Tag Archives: global

Hundreds of women trade unionists gather for world conference in Vienna

. . WOMEN’S EQUALITY . .

An article from industri-all global union

Some 300 women trade unionists from over 60 countries are gathering in Vienna, Austria for IndustriALL Global Union’s first-ever Women World Conference.

new women

The inaugural event, hosted by Austrian trade union PRO-GE, takes place from 14 to 16 September in the capital.

Austria’s President, Dr. Heinz Fischer, will address the opening ceremony, together with the minister for health, Sabine Oberhauser, the minister for labour, Rudolf Hundstorfer and the secretary of state, Sonja Stessl.

IndustriALL Global Union, which represents 50 million workers in the metal, chemical, energy, mining, textile and related industries, is bringing together women trade unionists from across five continents to address some of the issues most affecting women in the workplace.

“Vienna has opened its arms to our trade union colleagues and we are delighted to welcome so many women to Austria for IndustriALL’s first World Women Conference. It promises to be a lively and informative conference from which we will emerge stronger and better equipped to improve the lives of women through the trade union movement,” said IndustriALL’s assistant general secretary Monika Kemperle.

A key theme of the conference will be unions’ role in preventing violence against women, with a new campaign launched on the occasion. Gender-based violence and discrimination whether at work or not, limits women’s potential at work and is therefore a trade union issue.

Women panelists from countries as diverse as Australia, Colombia, Iraq, Myanmar, the Ukraine and South Africa, will be sharing their experiences and expertise in improving health and safety, increasing maternity protection, preventing HIV/AIDS, building membership, fighting precarious work, ending gender discrimination, and achieving a work/life balance, among other topics.

An Equality Charter advocating women’s rights will be proposed for adoption at the Conference. Trade unions, especially in male-dominated sectors, have not always been inclusive of women or taken their concerns seriously.

Participants will also be examining IndustriALL’s own leadership structures with a motion to increase women’s representation from 30 to 40 per cent.

The event is due to be streamed live on www.industriall-union.org and can be followed on twitter at @IndustriALL_GU and #WWCVienna.

For more information, please contact Leonie Guguen, Communications Officer at IndustriALL Global Union. Email: lguguen@industriall-union.org. Tel: +41 (0)79 137 54 36.

(Thank you to Janet Hudgins, the CPNN reporter for this article.)

(Click here for a Spanish version of this article or here for a French version)

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Peace ‘a distant dream’ without development, UN high-level forum told

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An article from The UN News Centre

United Nations officials today [9 September] shared a common message that building a culture of peace means not just ending conflict but building inclusive societies that are able to develop and thrive in the absence of discrimination.

unforum
Ambassador Einar Gunnarsson of Iceland. UN Photo/Mark Garten

“Today’s discussion is an opportunity to focus on what we need to do on our pathway to a new and prosperous future for all,” said Ambassador Einar Gunnarsson of Iceland, speaking on behalf of the President of the General Assembly, at the High-level Forum on a Culture of Peace.

“Experience has shown us that peace is not simply the absence of conflict,” he stated. “Peace requires equitable societies, inclusive education and tangible actions on the ground.

“More importantly, peace is a distant dream without development. This is part of the core challenge in promoting a culture of peace and ensuring peaceful societies.”

Mr. Gunnarsson also spoke of the need to create a national community to promote dialogue, enhance respect for religious and cultural diversity, and eliminate all forms of discrimination and intolerance, while developing policies to promote peace, security, the rule of law and democratic decision-making.

Today’s event was designed to highlight the importance of implementation of the Declaration and Programme of Action on a Culture of Peace that the Assembly adopted in September 1999 and the need to further strengthen global movements to promote a culture of peace.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon shared his thoughts on how to bring about a culture of peace, highlighting humanitarian crises around the world and violations of international human rights laws.

“Today’s meeting is about the very hard truths in our world,” he said, “where people are suffering and dying from violence and atrocity crimes.”

“Syria is the world’s worst humanitarian crisis today,” he said. “I have condemned the parties – especially the Government – for reported grave violations of human rights and international humanitarian law that may amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity.”

As well as speaking about war-torn regions, Mr. Ban noted: “Even in mostly peaceful, democratic societies, minorities are attacked for their race, sexual orientation or some other difference – when they should be embraced for our common humanity.”

He also paid tribute to those countries, communities and people who had shown compassion, rather than xenophobia and discrimination.

“We cannot build a culture of peace without an active campaign against division and injustice,” said Mr. Ban. “To be more than just soothing words, the culture of peace demands courageous practice.”

