International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists
The focus on impunity of the resolution A/RES/68/163 stems from the worrying situation that over the past decade, more than 700 journalists have been killed for bringing news and information to the public. In 2012 alone, the UNESCO Director-General condemned the killing of 123 journalists, media workers, and social media producers of public interest journalism. In 2013, the figure decreased slightly to 91, but still represented the second deadliest year for journalists. These figures do not include the many more journalists who on a daily basis suffer from non-fatal attacks, including torture, enforced disappearances, arbitrary detention, intimidation and harassment in both conflict and non-conflict situations. Furthermore, there are specific risks faced by women journalists including sexual attacks. Worryingly, only one in ten cases committed against media workers over the past decade has led to a conviction. This impunity emboldens the perpetrators of the crimes and at the same time has a chilling effect on society including journalists themselves. Impunity breeds impunity and feeds into a vicious cycle. According to the forthcoming UNESCO Director-General’s Report on the Safety of Journalists and the Danger of Impunity, less than six percent of the 593 cases of killings of journalists from 2006-2013 have been resolved. A quarter of these cases are considered as “ongoing” referring to their continued investigations over the various stages of the judicial system. In 60 percent of the cases, no information on the judicial process was made available to UNESCO notwithstanding the Director-General’s requests for such. When attacks on journalists remain unpunished, a very negative message is sent that reporting the “embarrassing truth” or “unwanted opinions” will get ordinary people in trouble. Furthermore, society loses confidence in its own judiciary system which is meant to protect everyone from attacks on their rights. Perpetrators of crimes against journalists are thus emboldened when they realize they can attack their targets without ever facing justice.
International Day for the Eradication of Poverty
The observance of the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty can be traced back to 17 October 1987. On that day, over a hundred thousand people gathered at the Trocadéro in Paris , where the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was signed in 1948, to honour the victims of extreme poverty, violence and hunger. They proclaimed that poverty is a violation of human rights and affirmed the need to come together to ensure that these rights are respected. These convictions are inscribed in a commemorative stone unveiled on this day. Since then, people of all backgrounds, beliefs and social origins have gathered every year on October 17th to renew their commitment and show their solidarity with the poor. Replicas of the commemorative stone have been unveiled around the world and serve as a gathering place to celebrate the Day. One such replica is located in the garden of United Nations Headquarters and is the site of the annual commemoration organized by the United Nations Secretariat in New York . Through resolution 47/196 adopted on 22 December 1992, the General Assembly declared 17 October as the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty and invited all States to devote the Day to presenting and promoting, as appropriate in the national context, concrete activities with regard to the eradication of poverty and destitution. The resolution further invites intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations to assist States, at their request, in organizing national activities for the observance of the Day, and requests the Secretary-General to take, within existing resources, the measures necessary to ensure the success of the Day’s observance by the United Nations. 17 October presents an opportunity to acknowledge the effort and struggle of people living in poverty, a chance for them to make their concerns heard, and a moment to recognize that poor people are the first ones to fight against poverty. Participation of the poor themselves has been at the center of the Day’s celebration since its very beginning. The commemoration of October 17th also reflects the willingness of people living in poverty to use their expertise to contribute to the eradication of poverty.
International Day of Non-Violence
The International Day of Non-Violence is marked on 2 October, the birthday of Mahatma Gandhi, leader of the Indian independence movement and pioneer of the philosophy and strategy of non-violence. According to General Assembly resolutionA/RES/61/271 of 15 June 2007, which established the commemoration, the International Day is an occasion to “disseminate the message of non-violence, including through education and public awareness”. The resolution reaffirms “the universal relevance of the principle of non-violence” and the desire “to secure a culture of peace, tolerance, understanding and non-violence”. Introducing the resolution in the General Assembly on behalf of 140 co-sponsors, India’s Minister of State for External Affairs, Mr. Anand Sharma, said that the wide and diverse sponsorship of the resolution was a reflection of the universal respect for Mahatma Gandhi and of the enduring relevance of his philosophy. Quoting the late leader’s own words, he said: “Non-violence is the greatest force at the disposal of mankind. It is mightier than the mightiest weapon of destruction devised by the ingenuity of man”.
