World Goodwill at the UN

The Link Between the Rule of Law and Development Essential to Post-2015

 

 

The UN Deputy Secretary General, Jan Eliasson, prepared a statement earlier this month on the the link between the rule of law and development essential to post-2015.

 

He states that in September of last year, all 193 Member States endorsed the idea that the rule of law and development are mutually reinforcing and that their interrelationship should be considered in the post-2015 development agenda.  He also shared that the Secretary-General's recent report, "A Life of Dignity for All," stresses that lasting peace and sustainable development cannot be fully realized without respect for human rights and the rule of law.

 

As requested by the General Assembly, the Secretary-General is now undertaking  a wide process of consultations with many different stakeholders to explore the linkages between the rule of law, peace and security, human rights and development. Justice, security, and development can not be promoted in isolation from or at the expense of the other.

 

Jan Eliasson concluded his statement by saying, "When we pay attention to justice and the rule of law, we get results across the international agenda and concrete effects on the lives of the people we are to serve."

 

Here, we can see how the rule of law, peace and security, human rights and development will come through the growing recognition, intelligently assessed, of the wrong doings that have led to the present world situation.  The rule of law is being seen as a way to take wise and understanding steps which will lead to right human relationship, reflecting the nature of true goodwill and its hitherto unused potential.

 

The rule of law is being recognized within the UN as being essential in developing the bridge to a new civilization, indicating an ascending life of human aspiration and endeavour ... a world of goodwill.

 

 United Nations and the Rule of Law

 

Link between Rule of Law, Development Essential to Post-2015 Development Framework, Deputy Secretary-General Tells Event on Transitional Justice

The Principle of Sharing is being addressed as Lebanon accepts Syrian refugees

 

At a press conference held earlier this month, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the President of the World Bank, Jim Young Kim, responded to a question on the economic crisis, a hit of $7 billion, faced by Lebanon since it has generously accepted refugees from Syria.  Although Lebanon has reached it's borrowing limit with the World Bank, "every bit of flexibility" will be exercised to move additional resources quickly.

 

Other partners are being called in to help expand the assistance programme. Mr. Ban said that the International Support Group for Lebanon was one tof the most important and successful events held on the sidelines of this year's General Assembly.  

 

It is expected that the number of refugees will reach 1 million by the end of the year.  Lebanon is seen as willingly putting itself in a position, through accepting the refugees, that is not economically, socially or politically sustainable.

 

The principle of sharing is a particularly tricky concept in view of the habit of ownership which we have all so firmly established. When it is understood by men and women of vision all over the world that the goal of right sharing is a major step toward right human relations, the needs of each nation, based upon its own internal resources and the requirements of its people, will be worked out in relation to the whole.

 

We, perhaps, can see this happening at the UN as it addresses the actions  of right sharing by Lebanon and the call to action in working out and supporting sustainable solutions.

 

Ban Ki-moon is quoted as saying that the response of any crisis, "should focus beyond fighting the fire; it should contain a regional approach; and the international community should come together in a constructive way. Peace is not sustainable without development and vice versa."

 

The nature of this work, demonstrating world goodwill at the UN, may be our best hope for a united and peaceful world.

 

"Let Light and Love and Power restore the Plan on Earth"

 

The Tough Work Is About To Begin

An open working group on sustainable devlopment goals, chaired by Macharia Kamau of Kenya and Csaba Kõrösi of Hungary, is about to begin the tough work in designing a new set of ambitious, global goals.  

 

Governments that may agree on setting goals for poverty, hunger, and water may very well disagree on issues surrounding trade, debt, biodiversity, and women's rights.

 

"There is a growing realization that we are all in the same boat," says Kamau, "... there's no getting away from the fact that everyone has to contribute."

 

From now until March, in four months time, the group will be working toward defining a broad consensus on the issues to be addressed, and by September, a duration of 6 months, the group will unveil a set of proposals, between 8 to 12 high level goals, to the UN General Assembly.

 

"The sum af all these pieces must make a coherent whole that is consistent with our aspirations for sustainable development."

 

Together, let's hold a good thought close to heart for these goodwill efforts.  "Let the Forces of Light bring illumination to all human minds."

