News Archives » United Nations
Rio+20 – the 2012 UN Conference on Sustainable Development May 25th, 2012
The United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, also known as Rio+20, is to be held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil from 20 to 22 June 2012. This also mark the 20th anniversary of the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, in Rio de Janeiro, and the 10th anniversary of the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg.
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Support the Call for a Special Rapporteur on HR and Climate Change May 25th, 2012
A group of NGOs, including VIVAT International, has issued a petition calling for a Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and Climate Change at the Human Rights Council. VIVAT International, of which the Oblates are a member, is a strong supporter of this petition and is asking members of our network to support the initiative.
We encourage you to sign on as an individual or on behalf of your congregation, if you are delegated to do so.
To read and sign the petition please visit the following link: http://www.petitions24.com/sr_human_rights_and_climate_change
According to the UN, “global warming will affect, and already is affecting, the basic elements of life for millions of people around the world. Effects include an increasing frequency of extreme weather events, rising sea levels, droughts, increasing water shortages, and the spread of tropical and vector born diseases.”
“Viewing the data through a human rights lens, it is clear that projected climate change-related effects threaten the effective enjoyment of a range of human rights, such as the right to safe and adequate water and food, the right to health and adequate housing. Equally, the human rights perspective brings into focus that climate change is set to hit the poorest countries and communities the hardest.”
“The international human rights standards serve as a guide for measures to tackle climate change, underscoring the fundamental moral and legal obligations to protect and promote full enjoyment of the rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and in the core universal human rights treaties.”
UNCTAD Mandate on Debt Relief Sustained May 3rd, 2012
Eric LeCompte, Jubilee's Executive Director at UNCTAD meetings in Doha, Qatar on April 23-26
Jubilee USA is celebrating passage of the Doha Accord, a major step forward in developing solutions to the international debt crisis. The Missionary Oblates is a member of the Jubilee USA coalition and has a seat on the Board. Last week during tough and divisive negotiations in Qatar, Jubilee USA – working with governments and international partners – secured a strong mandate on debt and responsible lending and borrowing.
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Impacts of Mining Exhibit at the UN hosted by VIVAT International May 1st, 2012
The Missionary Oblates and VIVAT International will host a multi-media exhibit on the impacts of mining operations on people and ecosystems around the world on May 8th at the United Nations. This unique exhibit will be up for viewing from 11:00-3:00 pm in the Chapel at the Church Center for the United Nations. May 8th is the second day of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, the theme of which is the Doctrine of Discovery. The exhibit organizers have reached out through their global faith-based networks for stories and images from local communities affected by mining operations. If you are in New York on May 8th, please attend!
Goals of the exhibit include:
- Bearing witness to the suffering of the Earth and its peoples as a consequence of extractive industry abuses;
- Underscoring the necessity of industry standards in preventing mining abuses; and
- Revealing the courageous resistance of peoples all over the world to inadequate extractive industry standards.
At 2:30, there will be a special 15 minute commemoration of those who have been murdered around the world as a result due to their community resistance against the consequences of extractive industry on their communities.
UNCTAD Meeting Overcomes Serious Disagreements April 27th, 2012
At a contentious meeting of the UN Commission on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) ending Thursday in Doha, Qatar, the role of the UN organization in examining trade and development was confirmed, but not after a week of hard debate. The Doha Mandate, adopted by consensus by the member States, requests that UNCTAD continue its work along the three pillars of consensus-building, policy research and technical assistance. “UNCTAD remains the focal point in the United Nations for the integrated treatment of trade and development, and interrelated issues in the areas of finance, technology, investment and sustainable development,” reads part of the agreed text.
Profound discord between industrialized nations and developing countries threatened to ruin the UNCTAD meeting in Doha, and endangered the survival of this United Nations body that defends the interests of the developing nations of the South. Disagreements between the blocs, broadly identified as countries of the North and of the South, have arisen mainly from differing views of UNCTAD’s mandate and different visions of development and how it relates to social, environmental, economic and financial variables. One important area under discussion involved giving UNCTAD a mandate to investigate the current global financial crisis and its effects on the real economy, something for which developing countries and NGOs pressed, but which industrialized countries rejected out of hand.
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