Arun Gandhi, a grandson of the late Mahatma Gandhi, delivered the keynote address at the meeting, and shared some of the knowledge he said he had gathered from one of the great leaders of the Indian independence movement.

“What I learned from grandfather is that each one of us contributes to violence all the time. Many times in ways we don’t even know and recognize,” he said. “Unless we individually transform ourselves and accept a non-violent way of life, we cannot create peace in the world today.”

He said that, in the words of his grandfather, “we must become the change we wish to see in the world,” adding that “unless we change ourselves and our attitudes, we are not going to be able to change the world at all.”
for the world we want.

(Click here for a version of this article in French

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Can the UN help move the world toward a culture of peace?

The following comes from the CPNN Coordinator’s blog of October 2012

The United Nations and the Culture of Peace

My ten years working in the United Nations system left me with a sweet and sour taste: the sweet side was the universality of the UN, both its staff and mandate, and its great significance for raising the consciousness of the peoples of the world; the sour side was the jealousy of the Member States who make sure that the UN does not encroach on their freedom to rule over their own citizens, as well as people in other countries that they may dominate through neo-colonial relations. This became crystal-clear to me when the United States delegate, during the informal meetings of the UN General Assembly in 1999, opposed the Declaration and Programme of Action on a Culture of Peace, saying that it would make it more difficult for them to start a war. In fact, throughout history, war (call it “defense” if you prefer) has always been the most fundamental “right” of the state

With this in mind, I have been pleasantly surprised by the extent to which the UN system has once again taken up the culture of peace as a priority, as shown in this month’s CPNN bulletin, just as it was a priority in the Year 2000 when I was the director of the UN International Year for the Culture of Peace

Of course, this does not happen by chance, and great credit belongs to two men who played key roles for the Year 2000, Federico Mayor Zaragoza, who made the culture of peace a priority of UNESCO, and Anwarul Chowdhury, who played the role of midwife at the UN General Assembly, guiding the culture of peace resolution through nine months of opposition by the powerful states. Once again, this last month, these two men motivated and spoke eloquently at the High Level Forum on a Culture of Peace at the UN

As always it was the countries of the South who supported the initiative (see the CPNN article of September 24 and its discussion), but at least this month it was not blocked by the powerful states

In fact, it is my impression that the powerful states pay less and less attention to the United Nations. When there was a financial crisis a few years ago, the powerful states did not turn to the UN agencies , the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, but set up their own temporary system of finance ministers, and when it came time for the review of nuclear non-proliferation, President Obama held his own meeting with heads of state in Washington and ignored the UN conference where the only head of state to speak was that of Iran. And the US has pulled out of UNESCO entirely, forcing drastic cuts in its budget

In fact, the lack of attention by the powerful states may provide the UN system with an opportunity to push the agenda of the culture of peace without their opposition – let us hope that the UN can take advantage of this

Of course, in the long run, the UN, or any other institution, cannot mandate a culture of peace; instead, the culture of peace can only grow from the consciousness, both understanding and action, of the peoples of the world (see last month’s blog below). That’s why the role of the UN for consciousnes-raising is ultimately its greatest contribution!

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Islamic Declaration Turns Up Heat Ahead of Paris Climate Talks

. . SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT . .

An article by Kitty Stapp, Inter Press Service (reprinted by permission)

Following in the footsteps of Pope Francis, who has taken a vocal stance on climate change, Muslim leaders and scholars from 20 countries issued a joint declaration Tuesday [August 18] underlining the severity of the problem and urging governments to commit to 100 percent renewable energy or a zero emissions strategy.

islamic
Mohammed Rashid Qabbani, the Grand Mufti of Lebanon, was one of the signers of the Islamic Declaration on Climate. Credit: kateeb.org

Notably, it calls on oil-rich, wealthy Muslim countries to lead the charge in phasing out fossil fuels “no later than the middle of the century.”

The call to action, which draws on Islamic teachings, was adopted at an International Islamic Climate Change Symposium in Istanbul.

“Our species, though selected to be a caretaker or steward (khalifah) on the earth, has been the cause of such corruption and devastation on it that we are in danger ending life as we know it on our planet,” the Islamic Declaration on Climate statement says.

“This current rate of climate change cannot be sustained, and the earth’s fine equilibrium (mīzān) may soon be lost…We call on all groups to join us in collaboration, co-operation and friendly competition in this endeavor and we welcome the significant contributions taken by other faiths, as we can all be winners in this race.”

The symposium’s goal was to reach “broad unity and ownership from the Islamic community around the Declaration.”

