IPCC Special Report on Climate Change

By Ayuska Motha, UN Rep (AIWC Cologne)

The SB50 or intersessional meeting of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change wrapped up last night and with it any further discussion on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Special Report on global warming of 1.5C (SR1.5C).

I have attended the remaining meetings on this item and started to see some...

Climate Talks Bonn - Final Day

By Stacey Kimmig, UN Rep (AIWC Cologne)

As SB50 draws to a close, a lot of important issues still remain unresolved. Final meetings will be held today, to try and reach some sort of consensus on the final issues; we will know more this afternoon about how much has been achieved. The Women and Gender Constituency (WGC) will give a...

HRC Sessions on Women's Rights

By Sue England, UN Rep (IWC Munich)

At HRC41, there were two days focused on women's rights, June 27 and 28.  You can view sessions of the HRC on UN Web TV. Here is a link to live feed and archived videos.

The session continued on June 28 with country statements being made and questions for the Special Rapporteurs (Special...

Student Leaders from Palestine Speak

By Karen Castellon, UN Rep (AWC Berlin) 

25 June 2019

The meeting of the Ad Hoc Committee of the General Assembly for Voluntary Contributions to the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) focused on financial support for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA). Speakers included UN Secretary General António Guterres (which tells me...

HRC41 Opening Session, June 24

By Karen Castellon, UN Rep (AWC Berlin)

Oral update by the High Commissioner, Honorable Michelle Bachelet on the situation of human rights worldwide and on the activities of her office

Highlights:

ISIS aftermath

• 55,000 ISIS fighters and family members are detained in Iraq and Syria in refugee camps.
• 29,000 children n Syria are in need of rehabilitation and integration into society

New CEDAW General Recommendation on Violence Against Women

The CEDAW Committee recently adopted a new General Recommendation No. 35, a milestone and a tool for accelerated implementation of regional and international obligations to eliminate gender-based violence. FAWCO was pleased to note language in the Recommendation explicitly acknowledging the important role of civil society in advancing gender-based violence as a priority on the global agenda. 

"The Committee acknowledges that civil society groups,