 

Future development goals: 'the tough work is about to begin' | Global development | theguardian.com

From Education to Employment

A youth led DPI/NGO briefing was held Thursday, 7 November, titled, "Educating and Employing Youth:  The Influence of Public-Private Partnerships in a Technological Era." This was a special event because the whole briefing was organized and conducted by young people and youth representatives, "youth reps," of NGO's.  

 

The underlying question addressed was "What is an education worth under the global scourge of youth unemployment?"  The scourge being defined as having 12.6% of the youth in the world unemployed, with 40% of the world's unemployed being youth.

 

Financial assistance, technology, and long-term development were seen as critical to promoting job availability, gender equality, and entrepreneurship.

 

Alex Wirth, representing the United State's National Commission for UNESCO, looks at the educational practices around the world and is an advocate for making education more relevant and engaging.  He reported that the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation conducted a survey to help understand the reason why the United States has 5.8 million "disconnected youths" and found that 47% of the youth interviewed did not recognize the education they had received as relevant and 81% of them suggested that education had to be "more real."

 

Jamira Burley, from the youth advocacy group for the SG Global Education First Initiative, initiated by Gordon Brown, the former Prime Minister of the UK and Leader of the Labour Party, spoke of how education is needed to change the trajectory and/or to create the space for youth to be change agents.

 

And Gretel Truang, from Global Business Coalitions for Education, told us how 20 companies have come together to help close the gap being created with 57 million kids not having access to education and 250 million kids just not learning.  She spoke of how content and curriculum are changing with technology (on-line classes) and how the awareness of the importance of education is being developed through companies having access to  celebrity advocates (Jay Z and Beyoncé  have teamed up with Gucchi, HP, and Intel to get the message out, "it's time to change").

 

Ahmad Alhindawi, the Secretary General's Envoy on Youth, spoke passionately about the importance of having relevant and accessible education that teaches our youth how to think and not what to think.  His focus was on partnerships of all sorts to help support our youth to "challenge the challenge" of not being able to find a job into inventing a job or of becoming entreprenuers.  He called on the youth to be more proactive in creating opportunities for themselves and he called on investors to recognize our youth as our biggest asset, a driving force for a sustainable future where people are put in the center of education and markets.

 

 

UN Live United Nations Web TV - Meetings & Events - Youth-led briefing 2013 - DPI/NGO

 

 

UN General Assembly Special Event on Millennium Development Goals

On September 22, there was a meeting between Civil Society or world citizens (representatives of non-governmental organizations) and UN Representatives to discuss recommendations on post-2015 development goals, which was presented in last week's blog, "developing constructive relationships between the UN and "We the Peoples.""  How wonderful to have UN Representatives recognizing and listening to and working with Civil Society like never before.

 

The outcome report of that meeting, synthesizing the contributions made, was presented at a UN General Assembly Special Event on Millenium Development Goals on 25 September and served as a substantive input to building connections between "We the Peoples" and the General Assembly.  Again, we want to draw attention to how the relationship being forged between the UN and "We the Peoples" seems to be unusually charged with a spirit of goodwill.

Two of the civil society speakers at the Special Event, Ziad Abdel Samad of the Arab NGO Network for Development and Chee Yoke Ling of Third World Network participated in both the UN-NGLS consultation and in the 22 September dialogue. 

Ziad Abdel Samad of the Arab NGO Nework for Development contributed two main notes that were quite powerful.  

First, "The new development framework that enhances public private partnerships should bring private sector, including transnational corporations’ activities, under strict United Nations supervision within a binding framework and standards to ensure their respect for human rights and social justice." 

And secondly, "It was highly recommended that the international community under the UN should be committed to building Peace and security as well as ending militarization and foreign occupation. These should be perceived in the context of human rights and fair distribution of natural resources."

 

Chee Yoke Ling from Third World Network struck a powerful note of:  

"For universality to be real, there must be specific goals and targets for developed countries to enable transformational shifts in consumption and lifestyle.." calling for  "profound economic transformations."  She also called for a "new global partnership" in the context of "a renewed multilateralism that is open, transparent, participatory and accountable."  
  