Welcoming the declaration, UNFCCC Executive Secretary Christiana Figueres said, “A clean energy, sustainable future for everyone ultimately rests on a fundamental shift in the understanding of how we value the environment and each other.

“Islam’s teachings, which emphasize the duty of humans as stewards of the Earth and the teacher’s role as an appointed guide to correct behavior, provide guidance to take the right action on climate change.”

Supporters of the Islamic Declaration included the grand muftis of Uganda and Lebanon and government representatives from Turkey and Morocco.

The UNFCCC notes that religious leaders of all faiths have been stepping up the pressure on governments to drastically cut carbon dioxide emissions and help poorer countries adapt to the challenges of climate change, with a key international climate treaty set to be negotiated in Paris this December.

In June, Pope Francis released a papal encyclical letter, in which he called on the world’s 1.2 billion Catholics to join the fight against climate change.

The Church of England’s General Synod recently urged world leaders to agree on a roadmap to a low carbon future, and is among a number of Christian groups promising to redirect their resources into clean energy.

Hindu leaders will release their own statement later this year, and the Buddhist community plans to step up engagement this year building on a Buddhist Declaration on climate change. Hundreds of rabbis released a Rabbinic Letter on the Climate Crisis.

The Dalai Lama has also frequently spoken of the need for action on climate change, linking it to the need for reforms to the global economic system.

Interfaith groups have been cooperating throughout the year. The Vatican convened a Religions for Peace conference in the Vatican in April, and initiatives such as our Our Voices network are building coalitions in the run-up to Paris.

Reacting to the Islamic Declaration, the World Wildlife Fund’s Global Climate and Energy Initiative Head of Low Carbon Frameworks, Tasneem Essop, said, “The message from the Islamic leaders and scholars boosts the moral aspects of the global climate debate and marks another significant display of climate leadership by faith-based groups.

“Climate change is no longer just a scientific issue; it is increasingly a moral and ethical one. It affects the lives, livelihoods and rights of everyone, especially the poor, marginalised and most vulnerable communities.”

(Thank you to Janet Hudgins, the CPNN reporter for this article.)

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Global Feast for Peace, held annually during Peace Week, Sept. 15-21

DISARMAMENT & SECURITY .

An article from the International Cities of Peace

International Day of Peace, September 21st of each year, was created by a United Nations Resolution in the 1980s and has grown to become a day of global celebration, education, and reflection on peace in local communities and throughout the world. During Peace Week, Sept. 15-21, families, friends, organizations, as well as cities, towns, and villages across the world gather and break bread together in a Global Feast for Peace.

Arment

ADD YOUR CITY TO THE MAP OF CITIES HAVING A FEAST FOR PEACE!

Sharing food together in celebration of friendship and common interest is a tradition as old as the human family. The Global Feast for Peace is part of the U.N. sponsored International Day of Peace, celebrated around the world on September 21st each year. Whether it’s a small family celebration or a large community gathering, the Feast for Peace is a simple and profound expression of peace that everyone, no matter how humble or blessed their circumstances, can connect with and enliven the global celebration. Feast for peace!

Who can participate?

• Families, neighborhoods, communities, and cities
• Organizations, including faith-based, interfaith and secular
• Businesses, both for-profit and not-for-profit
• Schools from nursery schools to higher education
• Anyone who wishes to express their wish for peace

What to do?

Join together during International Day of Peace or during Peace Week. The gathering can be a formal lunch or a group potluck where people bring a dish and share. Other events can be planned before, during, and/or after the Global Feast, including bell ringing, speakers, musical events, meditations and prayers, moments of silence and other activities that foster a culture of peace.

When to celebrate and plan?
Each year, there are thousands of celebrations around the world. Planning for the Global Feast should begin weeks or, better, several months ahead in order to involve as many people as possible.

Where to have the Feast?
The place for the Feast can be as small as a family dining room or as large as an amphitheater. One person can even Feast for Peace at home!

Why plan a Global Feast?
To come together as members of the human family; to honor those who have worked and who are working today for a more peaceful world; to encourage the next generation of peacebuilders. The Global Feast for Peace is a thanksgiving of the peace we have and to inspire actions to foster a culture of peace during the coming year.

To Register Your Event:
Send info to: story@internationalcitiesofpeace.org
Join our Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Global-Feast-for-Peace/490665730993992

Initiated by members of the Peace Cities Subcommittee of the IDP NGO for United Nations International Day of Peace.

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DISARMAMENT & SECURITY, global

The Elders urge world leaders to take bold and decisive action on climate in 2015

. . SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT . .

