IDG Support Team Sep 19 The 2023 Girls Speak Out will draw upon the IDG theme of “Invest in Girls’ Rights: Our Leadership & Wellbeing” focusing on action for girls’ rights. This begins with fulfilling, protecting, and respecting girls’ rights. It demands trusting girls’ leadership as equal partners, ensuring there is space for girls to be heard, to participate and co-lead, and respecting their voices, perspectives, and lived realities as decision-makers and as the leaders of today. This also requires investing in and supporting girls’ health and well-being as well as their education and including girls in determining what their needs are while working in an intergenerational effort to meet those specific needs. In listening to Girl Advocates’ perspectives and Girl Activists who are already making change, the overarching questions at this year’s Girls’ Speak Out will be: How are you taking action for girls’ rights? How are you investing in, supporting, and working towards the realization of girls’ rights? Register Here In-person Registration:https://www.eventbrite.com/e/717402930477?aff=oddtdtcreator Virtual Registration:https://www.eventbrite.com/e/717421947357?aff=oddtdtcreator
In collaboration with the Working Group on Girls, the GSIJP Office is cosponsoring with Istituto Internazionale Maria Ausiliatrice (IIMA) Salesian Sisters of Don Bosco an IDG Sponsorship Day on October 7 ‘Investing in Girls’ Leadership and Power.’ This is an X/Twitter Storm starting at 11.00 a.m. EST. Follow social media for more details.
Join girls from Asia Pacific on October 7 from 10.30 a.m. to 12.30 p.m. Malaysian time in their celebration. LINK TO REGISTER
The words of the UN Secretary General at a press conference following the opening of the 78th Session of the General Assembly
” My appeal to world leaders will be clear:
This is not a time for posturing or positioning.
This is not a time for indifference or indecision.
This is a time to come together for real, practical solutions.
It is time for compromise for a better tomorrow.
Politics is compromise.
Diplomacy is compromise.
Effective leadership is compromise.
If we want a future of peace and prosperity based on equity and solidarity, leaders have a special responsibility to achieve compromise in designing our common future for our common good.
Next week here in New York is the place to start.”
All you every need to know about the General Assembly and what is taking place from September 16 to 29
JCOR have prepared a very informative guide in Powerpoint to help us navigate at home and at the UN Headquarter in NY. It is available in four languages English, French,Spanish and Portuguese. Get a sense of when your national leaders are going to address the assembly on Slides 6,7 and 8. Social media with sample messenging are towards the end.
Saturday September 16: Mobilization Day: Opening Session of the SDG Action Weekend followed by ‘Towards a Rights-Centered Gender-Transformative Economy, including a new International Financial Architecture” organized by Women’s Major Group, with the suppor of UN Women. It will be live on UN Web TV from 12.00 pm – 2.00 pm. EST. This is followed by a side event at 2.15 pm. entitled from SDG Summit to Summit of the Future: building the UN we Need in Conference Room 4 and lastly at 4.15 pm EST : Towards the Realisation of SDGs: Multi-stakeholder, Intersectional and Intergenerational Approach.
Sunday September 17th: I will attend the Global People’s Assembly at the Church Center. 9.00 am EST Opening Plenary; 11.15 am Which Financial Architecture for Economic Justice; 1.30 pm Linkages of Pushback, Linkages of Resistence: Gender, Climate, Migration and Democracy and at 3.00 p.m. join the Climate March.
Monday, September 18 is the first day of the SDG Summit with a leaders dialogue taking place in the UN. From 9.00am – 11.00 am EST I will attend the second day Global People’s Assembly in a session entitled Feminist Economy. The conclusion of the day is around Civil Society Networking followed by Final Plenary and Public Action at 6.30 p.m. EST Concurrently, Religions for Peace have an event TRILATERAL PARTNERSHIP OF REGIONAL FAITH-BASED NETWORKS FOR THE SDGs: Register HERE to attend virtually. Register HERE to attend in person.
