Today, February 21st, the UN put on a communications workshop for NGO's entitled "Expanding Opportunities for NGO's to Network Locally and Internationally". It was moderated by Juan Carlos Brandt who is the Director of the UN Information Center in New York, Carolyn Schuler Uluc who works in the Department of Public Information, and Nyi Aye who is the the Officer in charge of the Informations Management Unit. They were joined on teleconference by The Directors of the UNICs from Mexico and the new center in Brussels.
The workshop began with an explanation of the new types of technologies and services which the UNIC's are starting to use and how they can be of use to the NGO's and civil society. The new teleconference system that was being used was the main example of how the UN is moving into the future. Although actually working that technology seemed to baffle them, prompting the Mexico City Director to comment that even in the 1st world we can't get things to work!
The NGO's are a very important part of the outreach work that the UN does all over the world. They are the ones who go out into the communities and are on the front lines of addressing the most pressing needs. Therefore, it is imperative that the UN be able to better connect these NGO's so that they may be able to communicate and share solutions to the problems that they are facing in the field.
The representatives from all of the UNIC's stressed the fact that they are compiling databases and information on all of the NGO's with whom they work and making that information public. With the new information centers, individuals will be able to contact their local UNIC and find organizations in their area focusing on any number of different issues. These databases, will hopefully encourage 'horizontal communication' between NGO's who are working toward similar goals. Effective networking and communication is essential if we are to reach the Millennium Development Goals by 2015. There was a special focus on youth participation in particular, because as 18% of the total world population, they are uniquely positioned to take on some of the world's biggest issues with new perspectives, as well as greater knowledge of new technologies.
That is why organizations like Global Youth Action Network are so important. They network and provide links between community organizations all over the world. The Mexico UNIC recognized this when she mentioned GYAN in discussing how to connect isolated NGO's to the resources that are available to them.
All in all it was an informative workshop that demonstrated the increasingly vital role that new technology, along with organizations like GYAN, will play in solving current issues by connecting people!

On Monday, February 11 the U.N staged a thematic debate on Climate Change. I had the opportunity to attend and listen to what the U.N delegates and speakers had to say about this ever-growing and frightening issue.
There were two panel discussions which were led by moderators and had speakers from all different countries and professions there to lend their unique perspectives to the issue. The first panel concerned the issue of co-operation with the private sector and how to enlist them in the effort to offset climate change. The second was entitled 'The UN at work' and focused on what the UN could do specifically to address the issue. The President of the U.N, Srgjan Kerim, captured the U.N's general policy for most issues in saying that, "The U.N can set the table but the rest of the world has to act". The idea is that if delegates and representatives from all over the world come together and discuss the issue, that they will return to their home countries with the necessary information in order to act locally. What everyone agreed was necessary was the participation of the private sector in any global movement against climate change. Governments can only do half of the work in drafting legislation, private companies must take it upon themselves to decrease their carbon footprint. As the panel member from the Board of Chinese Business Council put it, "we need to develop a good faith collaboration". Both the private and public sectors need to come together honestly and sincerely to solve the problem.
What was stressed over and over was the fact that the poorest countries produce the least carbon emissions but are affected the most by climate change. For example, while U.S and Chinese (the two most polluting countries!) factories and businesses churn out environmentally damaging gases, it is the small, poor villages in Southeastern Asia that are being washed away by tsunamis. It was also noted multiple times that while 20% of the world's population resides in cities, cities produce 80% of total gas emissions. So, it is evident that large cities such as New York carry a larger burden in trying to reduce their carbon footprint. Mayor Bloomburg spoke about some small changes that NYC city is undertaking to combat this problem, such as converting all NYC taxis to energy efficient vehicles, taxing drivers in Manhattan during peek hours and planting 1 million trees within the next 10 years. Although they may seem like small changes, these are the things that do make a difference in the long run. The 1st world and pollutant countries also bear the burden of helping the 3rd world countries develop with new, greener technology with private funding that will help not only in battling climate change but also in battling poverty.
One of the panel speakers, Martin Korr from Indonesia, spoke of the danger of overloading the agenda. We need to focus on the four main areas of attack: finance, litigation, technology and adaptation. If the problem of climate change is addressed on these four fronts then the global community has a chance of succeeding!
As an American, it was interesting to watch this discussion be played out in New York City. After the U.S government refused to sign the Kyoto treaty in 1997, it was a disheartening and embarrassing failure on our part to address this important issue and it seemed as if it would never be taken seriously in the US. But ten years later, it is the issue on everyone's lips and more and more people are taking small steps to do their part. Every citizen, and especially the YOUTH who will have to live with these decisions long after the aging administration, should pressure their government into taking action NOW so that we might have the possibility of saving the earth and saving our way of life!

