Issue No. 74 - August 2007
In this issue:
o UN Perspectives: Mr. Eric Tistounet
o WFUNA Human Rights Seminar
o UNAs and Human Rights
o NGOs on the Move
o Book Recommendation
o Film Recommendations
Message from WFUNA President Hans Blix
 "As 2008 is the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights, I expect that we shall all be reflecting on the tremendous significance of this document in shaping the development of international law. It is worth recalling that the 2nd Plenary Assembly of the World Federation, which was held in 1947 at Marianske Lazne, welcomed the draft Declaration, which had not yet been adopted by the General Assembly, and went on to speak of publicizing violations of human rights, the desirability of precise legal obligations and measures of enforcement, and called on United Nations Associations 'to submit their recommendations thereon to their respective Governments and to WFUNA'". Message from Dr. Blix to the 5th Annual World Federation Human Rights Seminar in Geneva, July 2007
Who's Who at the UN
Bahrain's Prime Minister Sheikh Khalifa bin Salman al Khalifa was presented with UN-Habitat's Scroll of Honor Award for his efforts to help the living standards for all Bahrainis.
Ambassador of Mali Cheikh Sidi Diarra was appointed High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States.
The UN Food and Agriculture Organization awarded Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan the Agricola Medal for his contribution to agricultural and social development in Turkey.
Noleen Heyzer will be leaving her post as Executive Director of UNIFEM after being selected by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to head up the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific.
Jude Law, International Film Star and Ambassador for Peace One Day, kicked off a campaign to bring about a day without conflict in Afghanistan in efforts to mark the UN International Day of Peace on 21 September.
What's Happening at the UN
Open Ended Working Group for the 4th special session of the General Assembly devoted to disarmament
30 July - 3 August and 27-31 August, New York
Informal thematic debate of the General Assembly, "Climate change as a global challenge"
31 July- 1 August, New York
61st Anniversary of the World Federation of UN Associations
2 August
9th UN Conference on the Standardization of Geographical Names
21 - 30 August, New York
60th Annual DPI-NGO Conference
5-7 September 2007, New York
Human Rights Council Meeting (6th Session) 10-28 September, Geneva
General Assembly 62nd Session
18 September - December, New York
High-level Meeting on Climate Change
24 September, New York
High-level Dialogue on Inter-religious and
Intercultural Cooperation
4 - 5 October, New York
Read the Center for UN Reform's latest update on Security Council reform:
www.centerforunreform.org:80/node/270
UN Partnerships in Action: The Three Tiers
 WMD Awareness Program
Come Clean: the WMD Awareness Program is a partnership of several NGOs that aims to bring honesty, transparency and accountability to the subject of Weapons of Mass Destruction as well as providing reliable and easy to access information on this topic. The Program calls for a full inventory of WMDs to be created by the UN and for all WMD sites to be placed under UN guardianship. The website of the WMD Awareness Program, which includes interactive games, provides six free online lesson plans to educate youth and to cultivate a sense of democratic responsibility on the subject of WMDs. Another activity put on by the Program is its Get Up Stand Up! festival series. The next one will be held during the Edinburgh Festival Fringe from 5-24 August 2007. Visit:http://comeclean.org.uk/index.php
 The UN affiliated University for Peace based in Costa Rica announces its forthcoming short course on Gender Studies and Peacebuilding. The three-week intensive course offers a combination of theoretical knowledge and practical skills, incorporating historic and current events from around the world. Visit: www.upeace.org
 UNAIDS Request for Proposals
UNAIDS invites joint bids from coalitions and networks of civil society organizations to come together to form a year long mechanism to support national civil society and community groups in maximizing the impact of the 2008 UN General Assembly High-Level Meeting on AIDS. The General Assembly meeting on AIDS is expected to be in late June 2008 in New York. The session will most likely be similar to the one held in 2006 - with a formal plenary, roundtables/panels and hopefully a civil society hearing. The session will provide an opportunity to track progress against the targets set out in 2001 and 2006. The Request for Proposals document is available at:
www.un-ngls.org/docs/unaids/CS%20Support%20Mechanism%202008%20Review.doc
Report Shows Continued Strong Economic Performance of LDCs
The Secretary-General's fifth results-oriented annual progress report on the implementation of the Programme of Action of the Least Developed Countries for the Decade 2001-2010 shows continued strong economic performance by these countries, with fewer countries, mainly Pacific islands, lagging behind. It suggests that social indicators are improving, but overall socio-economic progress in African least developed countries has been significantly compromised by continuing population growth driven by the highest fertility in the world. The report can be downloaded: www.un.org/ohrlls/
Please see articles in the "Topic People are Talking About: Human Rights" section.
