United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon appointed Christine McNab of Sweden as his Deputy Special Representative for Iraq.
The Secretary-General appointed Ameerah Haq of Bangladesh as his Special Representative for Timor-Leste and Head of the United Nations Integrated Mission in Timor-Leste.
Corinne Momal-Vanian was appointed as the Director of the United Nations Information Service in Geneva.
Grammy Award-winning songwriter and musician Stevie Wonder was designated as a United Nations Messenger of Peace with a special focus on people with disabilities.
Nobel Peace Prize laureate and green advocate Wangari Maathai became a United Nations Messenger of Peace with a special focus on the environment and climate change
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Committee on the Rights of the Child
11 - 29 January, Geneva
Human Rights Council, high-level task force on the implementation of the right to development
14 - 22 January, Geneva
Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
18 January - 5 February, Geneva
Meeting of the States Parties to the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination
21 January, New York
Human Rights Council, Working Group on Situations
25 - 29 January, Geneva
Human Rights Council Advisory Committee
25 - 29 January, Geneva
Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations
25 January - 3 February, New York
Conference on Disarmament
January/March, Geneva
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Publication highlights UN political and peace-building efforts, mediation and counter-terrorism activities
Addressing the aftermath of war in Sri Lanka, building peace in Sierra Leone, seeking a negotiated settlement on Cyprus, nurturing progress in Lebanon, pressing for a democratic transition in Madagascar, and reviving momentum in Nepal’s peace process are among the topics featured in the latest edition of Politically Speaking, the bulletin of the Department of Political Affairs. The Winter 2009-2010 issue includes interviews with UN envoys in the field, as well as a two-year progress report from the Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, B. Lynn Pascoe, on how DPA is being transformed into a more operational tool for preventing and resolving crises. http://www.un.org/Depts/dpa/archive.html
“Carbonn” Climate Center Launched
The Local Governments for Sustainability (ICLEI) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) joined forces to create the Bonn Center for Local Climate Action and Reporting – “carbonn”. Carbonn aims at facilitating the access of local governments to climate benchmarking instruments on a global scale. Carbonn will play a pivotal role in developing standards and providing guidance on local emissions accounting and reporting. Through carbonn, UNEP and ICLEI will work together for the development of low-carbon cities and communities and engaging cities in the UNEP Climate Neutral Network.
http://www.unep.org/Documents.Multilingual/Default.asp?DocumentID=606&ArticleID=6422&l=en&t=long
Publication on a Climate Neutral UN
The UN Environmental Management Group launched the book Moving Towards a Climate Neutral UN: The UN system’s footprint and efforts to reduce it, during the Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen. This new report shows the greenhouse gas footprint of the United Nations, including its headquarters and major centers, regional economic commissions, specialized agencies as well as peacekeeping and field offices. It highlights that the UN is emitting the equivalent of 1.7 million tons of carbon dioxide annually, of which approximately 1 million tons comes from peacekeeping operations. Knowing the size of emissions, the United Nations aims with this report to further progress towards making the UN system a climate-friendly body and to decrease its emissions. http://www.un-ngls.org/spip.php?article=1737
International Dialogue on Refugees
On 9 December, António Guterres, UN High Commissioner for Refugees, opened a two-day international dialogue that brought together 300 delegates in Geneva to focus on the pressing problems faced by the increasing numbers of refugees and other forcibly displaced people living in cities and towns around the world. At the opening of his third annual Dialogue on Protection Challenges, Mr. Guterres said growing urbanization was “compounded by influxes of displaced people obliged to abandon their homes by the threat of armed conflict, political violence, lawlessness, food insecurity, environmental degradation and natural disasters. By all indications, this dimension of urbanization will intensify in the future.” http://www.un-ngls.org/spip.php?article1735
UN marks Human Rights Day with call to end all forms of discrimination
The United Nations marked Human Rights Day on 10 December, the 61st anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, by stressing the enduring need to eliminate all forms of discrimination, with officials in the world’s most crisis-plagued regions - from Iraq to Afghanistan to Somalia - appealing for tolerance in the interests of peace. “No country is free of discrimination,” Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in a message for the Day whose theme this year was ‘Embrace Diversity, End Discrimination.’ http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=33204&Cr=discrimination&Cr1=
Arab-African Dialogue on Democracy and Human Rights
The first meeting of the Permanent Forum of the Arab-African Dialogue on Democracy and Human Rights took place from 7 to 9 December 2009 at the headquarters of the League of Arab States in Cairo, with the primary objective of examining the impact of migratory flows in these two regions. Under the patronage of Suzanne Mubarak, the First Lady of Egypt, the 2009 Permanent Forum, organized by the UNESCO Office in Cairo and the Egyptian National Council for Human Rights, focused on migration in the Arab and African regions.
http://portal.unesco.org/shs/en/ev.php-URL_ID=12955&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html
Beijing+15 Online Focus Page
March 2010 will mark the 15th Anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing (Beijing +15). The UN General Assembly will review the progress made by Member States in implementing the goals of the BPFA, particularly the 12 critical issues outlined in the document, at regional and national levels. In the lead up to Beijing +15, governments, UN entities, regional commissions and civil society organizations are taking initiatives to have preliminary discussions to analyze progress made in the implementation of the BPFA, and where possible, to develop joint statements and positions. This focus page aims to provide updated content and information on these initiatives.
http://www.un.org/womenwatch/beijing15
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WFUNA’s End of the year UN Quiz
If you were keeping up with your UN news this year, you probably read about the June High-level Conference on the World Economic and Financial Crisis, the September General Assembly debates and the December Climate Conference in Copenhagen. However, there are many other accomplishments (and some fun facts) of the UN in 2009 that you might not yet know about. Take WFUNA’s UN Quiz and find out if you are up to speed on the UN this past year!