A good overview of all activities taking place over the next two weeks – within the opening of the UN General Assembly 78th Session. Thanks to NGO Branch DESA
On 18-19 September 2023, world leaders will gather at the SDG Summit in New York for the mid-point review of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the implementation of its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The Summit is expected to adopt a political declaration that will provide a roadmap for putting the world back on track to achieve the SDGs by their 2030 deadline. The Summit will be informed by the 2023 Global Sustainable Development Report prepared by an independent group of scientists and the 2023 Special Edition of the SDG Progress Report by the Secretary-General. More information about the 2023 SDG Summit is available on the website at: hlpf.un.org/sdg-summit.
SDG Summit Programme
An Information Package for the SDG Summit, including the Programme, has been circulated by the President of the General Assembly on 11 September and is available here. More information on the Programme can be found here: https://www.un.org/en/conferences/SDGSummit2023/programme.
In his accompanying letter, the President stated that following open, transparent and inclusive consultations under the leadership of H.E. Mr. Fergal Mythen, Permanent Representative of Ireland to the United Nations and H.E. Ms. Alya Ahmed Saif Al-Thani, Permanent Representative of the State of Qatar to the United Nations, he has been informed that the text attached to his letter has reached the broadest possible agreement among Member States ahead of the Summit. In this regard, the President stated his intention to transmit the draft political declaration to the Secretariat for its further processing. The President also expressed his sincere thanks to Ambassadors Mythen and Al-Thani for their steadfast and professional stewardship of the political declaration process.
The President noted in his letter that while it may not address all issues of importance for every delegation, the draft declaration ensures a common understanding among Member States to advance transformative actions leading up to 2030. He emphasized that the political declaration represents the beginning of a new phase of accelerated implementation of the 203 Agenda, which will need to be complemented by continuous high-level political guidance.
SDG Action Weekend
To galvanize all actors ahead of the SDG Summit the United Nations is organizing an SDG Action Weekend at United Nations Headquarters on 16 and 17 September 2023. Being the first time that the United Nations Headquarters will be open to all stakeholders ahead of the General Assembly high-level week, the SDG Action Weekend will be an opportunity for all stakeholders to showcase their innovative and ambitious commitments, contributions and multi-stakeholder partnerships to drive SDG transformation between now and 2030 and mobilize towards an ambitious SDG Summit. It will bring together heads of state and government of UN Member States and other senior government representatives such as ministers, leaders from civil society and activism, youth advocates, academics, private sector representatives, and more.
The SDG Action Weekend will consist of the SDG Mobilization Day (16 September 2023) and the SDG Acceleration Day (17 September). The SDG Mobilization Day (16 September) will feature seven “mobilization segments.” These include segments on Major Groups and other Stakeholders as well as on civil society, youth, women, local and regional governments, the private sector and science and academia. The SDG Acceleration Day (17 September) will be centered around the twelve UN High-Impact Initiatives spearheaded by the UN development system to highlight a set of transformative transitions and cross-cutting enablers that can be brought to scale to bring SDG achievement back on track. The SDG Action Weekend will also feature high-level opening and closing sessions as well as more than 40 high-level side-events organized by coalitions of UN Member States, UN entities and other international organizations, and global stakeholder networks. Please review the full programme here.
The SDG Action Weekend will be open to representatives of all Member States, the UN system and organizations and stakeholders whose work is relevant to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs. All in-person participants MUST have either a valid UN grounds pass or a Special Events Ticket issued by the United Nations to enter the United Nations Headquarters during the SDG Action Weekend. Please note that, as an exception, CSO badges (“N”) and retiree badges (“R”) will be valid during the two days of the SDG Action Weekend (16 -17 September 2023). Holders of a UNLP (United Nations Laissez-Passer) can also attend the SDG Action Weekend. Registration for the SDG Action Weekend was closed at 5 pm EDT on 8 September 2023. Due to the large number of registration requests received, no late registrations nor onsite registration can be accommodated. If you missed the deadline to register, you can follow the live streaming on UN WebTV. More than 4000 stakeholders have registered to attend the SDG Action Weekend.
