Good Resources to follow up on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s)

The UN Women and UNEG (United Nations Evaluation Group) have developed a guideline in 5 languages to evaluate the SDGs with a gender lens. Link to English, Arabic, French, Russian and Spanish

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Another excellent resource linking the SDG’s with various human rights mechanism has been published by the Danish Institute For Human Rights.  It too, is is multiple languages and has an interactive dimension – you can choose a goal or target and see the linkages to human rights.

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Human Rights Guilde

Link Here The Human Rights Guide to the Sustainable Development Goals

The United Nations Summit for Refugees and Migrants September 19

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Photo and link to the summit page which is available in the 6 languages of the United Nations 

The United Nations General Assembly is hosting the first ever summit at the Heads of State and Government level on large movements of refugees and migrants and it is a historic opportunity to come up with a blueprint for a better international response. It is a watershed moment to strengthen governance of international migration and a unique opportunity for creating a more responsible, predictable system for responding to large movements of refugees and migrants. The Summit is starts at 8.30 a.m. and concludes at 8.00 p.m.  You can access the programme at HERE.  Together with the opening and closing ceremonies there are 6 round tables covering various themes.  The line up of opening speakers is impressive.  The summit coincides with the opening of the 71st Session of the General Assembly.

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peter_thomson_january_2015The new President, H.E. Peter Thomson is from Fiji.  Included in the opening is the signing ceremony of the UN-IOM Agreement. Prince Zeid, High Commissioner for Human Rights will also be present.  Nadia Taha who was abducted into slavery by ISIS is also a member of the panel.  I have written about her previously on this blog.

In February 2016, the outgoing President of the General Assembly H.E Mogens Lykketoft  appointed H.E. Mrs. Dina Kawar, Permanent Representative of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and H.E. Mr. David Donoghue, Permanent Representative of Ireland as co-facilitators to lead open, transparent and inclusive consultations with Member States to finalise the organisational arrangements, including on a possible outcome, for the High level summit in September.

If you are working with refugees and migrants you may wish to review the draft political declaration which will be adopted at the Summit.  Draft Declaration  Unfortunately the documents seem to be only available in English at the moment.

You can read in all 6 languages the Resolution of agreement concerning the Relationship between the United Nations and the International Organization for Migration Click HERE

The list of speakers during the Plenary is also published.  Do check the list HERE and see who is speaking on behalf of your country.  The agreement with IOM and the Political Declaration are to help not hinder you in addressing the needs of refugees and migrants.

Other events taking place in around the summit can be found HERE  I am attending the Children First Vigil organized by UNICEF and US Fund for UNICEF on September 18th from 5.00 – 6.30 at  Dag Hammrskjold Plaza.  I have registered to attend the summit but access is not easy.  Having made application I received the following on August 25th  “Dear Winifred Doherty  Thank you for your application to attend the 19 September 2016 United Nations General Assembly Summit for Refugees and Migrants, taking place at United Nations Headquarters in New York.

You have been approved for participation in at least one session of the Summit programme. To determine if applicants can have access to more than one Summit session, we are asking all approved applicants to reconfirm their ability to attend via a very short form.*See note below.*Note: We will follow up with you again next week regarding how many sessions you can access, after we see the responses to the re-confirmation form. As your representative I expect to be able to attend at least one of the sessions.

On the website there is a take action tab with the following suggestions

  • Tweet your world leader and ask them to protect the rights of refugees and migrants (the names of the person attending are on the list above)
  • Share our refugee and migrant movement infographics which are based on official UN data
  • Join in the conversation using #UN4RefugeesMigrants  (If you have a Facebook or Twitter Account) Use the infographics too

On May 9th Secretary General Ban Ki Moon launched his report in Safety and Dignity: Addressing large Movements of Refugees and Migrants.  READ

Please use the comment box to add your views and share information about refugees and migrants that you know.