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UNAs at Climate Change Summit in Copenhagen
Representatives from eight UNAs (Australia, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Finland, Germany, Norway, Sweden and the Unites States) were amongst the bustle of NGOs and environmental activists to attend the Climate Summit and side events. WFUNA Secretary-General Bonian Golmohammadi was there representing the Secretariat, and later had meetings with the Danish Foreign Ministry, together with UNA-Denmark, on possible collaboration on a Responsibility to Protect project. The next issue of UN Connections will include an overview and analysis of the Climate Summit and its outcomes.
WFUNA Calls for UN to Manage Climate Funds
A message was sent from the Secretariat to all UNAs urging them to promote to their domestic constituencies -especially the media- the idea that the United Nations should play a central role in the management of the Climate Funding that governments have been pledging in the context of the Copenhagen Summit. If you would like a copy of this message or more information on this please email action@wfuna.org.
Secretary-General’s visits to Sweden and Switzerland
In November, Secretary-General Bonian Golmohammadi went to Sweden to meet with the Foreign Ministry to discuss future funding for WFUNA, as well as to encourage the Swedish government to support a leading role for the UN in the management of the funds being dedicated to climate change (see above). Mr. Golmohammadi gave a presentation on “The Global Situation of Refugees from a Rights Perspective” at a National Conference on Integration.
After his visit to Sweden, Mr. Golmohammadi went directly to Geneva where he had a meeting with the Director-General of the Palais des Nations and the Canton of Geneva to discuss cooperation on human rights work, and with the Czech government to explore ways in which WFUNA can work with them to bring students to Geneva for educational purposes. Mr. Golmohammadi traveled with the Director of Programs of the Geneva Office to Bern to meet with the Swiss Foreign Ministry on possible areas of cooperation.
Upcoming Model UN News
10-17 January
NMUN Latin America will be taking place in Quito, Ecuador.
www.nmun.org/nmun_latinamerica.htm l
1-5 March
The sixth annual Model UN Turkey Conference (MUNTR 2010) organized by the Model United Nations Association in Turkey, will be held in Antalya. www.muntr.org
18-21 March
The seventh annual Belgrade International Model UN (BIMUN) is being organized by UNA-Serbia. The conference will feature simulations of the following UN bodies, with focus on real-life agenda items:
• Security Council: "The Situation in Afghanistan"
• General Assembly, II Committee: ''Global Agreement on Climate Change"
• Human Rights Council: "The Position of Roma in Southeastern Europe"
• UNESCO World Heritage Committee: "World Heritage in the Southeastern Europe - a Factor of the Rapprochement of Cultures"
• BIMUN Plenum: ''UN and NATO: a Partnership in Peacekeeping".
Application will be accepted from 10 December 2009 – 30 January 2010. The best participants will get a financial award and a chance to participate in the ''BIMUN Plus'' project. For further information about the conference itself and the application procedure, go to: www.bimun-unaserbia.org or www.unaserbia.rs
21-24 April
The Catalonia International Model UN (CIMUN 2010) organized by UNA-Spain will be held in Barcelona. The application deadline is 26 February 2010 (students age 18-30). The UNA-Spain is offering accommodations (youth hostel) for the delegates from outside Barcelona for the 4 night of the conference, lunches for all delegates during CIMUN, as well as a special cocktail party on the opening night at the City Hall of Barcelona. The registration fee is 80 Euros for each delegate (special discount for UNA-Spain members).
http://www.anue.org/en/cmun
Past MUNs
The UNA-Dominican Republic held its annual International Conference of the Americas (CILA) in Punta Cana from 28 October to 2 November 2009. In addition to the Model UN which was attended by about 2,000 high school and university students, the conference included a workshop on the United Nations system for journalists, an event to support the UN’s Seal the Deal Campaign, a Stand UP Against Poverty campaign, a cultural performance and a global gala concert. WFUNA Secretary-General Bonian Golmohammadi attended and gave a morning workshop presentation on “Youth Engagement with the United Nations”.