 Eamon Gilmore, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of the Republic of Ireland, recognized that "we have reached a pivotal moment that we are all challenged to transform our thinking about development.” ... “If we do so, if we put the lives and experiences of real people at the heart of our efforts, we have an opportunity now to end extreme poverty and hunger in a generation. Let us take up that challenge, and act on it.”

 

 

 

Developing constructive relationships between the UN and "We the Peoples"

The United Nations Non-Governmental Liaison Service (UN-NGLS) is an inter-agency programme of the United Nations mandated to promote and develop constructive relations between the United Nations and civil society organizations reflecting the concerns of "We the Peoples."

 

The relationship being forged between the UN and "We the Peoples" seems to be unusually charged with a spirit of goodwill.

 

The General Assembly has recognized the value of the liaison Services in the past, but never more than right now, when post-2015 development planning is underway.  On 22 September, UN-NGLS and the Post-2015 Development Planning Team organized an open dialogue on critical regional issues and policy recommendations.  The event was the largest single gathering of civil society in the post-2015 process to date.

 

The President of the 68th Session of the General Assembly, H.E. John Ashe, in opening the dialogue noted tht the post-2015 agenda "should be shaped by and respond to what people are experiencing on the ground."  He emphasized that this required participation from "We the Peoples" and regional perspectives, throughout the 68th session of the General Assembly. 

”UN Live United Nations Web TV - John Ashe, General Assembly President - Advancing Regional Recommendations on Post-2015: A Dialogue between Civil Society, Governments and UN Representatives

 

Repeating the opening words of the UN Charter, “We the Peoples,” Deputy Secretary-­‐General Jan Eliasson referred to this event as a starting point and an example of meaningful civil society engagement with the UN. Mr. Eliasson affirmed that both he and the Secretary-­‐General understand the great value of expanding space for meaningful civil society participation throughout the UN system. 

 United Nations Deputy Secretary-General Statements

 

In closing the event, Assistant Secretary General Amina J. Mohammed referred to the importance of grounding the post-2015 agenda in the human rights framework, a concern raised “front and center” by civil society since the beginning of the process. In response to the concerns raised in the UN-NGLS consultation and in the dialogue about the role of the private sector, Ms. Mohammed agreed that the post-2015 agenda must address “the concerns people have that when we have a partnership between government and the private sector, that it doesn’t become an unholy alliance to the detriment of the people.” 

UN Live United Nations Web TV - Closing Reflections - Advancing Regional Recommendations on Post-2015: A Dialogue between Civil Society, Governments and UN Representatives 

 

To read about the various representatives for civil society, representing "We the Peoples," from various regions around the world go to:

Advancing Regional Recommendations on Post-2015 event brings together one thousand representatives of civil society, governments, and the UN - United Nations - Non-governmental Liaison Service

UN's High Level Forum on the Culture of Peace

The UN's High Level Forum on the Culture of Peace was convened on 6 September by the President of the 67th General Assembly, H.E. Mr. Vuk Jeremic, ending his year as GA President.

 

The theme of the day was, "The Culture of Peace as the agenda for a new global civilization:  Where are we now?"  

 

The event opened with talks by the GA President and the Deputy Secretary-General of the UN, H.E. Jan Eliasson, followed by keynote addresses from His Holiness Patriarch Irinej of the Serbian Orthodox Church, Sayyid M. Syeed of the Islamic Society of North America, and Rabbi Elie Abadie of the Safra Synagogue.  Government representatives from Bangladesh and the Philippines spoke, along with H.E. Anwarul K. Chowdhury (a speaker at the World Goodwill Seminar in New York in 2010), representing the Global Movement for the Culture of Peace.  This was followed by three panel discussions:  The Role of Interfaith Cooperation in Promoting a Global Culture of Peace; The Culture of Peace as the Agenda for a New Global Civilization:  Where are we Now?; and Strategy for Advancing the Implementation of the UN Programme of Action on the Culture of Peace: What is needed?

 

Representatives from World Goodwill were in attendance along with a large number of people from other groups.  It was a joy to sense the focus and concentration on the work of building a culture of peace that was in the chamber.  These High Level Events at the UN reflect the fact that "culture of peace" is raising its profile in the international community -- focusing on peace as a set of values, attitudes, modes of behavior and ways of life that reject violence and prevent conflicts by tackling their root causes to solve problems through dialogue and negotiation among indiviuals, groups and nations.