 

 

Online Prayer Service – World Day of Prayer for Creation-Thursday, September 1

On September 1, Christians from around the world will be praying as part of Creation Day and the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation. If you are unable to join a service in your local community, you can join our prayer service online or through your phone. Representatives from Catholic, Protestant, Orthodox, and Episcopalian churches will guide us in a 30 minute service of prayer, silence, and reflection. There will also be a chance for participants to share their own prayer for creation and our brothers and sisters.   Check here for the details

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Have you been reflecting on ‘Laudatio Si’? HERE   Are you following the ratifications of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change?  HERE  Signatures without ratifications leave the agreement unfulfilled.  Sustainable Goal 13 is on Climate Action  ‘Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts.’  Read more on this here

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The Trafficking in Persons (TIP)2016 Report 2016 published on June 30th

2016_Report_Cover_200_1On June 30, the U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry released the 2016  (TIP) Trafficking in Persons Report.  The TIP report is prepared by the US State Department and published annually.  It is a comprehensive report providing information on anti-trafficking efforts throughout the world. The report is divided in two parts – pages 1 -66 an overview, topics of special interest, some definitions and methodology.  Part two present the country narratives. The report provides country-specific narratives for 188 countries and territories including the United States. These narratives illustrate the scope of human trafficking and each government’s efforts to combat what is commonly referred to as modern slavery.  Each countries receives a ranking called Tier. There are 4 Tiers: Tier 1, Tier 2; Tier 2 Watch List and Tier 3.  See pages 55 and 56 for a definition of the various tiers and see to see where your country is ranked.  (Pages 66 – 410)  Out of the 188 countries analyzed in the 2016 report, 36 countries were placed on Tier 1; 78 countries on Tier 2; 44 were placed on the Tier 2 Watch List; and 27 countries were placed on Tier 3. In all, there were 27 downgrades and 20 upgrades of countries as compared to last year.                            The TIP Report in full

2016TIP-300x169Part one of the report can be accessed here          It is a combination of text, pictures and other graphics.    This year the report is more balanced with regard to human trafficking for sexual exploitation and trafficking for labour.  The report takes account of gender inequality and references prostitution in a number of places where women and girls are trafficked into prostitution.  See the box inserts on page 5, 8, 10, 12,14 etc. Child Labour features throughout the report e.g. page 16 references Burkina Faso, and girls are mentioned many times in the report.  See page 11 “Young girls are exploited in forced labour around the world.  Peruvian girls are forced to make bricks in the hot sun; in Pakistan debt bondage traps girls in carpet-making factories; in Ethiopia, girls from rural areas are exploited in domestic servitude; and traffickers in Malawi force girls to labour in the agricultural sector.”  Read what a convicted sex trafficker said on page 16.

Good news the Republic of Korea, Singapore and Sri Lanka became parties to The Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Person, Especially Women and Children, supplement the United Nations Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime between April 2015 and March 2016.  See page 19 where the countries that are not State Parties to the Protocol are listed.

Among the examples of partnerships is the Santa Marta Group, ‘a partnership between international police chiefs and Catholic bishops from around the world, working together with civil society to end modern slavery through a process endorsed by Pope Francis.’ The other examples are from Uruguay and Guatemala.

Secretary of State John Kerry noted that ‘modern slavery is connected to a host of 21st century challenges – from environmental sustainability to advancing the lives of women and girls to combating transactional organized crime.  Wherever we find poverty and lack of opportunity – wherever the rule of law is weak and where corruption is most ingrained, where minorities are abused, and where populations can’t count on the protection of governments – we find not just vulnerability to trafficking but zones of impunity where traffickers can prey on their victims.”

This leads me to the United Nations and reference to the  adoption of the ‘2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development “to guide the global community’s effort to eradicate poverty, promote peace and equality, and protect the environment.  Anti-trafficking elements are integrated into three of the goals …  5.2; 8.7 and 16.2   While paragraph 27 of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is not cited “We will eradicate forced la and human trafficking and end child labour in all its forms” the TIP report this year is largely focusing  on this.  Do check out Alliance 8.7 an Initiative of ILO Working together to end child and modern slavery

On page 43 mention is made of the fact that The United Nations Security Council addressed for the first time the issue of human trafficking on December 16, 2015  when Nadia Murid Basee Taha, a Yezidi survivor of human trafficking gave her testimony to the Security Council.  Nadia had been trafficked by ISIS.