WFUNA Highlights
The 193rd Executive Committee meeting will be held in Beijing, China from 2-3 September 2007. The President, Hans Blix will attend this session.
 UNAs around the world will be joining the UN Millennium Campaign on 16 and 17 October in their efforts to break the Guinness World Record for the largest number of people to STAND UP Against Poverty, and for the Millennium Development Goals. Last year, more then 23 million people in 87 countries stood up and took action to remind governments of the promise that they made in 2000. The goal is to double this number in 2007. The UNA-Dominican Republic , for example, is planning to organize STAND UP as part of their Model UN conference in October. All of the near 3,000 participants will gather to STAND UP, and this will be documented in photos and video. (A picture from last year's event appears to the left). We would like to ask all UNAs planning STAND UP events to let us know at editor@wfuna.org
The Secretary-General, Pera Wells, introduced Ronald Thorpe, Director of Education Channel Thirteen to Ms. Rachel Mayanja , Assistant Secretary-General, Special Adviser on Gender Issues and the Advancement of Women, to discuss a possible collaboration for next year's International Women's Day, which will be on the theme of "financing gender equality".
A meeting was held between Ms. Pera Wells and Mr. Kiyo Akasaka , Under Secretar-General for Communications and Public Information to review the program of work of the World Federation, and discuss collaboration with DPI. Mr. Akasaka's priorities are the MDGs and climate change. He is looking forward to launching the 2007 State of the Future report in September.
On 19 July the UNA-Georgia , the U.S. Agency for International Development, and Freedom House - Europe, launched the Assessment Survey Report of Integration and Tolerance Status Quo in Georgia. For more see: www.una.ge
Mr. Michael Platzer from UNA-Austria , who is translating the UN Cyber School bus into German, visited the New York office in late July.
- Applications for membership from UNAs in Togo and Cote d'Ivoire will be reviewed by the 193rd Executive Committee in September.
- A group in Portugal has officially registered a UNA with the government, and is preparing to submit an application for membership to the World Federation.
- Ambassador Loulichki announced at the WFUNA Human Rights Seminar that a UNA has been created in Morocco.
New Zealand Model UN
Hosted by the United Nations Youth Association of New Zealand, the NZ MUN took place from 1-3 July 2007 in Wellington. This is an annual event bringing together over 190 secondary school students, teachers and conference assistants from all over the country. For more, visit: www.unyanz.co.nz
The Sierra Leone United Nations Youth and Student Association (SLUNSA), which has been active for 30 years, is planning several activities this year. Currently SLUNSA is running a skills training centre where young people are taught survival skills, adult literacy, and about the United Nations. Sixty-six UNA-clubs are being formed around the country to educate youth on UN activities and its related agencies.
 Youth Leadership and Social Networking
From 12-15 August 2007 the Fourth Annual Youth Assembly will take place at UN Headquarters in New York. The World Federation of UN Associations has teamed up with the youth organization TakingITGlobal to create a workshop for this event, with the topic 'Social Networking for Youth-Led Development'. The workshop is going to provide useful guidelines on how to create networks online as well as through other media tools. The new Youth Program Coordinator at the Secretariat, Shruti Pant (pant@wfuna.org) will represent WFUNA at the workshop. For more information about the Youth Assembly see:
www.faf.org/programs/unyouthassembly2007/ya_home.htm
 Youth and ICT as Agents for Change
The Global Alliance for ICT and Development and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) are organizing a Global Forum on Youth and ICT for Development: "Youth and ICT as Agents of Change", held from 24-26 September 2007 in Geneva. The World Federation is an official partner. The conference aims to engage youth in discussions with each other, policy makers, private sector, technologists and others in exploring ways to empower the community and to participate more fully in society through the appropriate and responsible use of ICT. For more information about this conference visit: www.un-gaid.org/en/gfyouth
Millennium Project News
The 2007 State of the Future report of the Millennium Project was released in July. The UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon recognizes that the report "is an informative publication that gives invaluable insights into the future for the United Nations, it Member States, and civil society". Mr. Akasaka, USG of the Department of Public Information, will launch the report in mid-September. More information will soon be available.
