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UN@75: A Prayer for the United Nations September 23rd, 2020
The United Nations rose out of the ashes of World War II. The 75th anniversary of the founding of the UN is an occasion for the celebration of its achievements – ‘save succeeding generations from the scourge of war, promote “fundamental human rights”, establish conditions for the respect of “justice and international law” and “promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom.”
The anniversary provides us an opportunity to envision a United Nations fit for our times, to better serve a world very different from that of 1945.
Religious working at the UN have prepared a prayer service to mark the 75th anniversary of the UN. We are encouraged to gather with our family and community to pray for a good future for our world.
Join in and download the prayer here.
Sustainable Development: The World We Want February 3rd, 2015
Which of these Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are you working for?
- Dignity: to end poverty and fight inequalities
- People: to ensure healthy lives, knowledge and the inclusion of women and children
- Prosperity: to grow a strong, inclusive and transformative economy
- Planet: to protect our ecosystems for all societies and our children
- Justice: to promote safe and peaceful societies and strong institutions
- Partnership: to catalyze global solidarity for sustainable development
2015 is the last year for the millennium development goals, which were launched in 2000 to make global progress on poverty, education, health, hunger and the environment. UN member states, on the basis of a broad international consultative process, are finalizing sustainable development goals to replace them. What do the SDGs aim to achieve? How are they different from the MDGs? What progress was made in meeting the Millennium Development Goals? See how the MDGs have shifted into the SDGs, and explore each SDG in more detail: An Interactive on The SDGs: all you need to know
For more information on the SDGs, read the UN Secretary General’s 2015 Report: The Road to Dignity by 2030: Ending Poverty, Transforming All Lives and Protecting the Planet
Thanks to Daniel LeBlanc, OMI, Oblate representative at the UN, for this information.
UN Human Rights Day – December 10th! December 5th, 2014
Human Rights Day is December 10th, and we all need to spread the word!
The UN OHCHR is launching a social media initiative to stress that every day is Human Rights Day. We are all invited to record 6-second video messages (Vine) saying “Human rights matter 365 because…..” or “Human Rights matter every day because…” filling in the blanks with your own creative message. Tag your Vine with #rights365 and the OHCHR will collect them in their Storify. The video will be distributed through the UN Human Rights Office social media platforms (Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Vine and Storify). Please also sign up for a Thunderclap.
Check the High Commissioner’s statement and video statement – The statement of the High Commissioner is also available in the Human Rights Day page in all six UN official languages and the video statement –in English and Arabic– will be available in their site as of next week.
For any queries or clarifications, please contact humanrightsday@ohchr.org.
Important Advances in Pediatric AIDS Drug Development December 3rd, 2014
World AIDS Day saw two important announcements regarding development of much-needed pediatric AIDS drugs. This is an issue on which the Oblates and other faith-based investors in the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR) have pressed pharmaceutical companies on for years. Since most pediatric AIDS patients are in poor, developing countries, the usual market incentive for drug development does not exist. And, the development of pediatric AIDS drugs, particularly for infants, is challenging. ICCR members have actively encouraged the major pharmaceutical companies to participate in the Medicines Patent Pool, a mechanism established under the auspices of the UN to ‘pool’ patents for drugs to make existing formulations more readily available for generic production and for innovative fixed dose combinations to be developed.
On Monday, World AIDS Day, Abbvie announced a licensing agreement for lopinavir (LPV) and ritonavir (r), top World Health Organization-recommended medicines for children. The license will enable other companies and organizations to re-formulate and manufacture specially designed LPV/r and r pediatric treatments for distribution in low- and middle-income countries where 99% of children with HIV in the developing world live. [Abbvie is a spinoff of Abbott Laboratories that contains the research-based pharmaceutical business.]
On the same day, the HIV Medicines Research Industry Forum announced that the forum is joining PEPFAR, the Global Fund, and the Pediatric HIV Treatment Initiative (PHTI) in the newly established “Global Pediatric Antiretroviral (ARV) Commitment-to-Action” to accelerate innovation and save children’s lives. The initiative is designed to accelerate the development of new, high-priority pediatric ARV co-formulations for first- and second-line treatment by 2017.
Click here to read more »
Biodiversity Preservation Lagging October 6th, 2014
Pipevine Swallowtail and Thistle
Photo credit: Fr. Kevin McLaughlin, OMI
The world is severely lagging behind targets set in 2010 to preserve biodiversity, according to a new report issued by the United Nations. The report said in addition to high profile campaigns to save certain animals, preserving biodiversity also means pursuing goals like reducing nutrient pollution in rivers. Much more efficient use of land, water, energy and materials are needed to meet globally-agreed targets by 2020.
“Bold and innovative action is urgently required if governments are to meet the globally-agreed Strategic Plan for Biodiversity and its Aichi Targets by 2020,” the Montreal-based Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) said referring to the 20 biodiversity goals agreed upon in 2010 in the Japanese city of Nagoya in Aichi prefecture.
“The challenge of achievement of many of these targets stem from the reality that based on current trends, pressures on biodiversity will continue to increase at least until 2020 and that the status of biodiversity will continue to decline,” according to this latest progress report by the CBD. The report cautioned “that continuing with ‘business as usual’ in our present patterns of behaviour, consumption, production and economic incentives will not allow us to realize the vision of a world with ecosystems capable of meeting human needs into the future.”
The report, Global Diversity Outlook 4 was released today at the start of the 12th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, known as COP-12, in Pyeongchang, Republic of Korea.