A very positive strategy by President Obama has been the setting up a U.S. Advisory Council on Human Trafficking in December 2015.  There are 11 members and each is a survivor of human trafficking.  It is a formal platform to advise and make recommendations on federal anti-trafficking policies.  It is a two-year term – see page 41.

The content of part 1 has subdivisions – Page 7 – 19  Meeting the Global Challenge: Effective Strategies to Prevent Human Trafficking  Do read about raising awareness on page 12 and Policies and Programs to Reduce Risk and Empower Vulnerable Individuals page 15.  A second subdivision entitled Topics of Special Interests begins on pages 20 highlighting the challenges in protecting vulnerable populations who experience multiple and cumulative hardships, discriminations and social marginalization. Refugees and migrants are extremely vulnerable given that ‘one in every 113 people globally is now either an asylum-seeker, internally displaced or a refugee – putting them at a level of risk for which UNHCR knows no precedent.’ UNHCR, Global trends.  The situation in Syria and Lebanon is outline on page 21 highlighting trafficking of women and girls for sex trafficking and migrants fleeing crisis are often trapped in sex and labour trafficking by their smugglers.  “Women, unaccompanied minors, and those denied asylum are particularly vulnerable to human trafficking, including while in transit and upon arrival in destination countries.” page 21

Sometimes there is a price to be paid for advocacy and this is noted in this years report on page 29 and the 2016 TIP Report Heroes are found on pages 48 -52  coming from The Bahamas, Botswana, Cyprus, Nepal, Mauritania, Pakistan, Russia, Senegal and Hungary.  Pages 57 -62 are a series of regional maps showing Tier Placements.

A Human Right-Life Course Five Point Framework Addressing Human Trafficking proposed by Sisters of Mercy and Congregation of Our lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd based on the work of Dr Angela Reed RSM, Ph.D. and Marietta Latonio in a book titled ‘I Have a Voice – Trafficked women in their own words’.

  1. Privileges the insights gained from narratives shared by those who have been trafficked.  –  The U.S. Advisory Council on Human Trafficking is an example of this.
  2. Recognizes that the interplay between the personal life story and systemic oppression renders one vulnerable to human trafficking. –  See challenges in protecting vulnerable populations  page 20. Demand for commercial sex  ‘purchasers of commercial sex’ – (page 12) and ‘reduce the demand for commercial sex ‘(page 15) is a systemic issue together with patriarchy, power, the subjugation of girls and women, gender based violence and the stubborn persistence of a system of prostitution and poverty all fuel human trafficking.
  3. Acknowledges cumulative disadvantage and addresses vulnerabilities across the life cycle. This begins with birth registration, legal registration, citizenship and nationality page, 14,15 and  46  education, health care, decent work and a living wage,  and universal social protection floors.
  4. Prioritizes and uses qualitative data on actual experiences and circumstances of trafficking for policy formulation  – the U.S. Advisory Council on Human Trafficking exemplifies this.  Could this be extended to all countries?
  5. Addresses the systemic causes of economic, social,  gender disparity and discriminations.  ‘Poverty does not justify human trafficking’ Page 7  ‘When inequality exists and where certain people lack access to social protection and justice, human traffickers are able to thrive. Page 8  Eradicating poverty, promoting peace and equality  and gender equality are some of the systemic issues that The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development committed to address.

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Celebration in India of the International Day of the Girl

Congratulations India Read about the event here

Creating awareness of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development with students pledging to do their part towards implementation of the sustainable development goals.  Essay writing and speech competitions were held to emphasize the the importance of the Girl Child.

Adding a reminder of what the sustainable goals are

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Goals for Sustainable Development

The United Nations summit for the adoption of the post-2015 development agenda will be held from 25 to 27 September 2015, in New York and convened as a high-level plenary meeting of the General Assembly.  Pope Francis will address the General Assembly on the morning of the 25th of September.  What will he say?  Summit September 2015

Have you been following the development and evolution of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals over the past 3 years?  What are the 17 Goals?