The Millennium Project Planning Committee met 27-29 July 2007 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. One of the first items on the agenda was a discussion to welcome the new host of the Millennium Project - the World Federation of UN Associations. Other issues included strategic goals for the Millennium Project, and node highlights. More: www.acunu.org/millennium/mppc-0707.html
UN Perspectives: Mr. Eric Tistounet: "People need to be aware of their rights"
 Mr. Eric Tistounet, Secretary of the Human Rights Council, has been working for human rights at the UN for many years. Aware that "we have jumped from one century to another", he is looking forward to the commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration for Human Rights in 2008 as "an expedient moment to reflect where we are and where we were 60 years ago."
Mr. Tistounet said that the 20th century produced an extensive body of international human rights law, and this had been continued. A highlight of the first year of the Human Rights Council was the adoption of Conventions on Enforced Disappearances and on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. However, now the emphasis was increasingly on the implementation and protection of human rights.
He considers that the world is changing rapidly, and so is the context for the advancement of human rights. Climate change can have disastrous effects as we have seen in Darfur, for example, where desertification has had a huge effect on human rights and fundamental freedoms, such as access to water.
 While ideas about human rights have now been accepted into every day language, it remains important to clarify what the words in the Universal Declaration and in the Covenants actually mean. It is therefore very important to have human rights taught as a basic course in primary and secondary schools as well as in universities.
He encouraged United Nations Associations to find innovative ways of teaching about human rights in their countries. "That would be tremendously helpful."
The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights has benefited from additional resources, most of which are being dedicated to strengthening implementation capabilities. The Universal Periodic Review Mechanism will require very substantial secretariat support. It was important for civil society organizations to understand this new dimension of the UN's relationship with all member states. There was a continuing need for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to inform governments and the public at large about the UN's activities. He greatly appreciated the ways that the World Federation of UN Associations gave support to this.
5th Human Rights Seminar
Human Rights for "We the Peoples": What should we expect from the UN Human Rights Council?
In cooperation with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights - Geneva, 29-31 July 2007
 "It was very successful event, a very informative, enriching and capacity building seminar." Cissa Wa Numbe, Secretary-General, UNA-DRC
"This seminar was a step forward, as it was not only educational but also practical." Gregory Kovrizhenko, WFUNA Honorary President, UNA - Russia
"We have learned a lot and will take this back to students. Still need leadership of experienced experts. Everybody has done tremendous job. Program is extraordinary". Prof Yvonne Donders, President of UNA-Netherlands
Mr Pang Sen, Chairman of the WFUNA Executive Committee, opened the seminar which aimed to provide a forum for sharing experiences and knowledge of the Human Rights Council. He encouraged reflection on what civil society can do to contribute to its effectiveness and called for recommendations for action by UNAs in particular and civil society in general.
 The WFUNA Secretary-General, Pera Wells, and representatives of UNAs from Belgium, China, DRC, Finland, Ireland, Lebanon, Netherlands, Peru, Russia and UK were among the 150 participants.
The program opened with a review of the first year of the Human Rights Council, which was facilitated by Prof. Bertrand Ramcharan. The lead discussant, Moroccan Ambassador Loulichki, said that the creation of the Human Rights Council took place during a time when the "wind of reform" was blowing through the UN system and reflected an effort to respond to the recurrent charge of double standards in the treatment of states. Highlights of the first year included the adoption of Conventions on Enforced Disappearances and on the Rights of People with Disabilities, a series of consensus-based resolutions, such as on the situation in Darfur, and the holding of a number of special sessions. With regard to institution-building the Council adopted a set of regulations and procedures, a code of conduct for the special procedures, the establishment of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) and the strengthening of the complaints procedures.
 UNA and civil society representatives generally agreed that the outcome of the first year of the Council was better than they had expected. There was much to build on the package that had been negotiated at the last session. Much of the discussion was focused on the mandates and modes of operation of the special procedures and on the Universal Periodic Review Mechanism.
