UNA-NCA Human Rights Awards

On Thursday, December 7th, UNA-NCA hosts its annual Human Rights Awards Reception at the National Education Association (NEA). This event correlates with the 69th anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Human Rights Day, celebrated on December 10th.

Awardees are Ambassador Keith Harper (ret.), former US Ambassador to the Human Rights Council in Geneva; His Excellency Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights; Nancy Rivard, Founder and President of Airline Ambassadors International; and Bread for the City, whose award was accepted by CEO George A. Jones.

Opening and closing remarks will be provided by UNA-NCA President Stephen F. Moseley, NEA Secretary-Treasurer Princess Moss, UNA-NCA Executive Director, Ms. Paula Boland, and UNA-NCA Human Rights Committee Chair, Ms. Heather Hill, with additional remarks from main program sponsors. UN Secretary-General António Guterres will also share a recorded message with the audience.

Whither the UN and Human Rights? Why 2017 Matters

Ms. Gaer is the Director of the American Jewish Committee’s Jacob Blaustein Institute for the Advancement of Human Rights; Vice Chair of the UN Committee against Torture*; and 2016 UNA-NCA Louis B. Sohn Awardee. Ms. Gaer will open the discussion with a short presentation on the status and expected highlights of the UN human rights activities in 2017. Stephen F. Moseley, President of UNA-NCA, will then converse briefly with Ms. Gaer and lead a continuation of the conversation with the audience.

Additional remarks by Paula Boland, UNA-NCA Executive Director, and Heather Hill, UNA-NCA Human Rights Committee.

Association of Writers & Writing Programs Annual Conference Panel Discussion: Writing Against Borders: Literature and the (Un)Making of Nationhood

UNA-NCA Discusses the UN Human Rights Program in 2016

The year 2016 will be an important one for the Human Rights Program of the United Nations. Under the agreed rules for the UN’s Human Rights Council, the United States will take a year off, without being a member, but will almost certainly be canvassing support for re-election in the fall when UN elections are held. Closer to home, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights is expected to establish an office in Washington DC, and the High Commissioner and UN special rapporteurs will undoubtedly face challenges in the Middle East and beyond.

Against this background, UNA-NCA and the American Foreign Service Association will co-host a forum on January 27, 2016 to learn US perspectives and plans on the UN’s human rights program in 2016, to explore major challenges being faced by the program, and to have an opportunity to raise questions with key American staff, including the State Department’s officer responsible for back-stopping US participation in the Human Rights Council, Dr. Wesley Reisser. Dr. Reisser recently received the 2015 F. Allen “Tex” Harris Human Rights Diplomacy Award at our annual Human Rights Awards Reception.

When: January 27, 2016, 6:00 – 8:00 pm

Where: American Foreign Service Association, 2101 E Street NW Washington, DC 20037

Speaker: Dr. Wesley Reisser, Senior Foreign Affairs Officer, Office of Human Rights and Humanitarian Affairs, International Organization Affairs Bureau, U.S. Department of State

Discussant: Ted Piccone, Senior Fellow, Foreign Policy, Project on International Order and Strategy, Latin America Initiative, The Brookings Institution

Moderator: Heather Hill, Co-Chair of the UNA-NCA Human Rights Committee

Human Rights and the UN Sustainable Development Goals

In September 2000, world leaders committed their nations to achieving eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015. While the MDGs helped to end poverty for some, there still remains work to be done. On September 25th, the UN will build upon these goals and converge with the post-2015 development agenda by committing to 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to fight against poverty, inequality, and climate change.

On September 29, UNA-NCA will host an outstanding expert panel organized by its Human Rights Committee on Human Rights and the Sustainable Development Goals. Learn about the linkages between Human Rights and the new Global Goals, and see the Goals through a Human Rights lens. Discuss how the new Goals framework can contribute to the realization of Human Rights.

Moderator: Heather Hill – Co-Chair, Human Rights Committee, UNA-NCA

Speakers:
Lindsay Coates – Executive Vice President, InterAction
T. Kumar – International Advocacy Director, Amnesty International

When: September 29, 2015, 6:00pm – 8:00pm

Where: American Foreign Service Association, 2101 E Street NW, Washington, DC 20037

From My Community to All Communities: Cities for CEDAW

The Feminist Majority Foundation is sponsoring its 2015 National Young Feminist Leadership Conference and will have a Cities for CEDAW workshop panel on Sunday, March 22.

CEDAW (Convention to Eliminate All Forms of Discrimination Against Women) is an international human rights treaty that provides a universal definition of discrimination against women and brings to attention a whole range of issues pertaining to women’s rights. Countries that ratify CEDAW are mandated to condemn all forms of discrimination against women and girls to ensure equality for women and girls in the civil, political, economic, social, and cultural arenas. It is an international treaty adopted by the UN in 1979 that has yet to be ratified by the US Senate. Come learn about the importance of CEDAW and grassroots efforts to get it ratified!

Moderator: Ashleigh Moses, Program Specialist for the Group on Women and Science and Medicine at the AAMC, Feminist Campus Alum

Panelists:

• June Zeitlin, Director of Human Rights Policy, Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights
• Heather Hill, United Nations Association of the National Capital Area
• Marzia Nawrozi, International Campus Organizer, Feminist Majority Foundation
• Sydney Kamen Girls Learn International, Georgetown Day School