A call for teachers

October 5th is the World Teachers' Day! THANKS for the work they do with passion and hope that it can always be quality teaching.

Happy Birthday, Mahatma!

On the 2nd of October, we celebrate the International Day of Non-Violence, held on the birthday of Gandhi, leader of the Indian Independence movement and pioneer of the philosophy and strategy of Non-Violence.

             "There are many causes that I am prepared to die for                     but no causes that I am prepared to kill for."

                                                                                       (Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi)

The 24th Session of the Human Rights Council reaches its end with still-standing issues and new challenges.

The 24^th Session of the Human Rights Council, which started 9^th September in Geneva, reached its end. For the Council, whose mission is to promote the respect of the human rights and to monitor the violations in all the UN Member States, it’s time to review and evaluate the results that were reached in this session.                                 
In this session, Syria sadly played the protagonist, with millions of civilians forced into mass displacement by gross violations of humanitarian law, at a time where international balances are at a critical moment. This session hosted a general debate on Israel and the Occupied Territories, reminding us that in the West Bank, Palestinians are still inhumanly treated. Other ever-hot topics were also addressed, including the rights of children in armed conflict, the rights of children of parents sentenced to the death penalty or executed, the treatment of indigenous people, the condition of women and gender discrimination, and contemporary forms of slavery. Interactive dialogues with the Special Rapporteur on human rights in Cambodia and with the Independent Expert on the human rights situation in Somalia and Sudan took also place.

“Education for Peace!” Celebrating the International Day of Peace

One day, every year entirely dedicated to Peace. It’s a way to discover the true meaning of that word, making peace real and not just a spot of ink on a piece of paper or just the visionary dream of a poet.

The UN has invented one day like that. One day when everybody lets a glimmer of peace into their busy daily life, from those in poverty living in a corner of the world, or into a devastating war, or children in fear, or into the heart of a young man anxious about his future.

IIMA Addresses Human Rights Issues Concerning Migrant Workers and Human Trafficking During Canada’s Universal Periodic Review at the Human Rights Council

On September 19^th, 2013, IIMA delivered an oral statement on Canada’s second Universal Periodic Review (UPR), which evaluates human rights issues in Canada and recommends where the nation needs to improve. IIMA encouraged Canada to implement the recommendations that they accepted leading up to their next UPR in 2017 and to continue greater work to protect migrant workers from exploitation. IIMA also raised additional concerns about the Canadian Temporary Foreign Worker Program’s holes and weaknesses, which include the unreasonable burden of proof placed on a trafficked victim in seeking the protection of the government, the abuse by foreign recruiting agencies, and harsh living and working conditions in Canada. IIMA’s oral statement delivered to the Human Rights Council is based on reports from sisters’ in Canada along with contributions from the Office for Systemic Justice of Federation of Sisters of Saint Joseph of Canada.

You can watch IIMA's oral statement on Canada by clicking the link and selecting chapter 18 on the right side of the page.http://webtv.un.org/watch/canada-upr-report-condsideration-22nd-meeting-24th-regular-session-of-human-rights-council/2681983486001/

The Rights of Children whose are parents sentenced to the Death Penalty or executed

When the parent of a child is sentenced to death or executed, the child’s mental health is damages and their physical heath is often put at risk. A child will often experience discrimination especially where the parent’s sentence is publicly known.

As the death penalty disproportionately affects those who are poor or marginalized groups, discrimination can be exacerbated. The effect on children can be drastic as the child can be orphaned or left without the care and support of a parent. Sometimes children may have to stop their education and begin working to support themselves. This situation can make the children susceptible to abuse, neglect, and exploitation.

The effect of Armed Conflicts on children

         

As our world is faced with conflicts with radically different armies and battlefields, children suffer the greatest from the effects of war. Young children are recruited as soldiers and others are displaced from their homeland. Their neighbourhoods are the frontlines for warfare. They are killed or maimed by explosives, land mines, drones, and other weapons. When children are displaced from their homes or when their homeland becomes dangerous, children are less likely to attend school, especially girls. In other cases, schools are destroyed. Rebel groups target schools and hospitals and children are used as human shields.

            The 24^th Session of the Human Rights Council turned its attention to the issue of Children and Armed Conflict and started a dialogue between State Members on how to create solutions for this problem.

Call for Peace in Syria!

 

During the conflict in Syria, killings of 150000 civilian have been reported, of which 7000 are chidlren. We support the call of Pope Francis for peace in Syria. 

