The CONGO e-update is produced by staff in
New York, Geneva and Vienna, with contributions from members and
affiliated partners.
In this
issue:
Human
Rights Council
UNCTAD
Development
Environment
CONGO
Committees
Campaign and Initiatives
NGO
Resources
and much
more…
Inaugural session of the
Human Rights Council Advisory Committee, 4-15 August 2008, Geneva
The first session of
the new HRC Advisory Committee will mostly focus on establishing its working
methods and will also address issues as requested by the Council. More
information, including on the accreditation modalities for NGO representatives,
is available on the Advisory Committee webpage.
Universal Periodic Review – Deadlines for
NGO written submissions
The deadlines for NGO written
submissions on countries to be examined during the 4th HRC Working Group on UPR
taking place in February 2009 are as follows: 1 September 2008 for Cameroon,
Djibouti, Mauritius, Nigeria, Senegal, Bangladesh, China and Jordan, and 8 September 2008 for Malaysia,
Saudi Arabia, Cuba, Mexico, Canada, Germany, Russian Federation and Azerbaijan.
NGO contributions should be sent to UPRsubmissions@ohchr.org. See the technical guidelines for
stakeholders’ submissions. More information is available on the OHCHR website and on the CONGO resources on the UPR.
The Universal Periodic
Reviews (UPR) of Botswana, Bahamas, Burundi, Luxembourg, Barbados, Montenegro and the United Arab Emirates, Israel, Liechtenstein, Serbia, Turkmenistan, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Colombia, Uzbekistan and Tuvalu will take place during the 3rd session of the HRC
UPR Working Group, scheduled from 1st
to 15 December 2008.
9th session of the Working Group on
the Right to Development, 18-22 August 2008, Geneva
The 9th session
on the HRC WG on the Right to Development will take place from 18 to 22 August 2008 in Room XXI, Palais des Nations. The provisional agenda and the draft programme of work will be
posted on the OHCHR website.
In this context, the
Geneva Office of the Friedrich-Ebert-Foundation will launch its publication
“Implementing the right to development – the role of international
law” on Tuesday, 19 August 2008 (13:00-15:00, Room XXVII, Palais des
Nations). Download Flyer.
Hearings with civil
society, 55th Session of the UNCTAD TDB, 17 September 2008, Geneva
The Hearings of the UNCTAD
Trade and Development Board (TDB) with civil society will take place on 17
September, focusing on the themes of the global
food crisis and of the global
financial crisis and its impact on
sustainable development. The 55th TDB working documents
can be downloaded on the UNCTAD website.
In addition, an informal meeting with the UNCTAD Secretariat will take place on Tuesday, 26 August 2008 at 15:00 p.m. in
Room E8121, for an exchange of views on the outcome of UNCTAD XII and in
particular on how the secretariat can begin to shape a more effective
communication strategy with civil society.
Lastly, a Preparatory Meeting to the TDB Hearing will
gather member States, regional coordinators and civil society representatives
on Thursday, 28 August, 15:00 p.m.
in Room XXVII for a discussion of possible improvements in the 17 October
Hearings’ modalities.
More information on these
meetings is available on the CONGO website.
Third High-level Forum on
Aid Effectiveness, 2-4 September 2008, Accra, Ghana
Heads of governments,
multilateral institutions and civil society organisations will gather in Accra. The Forum will seek to identify obstacles yet to be overcome and the action needed
in order to make progress in improving aid effectiveness for 2010 and beyond.
More information is available on the Forum’s website.
High-level Meeting on Africa's Development
Needs, 22 September 2008, New York
The UN General Assembly
will hold a High-level Meeting on Africa's
Development Needs at the UN Headquarters in New York on 22 September 2008 and is convened by the President of the General Assembly. A
number of NGO representatives will be invited to participate in the roundtable
of this High-level Meeting.
High-level Event on the Millennium Development
Goals, 25 September 2008, New York
The High-level Event on the
MDGs will take place at the UN
Headquarters on 25 September 2008 and is jointly convened by the UN
Secretary-General and the UN GA President in order to review progress, identify
gaps and motivate commitments to overcome them to achieve the MDGs by 2015. Six
CSO representatives
(3 from the North and 3 from the South) will be invited to participate as
speakers in the 3 Roundtables.
