Marianist NGO Report: June 26, 2005

60th Anniversary of the United Nations

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Sunday, June 26, 2005 marks the 60th Anniversary of the signing of the United Nations Charter in San Francisco in 1945. Click on the link above to see the UN website to mark this important occasion.

GA Hearings with Civil Society in preparation of Millennium+5 Summit this September
The President of the General Assembly organized two days of hearings with NGOs, Civil Society,and the Private Sector as well as a number of Member State delegations recently on June 23 and 24. The meetings were organized around the themes of the Secretary-General's report "In Larger Freedom" and the GA's draft "Outcome Document" for the MDG+5 Summit. The first day had sessions on "Freedom to Live in Dignity," "Freedom from Want" - the first seven MDGs, and "Freedom from Want" - MDG Goal 8 on Partnerships and other topics in the category of "Financing for Development." On day two the sessions focused on "Freedom from Fear" and "Strengthening the UN." There was significant preparations by NGOs prior to this meeting. To see a copy of the program plus lists of those members of Civil Society who made oral statements Click Here.To see the response of NGOs in the MDG+5 Network Click Here.

WFUNA releases its 2005 report on civil society action for the Millennium Development Goals
21 June, New York - As representatives of civil society organizations and the private sector come together this week to present their messages to member states at Informal, Interactive Hearings with the United Nations General Assembly, the World Federation of United Nations Associations and The North-South Institute are releasing their 4th annual report on civil society engagement with the Millennium Development Goals. Entitled, "We the Peoples 2005- Mobilizing for Change: Messages from Civil Society", the report will be launched prior to the Hearings at an event held on Wednesday, 22 June from 3.00 to 6.00 in the Dag Hammarskjöld Auditorium of the United Nations (event information is below). The report is based on a global online survey, offered in Arabic, English, French and Spanish, to which over 400 non-governmental organizations from 116 countries responded. It reviews progress made over the past five years since the Millennium Declaration was adopted in 2000, lessons that need to be learned and priorities for action in the future.

The report calls on world leaders at the September Summit in New York to:
- Implement the Millennium Development Goals, but go beyond them. Get at the roots of poverty and growing inequality; remove the obstacles to universal human rights, health, and education; eliminate the dangers to our planet's climate and environment; and undertake urgent collective action to build and sustain peace everywhere.
- Strengthen the United Nations to assure development, social justice, peace, and security in our world.
- Commit the necessary resources, human and financial, to these ends.
We the Peoples 2005 is available in English and French at www.wfuna.org and www.nsi-ins.ca.

G8 and African Parliamentarian’s Declaration of Recommendations for Gleneagles Summit
From June 6-7, parliamentarians from G8, European and African countries met in Edinburgh, Scotland for a G8 International Parliamentarians' Conference on Development in Africa 2005. The conference concluded with participants ratifying a declaration containing strong conclusions and recommendations for action by G8 and African countries.

G8 ‘Friends’ Launch Events on June 16th
After the resounding success of the Send My Friend to School campaign in April, Global Campaign for Education (GCE) and ANCEFA member coalitions are aiming to hand over a million cut-out 'friends', made by children around the world, to the G8 leaders in Scotland. On or around 16th June, the Day of the African Child and the GCAP Africa's White Band Day, 12 countries will hold high-profile 'send-off' events to launch the 'friends' on their journey to take young people's demands to Scotland.

Bush Maintains Opposition to Doubling Aid for Africa (June 2, 2005)
UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, as host of the next Group of Eight meeting in Scotland, has set an agenda where debt relief and international aid play heavily into the program. Although European countries have committed themselves to an overall increase in aid, the US will not follow suit, citing the complex "budgetary process." While African countries struggle with crises of food and security, US President Bush is staunchly opposed to any increase in aid. (New York Times)
http://www.globalpolicy.org/socecon/bwi-wto/g7-8/2005/0602bushaid.htm

AU Says to Seek $460 Mln for Expanded Darfur Force (May 25, 2005)
The African Union (AU) will ask for international funding at a donor pledging conference on Sudan to increase its peacekeeping force in Darfur. The AU has deployed a mission of about 2,300 troops to monitor the ceasefire, but seeks to increase its force to 7,700 by July and 12,000 by September 2005. UN Secretary General Kofi Annan will co-chair the conference with AU Commission President Alpha Oumar Konare, showing UN support for the AU mission. (Reuters)
http://www.globalpolicy.org/security/issues/sudan/2005/0525aufunding.htm

Armed Conflicts Leading Cause of World Hunger Emergencies (May 23, 2005)
According to a report by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), armed conflicts are the leading cause of world hunger, responsible for "more than 35 percent of food emergencies between 1992 and 2003." The FAO presented the report to the Committee on World Food Security, warning that food emergencies are increasingly becoming human-made. The report recognizes that peace is "a public good and an essential condition for attaining the Millennium Development Goals." (Food and Agriculture Organization)
http://www.globalpolicy.org/socecon/hunger/oppressive/2005/0523armed.htm

Holding NGOs Accountable (April 5, 2005)
This Forbes piece looks into donor, academia and UN pressures to increase NGO accountability. As US legislative action paves the way for international NGO reform, the article suggests that increased credibility will create a breed of more successful NGOs.
http://www.globalpolicy.org/ngos/credib/2005/0405accountability.htm

UN Reform Needs an African Perspective (May 23, 2005)
African civil society leaders express their concern about the lack of African involvement in the UN reform debate, in particular the absence of African leadership in the UN Secretariat. The group calls for increased focus on debt cancellation, incrementing African seats in the Security Council, and expresses qualms on the US-led "war on terrorism." Is UN reform simply "an attempt to appease Western interests"? (Mail & Guardian)
http://www.globalpolicy.org/reform/initiatives/annan/2005/0523african.htm

Governance Reform of the Bretton Woods Institutions and the UN Development System (May 2005)
Sixty years after the creation of the Bretton Woods Institutions, the world is facing unprecedented problems. This Friedrich Ebert Foundation report highlights the ineffectiveness of global governance and calls for a stronger multilateral system to achieve the Millennium Development Goals. The report specifically outlines the eight major challenges that confront the international community today, and what can be done to stop them.
http://www.globalpolicy.org/socecon/bwi-wto/indsisters.htm#05governance