Experts Converge in Brooklyn to Discuss the UN and Global Response to Syria’s Refugees
Learning about the UN and global community role in helping refugees
Our UN Day commemoration, held on October 30 and entitled “Syria’s Refugees: The UN and Global Community Response,” provided a valuable exploration of one of today’s most profound humanitarian challenges. While the civil war in Syria has proven intractable to international mediation and intervention, the UN and the global community are deeply involved in helping over two million Syrian refugees and its five million internally displaced persons. Our chapter wanted to engage our community to better understand the complexities of refugee issues, how the UN serves as the world’s major player in addressing refugee crises, and the critical function of non-governmental organizations, like Save the Children.
Some 60 UNA members, NGO representatives, professors, students and other interested parties gathered for a panel discussion with representatives from academia, the UN, and the NGO communities. We were honored to have a panel of dedicated experts who included:
Gary Shaye, Save the Children, Professor Mary Fullerton, Brooklyn Law School, and John Solecki, UNHCR
Maryellen Fullerton is an internationally recognized expert on refugee law, author of seminal texts on the subject, and a professor at Brooklyn Law School. Professor Fullerton led off our event with an overview of refugees in history, describing the development of world norms and laws that govern the rights and treatment of refugees.
John Solecki is senior policy advisor with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in New York. Mr. Solecki has served in with UNHCR in Egypt, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and UNHCR Geneva headquarters, as well as longer missions in Lebanon, Liberia Sri Lanka, Yemen, and recently in Syria. Mr. Solecki’s presentation was a highly engaging overview of the work of UNHCR, its origins, scope of operations, and present work as it relates to the conflict in Syria.
Gary Shaye is senior director of humanitarian operations and trustee relations for Save the Children. Mr. Shaye has spent 37 years with the organization in numerous capacities, including country director in Haiti and Bolivia, preceded by 14 years as vice president for international programs. At our UN Day panel, Mr. Shaye was joined by Abby Safirstein, Save the Children’s associate director of humanitarian operations. With Syria’s estimated one million child refugees, it was inspiring to learn about Save the Children’s efforts to protect, feed, and provide medical treatment to the many children and families they serve.
The event was held at the Brooklyn campus of the Long Island University in cooperation with LIU’s UN Graduate Certificate Program Club.
Universal Declaration of Human Rights
With Eleanor Roosevelt representing the United States on the drafting committee, the UDHR was adopted on this day in 1948. December 10 now commemorates that breakthrough event as Human Rights Day.
Celebrate Human Rights!
Sixty-four years ago on 10 December 1948 the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the first global expression to protect the rights of everyone worldwide. UNA-USA members and others across the world celebrate this milestone with Human Rights Day.
http://www.unausa.org/humanrights
http://www.un.org/en/events/humanrightsday/2012/
UN Day in Brooklyn Draws Dozens to Hear Global-Health Experts on State of Millennium Development Goals
The panelists agreed that there have been important world health improvements since the MDGs were established in 2000 with a 2015 deadline. For instance, infant mortality declined from 11 million in 1990 to 6.9 million in 2011; also as of 2011, AIDS-related deaths had declined by 24% from their peak in 2004. But bigger advances, particularly for women’s health and reproductive rights, remain critical to the MDG’s aim of reducing extreme poverty worldwide.
Brooklyn’s UN Day gathering, with a networking reception, was co-sponsored and hosted by the United Nations Graduate Certificate and the Honors programs of Long Island University’s Brooklyn Campus.
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- The UNA-Brooklyn panel drew news media as well as a big audience.
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- For all health and poverty concerns, a woman’s survival has far-reaching importance, including for health and survival of her family.
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- (l-r) UNA Brooklyn Chapter’s Gabriel Levitt moderated the UN Day panel with Peter Navario of UNAIDS, UNICEF’s Ian Pett, and Adam Deixel of Family Care.International.
U.N. Day in Brooklyn: Global Health Experts Report on Women, Children, HIV/AIDS
Come celebrate UN Day in Brooklyn
WHAT: UN Day discussion & reception with global health experts, drinks and snacks provided – NO CHARGE
WHO: Ian Pett (UNICEF), Peter Navario (UNAIDS), and Adam Deixel (International Family Care)
WHEN: Wednesday, Oct. 24, 7 pm – 9 pm
WHERE: Brooklyn Campus, Long Island University
RSVP: unabrooklyn@gmail.com OR Facebook
The Brooklyn Chapter of the United Nations Association, with the U.N. Graduate and Honors programs at Long Island University’s Brooklyn Campus, will host a special UN Day event addressing world health and the UN’s Millennium Development Goals.