National Commitments to SDG Transformation
The Secretary-General has urged world leaders to deliver a “Rescue Plan for People and Planet” at the SDG Summit including by announcing national and global commitments to drive SDG Transformation in the years ahead. Member States are encouraged to present forward-looking national commitments to SDG transformation that include (i) priority transitions and areas for investment that will help maximize progress across the SDGs; (ii) a national benchmark for reducing poverty and inequality by 2027; and (iii) steps towards strengthened national planning and institutional frameworks to support progress in these areas. Member States in a position to do so have further been encouraged to put forward time-bound global and regional commitments to strengthen international cooperation and support for developing countries, particularly the most vulnerable countries. The SDG Acceleration and Accountability Platform now includes a separate, dedicated form for submitting National Commitments to SDG Transformation. The updated form seeks to respond to the requests from RCs and Member States for a simplified process for registering national commitments on the platform. The platform is currently accepting submissions through the end of UNGA high-level week, with a deadline of Friday, 22 September 2023. Member States can access the dedicated form here: National Transformation Commitments to SDG Transformation.
Global Sustainable Development Report
The Global Sustainable Development Report 2023 (GSDR) will be launched on Tuesday, 12 September, at a press conference at 12:30 p.m. EDT at UN Headquarters in New York. On Monday, 11 September, the Independent Group of Scientists who prepared the report met with the Deputy Secretary-General for a hand-over ceremony. Additionally, UN DESA is organizing a Global Policy Dialogue in the SDG Studio on “Time for Transformation” (14 September, 11 a.m.-12 p.m.) to further present the GSDR to the public in an engaging and informal way. Finally, the Report will be presented to Member States and other stakeholders at the SDG Summit (18 September). Scientists will also participate in webcast interviews at the UN-organized SDG Media Zone during the UN General Assembly High-level Week.
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A two day program it scheduled and planned for September 16 and 17 – the first day is a mobilization day featuring mostly NGO’s and the second is an Acceleration Day with the foucs on High Impact Initiatives. The full 24 page program is available HERE The proposed program is vast and complex and always demands choices – difficult choices. How does one choose between ‘A Rights-Centered Gender-Transformative Economy, including a New International Fiancial Archecture’ and ‘Breaking Down the Barriers to Leave No One Behind’ and ‘Torchbearers for the SDG’s Meaningful Youth Engagement & the 2030 Agenda.’ Other aspects of the day focus on ‘Catalyzing Transformative Change: Science, Academia and the Journey to 2030;’ ‘Local & Regional Governments Forum: Action and Leadership from the Ground Up; Towards the Rescue Plan for People and the Planet;’ ‘Enhacing Advocacy, Financing and Acountability: Key Messages from Civil Society to the SDG Summit and Beyond;’ and ‘Unlocking the Potential of Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMES): Meeting the Finaincing Gap.’
The SDG Acceleration Day (17 September, 2023) will propel stakeholders from ambition to action by highlighting how the High Impact Initiatives, multigenerational campaigns such as Generation Equality, and cross-SDG impact catalyzers such as SDG Digital can accelerate collective achievement. See pages 11 to 21 of the program
These programs, presentations, approaches surely indicate a tumultous desire for a new future – one of equity, prosperity and wellbeing for every person and for the planet. It is a privilege to be part of, a participatant in, and a contributer to such activities. While attending and moving throught the varous fora inside and outside of the United Nation, the unmistakable ask, advocacy moment, is and will be one of peace, good will and prosperity for all. I, as your representative at the United Nations hold this desire for you, your ministry and your country at this time. The Congregations is surely part of a groundswell seeking full implementation of the Sustaiable Development Goals, gender justice, climate justice and the upholding of the rights of every person especially those of girls, women, and children in all their diversity and mother earth.
