UNA-USA E-News Update
June 17, 2008
In this issue:
ANNOUNCEMENT:
UNA-USA's E-News Updates will be on temporary hiatus for the summer. We will re-launch with a new look in September!
 In Asia, Petty Corruption Cripples the Poor
By Barbara Crossette
Want to send a letter? Be sure the stamp is postmarked before leaving the post office or it will be removed and sold again to the next customer by the postal clerk. Don’t look too prosperous when applying for a document such as a driver’s license, or the application fee will go up in an instant. Expect to pay a bribe to collect a social security payment, to see a free doctor (if he or she has come to work at all) or to enroll a child in a public school, where a quarter of the teachers may never show up for work. Read more.
 ICC Suspends Trial of Accused Child Soldier Abuser
By Matthew Heaphy
The International Criminal Court has suspended the trial of an alleged Congolese warlord, Thomas Lubanga Dyilo, which was scheduled to begin next Monday. Lubanga, the leader of the Union des Patriotes Congolais and its militia group Forces Patriotiques pour la Libération du Congo, has been charged with a series of war crimes, including conscripting children under the age of 15 into the militia and using them actively in hostilities in the DRC between September 2002 and August 2003. Read more.
 |
UNA's California delegation on
Capitol Hill |
2008 Annual Meeting: Lobbying Congressional Leaders Takes Center Stage
By Christopher J. Tangney
More than 140 UN enthusiasts and activists descended on the nation’s capital last week for the Annual Meeting of UNA-USA’s Council of Chapters and Divisions. For four days, June 7 to 10, conference participants took advantage of educational forums, networking opportunities, and interactive advocacy and lobbying efforts. Read more.
For more on the CCD Annual Meeting, read the Summer 2008 issue of The Interdependent, out at the end of this month.
To view photos from the Annual Meeting, visit http://www.flickr.com/photos/unausa.
 World Refugee Day Raises Awareness to Rebuild Lives
By Max McGowen
Refugees flee from war, famine or political instability, forsaking their daily existence in the hope that their human rights will no longer be violated. In other cases, oppressive regimes forcibly expel these persons outside of their home territories, casting them on their own without any support. Read more.
 Plight of the Stateless
By Navina Vemuri
They are the forgotten and the excluded; they are the people without citizenship, stripped of their rights and dignity – they are the stateless. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimates there are a total of 15 million non-citizens in at least 60 countries around the world. While most human rights groups focus on the types of abuses non-citizens suffer, statelessness itself is too often unaddressed. Read more.
 Education ‑ the Right Response to Child Labor
By Adriana Xhakli
As declared in the 1990 UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, child labor – which includes work that denies children their potential, obstructs their education and harms their overall development – is a direct abuse of fundamental rights. An estimated 165 million children between the ages 5 and 14 are involved in child labor, reports the International Labor Organization. Read more.
 Obama's International Moment
By Colin Stevens
Barack Obama enjoyed an outpouring of international support following his announcement on June 3 that he had secured the Democratic nomination for president. To be sure, his rise to the top of the Democratic party meant different things in different parts of the world, but the majority seem to view his ascension positively. Analysts qualify that the so-called Obama-mania will probably not last after he starts facing the next president’s controversial challenges, but most believe that the image of openness Obama embodies will enhance the United States’ legitimacy around the globe. Read more.
Action Alert! Tell Congress: Pay Our Growing UN Arrears
In recent years, the United States has asked the United Nations to undertake new and difficult assignments, such as the Darfur peacekeeping operation, political missions in Iraq and Afghanistan, and an international tribunal and expanded peacekeeping mission for Lebanon. Take Action!
House Adopts Resolution Recognizing 60th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
On June 10th, the House of Representatives passed by voice vote a bipartisan resolution recognizing, on its 60th anniversary year, the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights as a “singular achievement of the community of nations.” Read more.
NGO Letter to Congress on the International Criminal Court
The United Nations Association of the USA joined two dozen other organizations in signing a letter to members of Congress regarding U.S. policy toward the International Criminal Court. Specifically, the letter deals with the issue of bilateral immunity agreements for the ICC. Since 2002, the Bush administration has sought to conclude these bilateral agreements with other countries in order to block Americans from being surrendered to the Court. Read more.
UN Related Bills and Resolutions
This monthly compilation of UN-related legislation will provide you with summary information and links to full bill text, co-sponsors and current status. It is intended to help you follow current developments in Congress affecting the US-UN relationship. Read more.
"What They're Saying"
This monthly compilation of quotes from US and UN officials highlights what key actors are saying about the important global issues affecting US-UN relations. Learn more.
 Critical Time for the UN, says US Ambassador
By Kristen Kelly
Alejandro D. Wolff, deputy permanent US representative to the United Nations, spoke candidly about US funding of the UN, the presidential campaign and the future of the UN at an event organized by UNA-USA’s Council of Organizations on June 12. Read more.
The views expressed in this E-Newsletter do not necessarily represent those of the United Nations Association of the USA. |
…that June 19 marks the 33rd anniversary of the First World Conference on Women, held in Mexico City in 1975, to take steps toward universal gender equality. Delegations from 133 United Nations member-states (113 of which were led by women) agreed upon three fundamental goals: eliminating gender discrimination, including more women in development work and heightening women’s contributions to lasting international stability. They also established the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), the principal framework for research on gender-based issues.
Since then, three major summits have focused on women’s empowerment. At the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995, a Platform of Action identifying 12 areas of concern for advancement was adopted, and the UN designated the Commission on the Status of Women to review and implement relevant strategies.
At the commission’s annual meeting this year, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said he is convinced that “in women, the world has the most significant, but untapped, potential for development and peace.”
Write Us
We'd like to hear your thoughts on current world events, US-UN relations and the UN at work. Email us at: publications@unausa.org or write the Editor at:
UNA-USA
801 Second Ave
New York, NY 10017
|
UPCOMING EVENTS:
June 17
World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought
June 20
World Refugee Day
June 23
UN Public Service Day
June 26
International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking
June 26
International Day in Support of Victims of Torture
|
International Day Observances
|
|