A press release from The Elders

Ahead of the UN Sustainable Development Goals summit, The Elders call on world leaders to agree on a common approach that yields a “radical and sustainable” plan to tackle climate change.

elders

In a letter to heads of state and government attending the launch of the new UN Sustainable Development Goals in New York on 26 September, The Elders told leaders:

“2015 is the year in which the community of nations will conclude two of the most important international processes of our times […] You have a decisive role to play in charting the course of history.”

The Sustainable Development Goals are the successors to the UN’s Millennium Development Goals which ran from 2000 to 2015. The COP 21 summit in Paris in December is seen by scientists as the last opportunity to commit to meaningful action to prevent a future climate catastrophe.

The Elders warned:

“If action is not taken immediately to stop and reverse current climate trends, we shall face a world with average global temperatures several degrees higher than when we were children.”
Specifically, they urged leaders attending the launch of the SDGs to:

– Inject a new sense of urgency into the Paris negotiations to secure an international binding agreement that would limit the increase in average global temperature to less than two degrees Celsius;

Establish a goal for all nations to reach carbon neutrality by 2050 and agree a timetable to phase out fossil fuel subsidies, with early action on coal;

– Commit to mechanisms within the Paris agreement that can assess progress and ratchet up the commitment of all signatories on climate mitigation and adaptation efforts every five years;

– Approve a financial package that increases investment in clean energy and supports climate adaptation by poor countries.

Even at this late stage, The Elders believe that transformative leadership can yield radical and sustainable results, telling heads of state and government:

“You can prove to be an historic generation of leaders who will have a profound and positive impact that echoes throughout the century […] the courage and conviction you show will be remembered for decades to come.”

(Thank you to Janet Hudgins, the CPNN reporter for this article.)

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ICRC re Arms Trade Treaty: We must stop irresponsible arms trade or transfers

DISARMAMENT & SECURITY .

A declaration by the International Committee of the Red Cross

First Conference of the States Parties to the Arms Trade Treaty, Cancun, Mexico, 24-27 August 2015. Statement delivered by Peter Maurer, President of the ICRC, as a video address at the Conference.

icrc-english-french
ICRC Video

I am honored to be addressing you today on this historic occasion of the First Conference of the States Parties to the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT), a treaty that promises to reduce the tremendous human suffering caused by the widespread and poorly regulated availability of conventional weapons.

The ATT establishes a global norm for responsible arms transfers. By requiring States Parties to consider respect for international humanitarian law and human rights law in their arms transfer decisions and to take measures to prevent the diversion of weapons, this Treaty will help to ensure that arms do not end up in the hands of those who would use them to commit war crimes, serious violations of human rights and other serious crimes.

In adopting the ATT, States have recognized that arms and ammunition can no longer be regarded as just another form of commercial goods. They have recognized that arms transfers require particular caution because of the devastating and irreparable harm that is caused when weapons fall into the wrong hands. And they have explicitly recognized that cooperation, transparency and information sharing underpin the responsible arms trade, and are critical to building confidence among States and therefore to the Treaty’s effectiveness.

The ATT’s aim to increase responsibility and transparency in the international trade in conventional arms will depend not only on the implementation of the Treaty’s requirements by States Parties, but also on the openness and transparency of the forums set up under the Treaty to review its implementation and operation, notably of the Conference of the States Parties. A strong level of transparency, notably in the initial and annual reports required under the Treaty, and in the review of the operation of the Treaty by the Conference of the States Parties will facilitate cooperation and build the confidence necessary for the Treaty’s success. The ICRC urges States Parties to keep this in mind in the decisions that they will take this week, notably on the rules of procedure and on the reporting mechanism.

(Article continued on the right column)

(Click here for a version of this article in French or here for a version in Spanish.)

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Do you think handguns should be banned?, Why or why not?

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The significance of the ATT, and the milestone that this First Conference of the States Parties represents, cannot be overstated. If we have reached this point today, it is thanks to all those who have worked tirelessly over the last decade and a half to make this Treaty a reality: the States that drove the process leading to the ATT’s adoption; the United Nations and the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, which each drew attention to the high human costs of poorly controlled arms transfers; and, of course, the non-governmental organizations which first called for an arms trade treaty some fifteen years ago. In this respect, the crucial role played by the “Control Arms” coalition of NGOs in bringing about the ATT, and the invaluable expertise and assistance that they are now providing to universalization and implementation efforts, must be recognized.

