses, heads of international labor, civil society, United Nations agencies, and high-ranking government officials. Approximately 1,000 leaders are expected to attend the Summit that will be chaired by Secretary-General ban Ki-moon. The objective of the Leaders Summit is to advance and enhance leadership strategies for mainstreaming responsible corporate practices which are rooted in the Global Compact's ten principles. The desired outcome of the Summit is a clear road map for the future of the initiative. For more, visit: www.globalcompact.org
Study Says UN Should Make Prevention of Mass Atrocities Cornerstone of Restructuring
 With Darfur's terror raging unabated, the new UN Secretary-General should make implementation of the universally adopted "responsibility to protect" a cornerstone of the reorganization of the UN, says a new Council on Foreign Relations report. By adopting the "responsibility to protect" at the 2005 World Summit, the world accepted the principle that genocide or other mass atrocities in one state are offenses against all states. Considered a major achievement of the summit, the decision created a Peacebuilding Commission and agreed that there exists a collective responsibility to protect people from genocide, war crimes and ethnic cleansing. One suggestion is that the United Nations, with support from the United States, create and support a 2,500-person permanent civilian peacekeeping force to be on call for emergencies at all times.
Read the entire article in the International Herald Tribune at
www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/01/25/america/NA-GEN-US-UN-Genocide-Prevention.php
To read the report, "Darfur and Beyond: What is Needed to Prevent Mass Atrocities" www.cfr.org/content/publications/attachments/DarfurCSR22.pdf
Youth Activism for the Environment
 The UN Environmental Programme (UNEP) has put out a call for participation in the International Youth Conference that will be held from 26-30 September, 2007. The Tunza International Youth Conference, previously called the UNEP Global Youth Forum, is a key activity of UNEP's long-term youth strategy. It has been organized since 1985 for young people to learn from one another and share experiences and ideas on community-based environmental actions. It has provided opportunities for youth to develop joint strategies on promoting environmental protection. The deadline for
submitting a nomination from your organization to attend this conference is February 28, 2007. Go to: www.unep.org/tunza/youthconference
4. "Renewing the UN": The Institutional Agenda
What is Happening at the UN Secretariat?
With the myriad of changes taking place at the UN, it is difficult to keep up with staffing, the priorities of the Secretariat, and other developments at the UN Secretariat. To serve as a reliable source for information about the internal workings of the Secretariat, the new UN Secretary-General has a website: www.un.org/sg/ . Go here to read about the recently appointed members of the Secretary-Generals "team", the daily schedule of SG Ban Ki-moon, and even photo documentation of his activities.
Note on SG Proposals for Restructuring
In light of the recent proposals for restructuring the UN Secretariat that have been formulated by the new Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, UNAs around the world have emphasized the necessity of preserving an independent Department of Disarmament Affairs. In a letter to the UN Secretary-General, Professor John Langmore, National President of UNA-Australia, stated that "the DDA, which was designed to address post-cold war disarmament issues, is even more necessary in an era with increased opportunity for, but decreased attention to, disarmament. Moreover, the world's disarmament machinery, norms and regime are embattled right now, and reducing the stature of the primary global institution responsible for implementation of UN decisions would damage prospects for improving effectiveness".
On Wednesday, 21 February at 10am there will be a briefing by the Office of the President of the General Assembly for NGOs in Conference Room 3 at UNHQ in New York.
Who's Who at the UN
The Yale Center for the Study of Globalization will add another dignitary to its Visiting Distinguished Fellow program this spring when former UN Deputy Secretary General Mark Malloch Brown comes to campus.
National Football League star Reggie Bush and the United Nations World Food Programme have partnered up to raise awareness in the United States about global hunger.
Côte d'Ivoire soccer star Didier Drogba, currently top scorer in the English Premiership and the European Champions League, was appointed by the UN Development Programme as a Goodwill Ambassador.
 The United Nations Human Rights Council announced that Jody Williams, winner of the 1997 Nobel Peace Prize and co-founder of the Nobel Women's Initiative, will lead a five-person high-level mission to evaluate the human rights situation in the war ravaged Darfur region.
What's Happening at the UN
Committee on the Rights of the Child
5 - 9 February, Geneva
Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
5 - 9 February, New York
Commission for Social Development
7-16 February, New York
Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
19 February - 9 March, Geneva
Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space
12 - 23 February, Vienna
Committee against Torture
19- 23 February, Geneva
Commission on the Status of Women
26 February - 9 March, New York
WFUNA Highlights
The Report of the 38th Plenary Assembly of the World Federation of United Nations Associations is now available on homepage of the website at: www.wfuna.org
The 192nd session of the Executive Committee of the World Federation will be held in New York from 2-3 March 2007. This will be the first time that the new Executive Committee will meet since the Plenary Assembly in November 2006. The meeting will take place in conjunction with UNA-USA's Biennial National Convention, which will run from 28 February to 4 March 2007. For more on the UNA-USA convention, go to: www.unausa.org/site/pp.asp?c=fvKRI8MPJpF&b=2015967
The UNA-Brazil, in partnership with the Fórum das Américas, is organizing a high-level event in New York that will focus on stimulating political, economic and commercial relations between Brazil and the U.S. regarding sustainable development for the Amazon rain forest and the use of ethanol and biodiesel as alternative energy resources. The one-day conference on 30 April 2007 will gather political authorities, business leaders and academics from all over the world to debate and adopt practical measures to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases and protect the environment. Featured speakers include President George Bush Sr., President Bill Clinton, and Brazilian Minister of Planning Paulo Bernardo. The World Federation will be co-sponsoring and participating in the event.
