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Welcome to the UN information Exchange!
This site is available to individuals and organizations associated with the United Nation's Dept. of Public Information. We encourage you to register in order to publish any information relevant to your work or the work of the United Nations that you want to make available to the public. NEXUS-IBA guarantees "Pluralism of information [...], with particular attention paid to minorities; above all ethnic, cultural, political, and religious minorities, without regard to race, sex, language, or political or religious beliefs, and in full accordance with the Human Rights guaranteed by the Constitution of the Republic of Italy and by International Law." (quoted from NEXUS-IBA's Charter) Please notice: This site is operated and maintained independently and in part by NGOs, associated with the Department of Public Information (DPI) of the United Nations. All information contained here does not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the the United Nations' Department of Public Information.
If you need help or more information please contact support@nexus.org. Please also consider supporting our activities by visiting our support page.
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It is with great sadness and deep regret that we announce the passing of our beloved friend and NGO colleague, Virginia Hazzard.
A long-serving staff member of UNICEF and an active component of the NGO community, Virginia was much admired for her professionalism, dedication, and forward-looking vision. Recognized as a “doer”, she turned ideas into concrete action. She was instrumental in planning the NGO Forum on Women in Kenya in 1985 and in China in 1995 as well as in organizing two global videoconferences on ageing. As a valuable member of AARP, the Committee on Ageing, the NGO Committee on Human Settlements and the Multigenerational Subcommittee, she was an inspiration for young and old alike.
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The world is changing in the United Nations’ favour -- as more people and Governments understand that multilateralism is the only path in our interdependent and globalizing world. Global problems demand global solutions -- and going it alone is not a viable option. Whether we are speaking of peace and security, development, or human rights, demands on our Organization are growing every day.
I am determined to ensure that we make progress on the pressing issues of our time, step by step, building on achievements along the way, working with Member States and civil society. That means strengthening the UN’s ability to play its role to the fullest extent in conflict prevention, peacemaking, peacekeeping and peacebuilding. And it means invigorating our efforts for disarmament and non-proliferation.
At the same time, we must redouble our efforts to reach the Millennium Development Goals, particularly in Africa. I will seek to mobilize political will and hold leaders to their commitments on aid, trade and debt relief.
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The Secretary-General was deeply saddened to learn of the death of Luciano Pavarotti, the tenor and United Nations Messenger of Peace. He extends his sympathy and condolences to Mr. Pavarotti’s family, as well as to the Government and people of Italy, at this painful time.
The Secretary-General notes that Mr. Pavarotti made a profound contribution not only to music and the arts, but also to people in need around the world. His work for children -- particularly those affected by armed conflict -- stretched from Afghanistan to Liberia and beyond. By staging concerts and marshalling talented friends to help raise funds, he generated millions of dollars for humanitarian aid. A true friend of the UN, he described himself as “a small link to help promote the humanitarian aims and inviolable rights which are under the United Nations flag”. The Secretary-General joins Mr. Pavarotti’s countless fans and admirers, as well as all those he worked to help and heal, in giving thanks for his life.
New York, 6 September 2007
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There is much pessimistic talk today about the validity of shortwave as the prime vehicle of international broadcasting. Critics present several arguments: high operating costs, environmental considerations, a need to re-channel available funds into satellites and the Internet, and what is loosely termed a decline in shortwave. From the point of view of the broadcast planner and decision-maker, this catalogue of negative arguments appears sound and reasonable. From the perspective of a large segment of the audience, however, reductions in shortwave services are inexplicable and a source of frustration and even anger.
Let us examine the issues carefully, using the senses and instincts of the investigative journalist. We are in a period of restructuring, a contemporary buzzword that is used and abused so frequently as a catch-all excuse to justify virtually any action taken by management, regardless of how inappropriate. We are in a period where human endeavour is scientized, and we no longer have faith in our common sense judgement as human beings. This is the age of consultants and high technology. The media are ruled by time-and-motion studies and so-called market forces. Radio and television no long produce programs, but products. Today there are no listeners, there are markets.