The concerted efforts of States, international organizations, NGOs and the ICRC must be sustained and hopefully increased in the Treaty’s implementation phase, of which this First Conference of the States Parties is the starting point. Our work has only just begun. Not only must we strive to achieve the broadest possible adherence to the Treaty, notably by States involved in the arms trade, but also crucially we must ensure that the Treaty’s core obligations are faithfully implemented, notably through the establishment of robust national control systems.

In this regard, I remain concerned about the gap that subsists between the duty to ensure respect for international humanitarian law in arms transfers, and the actual transfer practices of too many States. The ICRC is directly confronted with this gap, in many countries where we witness the appalling consequences for civilians of the widespread availability and misuse of weapons, which facilitate violations of international humanitarian law, endanger vital medical and humanitarian assistance, provoke displacement and prolong armed conflicts. As weapons continue to flow, either through overt or covert transfers or through diversion, to some of the most brutal armed conflicts such as those seen in parts of the Middle East and of Africa today, there is an urgent need to close the gap between law and practice.

The true measure of success of the ATT is the extent to which this gap will be filled and the Treaty changes people’s lives in the years to come. If States were to join the Treaty but continue to transfer arms to belligerents with a record of committing war crimes or serious violations of human rights, this would severely undermine the ATT’s humanitarian purpose and its credibility.

DISARMAMENT & SECURITY, global

UN: High Level Forum on a Culture of Peace

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A letter from the The President of the UN General Assembly

To all permanent representatives and permanent observers to the United Nations New York

Further to my letter dated 27 July 2015 on the convening of a High-Level Forum on a culture of Peace on 9 September 2015 at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, I have the pleasure to transmit herewith a Concept Note with more details.

HLF

As the international community moves toward the adoption of a transformative post-2015 development agenda by world leaders at a Summit in September 2015, the important linkage between peace and development has been underscored in the Sustainable Development Goals.

The High-Level Forum will highlight the importance of implementation of the Declaration and Programme of Action on a Culture of Peace and the need to further strengthen global movements to promote a culture of peace.

I have the honor to invite Member States and Observers to participate at the highest possible level. A provisional program will be provided in due course.

Please accept the assurances of my highest consideration.

Sam K. Kutesa, 12 August 2015

[Editor’s note: Click here for the Concept Note, which indicates that the Forum will have two panels: Promotion of the Culture of Peace in the context of the Post-2015 sustainable development agenda; and Role of the media in the promotion of the culture of peace.

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UN: Worldwide displacement hits all-time high as war and persecution increase

… HUMAN RIGHTS …

An article from The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees

Wars, conflict and persecution have forced more people than at any other time since records began to flee their homes and seek refuge and safety elsewhere, according to a new report from the UN refugee agency. UNHCR’s annual Global Trends Report: World at War, released on Thursday (June 18), said that worldwide displacement was at the highest level ever recorded. It said the number of people forcibly displaced at the end of 2014 had risen to a staggering 59.5 million compared to 51.2 million a year earlier and 37.5 million a decade ago.

unhcr-english

The increase represents the biggest leap ever seen in a single year. Moreover, the report said the situation was likely to worsen still further.

Globally, one in every 122 humans is now either a refugee, internally displaced, or seeking asylum. If this were the population of a country, it would be the world’s 24th biggest.

“We are witnessing a paradigm change, an unchecked slide into an era in which the scale of global forced displacement as well as the response required is now clearly dwarfing anything seen before,” said UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres.

Since early 2011, the main reason for the acceleration has been the war in Syria, now the world’s single-largest driver of displacement. Every day last year on average 42,500 people became refugees, asylum seekers, or internally displaced, a four-fold increase in just four years.

“It is terrifying that on the one hand there is more and more impunity for those starting conflicts, and on the other there is seeming utter inability of the international community to work together to stop wars and build and preserve peace,” Guterres added.

The UNHCR report detailed how in region after region, the number of refugees and internally displaced people is on the rise. In the past five years, at least 15 conflicts have erupted or reignited: eight in Africa (Côte d’Ivoire, Central African Republic, Libya, Mali, northeastern Nigeria, Democratic Republic of Congo, South Sudan and this year in Burundi); three in the Middle East (Syria, Iraq, and Yemen); one in Europe (Ukraine) and three in Asia (Kyrgyzstan, and in several areas of Myanmar and Pakistan).

“Few of these crises have been resolved and most still generate new displacement,” the report noted, adding that in 2014 only 126,800 refugees were able to return to their home countries — the lowest number in 31 years.
Meanwhile, decades-old instability and conflict in Afghanistan, Somalia and elsewhere means that millions of people remain on the move or – as is increasingly common – stranded for years on the edge of society as long-term internally displaced or refugees.