Please send information about your UNAs upcoming Model UN conferences for inclusion in our calendar to action@wfuna.org
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Jennifer Poplin has recently graduated from the University of Delaware with a double major in Natural Resource Management and Agriculture & Natural Resources. She has been passionate about sustainable development and climate change ever since volunteering in Mali, West Africa at 16. While at the University of Delaware, she completed research on Sustainable Watershed Management in India, focusing on the effects of policy on sustainable development Jennifer plans to continue her education at graduate school and hopes to eventually have a career in international development.Poplin@wfuna.org
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The Italian Society for International Organizations (SIOI), otherwise known as UNA- Italy, was founded in Rome on 4 October 1944 upon the initiative of a group of people belonging to the Italian cultural and political world. They were inspired by the common ideal enshrined in Article 1 of its Statute “of spreading the knowledge of international policy problems with a view to contributing to a fair and peaceful set-up of the international community, to the European unification and the dissemination of knowledge and protection of human rights”.
Click here to read more about UNA-Italy
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By: Nicole Catenazzi, Human Rights Program Coordinator, Geneva Office
2009 was an active year in the UN human rights system, especially in the context of the global financial crisis and the issues arising out of the climate change debate. From special sessions and fact-finding missions to conferences and country visits, we’ve tried to highlight some of the key events that took place at the U.N. office in Geneva and beyond.
Click here to read the update on Human Rights
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On the occasion of Human Rights Day on 10 December, UN Connections interviewed Ms. Kyung-wha Kang, Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights, to learn more about the efforts of the Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights (OHCHR) towards defeating discrimination. Building on the momentum from the Durban Review Conference, and under the title “Embracing Diversity Ending Discrimination,” the Office of the High Commissioner dedicated Human Rights Day 2009 to promoting non-discrimination as an essential element for the enjoyment of all human rights.
Click here to read the interview with Ms. Kyung-wha Kang
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Human Rights Watch is one of the world’s leading organizations dedicated to defending and protecting human rights. By focusing international attention where human rights are violated, they give voice to the oppressed and hold oppressors accountable for their crimes. For 30 years, Human Rights Watch has worked tenaciously to lay the legal and moral groundwork for deep-rooted change and has fought to bring greater justice and security to people around the world. Read their recently released book “Bloody Monday”, about the September 28 Massacre and Rapes by Security Forces in Guinea, on their website. www.hrw.org
The International Society for Human Rights (ISHR) based in Frankfurt, and its national branches (approximately 30,000 members in 26 states worldwide) base their work on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights proclaimed by the United Nations in 1948. The ISHR seeks to promote international understanding and tolerance in all areas of culture and society. www.ishr.org/index.php?id=772
Reporters Without Borders defends journalists and media assistants imprisoned or persecuted for doing their job; fights against censorship and laws that undermine press freedom; gives financial aid each year to 100 or so journalists or media outlets in difficulty as well to the families of imprisoned journalist; and works to improve the safety of journalists, especially those reporting in war zones. Reporters Without Borders is present in all five continents through its national branches (in Austria, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland), its offices in New York, Tokyo and Washington, and the more than 120 correspondents it has in other countries. www.rsf.org
WITNESS uses video to open the eyes of the world to human rights violations. WITNESS empowers people to transform personal stories of abuse into powerful tools for justice, promoting public engagement and policy change. WITNESS partners with 12-15 human rights organizations for a period of one to three years to train and support the organization to use video as an integral tool within a campaign. www.witness.org
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Climate Justice for a Changing Planet: A Primer for Policy Makers and NGOs
UN NGO Liaison Service (NGLS), 2009
Justice and equity should be central in any response to climate change coming out of the Copenhagen summit, and beyond, says a new publication from NGLS. Climate Justice for a Changing Planet: A Primer for Policy Makers and NGOs shines a light on the important intersection of equity and justice in the context of the current climate change debate. The book explores climate justice as an emerging concept and as a key to understanding the global debate. Furthermore, it demonstrates that climate justice is not only an ethical imperative, but also an economic and social one. NGLS launched the book at the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen on its opening day.
http://www.un-ngls.org/climatejustice
World Report 2009
Human Rights Watch
The 19th annual World Report summarizes human rights conditions in more than 90 countries and territories worldwide. It reflects extensive investigative work undertaken in 2008 by Human Rights Watch staff, usually in close partnership with human rights activists in the country in question. http://www.hrw.org/world-report-2009
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Human Rights Film Festival
Since its inception, Human Rights Watch’s International Film Festival has embodied the power of film to make a difference. Courageous and committed filmmakers produce impressive documentary and feature films, which stimulate passionate conversations about human rights and inspire human rights activists. Through the universal language of film, we connect the experiences of survivors and activists with our own experiences. Each year highlights from the London and New York festivals are presented at the Traveling Film Festival. The 2009-2010 season of the Traveling Festival began in September 2009 and runs through May 2010. http://www.hrw.org/iff
Human Rights Video Project
The Human Rights Video Project is a national library project created to increase the public's awareness of human rights issues through the medium of documentary films. To that end, a collection of 12 documentary films on human rights issues has been compiled. The project encourages collaborations between public libraries and human rights advocacy organizations to present film screenings and discussion programs. The project was developed by National Video Resources in partnership with the American Library Association Public Programs Office. http://www.humanrightsproject.org/index.php
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The past twelve months have been characterized by complex and interconnected global challenges resulting in a renewed need for collaboration across borders, cultures, sectors, and generations. 