While all this is happening we are in the Season of Creation …
and will observe UN International Peace Day on September 21 which is linked with ambition to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. Take Action and contribute to implementation of the SDGs See the Action Guide for helpful suggestions
Today the GFA Adolescent Girl Leadership Town Hall gave girls the opportunity to come together with a shared purpose: to reaffirm the power and leadership of girls worldwide. Throughout the town hall, girls engaged in vital conversations with key stakeholders: member states, UN agencies, philanthropies, and civil society organizations. Girls’ recommendations revolved around the five domains of adolescent well-being: good health and optimum nutrition, connectedness, positive values, and contribution to society, safety and a supportive environment, learning, competence, education, skills, and employability, and agency and resilience.
We are proud to report that a Good Shepherd student from India named Sugandha was able to give her recommendations where she called upon the Member States to engage as active participants with girls to empower adolescent girls worldwide. She shed light on the burden of responsibility that rests upon Member States’ shoulders to guarantee the safety and welfare of adolescent girls. She urged Member States to actively implement policies to combat gender-based violence, to focus on adolescent health, and to ensure quality education – so that Member States can shape a brighter future for adolescent girls.
Mr. Fred Simwaka, the Deputy Director for Gender Affairs responsible for Women Empowerment in the Ministry of Gender Children Disability and Social Welfare from Malawi responded to Suganda’s recommendations and seemed to agree with many if not all her recommendations, which is promising. It is through the commitment and support of Member States that meaningful change can be achieved.
During the UN agencies segment, Ms. Begona Lasagabaster, Director for Gender Equality at UNESCO and Sarah Hendriks, Deputy Executive Director for Policy, Programme, Civil Society and Intergovernmental Support ad interim from UN Women responded to girl recommendations and again agreed with many of the recommendations given by the girl advocates. UN Agencies bring specialized knowledge, resources, and networks to address the challenges faced by adolescents, making their contributions invaluable.
During the Philanthropies segment, we had the pleasure of hearing responses from Ms. Lisa Bohmer as the Global Lead for Early Childhood Development initiative at Hilton Foundation and Ms. Aminata Kamara, as the Acting Co-Lead, Resourcing Resistance at Purposeful. Philanthropies play an important role in influencing the flow of resources, particularly financial support, for the well-being of adolescent girls so their input is important for this type of conversation.
During the Civil Society segment, the importance of Civil society organizations serving as vital partners in driving transformative change, advocating for policies, and amplifying the voices of girls was demonstrated. We had the honor of having Christle, a Good Shepherd student from Sri Lanka address civil society as an ally. She demanded necessary space, support, and opportunities to drive girls’ development agenda. Christle also urged Civil Society to actively engage girls in policy creation, programming, and research. She called for Civil Society to empower girls to thrive and reach their full potential. Adolescent girls are not just the leaders of tomorrow, but they are leaders today.
Ms. Divya Srinivasan, Global Lead of the Ending Harmful Practices program, Equality Now and Ms Kathleen Sherwin as the Chief Strategy and Engagement Officer at Plan International responded to Christle’s recommendations and shared their reflections where in general they also accepted and complimented her recommendations.
It was clear that the girls appreciated the stakeholders’ willingness to engage and listen to them as equal partners. However more is needed from them – a guarantee that girls’ voices were heard and that their wellbeing is ensured.
3 girls from Latin America – Andrea, (Bolivia) Genesis, (Equidor) and Keiry (El Salvador), 2 from Africa Athible, South Africa, and Rose from Senegal together with Jasmine (India) were participants in the session. Isabel and Jasmine were members of the planning team but not selected as speakers.
Read more HERE about the 1.8 billion young people for change and the Global Forum for Adolescent ’23. October 11 and 12th are the big days. Join the world’s largest-ever gathering for adolescent well-being! The Forum will be a key milestone for the 1.8 Billion Young People for Change campaign, bringing together youth and adolescents, advocates and global decision-makers. Through national events and a two-day virtual mainstage, the Forum will promote political and financial commitments toward improved adolescent health and well-being.