One of the most recent and highly visible consequences of the world’s conflicts and the terrible suffering they cause has been the dramatic growth in the numbers of refugees seeking safety through dangerous sea journeys, including on the Mediterranean, in the Gulf of Aden and Red Sea, and in Southeast Asia.

Half of all refugees are children

The Global Trends report detailed that in 2014 alone 13.9 million people became newly displaced – four times the number of the previous year. Worldwide there were 19.5 million refugees (up from 16.7 million in 2013), 38.2 million were displaced inside their own countries (up from 33.3 million in 2013), and 1.8 million people were awaiting the outcome of claims for asylum (against 1.2 million in 2013).

Most alarmingly, however, it showed that over half the world’s refugees are children.

(Article continued on right side of page.)

(Click here for the French version of this article.)

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The refugee crisis, Who is responsible?

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“With huge shortages of funding and wide gaps in the global regime for protecting victims of war, people in need of compassion, aid and refuge are being abandoned,” warned Guterres. “For an age of unprecedented mass displacement, we need an unprecedented humanitarian response and a renewed global commitment to tolerance and protection for people fleeing conflict and persecution.”

Syria is the world’s biggest producer of both internally displaced people (7.6 million) and refugees (3.88 million at the end of 2014). Afghanistan (2.59 million) and Somalia (1.1 million) are the next biggest refugee source countries.

Almost nine out of every 10 refugees (86 per cent) are in regions and countries considered economically less developed.

Europe (up 51%)

Conflict in Ukraine, a record 219,000 Mediterranean crossings, and the large number of Syrian refugees in Turkey – which in 2014 became the world’s top refugee-hosting nation with 1.59 million Syrian refugees at year’s end – brought increased public attention, both positive and negative, to questions to do with refugees.

In the EU, the biggest volume of asylum applications was in Germany and Sweden. Overall, forced displacement numbers in Europe totalled 6.7 million at the end of the year, compared to 4.4 million at the end of 2013, and with the largest proportion of this being Syrians in Turkey and Ukrainians in the Russian Federation.

Middle East and North Africa (up 19%)

Syria’s ongoing war, with 7.6 million people displaced internally, and 3.88 million people displaced into the surrounding region and beyond as refugees, has alone made the Middle East the world’s largest producer and host of forced displacement. Adding to the high totals from Syria was a new displacement of least 2.6 million people in Iraq and 309,000 newly displaced in Libya.

Sub-Saharan Africa (Up 17%)

Africa’s numerous conflicts, including in Central African Republic, South Sudan, Somalia, Nigeria, Democratic Republic of Congo and elsewhere, together produced immense forced displacement totals in 2014, on a scale only marginally lower than in the Middle East.

In all, sub-Saharan Africa saw 3.7 million refugees and 11.4 million internally displaced people, 4.5 million of whom were newly displaced in 2014. The 17 per cent overall increase excludes Nigeria, as methodology for counting internal displacement changed during 2014 and it could not be reliably calculated. Ethiopia replaced Kenya as the largest refugee-hosting country in Africa and the fifth largest worldwide.

Asia (up 31%)

Long one of the world’s major displacement producing regions, the number of refugees and internally displaced people in Asia grew by 31 per cent in 2014 to 9 million people. Continuing displacement was also seen in and from Myanmar in 2014, including of Rohingya from Rakhine state and in the Kachin and Northern Shan regions. Iran and Pakistan remained two of the world’s top four refugee hosting countries.

Americas (up 12%)

The Americas also saw a rise in forced displacement. The number of Colombian refugees dropped by 36,300 to 360,300 over the year, although mainly because of a revision in the numbers of refugees reported by Venezuela. Colombia continued, nonetheless to have one of the world’s largest internally displaced populations, reported at 6 million people and with 137,000 Colombians being newly displaced during the year. With more people fleeing gang violence or other forms of persecution in Central America, the United States saw 36,800 more asylum claims than in 2013, representing growth of 44 per cent.

The full Global Trends report with this information and more, and including data on individual countries, demographics, numbers of people returning to their countries, and available estimates of stateless population is available at < href="http://unhcr.org/556725e69.html">http://unhcr.org/556725e69.html.

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UN: Consensus Reached on New Sustainable Development Agenda to be adopted by World Leaders in September

. . SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT . .

An article by the United Nations Development Program

The 193 Member States of the United Nations reached agreement today [August 2 ]on the outcome document that will constitute the new sustainable development agenda that will be adopted this September by world leaders at the Sustainable Development Summit in New York.

