Download Update August 2015 HAPPY BIRTHDAY, UN! The sixteen

Update
August 2015
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, UN!
The sixteen-month celebration will culminate on 24 October 2015, the day the UN Charter became a
reality—the day now celebrated as UN Day. One of the most famous quotations about humanity’s
need for the UN was from Dag Hammarskjöld, who reminded us that “the United Nations was not
created to bring us to heaven, but in order to save us from hell.” Saving the world from hell, in
particular the hell of a nuclear holocaust, was no small ambition during the Cold War when this threat
seemed to be ever-present…What would you cite as the main role of the UN today? According to the
UN
Secretary-General, “Our goal is to put people at the center and to protect our one and
only
planet. Our duty is to end poverty, leave no one behind and build lives of
dignity for all.”
Join us in support of the 70th Anniversary of the United Nations
HOW TO SEE THE POPE AT THE UN:
Pope Francis is supposed to visit the UN beginning at 8:30 a.m. Eastern U.S. time on
Friday, 25 September, where he will give an address to the General Assembly. Even if it
is not on your local TV, if you can get on the internet you can search for webtv.un.org, or
go to this link
http://webtv.un.org/live-now/watch/24-hour-live-and-pre-recordedprogramming/1571671822001
At the far right of that web page you will see a series of small pictures that list “Live
Now” events. Click on the appropriate one (it probably will say “General Assembly”).
Click on the arrow in the middle of the picture to make it run, if necessary. Finally, just
under the big picture, on the far right side, there is a little translation button.
To be sure you get this message we will repeat it in the September Update.
THE BIG THREE:
2015 will become famous in UN history for three big events: the Financing for
Development (FfD) conference in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in July, the approval of the
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in September, and the Climate Change
conference (UNFCCC, or UN Framework Convention for Climate Change) in Paris in
December. All these events are linked together: the SDGs are meant to drive the global
agenda for the next few decades, but they can’t be achieved without financing, and they
are rendered meaningless if climate change is allowed to proceed unchecked. Watch
for news about these three events in your country, and in this Update.
PREPARATIONS FOR CLIMATE CHANGE TALKS:
On 29 June the UN held a High Level Climate Change Event (“High Level” means that
UN representatives as well as country officials come, such as Ministers of Environment
and Energy). At its opening, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said that “the stars are
aligned as never before” for the success of the Paris climate talks, which, he said, are
not the end point but can be a turning point. He thinks that the biggest carbon-emitting
nations are ready to lead, and most of the largest economies are ready to place their
bets on non-carbon energy sources. Citizens and faith leaders are demanding action for
the most significant challenge of our time.
He and most of the speakers that day thanked Pope Francis and spoke highly of his
encyclical. The minister from Peru said “This is the Day of the Pope!” Ghanaian Cardinal
Peter Turkson, the President of the Vatican Pontifical Council for Justice and
Peace, spoke of the need to review our dominant economic models, especially the
mindset that makes us indifferent to our brothers and sisters. He said we must seek
other ways to understand “progress.”
The President of the Republic of Kiribati and the Ambassador from the Maldives (whose
countries are just a few feet above sea level) talked about what their countries face (and
indeed have already experienced) from rising sea levels—about the terror their citizens
experience with every high tide or storm, how their crops are ruined and water
contaminated with salt water—and about how they are getting ready for a time when
they have to abandon their nations.
A 15-year-old youth representative “representing my entire generation and Indigenous
Peoples” called climate change the “defining issue of our time.” He has been working on
the issue since he was 6 years old. “What better time to be alive?” he cried, “because
we can change the world!” The speakers stressed that the world must turn away from
denial and the feeling that one person cannot make a difference. Failure is not an
option.
HOW YOU CAN LEARN MORE:
All countries are supposed to come to Paris with an I.N.D.C. (Intended Nationally
Determined Contribution) stating all they are willing to do for climate change mitigation.
Has your country published an INDC yet? what does it say? Watch for the latest working
text for the Paris conference; it should come out on 24 July; if it is too late for our August
edition, we will add a link to the September Update!
THIRD INTERNATIONAL UN CONFERENCE ON FINANCING FOR DEVELOPMENT:
Many developing countries were generally disappointed in the outcome of the recent
UN Conference on Financing for Development (FfD) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. While the
UN reported that the “groundbreaking agreement” forms the “foundation of a revitalized
global partnership for sustainable development that will leave no one behind,” some civil
society organizations were less enthusiastic. The Global Alliance for Tax Justice (GATJ)
reported that a key proposal on the creation of a UN global tax body was rejected; it
was to have assured that every country would have a seat at the table and an equal say
in reforming global tax policies, and helped developing countries increase domestic
resources through fairer international tax policies. GATJ also said that no specific debt
relief initiatives are contained in the FfD outcome document, while privatization and
private finance are heavily promoted as “solutions” to financing for development. The
problem of illicit financial flows (tax evasion and corruption) was strongly debated, but
final language around the issue remains weak, with no clear measures for
implementation.