 

The President of the General Assembly captured the essence of the goodwill vision in his remarks.  The UN Charter, he commented, gave each nation "a seat around the high table of peace, where dialogue was endowed with greater value than force."  "In the decades that have followed," he continued, "the blessings of amity were repeatedly put to the test by the strong pull of the recourse to arms.  For all the transgressions, however, the quest for peace at the United Nations did not recede ..."  The Programme of Action on the Culture of Peace, adopted by consensus in the General Assembly in 1989, reflected this ongoing search for peace at the UN.  It identified 8 areas where action was needed "at all levels -- the indiviual, the family, the community, the nation, and the world."  Education was the first area of focus.

 

"We are truly becoming a global community, one in which the solemn entreaty of the UN Charter - to "practice tolerance and live together in peace with one another as good neighbors" has never been more pressing." 

 

He called upon all of us to "be ready to begin a universal transition to sustainability by 2015.  We cannot afford to delay the start of a process that, once completed, will have fundamentally transformed the ways in which humanity conducts its affairs .... We must not squander the opportunity to set the world on the path to sustainable development -- and so bring forth a powerful handmaiden to our efforts to spread the culture of peace to every corner of the globe."

 

"Holy books remind us that in creating mankind, God did not intend for us simply to be endowed with certain gifts and particular qualities.  He created us "in His image" and called us to be completed "in His likeness," so that we may humbly endeavor to come ever closer to Him -- to become more ethical, more just, and more self-controlled, but also more mindful of the Eternal, the "one thing neccessary.""

"The wholehearted embrace of the culture of peace would propel us forward, and help make still and tranquil the ways of the world."

 

The President concluded his remarks by quoting Dag Hammarskjold --

"Our work for peace must begin within the private world of each one of us.  To build for man a world without fear, we must be without fear.  To build a world of justice, we must be just. (...) How can we ask others to sacrifice if we are not ready to do so? (...) Only in true surrender to the interest of all can we reach that strength and independence, that unity of purpose, that equity of judgment which are necessary if we are to measure up to our duty to the future, as men of a generation to whom the chance (is) given to build (...) a world (culture) of peace."

 

The note struck by the President was highlighted by the other speakers with education being presented as the "primary tool."  Speakers Highlight Education as ‘Primary Tool’ during General Assembly High-Level Forum on Culture of Peace  

Among all the inspiring messages during this High Level Forum, Nancy Roof, editor and founder of the journal, Kosmos, spoke forcefully and directly to the spiritual impulse driving the work of building a culture of peace.  "We are new humans with a new consciousness and capacity for peaceful and non-violent change.  We realize that we must change ourselves to change the world.  As we speak, millions are working to master their fears and anger, while meditating and praying for peace. Many are developing new intuitive capacities that bring new perspectives to our rational solutions.  Millions are meeting in small circles developing collective intelligence and group solidarity for the common good.  We are moving from a culture of indiviual self-interest to the good of the whole."

Her six point strategy for developing a new "wellness model for peace" highlighted, as the first point:  "Developing an inclusive approach that scales from individual, interior or spiritual development to community, national and global.  The weakest of these, I believe, is interior or spiritual devlopment.  We often see skilled activists who have not addressed their inner subjective reality and, therefore, become liabilities to the groups in which they are involved.  And vice versa, we find spiriually oriented people without skills in action.   Today, we need both!"

Nancy Roof concluded by saying:  "The opportunity for change is now.  We are living in a new world with new human capacities and new world views. In this time of the Great Transition, we must make systemic and radical changes to all our institutions to reflect our new values and capacities. We must focus on prevention, share the earth's resources, and come together as global citizens in a world comunity that cares enough to make the radical changes needed to create the new world."

"May the Spirit of Peace be spread abroad, in our hearts, through our groups, and throughout the world."

