Good: UN Rights Wrong without Civil Society
Pleased to see that the recent posts about the UN ESC Rights Committee are becoming more than just words. The comments and ideas are transforming into a campaign for reform of the UN - where it goes I don't know but it's good, so good to see people taking the initiative and not just talking talking blogging blogging. I am ready for action to help this campaign advance.
- anya.menon's blog
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Where's the sign-on letter?
I'm ready and willing to sign on to the letter to start the process of demanding additional seats. But, where is the document?
Connecting unprotected sex and UN Rights Committee
First I saw the post above from erika on women and HIV with the fact that 70percent are forced to have unprotected sex. http://www.worldcarecouncil.org/content/un-warns-hivaids-leading-cause-d...
Then I see that only three out of 18 members of this ESCR committee are women. Maybe if women were better represented on this committee this issue could be raised better in human rights context.
Yes to a representative who knows firsthand
Yes to a representative who knows firsthand the experience of having human rights violated. Yes to the 'affected' being part of any complaint procedure for others. Yes to there being one seat on this Committee for the millions who have been abused by their governments, and desperately need justice. linda.nsembu@yahoo.co.uk
Financial implications and Independence
As the idea is to add three other members to the Committee, we should consider the monetary implications that this would have. For the 18 members that are already on the Committee, the UN covers the costs of their time, travel, and two week meetings twice a year. Knowing the UN pays top-dollar on airfares, hotels, and perdiems, the sum is probably quite high. It is possibly of interest to find a more independent source of funds, from outside the UN family and its member states. Perhaps we should make this proposal one that underlines independence, and have the costs involved in the additional seats be borne by a few civil society charitable foundations, and not from the UN directly. Fund-raising might not be that difficult given the importance of this initiative and its potential positive impact. We should try to estimate a budget, and maybe draw on the costings experienced at the PCB of UNAIDS and at the Global Fund.
Submitted by skumar1 on Thu, 11/02/2010 - 15:14.
Anya has a point
We have all heard the phrase "UN Reform" for many years, but this is the first time I know that we, as diverse individuals, can actually be involved in a campaign to actually to it. And if we succeed in adding the seats to this Committee, our efforts will mean that even more diverse individuals can be involved in human rights at the UN. Our push for a democratic representative model within the committee is both refreshing and required. So, who is writing the letter?
For our "place at the table"
NGOs, elected as representatives from the developed and from the developing nations, deserve to have a place at the table of this complaints committee, and so does some representative that has firsthand experience of knowing what it feels to have their rights violated, with any possiblity of complaining about it. The UN is a member organization of nations, but its the populations that are owners of the human rights as declared by the UN. Owners must have a voice.
Strange that this wasn't done before
The comments and posts on this issue all touch a very evident point - that civil society must be involved in human rights decisions at the UN. It is surprising that the NGOs accredited by the UN, have accepted participation limited to bringing reports to the Committtee and to not have a say on what happens to the report. I guess big international NGOs base in New York and Geneva have settled in comfortably in the waiting room of the Ivory Towers. Shaka< positiv.power@gmail.com>
Lets go and count me in
Tala was right - this is interesting, worthy, and just starting. lets go.
I see that the 'election' process at the Commttee runs for two months, which gives us a good timespan to put the issue up, and draw attention to the Optional Protocol on ESC Rights - which needs countries to ratify. The campaign for three seats could push the ratification process along in key countries. Need to get the big NGOs on board quik. Count me in on some writing and spreading the word. The Open Up UN Rights campaign needs a automatic sign on page or some petition thing - can this happen?
Marisa in Addis Ababa
Step up in february
yep, this is nice. good energy. I follow in january the posts and I think that this month we have to make campaign structure and content. February is month of making, march is month of marching ahead to first victory in april. What step up in february can i do is my question.
FYI: Related posts
http://www.worldcarecouncil.org/content/un-rights-wrong-without-civil-so...