Follow-up International Conference on Financing
for Development, 29 November - 2 December 2008, Doha, Qatar
The Follow-up
Conference to the Monterrey Consensus will take place in Doha, Qatar, from 29 November to 2 December 2008. On line application for accreditation of NGOs
that do not have a standing invitation from the General Assembly to participate
as observers is open until 31st
August 2008. The GA President recently circulated the first draft Doha Outcome Document.
More information is available on the NGLS
and the UN DESA Financing for Development Office
websites.
World Water Week, 17-23
August 2008, Stockholm, Sweden
The World Water Week is convened
by a large number of civil society entities, governmental, intergovernmental
and academic agencies. Programme and registration modalities are available on line.
Roundtable on Preventing Overshoot and
Collapse: Managing the Earth's Resources, 24 August 2008, Château de Bossey, Vaud, Switzerland
The Geneva Environment
Network organises a high-level roundtable to mark the opening of the third UNEP
- University of Geneva – Graduate Institute Advanced Course in
Environmental Diplomacy. The programme and registration form are available here.
CONGO Committees: NGO Working
Group on Human Rights Education and Learning – 6 August, Geneva
The Geneva NGO Working Group on Human Rights Education and
Learning will hold it next meeting on Wednesday, 6 August, 13:00-15:00 at the
NGO Resource Centre.
CONGO Committees: International
Day of the World’s Indigenous People - 8 August, New York
The Secretariat of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues and
the NGO Committee on the International Decade of the World’s Indigenous
Peoples will hold a Panel on Conciliation and Reconciliation between indigenous
peoples and states, on the occasion of the International Day of the
World’s Indigenous People. This will take place on 8 August, 10:00 -
13:00, DH Auditorium. More information is available on line.
Campaigns and Initiatives
Campaign towards
October 17th, International Day for the Eradication of Poverty
www.oct17.org
Decent Work Decent
Life Campaign
www.decentwork.org
Global Campaign
against Poverty
www.whiteband.org
Interactive global
online conversation on the "Universality of Human Rights”, by
WFUNA
http://www.realtimedelphi.net
Campaign, global coalition, Call to action: 19
November- World Day for Prevention of Child Abuse
http://www.woman.ch/children/1-introduction.php
Campaign, global coalition, Call to action: 15 October – International
Day of Rural Women
http://www.woman.ch/women/2-introduction.php
NGO
Resources
UN-NGO-IRENE Best
Practices Network
http://www.un.org/esa/coordination/ngo/irene
NGLS 2007 Yearly Review of Civil Society
http://www.un-ngls.org/site/article.php3?id_article=462
Other
events
24-26
August 2008: African Regional Preparatory Meeting to the Durban Review
Conference, Abuja, Nigeria
http://www2.ohchr.org/english/issues/racism/DurbanReview/regional.htm
25
August 2008: Organisational meeting of the Human Rights Council
http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/hrcouncil/
1-3
September: 2008 Social Forum of the Human Rights Council
http://www2.ohchr.org/english/issues/poverty/sforum.htm
3-5
September: 61st DPI/NGO Conference
http://www.un.org/dpi/ngosection/conference/
Deadline
for registration is 1 August
2008: Registration for NGOs associated with DPI
Registration for NGOs NOT
associated with DPI
8-26
September 2008: 9th regular session of the UN Human Rights Council, Geneva
http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/hrcouncil/
16
September 2008: Open preparatory consultations to the 3rd Internet
Governance Forum (Hyderabad, India, 3-6 December 2008), Geneva
http://www.intgovforum.org/
08-17
October 2008: 4th session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN
Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, Vienna
http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/treaties/CTOC/CTOC-COP-session4.html
Internet Governance
EuroDIG - European Dialogue on Internet Governance, 20-21 October, Strasbourg, France
http://www.eurodig.org/
29
November – 2 December 2008: International Conference to Review the
Implementation of the Monterrey Consensus, Doha, Qatar
http://www.un.org/esa/ffd/
15-16
December 2008: UN Forum on Minority Issues, Geneva
http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/hrcouncil/minority/forum.htm