INTERNATIONAL DAY IN SUPPORT OF VICTIMS OF TORTURE

Please find the UN  Secretary General's message for the International Day in support of Victims of Torture:

"As we mark International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, I call on Member States to step up efforts to assist all those who have suffered from torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. 

This year is also the 25th anniversary of the Committee against Torture. This body -- along with other UN human rights mechanisms such as the Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture and the Special Rapporteur on Torture -- is vital to strengthening a victim-oriented approach that also includes a gender perspective. This effort was further strengthened by the adoption this year of a UN Human Rights Council resolution focussing on the rehabilitation of torture victims.

I urge all Member States to accede to and fully implement the Convention against Torture and support the United Nations Voluntary Fund for Victims of Torture.  Let us work together to end torture throughout the world and ensure that countries provide reparation for victims.

Ban Ki-moon"

HUMAN RIGHTS AND POST-2015 DEVELOPMENT AGENDA

“HUMAN RIGHTS MUST BE AT THE CENTRE OF THE POST 2015 AGENDA” affirmed UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navy Pillay, in her Open Letter to all Member States on Human Rights and Post 2015 Agenda on the 6^th of June, 2013.

According to the High Commissioner, “some of the most celebrated Millennium Development Goals success stories since 2000 are now sites of mass protest decrying widespread deprivation, repression and inequalities masked by the narrow models of economic analysis that have characterized development approaches in the pre-2015 period. The message is clear: economic growth is not an adequate measure of development.

Rather, equality matters, the environment matters and human rights matter. So do good governance and anti-corruption. The real test, to a growing global population demanding a life of dignity, is the degree to which they are able to enjoy freedom from fear and want, without discrimination.”

WORLD REFUGEE DAY

Every 60 seconds, eight persons in the world are forced to leave their home and properties to escape terror and persecution. We celebrate today the World Refugee Day, remembering the about 43 million refugees in the world. 

We invite you to visit the UN webpage dedicated to the issue for studies, statistics and awareness raising  campaigns.

Draft Resolutions, Decisions & President's Statements of the 23 Session of the Human Rights Council

This is the List of Resolutions and Decisions taken during the 23rd Session of the Human Rights Council. Please click of the link below to find the texts and the votes records:

Texts and votes records
(if you are requested to sign in USERNAME: hrc extranet; PASSWORD: 1session)

A/HRC/23/L.1    The deteriorating situation of human rights in the Syrian Arab Republic, and the recent killings in Al-Qusayr

A/HRC/23/L.2    Assistance technique à la Côte d’Ivoire dans le domaine des droits de l’homme

A/HRC/23/L.2 Rev.1 Assistance technique à la Côte d’Ivoire dans le domaine des droits de l’homme Rev.1

A/HRC/23/L.3    Assistance technique à la République Centrafricaine dans le domaine des droits de l’homme

A/HRC/23/L.4    Renforcement de la coopération technique et services consultatifs en Guinée

A/HRC/23/L.5    Role of Freedom of Opinion and Expression in Women’s Empowerment

A/HRC/23/L.6    Enhancement of international cooperation in the field of human rights

A/HRC/23/L.7    The right to education - follow up to Human Rights resolution 8.4

A/HRC/23/L.8    Trafficking in persons, especially women and children - effort to combat human trafficking in supply chain of business

100 DAYS TO THE INTERNATIONAL DAY OF PEACE

Today, 13 June 2013, we start the 100-day count-down to the International Day of Peace, which is celebrated on 21 September each year.
We want to share with you the message that the Secretary-General has issued for the day, in which he calls governments, civil society, and other stakeholders to support peace-related projects, as well as other relevant information on the International Day of Peace and the theme of the year: Education for Peace.

WORLD DAY AGAINST CHILD LABOUR

Today is the World Day against Child Labour. 

You can find statistics, surveys and resources about this sad phenomenon still affecting more than 200 million children in the world in the ILO (International Labour Organization) website: http://www.ilo.org/ipec/Campaignandadvocacy/wdacl/2013/lang--en/index.htm

Women’s rights addressed at the 23rd Session of the Human Rights Council

“There can be no equal societies, development and peace if women and girls remain discriminated against and marginalized.”  – This was a statement made by Ms. Navi Pillay (United Nation High Commissioner for Human Rights) in her opening remarks for the Annual Full Day Discussion on Women’s Rights on the 5^th of June at the United Nations in Geneva. In the days preceding, the Human Rights Council also discussed the Report of the Special Rapporteur on violence against women as well the Report of the working group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and in practice.