Today June 20 is World Refugee Day. This year, World Refugee Day focuses on the power of inclusion and solutions for refugees under the theme ‘Hope away from home.’ See
Good Shepherd Mission partners in the new Southern Europe Region with Italy and Malta as the pioneers have been actively engaged in drawing attention to the situation in Europe See They have posted their reflection for the day on their Website and have been engaged over the years in drawing attention to the issues while acting locally, and advocating nationally and internationally.
Our action at the GSIJP Office is focusing on the situation in Sudan, collaborating with a number of NGOs and publishing a statement calling for an immediate ceasefire in Sudan and for the safe return of refugees to their homeland.
Tomorrow, June 21 there is a special briefing on the issue where the statement will be distributed.
On 17 December 2018, the United Nations General Assembly affirmed the Global Compact on Refugees, after two years of extensive consultations led by UNHCR with Member States, international organizations, refugees, civil society, the private sector, and experts.
Filippo Grandi is the 11th United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. He was first elected by the UN General Assembly on 1 January 2016 for a five-year term. The General Assembly has since twice re-elected him to serve, and he will now complete his term on 31 December 2025. The address of the Filippo Grandi today is from Kenya where there are promising developments afoot. See
“The 2021 Refugee Act and the now aptly renamed Shirika Plan will provide not only an enhanced protection environment for refugees but will also improve the lives of the communities that have hosted them for years, if not decades. And the refugees’ economic inclusion will, in turn, further benefit the local and Kenyan economies, as we see in Kakuma and Kalobeyei in Turkana County, where efforts supported and nurtured by donors, including international financial institutions and the private sector, are bearing fruit. I should say partners, even more than donors. And as we will see surely in Dadaab and Garissa County in the future. We heard the two Governors speak eloquently about this earlier today and we saw it yesterday once again in Turkana County.” See
“We embrace our Judeo-Christian spiritual foundation that rests on a commitment to “welcome the stranger.” GS’s first response to migrants and refugees is to welcome them as one would welcome the Divine among us. We honor the culture and heritage each brings and we celebrate the positive contributions newcomers make to the lives and development of host communities. The service needs of persons in resettlement or status regularization are extensive, including language skills, health care, social integration, trauma healing, employment skills, legal help, etc. We listen to their experiences, accompany them, develop programs and work in partnerships to serve complex needs and to facilitate self-empowered social participation.”
We pay tribute to all in our ministries and projects who respond to the needs of refugees.
It’s that time of the year, approaching February and the first of the functional Commission of the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations starts on Monday February 6th. The theme this year is ‘Creating full and productive employment and decent work for all as a way of overcoming inequalities to accelerate the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and the full implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.’ SDG 8 decent work and economic growth and SDG 10 reduced inequalities link specifically with the theme. The Commission will be live steamed on UN Web TVand is accessible after the event. This is the first in person event of the Commission since February 2020.
Report of the UN Secretary General
The reportof the Secretary General, available in 6 languages on the theme, gives a good overview of the theme. There is a section on current and future trends in inequality and the labour markets. Between 1993 and 2017 inequality declined by 34% but we are now experiencing increasing levels of inequality, some due to the pandemic but the reversal of trends has started prior to the pandemic. It is distressing to read that a ‘return to pre-pandemic levels of decent work is very unlikely in the coming few years.’ This is now further exacerbated by the impact of the war.
Section A of the report outlines ‘Inequalities in the labour market and structural barriers faced by different categories of workers and disadvantaged groups.’ Groups mentioned include women, indigenous peoples, youth, international migrants and people with disabilities. Unpaid care work and domestic work shouldered mostly by women is noted.