A panel discussion and reception will take place on UN Day, Wednesday, October 24, from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., at the Brooklyn Campus of Long Island University, near Flatbush and DeKalb avenues. The event is free and open to the public.
The panel will evaluate progress and challenges for the health of women and children and for curbing HIV/AIDS and other diseases in the developing world. Scheduled panelists are Ian Pett, chief of health systems and strategic planning in the health section of UNICEF headquarters, Peter Navario, strategy and policy advisor for UNAIDS, and Adam Deixel, director of communications of Family Care International.
We are thrilled that these leaders in world health will join this important discussion on UN Day. Despite gains, we are far from reaching global health targets; mortality and morbidity rates are unacceptably high in much of the world. We hope this event can increase public awareness and support around the very achievable health targets of the MDGs. The MDGs are an eight-point road map (including three specific health goals) with measurable targets and clear deadlines for improving the lives of the world’s poorest people. World leaders at the United Nations agreed to achieve the MDGs by 2015.
The War Against War and A Discussion With A UN Peacekeeping Veteran
On Monday, May 7th, 2012, the UNA Brooklyn Chapter held a meeting to screen the documentary called The War Against War, a Culture Project production directed by Fisher Stevens. The documentary was followed by an exceptional discussion with Kieran Dwyer, Chief, Public Affairs Section, UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations and Field Support. The meeting was held at the Brooklyn Campus of the Long Island University.
Kieran Dwyer, Chief, UN Public Affairs Section, DPKO/FS, Gabriel Levitt, UNA Brooklyn President
The War Against War presents a compelling overview of UN peacekeeping, showing its practitioners in a heroic light. The documentary presents dramatic footage of UN military, police and civilian personnel in action; a conversation at a NYC restaurant among seasoned UN peacekeeping veterans, interspersed with commentary footage by Secretary Ban Ki-moon and other senior UN leaders. The focus of the documentary is on MINUSTAH, the UN Stabilization Mission In Haiti before and after the tragic earthquake of January 2012.
The U.S. media so often focus on the mistakes and failures of UN peacekeeping. The War Against War presents a fair narrative that counters this negative coverage. It brings home the point that UN peacekeepers are often deployed into the middle of violent inter and intra-state conflicts, situations laden with all forms of the worst human misery, victims of brutal violence, rape, poverty and hunger. Peacekeepers are often working where the traditional state has broken down, where gangs, warlords and criminals are in charge. Usually when people go into such dire circumstances to help other people they are considered heroes.
One UN official in the documentary pointed out the fact that UNPROFOR, the UN Protection Force in the former Yugoslavia is often remembered for its failures when in fact that conflict was notable for the fact that there was virtually no starvation. The reason being UN peacekeepers made sure 3.5 million people were fed for the duration of the war.
While we’re all so discouraged about the cholera tragedy in Haiti, putatively the fault of UN peacekeepers not practicing proper sanitation, this film reminds us that it was UN efforts that brought stability to Haiti before the tragic earthquake and after. The fact stands that the UN went where it was needed and helped millions of Haitians.
While the documentary was interesting, informative and uplifting, the discussion with UN official Kieran Dwyer was even more inspiring. Mr. Dwyer began his remarks by asking attendees what they wanted to discuss. People wanted to know about how decisions were made to launch a new peacekeeping missions, force protection, training peacekeepers in local culture, and new policies to end abuses by peacekeepers on local populations. We all just wanted to hear about Mr. Dwyer’s peacekeeping experiences.
In answering questions, Mr. Dwyer shared his experiences working in a variety of peacekeeping missions. Recently returned from his position in Afghanistan as the Director of Strategic Communications at the United Nations Assistance Mission In Afghanistan (UNAMA). Mr. Dwyer told us about the dangers experienced by many UN personnel in Afghanistan and the new tactics used by terrorists to reach their targets. For instance, since the outer protection of UN offices and housing has greatly improved, the goal of terrorists is now to get “inside” the residences to achieve the maximum number of killings. Several of Mr. Dwyer’s colleagues and friends have been killed over the years so for him none of this is merely academic.
Mr. Dwyer, an Australian national, began his career as a human rights advocate working with Center for Transitional Justice and Oxfam. These interests led him to support self-determination for East Timor in the mid 1990s and finally to successive missions for the UN in helping East Timor transfer to Independence.
