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NEWS BRIEFS
Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur at the UN
Vol. 7, No. 3
(Cliquez ici pour la traduction française)
December 2009
by Sr. Joan F. Burke SNDdeN
(Click on the panels below to read more about each of the topics.)
Eve of UN Climate Change Conference, Copenhagen
(7th-18th December 2009)
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has made an extensive round of visiting capitals and major meetings in the run-up to the UN Climate Change Conference. His message has been consistent, world leaders must conclude “a robust, global agreement that can serve as a foundation for a climate treaty.” The Executive Secretary of the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) has stated, “Climate change is a terrible threat, but beating climate change is a historic opportunity to turn humanity onto a path of sustainable growth for everyone. The solutions to climate change will vitalize economies, stabilise environments, and build secure, fairer, more innovative societies. Not only must we act, it makes no sense not to act.’
Although it is no longer hoped that a treaty will actually be signed at Copenhagen, it is becoming more likely that at least a political agreement might be brokered which would point to an early conclusion of a treaty in 2010.
Brazil and the Republic of Korea have announced ambitious national plans to reduce emissions in a very significant way, while Japan has just tabled a generous offer of up-front financing to help developing countries with mitigation and adaptation. All industrialized countries, even the United States, have already come up with their offers of targets. The Russian Federation has, in fact, increased its targets and a number of others had indicated they could do the same if an international agreement was reached. Europe, for instance, having set a minus-20 target, had said it could go to minus-30 if an agreement was in place. In addition, many developing countries already had national climate change and energy strategies in place, including China, India, Mexico and South Africa. Both President Obama of the United States and the Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao would attend the conference. Continued pressure from civil society remains crucial to ensure the world leaders will “seal a deal.” The website for the conference is: http://unfccc.int/2860.php.
See attachment 03a for one way in which churches and other groups plan to make their voices literally ring out!
Campaign to End Violence against Women
The United Nations kicked off a campaign on the International day for the Elimination of violence against Women (25th November) to mobilise people around the world to take part in a drive to stop the pandemic of violence suffered by women at the hands of men. The UN Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) launched a website to inspire individual efforts aimed at eradicating violence against women, such as reaching out to school students, volunteering at local shelters, advocating for legislation or donating funds for programmes that protect women and girls. The Say NO – Unite to End Violence against Women initiative’s website also aims to showcase the widespread problem – estimates say around 70 per cent of all women have been victim to some kind of violence – and demonstrate the groundswell of support by counting the number of deeds performed to combat the scourge. “We know that violence against women is a problem with solutions,” said UNIFEM Executive Director Inés Alberdi.
On the same occasion UN Secretary Ban Ki-moon launched a Network of Men Leaders, a major new initiative bringing together current and former politicians, activists, religious and community figures to combat the global pandemic. “As I launch this Network, I call on men and boys everywhere to join us. Break the silence. When you witness violence against women and girls, do not sit back. Act. Advocate. Unite to change the practices and attitudes that incite, perpetrate and condone this violence. Violence against women and girls will not be eradicated until all of us – men and boys – refuse to tolerate it.”
Each member of the Network, part of the “UNiTE to End Violence against Women” campaign that Mr. Ban launched last year, will work to support the longstanding efforts of women and civil society organizations worldwide to end violence, undertaking actions from raising public awareness to advocating for adequate laws.
By 2015, the UNiTE campaign aims to achieve the following five goals worldwide: adopt and enforce national laws to address and punish all forms of violence against women and girls; adopt and implement multi-sectoral national action plans; strengthen data collection on the prevalence of violence against women and girls; increase public awareness and social mobilization; and address sexual violence in conflict.
20th Anniversary: Rights of the Child
On the 20th November the UN marked the 20th anniversary of the ratification of the Convention of the Rights of the Child. The treaty, ratified by 193 states, articulates a set of universal children’s rights, such as the right to an identity, a name and a nationality, the right to an education, and rights to the highest possible standards of health and protection from abuse and exploitation.
The only two countries which have not ratified the Convention are Somalia, where there has not been a central government since 1991, and the United States. For US citizens, to join others in the campaign for its ratification see attachment 03b, and this website.
Resources for teachers and further Reading
As part of its commemoration of the Convention’s anniversary, UNICEF launched a special edition of its flagship The State of the World's Children report, tracking the impact of the treaty and the challenges that remain. Among other things, the report stressed that the rights of girls still require special attention, noting that the majority of children not attending primary school are girls, and girls are more likely to suffer sexual violence, be trafficked or forced into child marriage. In many regions they are also less likely to receive essential healthcare. Click here for the online edition of this report.
Also recently released is the 2009 UN Human Development Report, entitled Overcoming Barriers: Human Mobility and Development. The report states that currently an estimated one out of every seven persons in the world is a migrant. The document, written by independent experts and commissioned by the UN Development Programme (UNDP), proposes reforms to migration policies in source and destination countries that it says are politically feasible and will increase people’s freedom and strengthen human development. Click here to see the website.
The most recent Human Development Index published in October combines measures of life expectancy, literacy, school enrolment and gross domestic product (GDP) per capita, to rank 182 countries and territories. It may be accessed at: http://hdr.undp.org/en/statistics/.
Millennium Development Goals
Sister Joan F. Burke represents the congregation as an accredited non-governmental organisation at the United Nations. She works primarily in the area of poverty eradication, development issues, social development and how to finance development. |
