In our often divided world, one place where all of humankind is invited to come together to work for the common good is the United Nations. Despite its limitations, the UN system is our most effective tool for uniting with others in order to create and implement policies that secure a life of dignity for all of God’s children.
Article 71 of the Charter of the United Nations reads: “The Economic and Social Council [ECOSOC] may make suitable arrangements for consultation with non-governmental organizations which are concerned with matters within its competence.”
Based on this article, two of the Maryknoll branches (the Maryknoll Sisters and the Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers) have Consultative Status with ECOSOC, and the Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns carries out the work of implementing this status. Our work with the UN aims to influence its agenda and is done by:
Maryknoll missioners serve as NGO representatives to the United Nations in New York where they bring the Maryknoll mission experience to important conversations with policymakers and civil society members from around the world.
The UN member states adopted the 17 Sustainable Development Goals in 2015, as part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development which set out a 15-year plan to achieve the goals. The SDGs focus global efforts on lifting people out of extreme poverty, while also addressing the challenges of ensuring more equitable development and environmental sustainability, especially the key goal of curbing the dangers of human-induced climate change. Today, progress is being made in many places, but, overall, action to meet the goals is not yet advancing at the speed or scale required. At the core of the 2020-2030 decade is the need for action to tackle growing poverty, empower women and girls, and address the climate emergency.
Maryknoll representatives to the UN work to promote peace, social justice and the integrity of creation by organizing their UN participation around the following topics:
Held two decades after the 1995 Fourth World Conference on Women, which took place in Beijing, a repeated theme at this year’s Commission on the Status of Women was that, in too many places, not enough progress has been made.
MY World is a global survey for citizens led by the United Nations and partners. It aims to capture people’s voices, priorities and views, so that global leaders can be informed as they begin the process of defining the new development agenda for the world.
In December, during the Vienna Conference on the Humanitarian Impact of Nuclear Weapons, the Holy See contributed a ground-breaking paper entitled Nuclear Disarmament: Time for Abolition, which presents a compelling argument to move beyond limits set by political realism: “Now is the time to affirm not only the immorality of the use of nuclear weapons, but the immorality of their possession, thereby clearing the road to nuclear abolition.”
On April 26, the day before the 2015 NPT Review Conference begins, thousands will gather in New York City for an international rally and march to the United Nations to call for a nuclear-free, peaceful, just, and sustainable world.
In early February, civil society held a preliminary panel before the Commission for Social Development’s 53rd session (CSocD53), “Rethinking and strengthening social development in the contemporary world.
The much anticipated 20th UN Climate Change Conference of Parties (COP20) in Lima, Peru, closed on December 14 with less-than-hoped-for outcomes.
The following reflection on the readings for World AIDS Day, December 1, was prepared by Susan Weissert, a former lay missioner who coordinated the Maryknoll AIDS Task Force.
As the effects of climate change become more pronounced, the eyes of the world are on international negotiators as they prepare for the 20th Conference of Parties (COP20) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to be held in Lima, Peru in early December.
Activists, scientists and concerned citizens around the world are calling on their governments to act decisively to prevent disastrous climate change.
The following article, published in the November-December NewsNotes, was written by Fr. Ken Thesing, MM, who lives and works in Rome.
From August 27-29, the UN’s Department of Public Information held its 65th annual conference.
Sign this petition to President Obama and Congress urging the U.S.’s moral leadership at the UN climate summit in September 2014.
The following article was prepared by Marie Dennis and published in the September-October 2014 NewsNotes.
Established by the United Nations General Assembly, the aim of the day is to enhance “public awareness and education about the threat posed to humanity by nuclear weapons and the necessity for their total elimination, in order to mobilize international efforts towards achieving the common goal of a nuclear-weapon-free world.”
The following article, written by Sr. Claris Zwareva, was published in the July-August 2014 NewsNotes.
Sr. Meg Gallagher, MM attended the 58th Session on the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), held in March at UN headquarters in New York; its priority theme was “Challenges and achievements in the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals [MDGs] for women and girls.” Following are excerpts from her report.
The following article by Dave Kane appeared in the March-April 2014 NewsNotes.
The following article was published in the March-April 2014 NewsNotes.