 

Watch videos of all the inspiring speakers at UN’s High Level Forum on the Culture of Peace (2013) | Global Movement for the Culture of Peace

Read the words of H.E. Vuk Jeremic at Statements of the President of the 67th Session - General Assembly of the United Nations

Read Nancy Roof's text at Culture of Peace Speech by Nancy

World Water Week

A UN-Water Seminar, "Triggering Action on Water through the Post-2015 Agenda" will be held at the Stockholm World Water Week on Sunday, 1 September, 14.00-17.30 (GMT+2).

‎www.unwater.org/downloads/UN_Water_Stakeholder_Dialogue_1Sep2013.pdf

The webcast for the event can be found at:  Triggering Action on Water through the Post-2015 Agenda

Those who are able to follow along as the meeting unfolds will have a special opportunity to become familiar with how the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) on water and the proposals for targets and indicators are being negotiated and developed, as the international community seeks to determine what might lead to effective action.

This is a hugely important time in the life of the United Nations and of all people of goodwill as a new vision for Goals and Targets for the future is developed.  Between 2000 and 2015, the United Nations, governments and development agencies are focussed on achieving 8 Millennium Development Goals.  In 2015, these 8 Goals will be replaced by a new set of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG's).  Right now, these SDG's are being negotiated -- people of goodwill and NGO's around the world have had countless opportunities to contribute their visions.

 

The main purpose of the work being done during World Water Week is to inform and influence the General Debate of the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA 68) in Sept 2013 as the initial findings of the Sustainable Development Goals and Post-2015 consultative processes are presented and reviewed.

 

Those who are sharing in the current focus on Water in the World Goodwill Cycle of Conferences visualization initiative may well find that following this event will help them project a lighted seed of "will energy" into the heart of the thoughtform under construction on International Water Cooperation.

If we were to ask those taking part in World Water Week to tell us about the world they see, post-2015, we may hear:

"We believe that the global community must;

Double global water productivity by 2030

Realize the Human right to water and sanitation by providing universal access to safe drinking water and adequate sanitation

Increase resilience to droughts and floods"

At this point, the draft statement that the Stockholm International Water Initiative prepared for the Sustainable Development Goal on water is open for discussion.  Comments can be directed toward:  Stockholm Statement

Questions to be addressed during the week will include:

"What are the main challenges to sustainable universal access to safe drinking water, adequate sanitation and good hygiene? How and when can these challenges be overcome?"

Which measures need to be taken to increase the value we produce per drop of water? How much more productive can and should we become?

Which are the best steps towards wiser management of our water resources and which aspects of the current water governance structures should be addressed first?

Which are the main drivers of water vulnerability and what are the best routes towards resilience?

Which measures, on policy as well as on a practical level, need to be taken to ensure that the same water that has served us for millennia can also be used in the future?

The Programme for the week can be found on:  2013 World Water Week in Stockholm.  

 

Let's use the Cycle of Conferences Visualization throughout the Week in support of the best possible outcome from this important event. 

A resource page for the Cycle of Conferences can be found at Lucis - cycle

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A "google hang out" with youth and two reps of UN High Level Panel

A year ago, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon convened a panel of 26 eminent people, including Center for American Progress Chair John Podesta and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Tawakkol Karman, to make recommendations for an ambitious global development agenda beyond the conclusion of the Millennium Development Goals—the shared global antipoverty targets co-signed by all U.N. member states—at the end of 2015.

 

In its report Released May 30, the U.N. High-Level Panel on the Post-2015 Development Agenda seeks to build a new framework for global development that continues the progress of the Millennium agenda while also building a new spirit of global partnership.

 

The panel's report recognizes in particular the important role young people will play in shaping and realizing the post-2015 agenda.

 

Podesta and Karman answered questions about their work with the U.N. High-Level Panel and provided an opportunity for youth to engage on the issues most pressing to them as the world moves into the next phase of global poverty eradication.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is the link for the youtube of the 'google hang out"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZrSGErVFxL4

The World Youth Want

 

A short youtube video and a write up highlighting the participation of youth in shaping the post-2015 development framework. Youth from 11 countries in the Middle East and Eastern Europe gathered in Turkey and Armenia to discuss "the world YOUTH want".

Here, the youth share their observations from their time together as well as their recommendations for the future.

 

 

Youth Respond to Post-2015 Development Proposal

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HBUAJpzEad0