UNDP

Concluding a negotiating process that has spanned more than two years and has featured the unprecedented participation of civil society, countries agreed to an ambitious agenda that features 17 new sustainable development goals that aim to end poverty, promote prosperity and people’s well-being while protecting the environment by 2030.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon welcomed the agreement, saying it “encompasses a universal, transformative and integrated agenda that heralds an historic turning point for our world.”

“This is the People’s Agenda, a plan of action for ending poverty in all its dimensions, irreversibly, everywhere, and leaving no one behind. It seeks to ensure peace and prosperity, and forge partnerships with people and planet at the core. The integrated, interlinked and indivisible 17 Sustainable Development Goals are the people’s goals and demonstrate the scale, universality and ambition of this new Agenda.”

Mr. Ban said the September Summit, where the new agenda will be adopted, “will chart a new era of Sustainable Development in which poverty will be eradicated, prosperity shared and the core drivers of climate change tackled.”

He added that the UN System stands ready to support the implementation of the new agenda, which builds on the successful outcome of the Third International Conference on Financing for Development in Addis Ababa, and which, he said, will also contribute to achieve a meaningful agreement in the COP21 in Paris in December.
UNDP Administrator Helen Clark said “This agreement marks an important milestone in putting our world on an inclusive and sustainable course. If we all work together, we have a chance of meeting citizens’ aspirations for peace, prosperity, and wellbeing, and to preserve our planet.”

More than 150 world leaders are expected to attend the Sustainable Development Summit at the UN headquarters in New York between 25 to 27 September to formally adopt the outcome document of the new sustainable agenda.

The new sustainable development agenda builds on the success of the Millennium Development Goals, which helped more than 700 million people escape poverty. The eight Millennium Development Goals, adopted in 2000, aimed at an array of issues that included slashing poverty, hunger, disease, gender inequality, and access to water and sanitation by 2015.

The new sustainable development goals, and the broader sustainablity agenda, go much further, addressing the root causes of poverty and the universal need for development that works for all people.

The preamble of the 29-page text, “Transforming Our World: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development,” states, “We are resolved to free the human race from the tyranny of poverty and want and to heal and secure our planet.” It continues, “We are determined to take the bold and transformative steps which are urgently needed to shift the world onto a sustainable and resilient path. As we embark on this collective journey, we pledge that no one will be left behind.”

Rio+20 and the intergovernmental process

At the Rio+20 Conference of 2012, Member States agreed to launch a process to develop a set of sustainable development goals, which will build upon the Millennium Development Goals. The Millennium Development Goals have proven that goal-setting can lift millions out of poverty, improve well-being and provide vast new opportunities for better lives. It was agreed that the new goals would be global in nature and universally applicable to all countries while taking into account different national realities, capacities and levels of development and respecting national policies and priorities.

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( Click here for the French version of this article or here for the Spanish version.)

Question for this article:

Can UN agencies help eradicate poverty in the world?

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The negotiations were co-facilitated by the UN Permanent Representative of Ireland, Ambassador David Donohue, and the UN Permanent Representative of Kenya, Ambassador Macharia Kamau, over two years. The inclusive and transparent consultations by Member States, with the strong engagement of civil society and other stakeholders, have served as a basis for the conclusion of the intergovernmental negotiations on the emerging universal and people-centred agenda.

Core elements of the agreed outcome document

The outcome document highlights poverty eradication as the overarching goal of the new development agenda and has at its core the integration of the economic, social and environmental dimensions of sustainable development. The emerging development agenda is unique in that it calls for action by all countries, poor, rich and middle-income. Member States pledge that as they embark on this collective journey, no one will be left behind. The ‘five Ps’—people, planet, prosperity, peace, and partnership—capture the broad scope of the agenda.

The 17 sustainable goals and 169 targets aim at tackling key systemic barriers to sustainable development such as inequality, unsustainable consumption and production patterns, inadequate infrastructure and lack of decent jobs. The environmental dimension of sustainable development is covered in the goals on oceans and marine resources and on ecosystems and biodiversity, bringing core issues into the goal and target framework.

The means of implementation outlined in the outcome document match its ambitious goals and focus on finance, technology and capacity development. In addition to a stand-alone goal on the means of implementation for the new agenda, specific means are tailored to each of the sustainable development goals.

Member States stressed that the desired transformations will require a departure from “business as usual” and that intensified international cooperation on many fronts will be required. The agenda calls for a revitalized, global partnership for sustainable development, including for multi-stakeholder partnerships. The agenda also calls for increased capacity-building and better data and statistics to measure sustainable development.

