News

NEWS CALENDAR for 2011


EVENTS


HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL

to access HRC Extranet: Username: hrc extranet  pw: 1session


> 16th Session: 28 February to 25 March,  2011  
> 17th Session: 1to 17 June, 2011
> 18th Session: 12 to 30 September , 2011

 

March Sessions: right to food, adequate housing, arbitrary detention, freedom of religion or belief, enforced or involuntary disappearances, torture, minorities, human rights defenders, Internally Displaced Persons, counter-terrorism and violence against children. Many progress reports from HC reports from WGs

 

June Session: trafficking in persons, summary executions, independence of judges and lawyers, migrants, transnational corporations, violence against women, right to health, effects of foreign debt, extreme poverty, freedom of expression, cultural rights and right to truth. Many progress reports from HC reports from WGs.

 

September Session: indigenous people, international solidarity, toxic waste, contemporary forms of slavery, access to safe drinking water & sanitation, children and armed conflict. Many progress reports from HC reports from WGs.


CSVGC MEETINGS

It was decided that meetings will be held:

during the UN Human Rights Council Sessions in March, June and September

for the preparartion of parallel events at and oral/written statements to the HRCin January, April and November.

The April meeting also to incorporate the AGM and the November meeting an annual review and 2012 plans.

Next Monthly Meeting/s:

20 April 2011 - AGM and Meeting: 13:00 to 15:00  at the NGO Resources & Service Centre, Palais des Nations.
June 2011: meeting date and location to be confirmed.

 

PROJECTS FOR 2011

 

Cultural Rights and Cultural Diversity

The Independent Expert in the field of cultural rights, Ms Farida Shaheed, stressed that at “the heart of this mandate is the relationship between cultural rights, cultural diversity, and the universality of human rights.” Cultural rights “are pivotal to the recognition and respect of human dignity.” “They protect the rights of each person –- be it individually, in community with others, or as groups -- to develop and express their humanity, world visions, meanings assigned to life and understanding of development.” more... Overview of the mandate: A/HRC/14/36

 

Working Group on Cultures and Sacred Sites

This Working Group came into being in 2006. Some of its members are part of well-known international organisations like the World Wildlife Fund / World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), Foundation ƒor GAIA and many more. It can be said that the link between cultural values, built and intangible heritage and the human rights dimension is our main focus.

 

The Peoples' Sacred Right to Peace

In resolutions A/RES/57/216 of 27 February 2003, A/RES/60/163 of 2 March 2006, and A/RES/63/189 of 18 March 2009, the General Assembly solemnly declared “that the peoples of our planet have a sacred right to peace and that the preservation and promotion of peace constitutes a fundamental obligation of each State”. Furthermore, the General Assembly, in resolution A/RES/60/163 stressed “that peace is a vital requirement for the promotion and protection of all human rights for all”.

The Human Rights Council Advisory Committee met from 17-21 January 2011 and adopted A/HRC/AC/6/CRP.3

In January 2011 a (CSVGC) Working Group on a Culture to Peace was created by David Fernandez-Puyana (UNESCO Etxea) and Oliver Rizzi Carlson (UNOY) who is current chairing this WG.

Universal Declaration of Mother Earth Rights:

UN document A/C2/64/L24** also 1. Invites Member States, the relevant organizations of the United Nations system, and international, regional and subregional organizations to transmit to the Secretary-General their views on the scope and content of a possible declaration of ethical principles and values for living in harmony with Mother Earth; 2. Requests the Secretary-General to submit to it, at its sixty-fifth session, a report on the views and comments received in relation to the present resolution; 3. Decides to include in the provisional agenda of its sixty-fifth session an item entitled “Harmony with Mother Earth” for consideration by the Second Committee.

A start on such a Universal Declaration of Mother Earth Rights was made on October 17, 2009 during the 7th ALBA-TCP Summitt.


World Interfaith Harmony Week: 1st week in February (yearly)

The  UN General Assembly unanimously passed Resolution A/65/PV.34 to recognise World Interfaith Harmony Week annually during the first week of February. It was proposed in 2010 by HM King Abdullah II and HRH Prince Gazi bin Muhammad of Jordan. CSVGC intends to yearly organise an event to celebrate the spiritual and sacred traditions that are the basis of all of humanities cultures, religions and beliefs. Contacts have already been made for the 2012 event.


Earth Day: 22 April, 2011

The first Earth Day was celebrated on April 22, 1970 and by 1990 this Day was celebrated in 141 nations.  Today Earth Day festivities are coordinated in more than 175 countries yearly 2009 marked a momentous step forward when at the UN General Assembly, under the Presidency of H.E. M. d'Escoto Brockmann, Resolution 63/278 designated April 22  "International Mother Earth Day" In his speech at the UN that same day President Morales of the Plurinational State of Bolivia called (webcast) for a Universal Declaration of the Rights of Mother Earth while H.E. Pablo Solón presented his speech related to the Draft Resolution that was cosponsored by: Algeria, Benin, Bolivia (Plurinational State of), Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cape Verde, Cuba, Ecuador, Georgia, Guatemala, Honduras, Mauritius, Nepal, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Seychelles and Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of).

 

World Environment Day: 5 June, 2011

 

United Nations Day: 24 October 24

While the Charter of the United Nations was signed on June 26, 1945, it entered into force on 24 October 1945 and that day has been celebrated as United Nations Day since 1948. The Charter is as valid today as it was at the end of the two world wars and a reminder to all that each man and woman has equal rights and that we all need to contribute to a society that can establish the conditions for justice, social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom so that we can live in peace, together, respect our diversities while maintaining our dignity and worth as human beings. It is a day to celebrate the constructive achievements of the United Nations.