The World Federation of United Nations Associations newsletter
Issue No. 84 – July 2008
Topic for July: Nuclear Non-Proliferation
In this issue:
• Message from Hans Blix, President
• Who's Who at the UN
• What's Happening at the UN
• UN Partnerships in Action: The Three Pillars
• WFUNA Highlights
• Millennium Project Highlights
Topic people are talking about:
o Overview
o UN Perspectives: Mr. Jean-Francis Regis
o UNAs and Nuclear Non-Proliferation
o NGOs on the Move
o Book Recommendation
o Film Recommendations
 “The knowledge about how to enrich uranium is no longer a secret. Therefore we need to be alert to the activities of states. I believe that integrative foreign policy is the most important element to create stability on the matter at hand. If we examine why states have gone for nuclear weapons it is because of perceived security interests. If you want to avoid proliferation then we must work on the psychology of states: countries have to get the feeling that they don't need the weapons.” From his interview with Huffington Post on 20 May 2008 www.huffingtonpost.com/lia-petridis/my-interview-with-dr-hans_b_102673.html
 Nicaraguan diplomat and former Minister of Foreign Relations, Miguel D’Escoto Brockmann was elected President of the 63rd General Assembly. He will begin his duties on 16 September 2008.
 Belgian diplomat Johan Verbeke was appointed UN envoy to Lebanon. His responsibilities will be to ensure support for UN resolution 1701 and coordinate activities between the UN Country Team, the Lebanese government, donors, and other financial institutions.
 Justice Kate O’Regan of South Africa was appointed the fifth member and chairperson of the Internal Justice Council – established by the General Assembly to help ensure independence, professionalism and accountability in the new system of administration of justice at the UN.
UN Economic and Social Council High-Level Segment
30 June – 3 July, New York
Climate Change and the Most Vulnerable Countries – “The Imperative to Act”
8 July, New York
President’s Update for NGOs on the Work of the General Assembly
10 July, New York
Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, Working Group on Communications under the Optional Protocol to the Convention
21 - 23 July, New York
Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
28 July - 15 August, Geneva
Conference on Disarmament
28 July - 12 September, Geneva
Fifteenth Meeting of States Parties to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women
30 July, New York
Third Biennial Meeting of States to Consider the Implementation of the Program of Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects
14 - 18 July, New York
Meeting of States Parties to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
28 July, New York
61st DPI/NGO Conference
Paris 3-5 September
The UN Official Document System (ODS) is a tool for researching UN documents in digital format from 1993 to the present. Documents from 1946-1993 are slowly being added into the database. Retrievable documents include resolutions of all branches of the UN, meeting records, note verbals, and reports of the Secretary-General. To get a “crash course” on using the ODS visit www.un.org/Depts/dhl/resguide/train.htm.
Peace and Security
 Students for a Nuclear Weapons-Free World Winners Announced!
WFUNA wishes to congratulate the fifteen outstanding winners of the Students for a Nuclear Weapons-Free World competition, who were selected from over 230 submissions received from 49 countries. WFUNA President, Hans Blix, and representatives of the World Academy of Art and Science are looking forward to meeting the winners at the Students for a Nuclear Weapons-Free World seminar in Geneva from 13-16 July. At the seminar, students will participate in roundtable sessions facilitated by disarmament and security experts from international organizations, State parties, NGOs and academia. During these interactive sessions the students will share and debate their ideas for advocacy. Go to www.disarmementhub.org for the list of winners and honorable mentions, and the seminar program.
The Annual DPI/NGO Town Hall meeting on 12 June made the preliminary decision to hold the 2009 DPI/NGO conference in Mexico, on the theme of Disarmament. WFUNA was one of the many organizations that suggested this topic.
Development
We the Peoples 2008 Report Now Available
We the Peoples is a survey-based joint project of The North-South Institute and the WFUNA. Its goal is to encourage and support the engagement of civil society organizations with the Millennium Declaration and the Millennium Development Goals, document and report on civil society’s involvement in promoting and implementing them, and provide a platform and channel for civil society to voice their assessment of progress locally and internationally.
The report is available at: www.nsi-ins.ca/english/pdf/wtp_2008.pdf
Civil Society Participation in the ECOSOC High-level Segment and the Development Cooperation Forum
CONGO organized the New York component of its Civil Society Development Forum from 27-29 June. The outcome document of Forum is now available, and will be submitted to the High-Level meetings in NY of ECOSOC and the Development Cooperation Forum.
www.ngocongo.org/index.php?what=news&id=10489
The Stakeholder Forum presented the following synthesis paper to the UN ECOSOC Annual Ministerial Review:
http://amr.stakeholderforum.org/fileadmin/files/AMR_2008/AMR_2008_Stakeholder_Synthesis.pdf
Human Rights
WFUNA Seminar on Human Rights
The annual WFUNA Seminar on Human Rights will be held from 13-16 July 2008 at the Palais des Nations in Geneva, on the theme: 60 Years Towards the Universality of Human Rights: The Human Rights Council and the Universal Periodic Review”.
