NEWS BRIEFS - SNDatUN, Vol. 6, No. 02 (November 2008) [Over the last six years the major focus of SNDatUN News Briefs has largely been news of what is happening at the United Nations, which is not generally communicated in our different national media.  My purpose has been to enlarge our understanding of the UN: what it stands for, and, what it is trying to do.  For the next few months, the three of us working at SNDatUN – including the two Coesfeld SNDs – will offer you our own more personal assessments as NGO representatives of what is transpiring in the current discussions and actions of member-states.  Last month I set a context by describing our work at the UN in terms of the congregational Directions for the next six years set by the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur gathered from around the world in July. We would welcome your comments and suggestions about the content of these communications.  Help us know what is most useful for you and those with whom you serve.  jfb] GLOBAL CRISES TAKE FRONT STAGE Many events at the UN these last two months have spoken to me directly of our congregation statement in July: We are called to listen to the cries of our fragmented world, of those impoverished by the growing divide between rich and poor . . .   We yearn to deepen our fundamental commitment to stand with our sisters and brothers who live in poverty and accompany them in their struggle.   We hear the groaning of Earth mistreated and endangered by our human activity.  All these cries compel us to personal, corporate and collaborative action. During September Heads of State from around the world came to New York for the opening of the UN General Assembly where they each put before the body how they see the today’s global agenda.  They addressed the issues of the food crisis, the energy crisis, climate change, and what was then the growing financial crisis.  Expressed as well were concerns about: peace and security, terrorism, disarmament, pressure on natural resources.  Special sessions were held on the special needs of Africa and on the lack of progress on achieving the Millennial Development Goals (MDGs). In October the global financial crisis deepened.  In our experience of following the debates and discussions, many of us NGOs have been struck by how governments are more and more recognising the interrelatedness of the major crises facing the global community.  Many have also reasserted their conviction that the proper arena for searching for global responses should be the United Nations where every member state has a seat at the table and voice.  No longer should they be the narrow prerogative of small groups of countries, such as the G7 which includes only the major economic powers.  Since the most of the member-states reflect the majority of the world’s population, they are countries with weaker economies and where the masses of their population live in poverty. The UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon throughout all discussions has insisted that any response to the financial crisis must not neglect the ‘bottom billion’ who always bear the greatest burden.  In commenting on all the media concern for Wall Street, he said “ . . . we need to think more about those people around the world with no streets. Wall Street, Main Street, no street – the solutions devised must be for all.”  In a speech at Harvard he said, [These crises] “endanger all countries – whether they are rich or poor, big or small – and all their people; they cross borders freely and are highly contagious; they cannot be resolved without action by us all.” The current President of the UN General Assembly is Fr. Miguel d’Escoto, M.M., who is the Foreign Minister of Nicaragua.  In his remarkable inaugural address to member-states, he was clear on what he sees as his priorities: “ . . . the fight to eliminate hunger and poverty from the world, and the democratisation of the UN.”  [For the full text of his message, see Supplement 02a of SNDatUN News Briefs.].  To address the financial crisis the US President has called for a meeting of the so-called G-20 (countries with developmentally advanced and emerging economies (cfr., http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G20_industrial_nations) for mid-November and invited the UN Secretary General to attend.  Based on d’Escoto’s firm conviction in the UN as the most democratic world forum, he convened a full-day open session of the UN General Assembly on the 30th October for an interactive debate with two Panels of Experts on the Global Financial Crisis.  He invited representatives of NGOs to attend as well as those of member-states.  The Chambers were full to overflowing!  At the opening of the meeting, the GA President boldly stated, Solutions must involve all countries in a democratic process. Our economies are global and interdependent, but the global financial architecture does not correspond to this reality. It is time to stop viewing the global economy as the private dominion of some exclusive clubs. The G-8, G-15, G-20 are no longer sufficient in their scope to solve these problems. I believe that long-term solutions must include the G-192 (i.e., including all 192 members of the UN). [In a breach of protocol: assembly broke out in loud applause!] Only full participation within a truly representative framework will restore the confidence of citizens in our governments and financial institutions. Clear throughout the debate was the interconnectedness of all the major crises, and direct link of each to the primary, long-term concern of the global community for climate change. I have invited the two Coesfeld SNDs with whom I closely collaborate to briefly share here how the above has impacted two of the areas that they closely follow: how development can be financed, and migration.  In the next two months they will elaborate how governments are dealing with these major issues and what are the major concerns of the NGO Community at the UN.   Carol Brandt, SND (Coesfeld), has been following very closely the year-long preparations for a major conference of “Financing for Development” which will be held in Doha, Qatar, at the end of November.  This will be the principal focus of the January SNDatUN News Briefs.  Mary Jo Toll, SND (Coesfeld) will report next month on a recent International Meeting on Migration in the Philippines. IMPACT OF CRISES SEEN IN DEVELOPMENT FINANCING (Carol Brandt, SND) Poignant is the synchronicity these days between the current financial crisis and UN Financing for Development (FfD) negotiations now underway.  I offer a few observations from the FfD perspective: NGO’s advocate strongly to have all countries at the financial decision-making table since all will be affected by the decisions made.  To the Summit in Washington, D.C., on the crisis in mid November are invited only the G20.  This exclusion is somewhat softened by an invitation to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, but still not acceptable because the entire globe is affected by the crisis.  Exclusive models of participation signal to the world that we are back to “business as usual” where a few determine what is good for all. The inequities both between and within countries are more obvious than ever as seen in the number of hungry people quickly approaching one billion.  Slow downs in trade, and aid resulting from the crisis will disproportionately affect those already living in extreme poverty.  Funds intended to mitigate climate change will be diminished by recession.   The following are questions yet to be answered which address the underlying systemic issues:   What new models of regulation need to be created for both the international and local settings? How much of the market-based model is healthy and sustainable for the global community?  What alternative economic models would be more equitable and supportive of human development? ADDRESSING GLOBAL ISSUES OF MIGRATION & TRAFFICKING (Mary Jo Toll, SND) Though UN conventions (treaties) addressing these two issues have long been in place, effective cooperation on the UN level have been resisted because of the delicacy of the balance between national sovereignty and the “responsibility to protect” that both the Secretary General and Pope Benedict have supported.  Here are some questions that are surfacing: How do we deal with irregular migrants desperate to find work, having lost their jobs due to climate change and the inequality of trade laws? How do we respond to the needs of smuggled migrants and refugees who end up being victims of trafficking? How do we respect rights recognized in the United Nations Universal Declaration for Human Rights? For this month of November, can we reflect on: People in our areas who are migrants, refugees or who are trafficked; What is our responsibility to encourage an effective international response? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Joan F. Burke, SND-N Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur NGO in Special Consultative Status with ECOSOC at the UN Associated with the UN Dept. of Public Information 211 East 43rd Street, Suite 504 New York City   NY  10017 SNDatUN@SNDdeN.org Phone: 1 (201) 213-2390; Fax 1 (201) 451-0952 (Attn : Sr Joan Burke) "Women . . .  working with others for justice and peace for all."