To read the full article go to:
www.wfuna.org/what/humanrights/hrseminar/human_rights_seminar.cfm
UNAs and Human Rights
The UNA of the Month for August is UNA-Canada. To read more about the work of this UNA on human rights and other issues, go to: www.wfuna.org/who/members/north_america/snapshot
- The Canberra branch of UNA- Australia held a movie night for more than 200 people for the premiere of Amazing Grace, a movie about the abolition of slavery. UNA-Australia holds monthly public forums on educational aspects of human rights.
- UNA-Bulgaria issued a declaration of gratitude to all the institutions that united to help the salvation of the six Bulgarian medics who were sentenced to death in Libya. UNA-Bulgaria keeps human rights at the center of their activities and calls upon all countries to support the protection of human rights.
- To commemorate the 60th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 2008, UNA-Russia is partnering with the Moscow State Institute of International relations to host an essay contest on human rights.
- Along with an extensive and detailed section about human rights on their website, the UNA-Venezuela has founded the Venezuela Chapter of the Inter-American Platform of Human Rights, Democracy and Development.
- The UNA-Democratic Republic of the Congo is doing work on the topic of violence against women, and supports the creation of a Fund to fight sexual violence against women, as suggested by Ms. Louis Arbour after her last trip to the DRC.
On 30 July, a spokesman for ASEAN announced that the organization's charter that is currently being drafted by a task force will include provisions for mandating a human rights body. Reflecting on this important development, Mr. Kwang-Boon Lee from UNA-Singapore stated, "It's not really the establishment of the human rights body that should be the issue. It's what the body ought to do. That involves drawing up the terms of reference which all of us can agree to and actually planning it properly and giving it a life of its own".
NGOs on the Move
Thousands of NGOs are actively engaged in advocacy of human rights. The organizations featured in this issue are working on the promotion and protection of human rights at home and abroad through education and research, raising public awareness, campaigning and lobbying.
 The Asian Human Rights Commission in Hong Kong is working to raise awareness and encourage taking action on poverty-related issues in Asia through the framework of its Hunger Alert campaign. Individuals and organizations are encouraged to send information about people who face hunger related problems to ua@ahrchk.org. After verification, such stories will be disseminated to a wide audience via email and websites:
http://www.ahrchk.net/index.php
-- website on food justice www.foodjustice.net/
 Chiapas, Mexico based SIPAZ is a coalition of numerous NGOs from the Americas and Europe involved in conflict resolution in Chiapas and other parts of Mexico. The member organizations have expertise in areas of human rights, peace, and peaceful transformation of conflicts. Through its Education for Peace initiative, SIPAZ conducts workshops on the importance of effective realization of political, economic, social and cultural rights in conflict resolution. www.sipaz.org/sipaz/szinchiseng.htm
Black Slash, the longest-standing human rights organization in South Africa, is a founding member and active supporter of the Basic Income Grant coalition. The coalition strives to promote the right to social security in South Africa through lobbying the government for the creation of a comprehensive social safety net in the form of monthly monetary grants. www.blacksash.org.za/campaigns.htm
 Amnesty International, a transnational human rights advocacy NGO, is encouraging activists to lobby governments to end human rights violations in the Darfur region of Sudan. Activists can sign an electronic petition to the government of Sudan and obtain an Activist Toolkit on the organization's website. http://web.amnesty.org/pages/sdn-toolkit-eng
Book Recommendation: "United Nations and Human Rights: A Guide for a New Era" by Julie Mertus, 2005
 This book provides a comprehensive account of the UN's work on human rights by examining recent initiatives undertaken by virtually all UN bodies and specialized agencies in promotion or incorporation of human rights in their programs and activities. It will be of interest to students and practitioners of human rights, international relations and international law.
The book reviews the historical and philosophical development of the UN human rights system, evaluates the successes and failures of the UN human rights advocacy, and 'predicts' the future of the UN human rights machinery. Issues addressed in the work include changes to the UN human rights machinery in the post-9/11 period, managing of international conflicts, the promotion of individual rights, and the advancement of agendas of social movements. This book is available in hardcover and paperback.
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