The Seminar aims at stimulating debate between the speakers and the participants on the progress made by the Human Rights Council and other UN mechanisms for the promotion of human rights worldwide and to assess how these have had an impact on the concept of the universality of human rights. The Seminar is conducted in cooperation with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Geneva Graduate Institute of International Studies. Program, registration form and details available at: www.wfuna.org/site/c.rvIYIcN1JwE/b.3784197/
Real-Time Delphi on Human Rights
The WFUNA interactive global online conversation on the universality of human rights came to a close the end of last month. The survey received a total of 854 responses. Analyses of the results showed that people from all regions participated: North America (38.9%), Europe (24.5%), Sub-Saharan Africa (12.7%), Latin America (7.63%), Middle East (2.54%), Pacific Asia (4.24%), and South East Asia (9.32%)The results of the survey will be presented to the UN DPI/NGO conference in Paris this September.
Universal Periodic Review: Reminder - The deadline for NGO submissions for the initial information on which the review will be based for countries to be examined by the 3rd HRC Working Group on UPR in December 2008 is 14 July 2008. NGO contributions should be sent to UPRsubmissions@ohchr.org.
The 195th WFUNA Executive Committee meeting will be held from 2-4 October in Cyprus. The Treasurer and members of the Finance Committee had a meeting with the WFUNA SG in New York from 26-27 June.
The Director of Programs in the Geneva office, Ms Irene Martinetti, represented WFUNA at the meeting of the Academic Council of the UN System (ACUNS) in Bonn at the beginning of June.
The UN Regional Information Centre in Europe, will be devoting one issue of its UNRIC Magazine to the UNAs in Europe. European UNAs should email a brief (600-1000 words) article on their activities to snaevarr@unric.org by mid-July.
In support of MDG6, the UNA-Democratic Republic of Congo is implementing a project to prevent malaria in the Kivu provinces. So far, the UNA has distributed at least 5000 mosquito bed nets to vulnerable groups of pregnant women, new mothers, and very poor families, totaling about 7500 people and families in about 56 villages. The UNA-DR is seeking funding to continue this project. Please visit:
www.thecongocause.org/bed_net_distribution/index.htm
The Indian Federation of UN Associations observed World Environment Day on 5 June by organizing a speaker event in Shimla. Presenters included the Mayor of Shimla, the Secretary-General of IFUNA and notable environmentalists. The common goal of “kicking the Carbon habit” emerged from the discussions. A prize was presented for the student winner of the “environment quiz”.
The Secretary-General of UNA-Russia, Mr. Alexei Borisov recently appeared in an interview on RussiaToday discussing the food crisis. The video can be viewed at:
www.russiatoday.ru (click on “RT Guests”, then select 15 Jun). Mr. Borisov will be chairing the WFUNA Seminar on Human Rights in Geneva from 13-16 July.
As part of its reform process, the UNA-Tanzania elected a new Interim Executive Committee on 3 May. For the names of the elected Officers visit:
www.wfuna.org/site/c.rvIYIcN1JwE/b.3784181/k.1395/United_Nations_Associations_of_Tanzania.htm
A group of students from Qatar visited the NY office in June and met with Secretary-General Pera Wells and other WFUNA staff members. Possibilities for collaborating on Model UN initiatives were discussed, and the group is interested in setting-up a UNA in their country.
The WFUNA-Youth website has been updated! You can find more information and updated contact details at: www.wfuna-youth.org.
WFUNA-youth Call for Applications
WFUNA-youth in cooperation with UNA-Spain invites active UNYA members/young members of UNAs to apply for participation in the third WFUNA-youth Project Management Workshop to take place in Barcelona, Spain, from 25-26 October 2008. The program includes project management skills training, one-to-one project proposal analysis and how to organize a one-day classroom Model UN for high-school students. Afterwards, you will have the option to participate, free of charge, at the Casa Asia, a high-level dialogue on Asian-European cooperation (28-29 October). In order to apply you must design a UN-related project which you, together with your UNYA/UNA, commit to carry out in your country within three months upon your return. Please contact DaniaRoepke@gmail.com. For information about past Project Management workshops visit: www.wfuna-youth.de/wordpress/projects-and-resources/project-management-workshops/.
Ms. Irena Peresa, the vice President of the re-established UNA-Croatia visited the New York office of WFUNA and met with the SG and the Youth Program Coordinator.