We were honored to have Mr. Dwyer meet with our chapter and thankful to the UN Public Affairs Section/DPKO/FS for arranging his attendance. We also thank the Culture Project for allowing us to screen The War Against War.
UNA-USA Conference Draws Hundreds to UN General Assembly Hall
The 2012 Mid-Atlantic Regional Conference/UNA-USA Members Day on February 10 was as inspiring an event as its storied venue – the General Assembly Hall at UN Headquarters – was dramatic. Filling seats usually occupied by world diplomats, hundreds of scholars, students and many UNA members, including at least half a dozen from the Brooklyn Chapter, joined expert discussions about the indispensable role of the UN. Welcoming conferees, Patrick Madden, UNA-USA executive director, and Ginger Stillman, conference co-chair and president of the UNA-USA Southern NYS Division, also urged support for the UN through active membership in the UNA-USA.
Ginger Stillman opens UNA-USA/2012 Mid-Atlantic Regional Conference
UN veteran and senior advisor to the UN Foundation, Gillian Sorensen, with the day’s first presentation, drew applause as she noted significant improvements to American-UN relations, such as participation in key agencies and payment of back dues, under the Obama administration. She outlined the UN’s unparalleled role for world peace and development, a list that was amplified by the morning’s keynote speaker, economist Jeffrey Sachs. “There is no plan B,” said Sachs, who is director of the Earth Institute, special advisor to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, and renowned for his work advancing the Millennium Development Goals. At the UNA conference, he described next steps for the MDGs, to build the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in connection with this summer’s Rio+20 conference. The SDGs include a focus on ending extreme poverty, ensuring environmental sustainability, promoting social inclusion (such as gender equality) and advancing good governance.
The day’s first panel focused on the Security Council and challenges for international security. Moderated by The Century Foundation’s Jeff Laurenti, who also is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and of the UNA-USA, the discussion highlighted immediate threats, including barriers to action against violence in Syria and rising tensions with Iran, and also addressed questions such as long-standing concerns about expanding permanent Council membership to include more than the US, England, France, China and Russia.
Congresswoman Nita Lowey (D-NY), a staunch supporter of the UN, gave the afternoon’s keynote address. While criticizing the UN for a “bias against Israel,” Lowey praised the UN’s unique contributions to world peace, health and development. She noted that she and supportive Senate and House colleagues have succeeded in securing a budget bill for fiscal year 2012 that includes more than $3.5 billion for UN dues, peacekeeping support and additional contributions.
The final conference panel, moderated by Global Health Program Director Padmini Murthy, stressed the importance of the MDGs/SDGs, while calling for efforts that go beyond quantifiable development. Panelists spotlighted just some of the awful realities – especially for women, girls and the extremely poor – behind grim statistics about suffering and mortality.
This last discussion gave raw meaning to the day’s assessment of why the world needs the UN – and why advancing support for this unique institution is so important.
Congresswoman Velázquez – Brooklyn UN Supporter Is In The House
Lat month, as part of UNA’s “Day on The Hill,” June 14, I had the pleasure of meeting with Congresswoman Nydia Velázquez (NY-12), my representative in the U.S. Congress. I was joined by UNA executive director, Patrick Madden and several other UNA members from New York State. Overall, Congresswoman Velázquez has a stellar voting record in support of the United Nations and multilateralism and communicated her continuing commitment to promoting a strong US-UN relationship.
Center: Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez, UNA Members Left to right: Robert Klein (Rockland County), Margaret Shannon (Queens Chapter vice president), Marcia Brewster (Westchester Chapter president), Gabriel Levitt (Brooklyn Chapter president), Patrick Madden (UNA executive director), Carl Murrell (Manhattan)
We focused on the core UNA advocacy agenda during our meeting: full funding for the UN regular and peacekeeping budgets; continued engagement with the Human Rights Council, maintaining foreign aid appropriations in support of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs); and support for the UN Population Fund (UNFPA). As in the past, Congresswoman Velázquez supports full funding for the United Nations and foreign aid in support of our MDGs. However, she is concerned that due to the national priority for steep federal budget cuts full funding for the UN may prove difficult this next year.
Some members of congress are seeking to withhold funding to the Human Rights Council – which would mean flouting our responsibilities under the UN charter – and cutting off funding to the UNFPA. Such selective withholdings and funding cuts will only weaken our position within the UN and among our allies and abdicate our responsibility to protect and improve women’s health. I believe Congresswoman Velázquez strongly opposes such actions and look forward to continuing a dialog with her on these issues.