"YOUTH EMPOWERMENT: WHICH STRATEGIES?" IIMA and VIDES presenting their best practice at the UN.

 On June 4th, at the United Nations in Geneva, IIMA and VIDES Human Rights Office organised, in collaboration with the Permanent Mission of Uruguay and with the co-sponsorship of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and of Permanent Missions of Costa Rica, France and Holy See, the side event: “Youth Empowerment: which strategies?”. The side event’s goal was to invite all the participants, especially States, to reflect on how young people can become real protagonists of their lives and catalysts for social change.   

The Ambassador of Uruguay, Laura Dupuy Lasserre, presided over the Side Event as moderator. The panel was composed by: the Ambassador of Costa Rica, H.E. Christian Guillermet, the Apostolic Nuncio H.E. Mgr. Silvano Tomasi,  the Vice Minister of Labour and Social Security on the Uruguayan Government Dr.Nelson Loustaunau, the Human Rights Officer Mr.Christian Courtis of the Office of the High Commissioner  for Human Rights (OHCHR), the Child and Youth Advisor of OHCHR Ms. Imma Guerras, Ms. Maria D’Onofrio of VIDES International, the Assistant Director General for Policy of the International Labour Organization (ILO), Mr. Josè Manuel Salazar, Ms. Molly Kaniampadickal, and Mr. Thomas Vattathara of IIMA India.

WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY 2013

“Think.Eat.Save: Reduce Your Foodprint”

We would like to celebrate the World Environment Day 2013 through the Message of UN Secretary General, Ban Ki Moon:

"We live in a world of plenty, where food production outstrips demand, yet 870 million people are undernourished and childhood stunting is a silent pandemic.  To create the future we want, we must correct this inequity.  We must ensure access to adequate nutrition for all, double the productivity of smallholder farmers who grow the bulk of food in the developing world, and make food systems sustainable in the face of environmental and economic shocks.  This is the vision of my Zero Hunger Challenge, launched last year at the Rio+20 UN Conference on Sustainable Development.

One way to narrow the hunger gap and improve the well-being of the most vulnerable is to address the massive loss and waste inherent in today’s food systems.  Currently at least one third of all food produced fails to make it from farm to table.  This is foremost an affront to the hungry, but it also represents a massive environmental cost in terms of energy, land and water. 

The Special Rapporteur on the Right to Education presents its report to the Human Rights Council

The 31^st of May, the Interactive Dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the Right to Education, Mr. Kishore Singh, was held during the 23^rd session of the Human Rights Council (item 3).

The report of Mr. Singh focused on the justiciability of the Right to Education which aims to identify different ways to enforce this right through the establishment of judicial and quasi-judicial mechanisms at the national and international level. In fact, he stressed how the improvement of access to justice for all victims of violations of the right to education should be considered a priority by Member States. He paid special attention to the access to education for vulnerable and marginalized groups as well as the need to progressively improve quality of education and equality of opportunity in education. The importance of partnerships with civil society actors and the media was also highlighted.

SYRIA AS A PRIORITY FOR UN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSIONER.

On the 27^th of May the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Ms Navy Pillay, opened the 23^rd session of the Human Rights Council expressing her deep concern for the brutal human rights violations presently occurring in Syria, and she strongly urged the International Community to act to put an end to the violence and come to an immediate and lasting solution to the conflict.  She defined the Syrian situation as “an intolerable affront to the human conscience”.  While strongly condemning the violations of human rights and of the international humanitarian law perpetrated by regime’s forces as well as by the rebels, the High Commissioner affirmed that the International Community cannot and must not continue to ignore the plea of the Syrian people. “I fear that we in the international community are failing to meet our fundamental obligations to the victims”. Ms Pillay urged the States to work to put an end to this humanitarian disaster, even if, she affirmed “it sometimes seems that we can do little more than cry out in the darkness and try to count the dead”.

Third International Conference "VOLUNTEERISM - AVENUE FOR SOCIAL TRANSFORMATION"

The Conference «Volunteerism – Avenue for Social Transformation» is an annual international forum aimed at forming effective cooperation among volunteers from different countries and at disseminating information and experiences of successful social voluntary practices.

This year the Conference took place on the 14^th and 15^th of May 2013 at Palais des Nations in Geneva.