Besides the tax issue, the original agenda sought to get government commitments to
provide social protection and essential public series for all (e.g. health, education,
energy, water, and sanitation); an economic package to support the poorest countries;
ways to ensure the technology and infrastructure needed to achieve the SDGs; and
mainstreaming women’s empowerment into financing for development.
For documents and other information see http://www.un.org/esa/ffd/ffd3/
BAD NEWS FOR MIGRANTS IN AUSTRALIA?
The Border Force Act was recently passed by the Australian Federal Government, and
went into operation 1 July 2015. This act supports the status and decisions / actions of
border enforcement personnel, and the strategies they employ when dealing with
asylum seekers, undocumented migrants and other persons who enter Australian
waters seeking protection.
Another 2015 piece of legislation, the Border Resource Act, deals with measures such
as return of persons to boats, search and inquiry, and the use of “reasonable force” to
protect Australia’s border. Closer examination of the texts of both Acts raises questions
regarding human rights and Australia’s detention of asylum seekers and undocumented
migrants in deplorable conditions—without any timeline of resolution of their status. The
eventual enforcement of the Acts demands close scrutiny!
–contributed by Kathleen Butler CSB
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS:
At the time of this writing, the UN community is in the middle of the last two of weeks of
intensive negotiations on the SDG document. The opportunity for substantive changes
is over, but the NGOs are still giving input into strengthening and clarifying the
document. The hyperlink below will take you to the document as it stands as of 27 July
2015; unfortunately it is only in English now, but when it is finalized it will be translated
into all the UN languages.
https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/content/documents/7849Cover%20Letter%20and%20Outcome%20docu
ment%20for%20the%20UN%20Summit%20to%20adopt%20the%20Post2015%20Development%20Agenda_26072015.pdf
RESOURCES ON TRAFFICKING SURVIVORS:
At the UN you hear more countries referring to Human Trafficking, not just in terms of
prevention, but in terms of help for victims. Here is a link to a document that describes
the services for victims of human trafficking in the US.
http://www.ovc.gov/pubs/FederalHumanTraffickingStrategicPlan.pdf
FLASH POINTS:
 Cova Orejas, a Carmelite Sister of Charity Vedruna, recommended a new
publication, the Training Toolkit on the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare
of the Child for Regional Economic Communities (RECs), Government and CSO
Representatives. We will send you the link to that if we can get it.
 This spring some sisters of Our Lady of Sion attended a prayer service
sponsored by the Egypt Council of Churches for the 21 Egyptian martyrs.
Speakers included heads of different churches, a representative of the Sheikh of
Al Azhar, a choir, and even a popular singer. The most moving speakers were a
delegation of relatives of the martyrs from their villages in Minia—a young
Orthodox priest whose nephew and three
cousins were among the 21, a man
who lost his brother and another
whose son was killed. In a beautiful
witness, they expressed no bitterness,
hatred, or revenge. During the service
an icon of the 21 martyrs was
projected. You can also find it at this
link:
http://mgocsmdiaspora.org/blog/lententhoughts-21-martyrs-of-libya-with-their-first-coptic-icon-made-by-an-artist-namedtony/
 In India, in the village of Palanpur (Gujarat State) a Religious of Jesus and
Mary sister walks eight kilometers into the mountains to work in a project for
Adivasi women and children. These people, the “original
inhabitants” or the aboriginal population of India, live in
absolute poverty. There is a small school for the children
and a formation program for women. At first these women
would hardly open the doors of their huts, but now the
women gather together and send their children to school.
They have even celebrated a “congress for the
empowerment of women.”

Religious Sister of Charity Kathleen Bryant (at far right in picture) is doing a
research project into the resiliency of
trafficking victims, and posting a series
of videos on u-tube. Here’s the link to a
very moving presentation, in the voices
trafficking victims she has interviewed!
of
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cIQ8TOLgGcE&feature=em-upload_owner
 The Sisters of the Holy Names’ Peace and Justice Committee created a lovely
prayer service in celebration of the UN World Day Against Human Trafficking on
30 July. (This day was designated by the United Nations General Assembly in
December 2013). It is posted on the UNANIMA website and Facebook pages in
English and French.