On 11 January 2007, the UNA-Spain awarded the Moroccan writer, Tahar Ben Jelloun with its 27th annual Peace Prize. The ceremony, held at the Terrassa music hall just outside of Barcelona, was attended by almost 350 people. Mr. Jelloun, the most translated contemporary French-language writer, was awarded for his efforts to achieve peace by approaching both Muslim and Western communities through literature. His most well-known books are Le racisme expliqué à ma fille and L'Islam expliqué aux enfants. These books try to explain Islam from a point of view which does not include violence and terrorism, but focuses instead on the meaning of the word Islam: "Submission to peace".
Model UN Update
 This year, the Geneva International Model UN (GIMUN) will be held from 3 to 9 March 2006 at the Palais des Nations in Geneva. As GIMUN's goal is to be "one step ahead" of the United Nations system, the organizers are constantly working to identify new developments and to include new features. Thus, the newly established Peacebuilding Commission as well as the International Court of Justice -which will do it's best to deal with the Israeli-Lebanese conflict- can be found among the seven committees of GIMUN 2007. This annual conference is bilingual (English and French), with about 200 participants each year from about 40 different countries around the world. The World Federation is a partner to this event every year, and many youth members of UNAs attend. For more, visit: www.gimun.org/index.php/xsl/1/FYm69M.html
First UNA-Iran Model UN
The Iranian Model United Nations (IRMUN) is a three-day Conference which will be held in Tehran in April 2007. This event, organized by the UNA-Iran, aims at presenting the UN system to high school students and promoting the understanding of its objectives. UNA-Iran has chosen for its first Model United Nations experience the topic "The Situation of Human Rights in IRAN". The Model UN will be conducted in both English and Farsi. More about UNA-Iran at: www.unairan.org
Inside Global Civil Society: How it Networks
Are you interested in participatory governance? CIVICUS wants to hear from you! The CIVICUS Strengthening Participatory Governance Programme, is launching a new initiative focusing on enhancing the capacity of southern civil society practitioners to promote participatory and accountable governance of public institutions. The Programme is conducting a brief online survey on this topic.
To fill out the survey, please visit
www.civicus.org/new/media/Interested-in-participatory-governance.doc
 The 2007 World Economic Forum was held in Davos, Switzerland from 24-28 January. The Annual Meeting closed on an "upbeat mood" with the Co-Chairs pledging on behalf of the 2,400 participants to use their positions of leadership to turn commitments on the top issues of climate change, global trade and globalization into action. "We are the epicenter of world engagement. It's not just the results of the four days that flow out of here. The initiatives will continue so when we are back here in 2008 we can say something really did happen," concluded E. Neville Isdell, Chairman and CEO, The Coca-Cola Company. Over 50 NGOs participated in the Forum. For more, go to: www.weforum.org
United Nations Truth is an anonymous blog that hopes to shed some light on the real inner workings of the United Nations. The current headlining article is on Ban Ki-Moon's recent statement about Darfur at the African Union Summit. Read always interesting, sometimes controversial, and often insightful commentary about the UN at: www.un-truth.com. There is even an entry about the proper way to pronounce the new Secretary-General's name.
U.N. Continues to get Positive, though Lower, Ratings with World Public, NGOs get Top Ratings of All Global Actors
Publics in most countries continue to view the UN as having a positive influence in the world, according to a new BBC World Service poll of 32 nations. However, ratings are a bit lower than they were a year ago. NGOs received the highest ratings of all global actors. The poll of 37,572 people was conducted for the BBC World Service by the international polling firm GlobeScan together with the Program on International Policy Attitudes at the University of Maryland.
Details can be found at: www.worldpublicopinion.org
A Film to assist Indigenous Peoples with the lobby for the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples is now online. It was created by award winning filmmaker Rebecca Sommer from Earth Peoples: www.rebeccasommer.com/Work-In-Progress
The first issue of a new newsletter for civil society organizations and other interested stakeholders on the Financing for the Development process at the United Nations is now available at: www.un.org/esa/ffd/indexNewsletter.htm . It will be issued on a monthly basis and is prepared jointly by FFDO/DESA and UN-NGLS.
Join the 8th Annual Global Youth Service Day - April 20-22, 2007!
Global Youth Service Day (GYSD) is the largest annual celebration of young volunteers, and every year more than a million young people in over 100 countries participate by organizing thousands of community service projects. The application process for National and Local Lead Agencies is now open, apply on-line today! For more information, visit www.gysd.net
Become a Human Rights Delegate: Summer 2007 Opportunities for Young Leaders
Global Youth Connect, an international human rights organization, is accepting applications from young people (ages 18-25) for their Summer 2007 international human rights delegations. Program locations include: Bosnia, Cambodia, Guatemala, Rwanda and Venezuela. Each delegation weaves together three core sets of activities: site visits to local organizations, hands-on fieldwork projects, and a human rights training workshop with local youth activists. Applicants should wish to expand their knowledge and understanding of human rights and social justice. For detailed information on program activities, costs, fundraising/financial aid, and application information, please visit www.globalyouthconnect.org/participate
"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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