An effective follow-up and review architecture – a core element of the outcome document – will be critical to support the implementation of the new agenda. The High Level Political Forum on sustainable development, set up after the Rio+20 Conference, will serve as the apex forum for follow up and review and will thus play a central role. The General Assembly, the Economic and Social Council and specialized agencies will also be engaged in reviewing progress in specific areas.

Based on the outcome document, the agenda will include a Technology Facilitation Mechanism to support the new goals, based on multi-stakeholder collaboration between Member States, civil society, business, the scientific community, and the UN system of agencies. The Mechanism, which was agreed at the Addis Conference in July, will have an inter-agency task team, a forum on science, technology and innovation, and an on-line platform for collaboration.

The successful outcome of the Addis Conference gave important positive momentum to the last stretch of negotiations on the post-2015 development agenda. It is expected that the consensus reached on the outcome document will provide momentum for the negotiations on a new binding climate change treaty to culminate at the Climate Change Conference in Paris from 30 November to 11 December 2015.

The draft agreement can be found here.

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World unites to fight wildlife crime as UN adopts historic resolution

. SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT .

An article by WWF (reprinted according to Creative Commons Attribution)

Faced with an unprecedented surge in wildlife crime, the UN today adopted a historic resolution committing all countries to ramp up their collective efforts to end the global poaching crisis and tackle the vast illegal wildlife trade. Initiated by Gabon and Germany and co-sponsored by 84 other nations, the UN General Assembly resolution, Tackling the Illicit Trafficking in Wildlife, is the result of three years of diplomatic efforts and is the first time that every nation has acknowledged the seriousness of wildlife crime and the urgent need to join forces to combat it.

wildlife
caption: © Sarah Goddard / WWF

“The UN resolution marks a new phase in the fight against wildlife crime, which is threatening countless species with extinction while jeopardizing national security and sustainable development,” said Marco Lambertini, Director General of WWF International. “This landmark resolution proves that ending wildlife crime is no longer just an ‘environmental’ issue and not just limited to a few countries: it has become a priority for every nation.”

With elephant populations collapsing in Mozambique and Tanzania and record numbers of rhinos being killed in South Africa, the poaching crisis is clearly undermining global conservation efforts. But the UN resolution also spells out the broader effects of wildlife crime, which undermines good governance, the rule of law and the well-being of local communities as well as financing criminal networks and funding armed conflict.

“Just weeks before the UN meets to finalize the Sustainable Development Goals, it is significant that every country has signed up to tackle the growing threat organized wildlife crime poses to sustainable development,” said Lambertini.

Recognizing that only a comprehensive approach can curb the current crisis, all 193 UN member states agreed to enhance regional and international cooperation along the entire illegal wildlife trade chain, including measures to stop the poaching, trafficking and buying.

Along with strengthening judicial processes and law enforcement, the resolution encourages countries to actively involve local communities in the fight against the illicit trade by enhancing their rights and capacity to manage and benefit from wildlife resources.

“Nepal has already proved that this comprehensive approach works, having achieved three years of zero poaching of rhinos since 2011 thanks to a combination of high-level political will, dedicated rangers, and genuine community participation – now it is up to other countries to follow Nepal’s lead and the measures outlined in this historic resolution,” said Elisabeth McLellan, Head of the Wildlife Crime Initiative, WWF International.

Attracted by the relatively low risks and high returns, organized crime networks have muscled their way into the illegal wildlife trade, bringing with them more sophisticated poaching and trafficking methods – and greater violence and corruption.

In response, the resolution highlights the transnational and organized nature of crimes that impact the environment and stresses the need for countries to counter corruption and address money laundering linked to wildlife crime.

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Question for this article:

What is the relation between the environment and peace?

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“If countries fully implement the resolution, wildlife crime will become far riskier and far less rewarding,” said McLellan. ”The resolution’s strong reporting mechanism should ensure that real progress is made and that any critical gaps are effectively addressed.”

Starting in 2016, the UN secretary general is tasked with presenting an annual report on global wildlife crime and countries’ implementation of the resolution, together with recommendations for further action. Already lined up for debate next year is the possible appointment of a special envoy – a move that WWF believes would promote greater awareness and help hold countries to account.

“WWF has played a key role in shifting global attitudes towards wildlife crime over recent years, highlighting its impact on communities and on dwindling populations of elephants, rhinos, tigers and other species,” said Lambertini. “WWF will now focus on assisting countries in their crucial efforts to implement the resolution and help end the terrible global scourge that is wildlife crime, once and for all.”

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