Note: Credits: R. Zanotti composed the original text, re-edited by NEXUS-IBA editorial staff
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The Ikologiks Center for Global Studies is launching the first "online campus" and distance learning/correspondence courses for "global citizens" around the world. The project has a 21 Year Master Development Plan (1999-2020) for the establishment of a globalized virtual reality internet based campus and physical University campus. The educational programs are non-sectarian and apolitical or non-religious. The courses are being offered at nominal costs to make the campus accessible to students around the world especially in impoverished regions. The faculty is being recruited from around the globe with emphasis on retired scholars wishing to make their expertise and research on globalization available to ALL GLOBAL CITIZENS, no matter their economic status, race, religion, political affiliation, gender, sexual preference or educational status. Please contact admissions@ikologiks.com for further information or visit www.ikologiks.org .
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The Ikologiks Center for Global Studies - NGO Foundation recently contributed funds to a small village medical camp program in Palai (Cuttack) Orissa State INDIA. We are now trying to secure funds to purcase a small van vehicle for the village "free" medical camp so that villagers can have ambulance (free of charge) vehicle service to city hospitals several kilometers away. For further information about this project or how to make a contribution, please visit www.ikologiks.org
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What is OHCHR?
1.The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) is the United Nations office mandated to promote and protect the enjoyment and full realization, by all people, of all rights established in the Charter of the United Nations and in international human rights laws and treaties.
The position of High Commissioner for Human Rights was created to lead the international human rights movement after the World Conference on Human Rights in Vienna in 1993.[1] The specific responsibilities of the High Commissioner, as set out in the mandate given by the United Nations General Assembly, are:
·To promote and protect the effective enjoyment by all of all civil, cultural, economic, political and social rights;
·To provide advisory services and technical and financial assistance in the field of human rights to States that request them;
·To coordinate United Nations education and public information programmes in the field of human rights;
·To play an active role in removing the obstacles to the full realization of all human rights and in preventing the continuation of human rights violations throughout the world;
·To engage in a dialogue with Governments in order to secure respect for all human rights;
·To enhance international cooperation for the promotion and protection of all human rights;
·To coordinate the national human rights promotion and protection activities throughout the United Nations system;
·To rationalize, adapt, strengthen and streamline the United Nations machinery in the field of human rights in order to improve its efficiency and effectiveness.[2]
The mandate is wide and gives the High Commissioner the freedom to take initiatives to promote human rights and confront violations when they occur.
The High Commissioner makes frequent public statements and appeals on human rights crises. The High Commissioner also travels widely to ensure that the human rights message is heard in all parts of the globe, and engages in dialogue and builds constructive cooperation with Governments to strengthen national human rights protection.
[1] General Assembly resolution 48/141 of 20 December 1993. The work of OHCHR is also guided by the Charter of the United Nations, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
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As a deportee and survivor of the concentration camps, I believe it is my duty to talk about the Shoah and continuously explain to the younger generations, our nations' public opinion-makers and our politicians how six million men and women, including one-and-one-half million children, died simply because they were born Jewish.
Five years ago, the European Council decided to organize a European Day in , memory of the Holocaust and for the prevention of crimes against humanity. The Council selected the 27th of January, the day a unit of Soviet soldiers arrived at Auschwitz. On the premises, these soldiers found only ghosts, a few thousand dying, terrified people, left behind because the SS thought that hunger, thirst, the cold or disease would do their job for them more quickly. Ten days earlier, most of the survivors had been forced to walk away from the camp, in the snow, risking execution at every step. These were the "death marches", where so many of our comrades succumbed.
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June 26, 2007 -- The International Day in Support of Victims of Torture is an occasion to highlight the unambiguous and absolute prohibition on torture and all forms of cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment. It is also an opportunity to express solidarity with the suffering of torture victims and their families, and to reaffirm the need for a global commitment to rehabilitate all victims of all such abuse.
This day is special in other ways as well. It marks the twentieth anniversary of the entry into force of the Convention against Torture. Yet even after two decades, this instrument falls well short of universal ratification. Today, I urge all UN Member States who have not yet done so to accede to the Convention, and to consider joining the Optional Protocol to this Convention. This “optional” protocol contains several compelling norms, including a vital check on torture by a system of international and national visits to places of detention.
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The theme for this year’s International Day of Families is “Families and Persons with Disabilities”.
For many persons with disabilities, their family has been, and remains, a source of empowerment. For others, however, their family has perhaps been overprotective, restricting their growth as individuals. Tragically, for others still, their family has viewed them with stigma or shame, and has even become a source of abuse and neglect.
