UPDATE

July 2005

International Day of Peace – 21 September.  Once again UNANIMA International invites and encourages all of us to Join in the 23rd Annual Observance of The International Day of Peace -Peace Day - September 21.  It is hoped that on that day there will be continuous prayer for peace around the globe.  See the web site http://www.internationaldayofpeace.org/ for suggested activities and ways to become connected.  Also contact Catherine at fergcf@earthlink.net to let us know about your activities so we can let others know about them through our website.

General Assembly-Civil Society Hearings at the UN.  For two intensive days –June 23-24, more than 200 representatives of NGOs and Civil Society throughout the world presented their recommendations for the September review of the Millennium Declaration. The event was webcast and can be listened to at by going to the June 23 and June 24 General Assembly at http://www.un.org/webcast/2005.html.  Additional information can be found at: http://www.ngocongo.org/mdg.   UNANIMA International, together with the Sisters of the Good Shepherd, and the Coalition Against Trafficking of Women (CATW), were able to recommend 3 speakers and all of them were selected from the more than 1,000 applicants for this privilege. More information on these speakers and their statements can be found under the resources link at www.unanima-international.org.

The UN from the Heart.  This was the title of a talk given by Ana to the participants of a session sponsored by the NGO Religious Orders Partnership on 2 June.  In it she shares her experiences of living in New York and also working with NGOs at the United Nations.  Her talk in also posted on the resource section of the UNANIMA International web site.  www.unanima-international.org.

HIV/AIDS. Meetings on 1-2 June focused especially on the HIV/AIDS pandemic and what has been done since the AIDS Commitment in 2000 to stop the disease throughout the world. The bad news is that not enough has been done, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa where life expectancies have dropped to 46 years of age in the worst hit countries.  The good new is that in the last two years progress has been made in providing generic medication and in educating about the disease and much more has been provided by way of resources.  To see more specifically the outcome of this important meeting consult the UNAIDS web site at  http://www.unaids.org/en/events/un+special+session+on+hiv_aids/2005+general+assembly+high+level+meeting+on+hiv_aids.asp

NGO Comittee on Social Development.  Ana and Catherine participated in the last meeting of the Committee before the summer break. The emphasis was on planning to influence the governments for the next session of the commission by developing a statement for the Secretary General’s report that will be the basis of the commission’s discussions. There was a strong desire to suggest that development of strategies to eradicate poverty include those living in poverty and bring about the growth  of a “grass roots globalization” or “people’s power”. A novel idea to present the harms of extreme wealth  and to call for its eradication emerged in the meeting.

Financing for Development.  Finance Ministers gathered at the UN for 2 days –June 27 and 28 to discuss major issues aimed to make more resources available to developing countries through debt cancellation, through an increase in overseas development aid (up to the agreed upon percentage of 0.7% GDP of the developed nations), through fair trade policies throughout the world and also through innovative forms of increasing resources like taxation on international currency transactions. Follow these issues in your own country.