I told Congresswoman Velázquez about the Brooklyn Chapter’s plan for UN Day, to invite Brooklyn’s teachers to an event to learn about the Model UN. Congresswoman Velazquez encouraged us to reach out to her staff in Brooklyn to work together on this educational initiative, which we will certainly do.
Congresswoman Velazquez talks with UNA Brooklyn Chapter in her Washington Office
This is the second consecutive year that Congresswoman Velázquez has made time to meet, listen to, and talk with the United Nations Association’s Brooklyn Chapter. Her openness and open mind is a reflection of the diversity and creativity of the constituency she very strongly represents. We hope that she uses these traits to share her global perspective on U.S. foreign policy with fellow members of congress by encouraging them to vote against reactionary policies that lead to unilateralism and isolationism and for progressive policies that enhance U.S. engagement in the United Nations, and project a long-term multilateral approach to protecting our national interests.
UNA Annual Meetings 2011 Recap and Thoughts for the Future
The UNA Annual Meetings were held two weeks ago in Arlington, VA, June 11-14, 2011, bringing together approximately 200 members representing 62 chapters from 27 states. Members served as Chapter delegates, voting on changes affecting UNA’s structure and policies and signed agreements to finalize new UNA chapter affiliations, policies and procedures. For instance, the Council on Chapters and Divisions was re-named the Council on Chapters and Regions. The CCR is charged with recommending policies to the UNA national office to help guide its programmatic and advocacy efforts. The Young Professionals for International Cooperation was renamed as UNA Young Professionals to clarify its status as a part of UNA. The chapter affiliation agreement binds chapters to follow new requirements and meet certain criteria, including abiding by membership terms found in the Chapter Handbook. As a testament to the importance of the UNA, Ambassador Susan Rice, Permanent U.S. Representative to the UN, was the featured speaker. Ambassador Rice vehemently communicated her belief in the centrality of the UN to our national security interests, and that UNA was integral to creating support among the American people for the UN.
Members attended workshops on chapter development and operations, such as using social media to enhance chapter communications, and promoting Model UN programs throughout our local communities. Members also attended expert panels on the most pressing UN/global affairs issues, such as peacekeeping, global health, and energy, which were very helpful for chapter leaders to get up-to-speed on UN current affairs and policy, ask questions, and share their own ideas.
Special presentations were given on UN Foundation-sponsored programs Girl Up and Nothing But Nets. Girl Up is a relatively new initiative that focuses on improving the lives and extending the opportunities of girls living in impoverished and oppressive conditions through the fundraising and communications efforts of American girls. Nothing But Nets, now in its sixth year, raises funds to purchase special medicated bed nets to save people from Malaria, which is contracted through mosquitoes.
UNA’s Day on the Hill followed one day after the annual meetings during which UNA members meet with their elected representatives in Congress to communicate their positions on the UN and global affairs issues. This year members advocated for full funding to the UN, continued leadership in the UN Human Rights Council, maintaining a foreign aid budget that keeps us on track for meeting the Millennium Development Goals, and pushing back against attempts in congress to defund the UN Population Fund (UNPFA). I met with Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez (NY-12), who has a stellar voting record in support of UN activities and US-UN leadership. A blog post will follow to more fully cover the meeting with Congresswoman Velazquez.
Last year’s annual meeting focused on the proposed alliance between UNA and the UN Foundation (UNF) and the negotiations that were unfolding at a rapid clip. This year was the first UNA Annual Meeting held under the auspices of a merged UNA-UNF. As UNF’s CEO, Kathy Bushkin Calvin, stated during her speech, the alliance is a “work in progress” and the two parties bring different strengths, and “baggage”, to the table. Like Ms. Calvin, UNA members are generally optimistic and forward thinking about UNA’s future. For a strong understanding of the nature of the alliance read the Chapter Handbook.
I believe that by combining the strong organizational and financial position of the UN Foundation with the UNA’s grassroots experience and activism, as exercised by its chapters and divisions, our voice with the American people and the U.S. government is greatly amplified. We are strengthened in our ability to further the position that the UN is indispensable in confronting our world’s most difficult problems and in the managing and oversight of many areas of international activity.
My experience is that UNA annual meetings serve to re-energize, motivate and renew our commitments to the UNA and its cause of a strong US-UN relationship as the basis for an effective and strong United Nations.
Brooklyn Chapter of the United Nations Association of the U.S.A. 