The section effective strategies to create full and productive employment and decent work for all has three headings: (a) focus on policies and regulations for inclusion. Within this Universal Social Protection for all (including floors) is a key tool towards upholding all human rights and overcoming inequalities. It is startling to re-read in Article 22 of the Universal Declaration for Human Rights written 75 years ago this year ‘(1) Everyone has the right to work, to free choice of employment, to just and favorable conditions of work and to protection against unemployment. (2) Everyone, without discrimination, has the right to equal pay for equal work. (3) Everyone who works has the right to just and favorable remuneration ensuring for themselves and their families an existence worthy of human dignity and supplemented, if necessary, by other means of social protection. (4) Everyone has the right to form and join trade unions for the protection of their interests.’ In effect, the commission will be addressing the theme from these principles. The outcome of the negotiation on the theme in the form of a resolution will point to the strength of political will and the level of trust within the multilateral system to achieve these principles.
(b) Transitioning from informal work to formal work is also seen as an effective strategy as informality of work is a major contributor to working poverty and inequality. (c) A third strategy calls for universal, comprehensive, gender-responsive and sustainable social protection systems, including floors, for all categories of workers. This has been an on-going advocacy approach of the GSIJP office over the years.
Section B of the report focuses on ‘Creating full and productive employment and decent work in new, sustainable and growing sectors. Paragraph 48 ‘The social and solidarity economy encompasses co-operative, mutual societies and not for profit and community owned and other social enterprises that recognize the primacy of people and social purpose over capital in the distribution and uses of surpluses and/or profits, as well as assets.
Advocacy Points
Civil Society Declaration
The NGO Committee for Social Development has prepared a civil society DECLARATIONelaborating points of concern while seeking to influence policy. The Declaration is open for signature and individual signatures are welcome SIGN HERE. A signature is an advocacy act in support of the issues outlined.
Civil Society Forum
During the Commission Civil Society have their own processes – orientation, delivering the message and thematic session discussing various aspects of the theme. This process is the Civil Society Forum taking place on February 5, February 6 and February 10. The session on February 6th and 10th will be webcast live on UN TV You can keep updated by going to this PAGE.
Side Events
The many side events taking place during the Commission can be accessed HERE on the Team Up Calendar. All events of the NGOs are virtual and can be joined via the link to a specific platform – some Zoom, some Webex etc. Explore the different titles and do attend some of the events. These event highlight innovation, successes and challenges experienced by NGOs in reaching for our goals. Member States and UN Agencies may have selected to have in-person events. In-person or virtual is indicated on the Calendar. Good Shepherd are co-sponsoring an event with the Global Coalition for Social Protection Floors entitled ‘On the the Road to 2025: A new social contract implementing Universal Social Protection, ensuring Full Employment and Decent Work for all.‘ The date is Wednesday February 8 from 1.15 p.m – 3.00 p.m. EST. We are co-sponsoring a second event with the IBVM and the Red Dot Foundation entitled ‘Decent Work for all: Ending vulnerability through education and economic empowerment.’ See the Calendar for updates link to register, flyer etc. for these and other events.
Resolution on the Priority Theme
The NGO community will be following closely the resolution from the Commission on the priority theme ‘Creating full and productive employment and decent work for all as a way of overcoming inequalities to accelerate the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and the full implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.’ We are hoping for a forward looking document which will actualize a way forward in resolving the multiple global issues impacting people and planet. Trust coupled with political will, expressed from within the multilateral system, together with dedicated finances to begin walking the talk is what is required. Divert resources currently dedicated to death and destruction towards enhancement of life for people and planet.
Strong UN Better World
Enjoy this song ‘Strong UN Better World’ sung by The UNRocks Music Group, composed of the Ambassadors of Denmark, Kingdom of Thailand, Kingdom of Tonga, Republic of Korea, Republic of Serbia, and the Representative of UN Secretary-General and Head of United Nations Office in Belgrade. Composed and arranged by Emmy Award-winning composer Gary Fry, with lyrics written by H.E. Ms. Simona- Mirela Miculescu, the single was produced in honor of the United Nations’ 70 years of service and commitment to addressing the world’s greatest challenges.
