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Bonn III: Summary
It’s been a week since the third session of the UNFCCC Bonn Climate Change Talks concluded. As delegates take their vacations and prepare for the next session of negotiations in Tianjin, China, they leave much for civil society to reflect and act upon with only two months before COP 16. This time, the talks took a large step in the right direction in that both working groups, ended the week with draft negotiating texts. Ironically, the feelings of optimism and uncertainty that had foreshadowed the work of the AWG-LCA and AWG-KP respectively flip-flopped in the closing plenaries. The 11th meeting of the AWG-LCA began with a much-improved second iteration of the draft negotiating text from the previous session, but after working in heated drafting groups all week, several delegates emerged disappointed or frustrated at the text’s ballooning size. Whereas some developing countries were enthused by the inclusion of e text…
Updates
Resolution on the Human Right to Water and Sanitation
On Thursday, 22 July 2010, a historic UN General Assembly resolution titled “The Human Right to Water and Sanitation” was tabled by 31 co-sponsoring member states and the government of Bolivia. Since its entry into informal consultations earlier this month, Jessica, Mary, and Catherine have been working hard alongside the Blue Planet Project to generate awareness and support for this resolution.
Over the past two weeks, we have met with experts from over 50 permanent missions to the United Nations to learn more about their national positions, to discuss the resolution text, and to offer our perspective on the issue. From the start, it was clear that the United States and Canada would not support the resolution, despite the fact that a majority of their citizens enjoy the right to water and sanitation already. Mikhail Gorbachev, former leader of the Soviet Union, alluded to these positions in his New York…
» Read MoreUpcoming Events in July/August 2010
Catherine will offer a session to the CND International Justice and Peace Group in Montreal on 30 July 2010. She will focus on the four pillars emphasized by the World March of Women Movement: violence against women, economic autonomy of women, the commons and public goods, and peace and militarization.
The 63rd Annual UN Department of Public Information Conference will be held in Melbourne, Australia at the end of August. Louise Cleary will represent UNANIMA International at this meeting. We will hear more from her in September regarding the theme of the event, Global Health and Achieving the Millennium Development Goals.
» Read MoreLooking Back at July 2010
On 10 July 2010, Catherine participated in a public witness against the demand for human trafficking in Portland, Oregon. This event occurred as an action for change during the Provincial Chapter of the Sisters of the Holy Names and was organized in partnership with the County Commissioners. It was also co-sponsored by the Carmelite Sisters of Charity Vedruna. In addition to Catherine, who spoke about the international aspect of trafficking and demand, participants included the State Senator, the State Attorney General, and a victim of trafficking. Catherine’s speech is available for download in the Human Trafficking section of our website (English only).
The last part of July was extremely busy at the United Nations. The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) heard country reports from Australia and Papua New Guinea, which are countries where some of our members are located. Links to these reports will…
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Calendar
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