 

The link to ‘Transforming Our World:the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development’ is HERE  The document is in all 6 languages of the United Nations.  It is a 35 page document providing the framework for the next 15 years.   A chart with the list of the goals can be found on page 14. Under each goal there are a number of targets – 169 in all.  (See pages 14 to 28).  What else is contained in the document?

Page 2 to top of page 3:  A preamble – People, Planet, Prosperity, Peace, Partnership.

“The interlinkages and integrated nature of the Sustainable Development Goals are of crucial importance in ensuring that the purpose of the new Agenda is realized. If we realize our ambitions across the full extent of the Agenda, the lives of all will be profoundly improved and our world will be transformed for the better.”

  • Page 3 Declaration:  Paragraphs 1 – 6  Introduction;
  • Page 4 Paragraphs 7 – 9  Vision; Paragraphs 10-13 Our shared principles and commitments;
  • Page 5 Paragraphs 14 – 17 Our world today;
  • Page 6 Paragraphs 18 – 38 The new Agenda;
  • Page 10 Paragraphs 39 – 46 Means of Implementation;
  • Page 12 Paragraphs 47 and 48 Follow up and Review; Paragraphs 49 – 53 A Call for action to change our world;
  • Page 13 Paragraphs 54 – 59 Sustainable Development goals and targets;
  • Page 28 Paragraph 60 – 71 Means of implementation of the Global Partnership;
  • Page 32 Paragraphs 72 – 91 Follow up and review.

What can you do?  I have copied paragraphs 78 and 79 because they make specific reference to the National Level. The bold print is mine.

78. We encourage all Member States to develop as soon as practicable ambitious national responses to the overall implementation of this Agenda. These can support the transition to the Sustainable Development Goals and build on existing planning instruments, such as national development and sustainable development strategies, as appropriate.

79. We also encourage Member States to conduct regular and inclusive reviews of progress at the national and sub-national levels which are country-led and countrydriven. Such reviews should draw on contributions from indigenous peoples, civil society, the private sector and other stakeholders, in line with national circumstances, policies and priorities. National parliaments as well as other institutions can also support these processes.

Over the next few weeks follow the local news on the adoption this new global agenda.  Is your Head of State attending the UN Sustainable Development Summit?  Tune in to the UN Web TV and hear the commitment made by your Head of State.  How will this commitment translate at your national and local level?

Are you reading Laudato Si – Pope Francis’ encyclical on the environment and human ecology? How does it compare with the Sustainable Development Goals?

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Inviting you to review the YouTube and respond. What do you think?

Kosmos Journal a print and online journal for transformational thinking, policy, aesthetic beauty and collective wisdom has a Facebook page.  You can access it HERE   A recent post asks ‘If the Sustainable Development goals are based on growth economics will they work?’  The posted YouTube asks some reflective questions.  The video clip is entitled   Inviting you to share your thoughts.

October 17th is the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty.  The theme of the day is ‘Building a sustainable future: Coming together to end poverty and discrimination’.  The 2 page concept note for the day can be read HERE

A quote from the concept note  ‘The economic and social policies, strategies and priorities adopted during the last decades that have contributed to environmental degradation, unsustainable growth, unparalleled inequalities and social injustice must be changed or abandoned. We must distinguish between activities that should be nurtured because they meet the basic needs of all citizens and are sustainable, and those activities that must be discouraged because they only meet gratuitous needs or are not sustainable. In particular, Governments must ensure that those in extreme poverty are no longer compelled to work at the lowest wages and/or in the most difficult conditions, where there is neither job security nor social protection.’