Monday June 20 is World Refugee Day. The critical nature today of people journeying from their country of birth to life in another nation has prompted a global effort, led by the UN, to develop comprehensive, people-centered agreements: including a Global Compact on Refugees
June 20 celebrates the strength and courage of people who have been forced to flee their home country to escape conflict or persecution. World Refugee Day is an occasion to build empathy and understanding for their plight and to recognize their resilience in rebuilding their lives. This year, the focus will be on the right to seek safety. “Every person on this planet has a right to seek safety – whoever they are, wherever they come from and whenever they are forced to flee.” Read more on the UNHCR Website. You have the opportunity from the Website to post your photograph I stand #withrefuges
The Good Shepherd Position Paper on Migration includes references to refugees. Paragraph 3 states “The movement of peoples today includes migrants, temporary workers, refugees, asylum seekers, internally-displaced persons (IDPs) and stateless persons, each defined under separate legal frameworks in national and international law; all are entitled to move in safety and dignity.” This links directly with this years’ theme. Paragraph 5 outlines our response “We embrace our Judeo-Christian spiritual foundation that rests on a commitment to “welcome the stranger.” Our first response to migrants and refugees is to welcome them as one would welcome the Divine among us. We honor the culture and heritage each brings and we celebrate the positive contributions newcomers make to the lives and development of host communities. The service needs of persons in resettlement or status regularization are extensive, including language skills, health care, social integration, trauma healing, employment skills, legal help, etc. We listen to their experiences, accompany them, develop programs and work in partnerships to serve complex needs and to facilitate self-empowered social participation.” Paragraph 6 (d) urges us to ensure gender analysis in service planning give attention to women and children, sustaining family relationships, including communication with family in country of origin and 6 (h) to know the 1951 Geneva Convention Relating to Status of Refugees and its protocols including the Global Compact on Refugees.
The NGO Committee on Migration has issued the following Statement in honor of World Refugee Day: The Right to Seek Safety. It was presented by Eva Sandis.
The recently concluded International Migration Review Forum summary report identified ‘the need to coordinate between the Global Compact for Migration and the Global Compact on Refugees was stressed, as was the need to bring together the work under the Global Compact for Migration, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, and the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction.’ You can access the NGO Committee on Migration weekly updates on their website.
Read more on Ukrainian Refugees and use some the prepared core messages on your social media.
CSW 66 is continuing in this second week beginning on Monday March 21 – with the formal program within the United Nations and Parallel Events as hosted on the NGOCSW Website. It is still not too late to register and gain access to all that is happening at the NGOCSW Forum including our Virtual Booth displaying the event that are happening this week in Asia Pacific and Latin America. The Congregational Event took place on March 16th with an attendance just short of 300 participants sponsored by the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, Republic of Korea. We pay tribute to the panelists who shared from the wealth of their experience at the grassroots and the moderator Cristina Duranti, CEO from the Good Shepherd International Foundation.
Another event that Good Shepherd Co-sponsored was “My Voice our Equal Future” a girls hosted events. We are very proud of all the girls presenting and marvel at their knowledge, creativity, ingenuity and engagement within the CSW 66 processes. This programme includes a Good Shepherd girl student from India of whom we are all very proud. This was her second panel presentation – a much more comprehensive sharing than the first day. How exciting to see Good Shepherd girl advocates from around the world joining with other girl advocates for gender equality, sustainability and the future of our planet. Jasmine presented on Climate Change and Technology and the concrete steps she is taking at local level. Congratulations Jasmine!
Winifred was a panelist at the Religions for Peace Parallel CSW 66 Parallel Event entitled ‘Multi-religious Collaboration: The Tipping Point for Engendered Climate Change Policies ‘ where she addressed the issues of the issue of Human Trafficking.