In December 2006, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the first human rights treaty of the 21st century. In its preamble, the Convention reconfirms that the family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society, and is entitled to protection by society and the State. It also states that persons with disabilities and their family members should receive protection and assistance so that families can contribute towards the full and equal enjoyment of the rights of persons with disabilities.
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(New York, 27 April 2007): United Nations General Assembly President Sheikha Haya Al Khalifa will convene on 10-11 May 2007, at UN Headquarters in New York, the third informal thematic debate of the Assembly, which will focus on "Civilizations and the Challenge for Peace: Obstacles and Opportunities."
The main objective of the debate is to explore the reasons behind the growing level of mistrust between people of different religions and cultures; and to examine how and why cultural and religious differences increasingly fuel, and are used to justify, conflicts.
Note: For further information contact:
Frehiwot Bekele, Office of the Spokesperson for the President of the General Assembly, Ph: 212-963-7208, Cell: 917-826-9336 E-mail: bekelef@un.org, gaspokesperson@un.org or Renata Sivacolundhu, Department of Public Information, Ph: +1 212 963 2932 E-mail: sivacolundhu@un.org
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In observance of World Press Freedom Day, a powerful visual record of the most significant events of 2006 will open in the Main Gallery of the General Assembly Visitors’ Lobby at 6 p.m. on Thursday, 3 May. This travelling showcase of nearly 200 photographs represents a selection of winning work from the fiftieth annual World Press Photo worldwide photojournalism contest that took place earlier this year in Amsterdam.
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Throughout human history, people and countries have fought over natural resources. From livestock, watering holes and fertile land, to trade routes, fish stocks and spices, sugar, oil, gold and other precious commodities, war has too often been the means to secure possession of scarce resources. Even today, the uninterrupted supply of fuel and minerals is a key element of geopolitical considerations.
Things are easier at times of plenty, when all can share in the abundance, even if to different degrees. But when resources are scarce -- whether energy, water or arable land -- our fragile ecosystems become strained, as do the coping mechanisms of groups and individuals. This can lead to a breakdown of established codes of conduct, and even outright conflict
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New York, 9 April 2007 - Mr. Chairman, Excellencies, Distinguished delegates,
I am delighted to address the UN Disarmament Commission as you begin your 2007 session. Let me congratulate you, Ambassador [Elbio] Rosselli, on your appointment as Commission Chairman.
Let me also express my gratitude to the outgoing Chair – my former colleague – Ambassador Joon Oh, for his successful efforts to advance the work of the Commission during 2006.
Mr. Chairman,
The dangers posed by weapons of mass destruction, and by the excessive accumulation of conventional weapons, are well known. This makes our limited progress in addressing these concerns all the more disappointing. The failure of the 2005 NPT Review Conference, the impasse in the Conference on Disarmament, and the disappointing outcome of the 2006 Small Arms Review Conference all point to a disheartening trend. Unfortunately, we seem to be in a rut where setbacks in the field of disarmament have become the norm, not an exception.
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9 April, 2007 -- Last year, before being appointed Secretary-General, I visited Rwanda to pay my respects to victims and survivors of the genocide there. I had an opportunity to sit down and talk with those who had endured one of humankind’s darkest chapters. The experience had a profound and personal impact on me. I carry it with me every day I serve as the Secretary-General of the United Nations.
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This site is operated and maintained independently by NGOs, associated with the Department of Public Information (DPI) of the United Nations. The information contained here do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the the United Nations' Department of Public Information.
If you have comments or suggestions or would like to add information on your organization please register with this site and then submit any relevant information for public disclosure. Access and publication of information by NGOs associated to the UN Department of Public Information is welcome and services on this site is available at no charge. To access the reserved areas on this site (NGO Intranet site) you must register your NGO with support@undpi.org or write to NEXUS-IBA, UN/DPI NGO section, PO Box 11028, 20110 Milan, Italy, phone: +39-02-266 6971 fax: +39-02-706 38 151.
The service is available courtesy of NEXUS-International Broadcasting Association, an international, non profit organization associated with the Department of Public Information of the United Nations. NEXUS-IBA is also a non profit, International Internet Service Provider (I²SP) serving commercial and non profit organizations worldwide. - Privacy |
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