Migration Issues …

Campaign for Peoples’s Goals for Sustainable Development writes  “Development Justice is the transformative development framework that aims to address the inequities – between countries, between the rich and poor within countries, and between men and women – that maintain the current nature of migration and the exploitation of migrants.
Through the following foundational shifts composing development justice, the condition for a development that shall address forced migration can be created:
1. Redistributive Justice will ensure that in countries of origin, resources and opportunities can be accessed by the people, and they will not be forced to seek them overseas
2. Economic Justice will ensure decent living including decent living for immigrants and their families in countries of destination
3. Social Justice eliminates all forms of discrimination and marginalization including the economic, political and social exclusion of migrants and immigrants in the host countries
4. Environmental Justice presses countries and elites historically responsible for climate degradation to own up to their greater responsibility to stop environmentally damaging production and consumption
5. Accountability to the People that will ensure that migrants are part of free, prior, and informed decision making in all stages of development processes.
Migrants should be present in the development discussions. We were left behind when development goals were set. We were still left behind when actions to achieve the set goals were implemented.
We shall make sure that in the post-2015 development agenda, migrants as stakeholders are involved and migration as a problem of maldevelopment is addressed.”  Click here for the full statement    Would love to know your views on this statement. Leave a comment in the comment box.

Beyond 2015 ‘Call for Participation …’

Congratulations to 37 ‘Good Shepherd’ led initiatives in 27 countries for engaging in the  ‘Beyond2015’s Call for Participation’  showing to our governments that we want to remain engaged during all phases of the setting of the post-2015 agenda.  To see the list of 826 organizations who signed including your own Click here!  Good Shepherd is significantly on board for the new development agenda.  Implementation will be at the national level.

The intergovernmental modalities were agreed yesterday December 17th.  The dates of significant meetings are

  1. Further decides on the following provisional indicative roadmap:
    (a) 19-21 January 2015 [3 days] – Stocktaking
    (b) 17-20 February 2015 [4 days] – Declaration
    (c) 23-27 March 2015 [5 days]  Sustainable Development Goals and targets
    (d) 20-24 April 2015 [5 days] – Means of Implementation and Global Partnership for Sustainable Development
    (e) 18-22 May 2015 [5 days] – Follow up and review     (f) 22-25 June 2015 [4 days] – Intergovernmental negotiations on the outcome document                       (g) 20-24 July 2015 and 27-31 July 2015 [10 days] – Intergovernmental negotiations on the outcome document.

The initial draft of the outcome document on the post 2015 development agenda shall be prepared by the co-facilitators  on the basis of views provided by member states and shall be presented to member states by May 2015 for the intergovernmental negotiations.   The co-facilitators of the process are Ambassador Kamau of Kenya and Ambassador David Donoghue of Ireland.

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If you are interested in doing a little reading see the Synthesis ReportSynthesis report of the Secretary-General on the post-2015 development agenda “The Road to Dignity by 2030: Ending Poverty, Transforming All Lives and Protecting the Planet.  It will be available in all UN languages in January 2015  To read more click here

The United Nations Summit for the adoption of the post-2015 development agenda will be held from 25 September to 27 September, 2015, in New York and convened as a High-level Plenary meeting of the General Assembly.  This will coincide with 70 years of the United Nations.

The President of the General Assembly also has scheduled some relevant sessions:

i) High-Level Thematic Debate on Means of Implementation for a Transformative Post-2015 development agenda (9-10 February 2015)
ii) High-Level Thematic Debate on Advancing Gender equality and empowerment of Women in the Post-2015 development agenda (March 6,2015)
iii) High-Level Thematic Debate on Promoting Tolerance and Reconciliation (6 or 10 April 2015 tbc)
iv) High-Level Thematic Debate on Strengthening Cooperation between the UN and regional and sub-regional organizations (May 15, 2015)
v) High-Level Event on Climate Change (29 June 2015).

The Third International Conference on Financing for Development – to be held in Addis Ababa from July 13th – 16th 2015 will hopefully impact positively the means of implementation in the Post 2015 Development Agenda.  See More

 

H.E. David Donoghue, Permanent Representative of Ireland to the United Nations to co-chair the new Global Development Agenda

H.E. David Donoghue, Permanent Representative of Ireland to the United Nations to co-chair the negotiations towards the new global development agenda to replace the Millennium Development Goals in 2015. This appointment was announced by the President of the General Assembly yesterday.   H.E. Macharia Kamau, Permanent Representative of Kenya has also been named as co-chair. Ambassador Kamau was a very effective co-chair during the Open Working Group process.  Check out the document that will lead into the discussion at the sustainable development website.  17 goals have been presented. We are awaiting the report of the Secretary General which is expected by the end of the month.