The Youth Section of UNA Belgium (VVN Youth) is organizing a “Summer Assembly”, in which the members of the Executive Committee inform the members of VVN Youth about the progress that made and future prospects of the organization. A new website has been launched for VVN Youth: www.vvn.be/youth.
Coordinators and students alike are busy with preparations for the 3rd WFUNA Asia-Pacific Model UN Conference (APMUN2008), which will be hosted by UNA-Republic of Korea in Incheon City from 21-25 July 2008. Nearly 100 delegates representing 16 countries from the Asia-Pacific region will participate in this year’s conference. They are already getting to know each other and beginning debates on the APMUN page on www.TakingITGlobal.org. Students will simulate meetings of the UN Economic and Social Council and discuss the following topics: ensuring the future against threats of climate change: the need to pursue alternative energy sources; strategies for poverty reduction: diminishing the risk of disasters; advancing towards a knowledge-based economy: challenges and opportunities; and regional collaboration to stop human trafficking. A regional UNA meeting will be held in conjunction to the Model UN. Additional information is available at www.apmun2008.org
UNA-Bulgaria will be hosting the 1st Sofia International Model UN (SOFIMUN) from 20-27 July 2008. Go to: www.sofimun.org
UNA-Brazil will be co-hosting the Americas Model United Nations from 23-27 July 2008 in Brasilia. Go to: www.amun.org.br
UNA-Tanzania will be hosting the 3rd annual East African Model UN conference (EARMUN) in August 2008.
The UNA-Dominican Republic will be hosting the annual International Conference in the Americas (CILA2008), under the auspices of WFUNA from 15-19 October 2008, in Punta Cana. The conference will simulate 12 organs and commissions of the UN and other multilateral institutions, with more than 1,500 participants. CILA 2008 will host a UNESCO Regional Youth Forum, the first seminar-workshop for journalists about the UN and Global Issues, and observe the UN Stand Up Against Poverty Day.
The second annual Latin American and Caribbean Regional UNA-WFUNA-UNIC meeting will be held in conjunction with CILA2008. For details, go to: www.unadr.org.
 Ray Malouf, Membership Coordinator in the New York office is a senior at Seton Hall University studying for his undergraduate degree in Diplomacy and International Relations. He spent semesters at the American Universities of Beirut and Dubai, studying Arabic and other courses relating to international affairs. Email: malouf@wfuna.org
 Anna Popova from Ukraine is interning in the Geneva office, assisting with administration and the upcoming seminars. Anna has a Bachelor’s degree in International Economics and is now a student of Management at the Università della Svizerra Italiana. Anna completed an internship in administration and finance at Donbassaero airlines in Ukraine. Email: popova@wfuna.org
 Luke Sikorski has temporarily replaced Philip Urech as the Disarmament Coordinator at the New York office. He is originally from St. Louis, Missouri and is now a senior at Seton Hall University majoring in Diplomacy and International Relations. Last summer, Luke spent a month studying French at the Sorbonne in Paris and then spent 4 months interning in Brussels. Email: sikorski@wfuna.org.
 Kelli Yee, Human Rights Program Coordinator in the New York office, has just completed her junior year at Emory University where she is majoring in Art History and Visual arts and has a minor in Global Health, Culture, and Society. Her interests are human rights issues, global development, and the social and political aspects of HIV/AIDS. Email: yee@wfuna.org
Are you wondering what the former WFUNA interns are doing? Who graduated? Who is spending the summer in Thailand? Who joined the Peace Corps? Who is interning in Germany? Who became a mother? Find out on the new Intern Updates webpage at: www.wfuna.org/site/c.rvIYIcN1JwE/b.4170849/k.8AC2/Intern_Updates.htm
If you are a former intern, please send your update with a photo to molnar@wfuna.org. We would love to hear from you!
Topic of the Month: Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Disarmament
The 2008 State of the Future will be published at the end of July and launched at the World Future Society annual conference. This is the twelfth report in an annual series intended to provide a context for global thinking and improved understanding of global issues, opportunities, challenges, and strategies.
The Millennium Project Planning Committee meeting will be held July 24-26, in Washington, DC, to review the work of the Millennium Project including reports from each of the Nodes, and plan for next year’s program. Continuous update available at www.millennium-project.org/millennium/mppc-0708.html.
By Luke Sikorski, WFUNA Disarmament Program Coordinator
Historically, nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament have been critically important topics of discussion and debate at the UN. The first resolution adopted by the UN concerned the atomic bomb. In 1953 President Eisenhower delivered his “Atoms for Peace” address to the UN General Assembly.
His speech led to a series of negotiations, which resulted in the creation of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in 1957 and the signing of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) in 1968.