“The root causes of human trafficking can be attributed to the inequalities caused by economics systems particularly the neo-liberal capitalist systems that exploit people and planet. … quoting Pope Francis “the Amazon today is a wounded and deformed beauty, a place of suffering and violence. Attacks on nature have consequences for people’s lives. ” Read the full text French Spanish
Girl events from Asia Pacific and Madagascar Africa were held on Saturday March 18th The event from Asia Pacific was a collaborative event across countries. This year the GSIJP Office worked to ensure that girls are present in events and present within the CSW 66 process. We have had girls from India, Philippines, Sri Lanka and Latin America take part in Girls’ Statement Writing, moderating and facilitating process and meetings with UN Member States and being part of the delivery of the Girl’s Statement to the CSW 66. This is scheduled for Tuesday 22nd. All this was made possible because of the zoom platform, internet connectivity and the facilitation of Mission Partners in all regions of the world together with the dedicated follow through and skilled approach of my colleague Alexis Schutz. It is impressive to hear girls from Asia Pacific witness to their engagement on the global stage. Indeed they are the policy makers and political leaders of tomorrow ensuring gender equality and sustainability. It is indeed a source of HOPE for the congregations to have the privilege of engaging with Girl ‘Mission Partners’ in addressing the structural and systemic issues facing our world. They do so with ease while addressing various topics displaying both breath, and depth of knowledge – social protection, gender equity, social inequality, economic justice, climate crisis and the digital divide – all intersecting and interconnecting issues that require a new paradigm to address. The global community needs to move from a mindset of scarcity to abundance, from profit making to equitable sharing. We must seek to change the current data indicating that the top 10% of adults hold 85% of the world’s total wealth, while the bottom 90% hold the remaining 15% of the world’s total wealth. and in relation to gender equality ‘the ten richest people in the world are men’ this too must change! The crises facing humanity today are facilitated by the systems and structures of patriarchy seeking to control, usurp, own, and exploit both people and the planet. This system has to give way to one of equity, human rights, gender equality, sustainability and sharing – with the implementation of universal social protection for all; – access to medical care for all, universal child benefits for every child; a sustainable income for every person unable to work, and pensions for all older people. The power struggle is equally at work in the dominance of the global north and its institutions over the global south – this too has to change! Enjoy the progamme entitled ‘Sirius Talk’. Sirius is the brightest star in the night sky. These girls are the brightest stars in our future!
This event was followed by a program from Madagascar, equally impressive and inspiring with new a learning for me on ‘Aquaponic Agriculture’. Aquaponics is a food production system that couples aquaculture (raising fish, with the hydroponics (cultivating plants in water) whereby the nutrient-rich aquaculture water is fed to the growing plants. Olivia presented aquaphonic agriculture which she had learned from an expert Mr Anton Lavale who works on this in Madagascar. Sambata and Hasina both sophomore students presented on social inequality and the threats and devastation caused by weather related events in Madagascar, so relevant to the CSW 66 theme ‘achieving gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls in the context of climate change, environmental and disaster reduction policies and programmes.’
Some events are continuing for the rest of the week – do join in if you have the opportunity. A girls event will take place from Latin America tomorrow.
For July, we are providing an account from our Good Shepherd Partners in Lebanon showing the ugly face of child labour. We read of the dire situation of families and their children and the work undertaken in collaboration with Wells of Hope in the Middle East in the fight to end human trafficking. Nayiri, a social worker, in creating awarenss of adult rights in relation to human trafficking encounters many children who are engaged in labour. She addresses some of the consequences in counselling session and by offering social support. It pains me everytime I read ‘that trafficking in children is a ‘worst form of child labour’. This is a way of sanitising the violence of child sexual abuse. It is not labour it is violence! As long as conflict continues, profiteers continue to violate human rights, and governments fails in their duty to protect the human rights of people, implement universal child benefits and social protection, people seeking to survive are targets of exploiters.
Graphic in Arabic is done by one of our team members at Wells of Hope.
Day of the Girl 