On Wednesday, October 17th, I had the opportunity to attend (and participate in) the presentation of the Youth Report companion of the Machel Study 10-Year Strategic Review to the UN. The Youth Report is a culmination of work by GYAN in partnership with UNICEF, UNFPA, and other NGO partners that presents the voices of youth from conflict-affected areas. Their thoughts and ideas were collected as a key contribution to the Machel Review through a series of focus group discussions and an online questionnaire. Capturing the voices of some 1700 young people, the group discussions included children and young people who have experienced conflict themselves, with many of the participants speaking about how their own lives have been affected. The report itself is written in first person, much different from any other UN report, and highlights significant elements of a child's life in conflict.

The Machel 10-Year Strategic Review is an assessment of the work done since the initial study of the effect of armed conflict on children by Graca Machel. This study brought about the position of the Special Representative to the Secretary-General on Children and Armed Conflict (SRSG-CAAC), and several intiatives by UN agencies, NGOs, governments and regional organizations for concrete action. The 10-Year Strategic Review provides the findings of the current SRSG-CAAC, Ms. Radhika Coomaraswamy, during several visits to conflict areas, and including recommendations for future action as well. One important suggestion is the participation of youth in decision-making. The presentation of the Youth Report is an important element in the Strategic Review, and reinforces the need for youth voices in the ongoing discussion on armed conflict.

The Youth Report was presented by four young people from conflict-affected areas, and included presentations from the sponsoring member state, Norway, the SRSG-CAAC, Radhika Coomaraswamy, UNICEF Deputy Executive Director, Ms. Hilde Johnson, and the Deputy Executive Director of UNFPA, Ms. Mari Simonen. Well-attended despite the conflicting Stand-Up Against Poverty! program that same morning, the moving presentation featured readings from the report by the youth participants, and a corresponding slideshow. Copies of the Youth Report were available and the young people had the chance to meet and take photos with the high-level representatives from the UN organizations.

However, the difficulties and problems facing the presentation of the Youth Report may be more evocative than what was actually said and presented. The team working on the presentation faced several obstacles; first and foremost, they were barred from presenting to the General Assembly alongside of the Strategic Review. In addition, the difficulties in bringing youth from conflict countries was indicative of the refusal by many states to acknowledge the significance of youth voices at the UN. It was quite disheartening to learn of young people refused visas to travel to New York and present their report. In addition, the work to censor the words of the young people demonstrated the inability of UN organizations and delegates to truly listen to these voices. The demands presented at the end of the reading, a crucial element of the Youth Report, unfortunately, will go unheeded as long as their voices remain suppressed.


Read the Youth Report, and endorse the demands of the young people by signing the online petition.

Yesterday I attended a discussion on the theme “Protecting Migrants from Trafficking and Forced Labor” organized by the U.S. Department of State and Human Rights Watch at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations. I haven’t been to the U.N. so far with GYAN, but this discussion still felt properly official – lots of security, flags galore, obnoxious constant camera flashes. The two speakers were Ambassador Mark P. Lagon, the director of the Office to Monitor & Combat Trafficking in Persons at the U.S. Department of State and Kenneth Roth, the Executive Director of Human Rights Watch. They each spoke about the current vulnerability of migrants to physical and sexual abuse, labor abuses and forced labor, exploitation, and discrimination. This was followed by a question and answer session during which attendees could make statements, announcements, and ask questions. Those attending included representatives from various N.G.O’s, U.N. departments, and even a few diplomats.

I was definitely the youngest person in attendance, which is disappointing as young people, and especially young women are particularly vulnerable to this kind of exploitation. About 30% of global migrants are youth, many of whom are successful and whose remittances are an important financial benefit for the development of their home countries. However many migrants are exploited, amounting to forced labor/slavery and human trafficking, often with little to no legal protection. The United States State Department estimated that out of all those trafficked across international borders each year, approximately 80 percent are women and girls and up to 50 percent are minors.

One of the first questions asked was about how NGOs could better address these issues as governments themselves seem unwilling to confront them. The point made was that nations do not want to admit abuses occur, and often officials are unwilling to confront other nations about the abuse of their citizens for fear of losing emigration privileges and remittance money. The U.S. ambassador said he was supportive of the United Nations trying to convince member nations to respect, work with, and see NGOs as legitimate agents for positive change. His comments reflected the constant debate on UN - Civil Society Relations

In answer to this same question, Kenneth Roth discussed possible plans of action to counter this unwillingness to address the issue. What he suggested was that a regional group of nations could be formed as a block, so that nations with less bargaining power could not be singled out. This would give them greater leverage power to win protections for their citizens abroad, as well as protect them from the possible repercussions of raising the issue. I was delighted by this idea, the obvious strength of networking and communication to promote shared goals.

Mr. Roth ended on an interesting note. Central to protecting the rights of migrant workers and indeed to the success of the 21st century, is a shift in the way we see human migration. He said that as globalization will only increase human migration across the globe, continuing to see a person’s movement across national boundaries as a potential merit for being thrown in prison will continue to erode international human rights and global stability. A person’s location should never deprive them of their rights. Finally he recommended a major task for the next generation of young people to be redefining the rights of migrants and easing the human and economic costs of migration.