To read the rest of the article click here>>>
 Mr. Jean-Francis Régis has been the Minister Counselor in the Permanent Mission of Benin to the UN since 2003. Since April 2006, he has been serving as Vice-Chairman of the UN Disarmament Commission (UNDC) and Chairman of its Working Group on Nuclear Disarmament and Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.
1. Could you briefly describe your role as the Chair of the Working Group on Nuclear Disarmament and Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons?
After serving two years as Security Council coordinator, it was a challenge for me to attempt to re-establish the fading consensus among member states in the nuclear disarmament field. In April 2006 I was elected as chairman of the group responsible for drawing up recommendations on ways to achieve the objective of nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation of nuclear weapons. The task was not an easy one; as usually one would expect member states to draw up respective proposals but in this case, we were dealing with states who expect others to take the initiative. I made various proposals and in the end called for a period of interactive debate on the issues. The UNDC sessions did not reach a formal outcome but the discussions were very constructive and because of that, I believe we paved the way towards a successful debate and created a good atmosphere for the recent NPT meeting that took place in Geneva last May.
For the full interview click here>>
The Academic Forum for Foreign Affairs and the Youth and Student Association of UNA-Austria organized a series of events on non-proliferation and disarmament. As part of the “Students Initiative for Security Policy Research”, a research project for students interested in current international security issues, 10 lectures and panel discussions were organized between February 2007 and June 2008. In addition, the UNYSA-Austria organized two study trips to Tehran offering several meetings and discussions with Iranian and UN representatives. The series of events will conclude at the upcoming Vienna International Model UN from 3 - 7 August at the UN Office in Vienna, where students from all over the world will simulate an IAEA Board of Governor Meeting on the Nuclear Programme in Iran.
The UNA-UK Edinburgh Chapter and the UNA-Iran held a meeting earlier this year in Scotland. The UNAs agreed to jointly focus on disarmament in the Middle East, in particular to work towards the creation of a nuclear weapons-free zone in the region. Find out more at: www.edinburghuna.co.uk
 REAL Exhibition Development produced an exhibition entitled "In-Security, the Nuclear Dilemma," which is on display from 27 February to 27 July 2008 at the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Museum in Geneva, Switzerland. The exhibit is composed of photographs that feature different aspects of the discovery and development of nuclear weaponry. The exhibition aims to use photography to allow us to comprehend both immediate and lasting truth and consequences of these events. www.nucleardilemma.org
 The Arms Control Association, an organization dedicated to promoting public understanding of and support for effective arms control policies, held an annual meeting entitled, "The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty at Forty: Addressing Current and Future Challenges," on 16 June 2008 in Washington DC. The meeting included panel discussions on the challenges facing the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and the role of the next US president in strengthening the non-proliferation system.
www.armscontrol.org/events/20080321_membership_mtg_reg.asp
 The Australian Peace Committee (APC) offers the "On a Paper Crane" teaching kit, which includes an animated version of the story of Sadako, who contracted leukemia from the atomic bombing of Hiroshima in 1945, and was told that she would survive if she could make 1000 paper cranes. The film, according to APC, teaches children about the possibility of a peaceful and cooperative world. For more information, visit the APC Web site: www.peacecourier.com/papercrane.htm
 The Nuclear Age Peace Foundation is circulating an appeal to the next president of the United States to "make a world free of nuclear weapons an urgent priority and to assure US leadership to realize this goal." The appeal can be signed by any individual or organization at:
www.wagingpeace.org/menu/action/urgent-actions/appeal_to_next_pres/index.php.
 Civil Society and Nuclear Non-Proliferation: How Do States Respond?
By: Claudia Kissling, May 2008
Civil Society and Nuclear Non-Proliferation is the latest book in the “Non-State Actors in International Law, Politics and Governance Series,” and addresses the topic of civil society participation in the nuclear non-proliferation regime. Kissling’s study discusses two research questions: whether civil society can contribute to security regimes and whether civil society can contribute to the democratic quality of international decision-making. In conclusion, she argues that there is legal room for civil society’s participation in nuclear non-proliferation because of its characteristics as a treaty regime in the international security field.
 White Light/Black Rain: The Destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki (2007, HBO)
This documentary film describes the impact of the two atom bombs dropped on Japanese soil near the end of the Second World War. It captures the economic, mental, and social impact of the survivors and victims on screen, revealing how the national identity of the Japanese people changed forever.
 Avoiding Armageddon (PBS)
“Avoiding Armageddon” is a series of documentaries which look not only to Nuclear Weapons as the problem, but Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMDs) as one very large issue. It discusses the connection between WMDs and terrorism and the historical use and testing of these weapons. This television series is a useful tool in order to better understand the effect that these weapons have, the potential use of these weapons, and the global impact if they fall into the wrong hands.
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