Allard Prize for International Integrity Award Ceremony
Thursday, October 1, 2015 – 18:00 to 20:30 When: October 1, 6:00 pm (Ceremony) 7:30 pm (Reception) Where: Old Auditorium, 6344 Memorial Road (Ceremony), Allard Hall, 1822 East Mall (Reception) Please click here to RSVP. For more information, please call Alyssa Lee at 604.822.0515. The award ceremony for the $100,000 Allard Prize for International Integrity is the premier event of UBC’s Centennial. The 2015 finalists are: John Githongo Indonesia Corruption Watch Sergei Magnitsky Rafael Marques de Morais (Learn more about the finalists) The Allard Prize award ceremony will include the conferral of an Honorary Degree upon, and a keynote address by, Lieutenant-General, the Honourable Roméo Dallaire (Ret’d). About Lieutenant-General, the Honourable Roméo Dallaire (Ret’d) “Are all humans human…or are some more human than others? Now is the time to take up the cause of the advancement of human rights for all and the moment is yours to grasp.” The Hon. Lt. Gen. Roméo Dallaire (Ret) is a true hero and an outspoken leader for the 21st century. A decorated Lieutenant General, Dallaire served 35 years with the Canadian Armed Forces. His best-selling book, Shake Hands With the Devil, is a stirring account of his experience as the Force Commander of the United Nations Assistance Mission to Rwanda, which exposes the failures of the international community to stop the worst genocide in the 20th century. The book was released as a full-length feature film Shake Hands With the Devil – The Journey of Roméo Dallaire and won an Emmy Award for Best Documentary. In 2013, Dallaire’s second film is released: Fight Like Soldiers, Die Like Children, based on his book of the same name, which follows him as he returns to Africa with a different mission: to end the use of child soldiers. Dallaire states: “The ultimate focus of the rest of my life is to eradicate the use of child soldiers and to eliminate even the thought of the use of children as instruments of war.” In 2014, Dallaire resigned from the Canadian Senate where he had been serving since being appointed by former Prime Minister Paul Martin in 2005. Dallaire’s story shares the most extreme results of being given responsibility without authority. He was limited by immovable parameters, overseen by an organization that didn’t fully support the mission, and put into situations that forced him to question ethics every step of the way. Dallaire’s presentations discuss leadership and conflict resolution, illustrated with stories of his own experiences. He inspires listeners to address the ethical and moral issues in conflicts and insists that governments put humanity above political and economic interests.
International Day of Peace
Each year the International Day of Peace is observed around the world on 21 September. The General Assembly has declared this as a day devoted to strengthening the ideals of peace, both within and among all nations and peoples. To mark the 30th anniversary of the General Assembly Declaration on the Right of Peoples to Peace, the theme of this year’s International Day of Peace is the “Right of Peoples to Peace”. This anniversary offers a unique opportunity to reaffirm the United Nations commitment to the purposes and principles upon which the Organization was founded. The Declaration on the Right of Peoples to Peace recognizes that the promotion of peace is vital for the full enjoyment of all human rights. The International Day of Peace was established in 1981 by resolution 36/67 of the United Nations General Assembly to coincide with its opening session, which was held annually on the third Tuesday of September. The first Peace Day was observed in September 1982. In 2001, the General Assembly by unanimous vote adopted resolution 55/282, which established 21 September as an annual day of non-violence and cease-fire. The United Nations invites all nations and people to honour a cessation of hostilities during the Day, and to otherwise commemorate the Day through education and public awareness on issues related to peace.
International Day for Democracy
The International Day of Democracy provides an opportunity to review the state of democracy in the world. Democracy is as much a process as a goal, and only with the full participation of and support by the international community, national governing bodies, civil society and individuals, can the ideal of democracy be made into a reality to be enjoyed by everyone, everywhere. The values of freedom, respect for human rights and the principle of holding periodic and genuine elections by universal suffrage are essential elements of democracy. In turn, democracy provides the natural environment for the protection and effective realization of human rights. These values are embodied in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and further developed in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights which enshrines a host of political rights and civil liberties underpinning meaningful democracies. The link between democracy and human rights is captured in article 21(3) of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which states: “The will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government; this will shall be expressed in periodic and genuine elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret vote or by equivalent free voting procedures.” The rights enshrined in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and subsequent human rights instruments covering group rights (e.g.indigenous peoples, minorities, people with disabilities) are equally essential for democracy as they ensure an equitable distribution of wealth, and equality and equity in respect of access to civil and political rights
International Anti-Corruption Conference
The 16th International Anti-Corruption Conference (IACC) will take place from 2 – 4 September 2015 in Putrajaya, Malaysia under the theme “Ending Impunity: People. Integrity. Action.” All too often, those in power who steal from the public purse are able to escape justice. The IACC will bring together 1,000 anti-corruption fighters from more than 130 countries to forge solutions to this outrage. A diverse range of leading experts, innovators and activists from civil society, government, the private sector and beyond will lead debate on how best to tackle the increasingly sophisticated challenges posed by corruption. International speakers during the three-day event will include: José Ugaz, Chair of Transparency International Patrick Alley, co-founder, Global Witness Sarah Chayes, Senior Associate, Carnegie Endowment for Peace Kevin Jenkins, President and CEO, World Vision International Daniel Kaufman, President, Natural Resource Governance Institute Pascal Lamy, former General Director, World Trade Organisation Thuli Madonsela, Public Protector, South Africa Kumi Naidoo, Executive Director, Greenpeace Salil Shetty, Secretary General, Amnesty International To see the full agenda, click here. For more details about the event and for media accreditation, please go to www.16iacc.org. Media accreditation will also be available on-site at the conference.
World Humanitarian Day
In December 2008, the sixty-third session of the UN General Assembly decided to designate 19 August as World Humanitarian Day. 19 August is the date on which a brutal terrorist attack on UN headquarters in Baghdad in 2003 killed 22 people, including UN envoy Sergio Vieira de Mello. World Humanitarian Day honours those, who have lost their lives in humanitarian service and those, who continue to bring assistance and relief to millions. The Day also seeks to draw attention to humanitarian needs worldwide and the importance of international cooperation in meeting these needs. Every year, disasters cause immense suffering for millions of people – usually the world’s poorest, most marginalized and vulnerable individuals. Humanitarian aid workers strive to provide life-saving assistance and long term rehabilitation to disaster-affected communities, regardless of where they are in the world and without discrimination based on nationality, social group, religion, sex, race or any other factor. Humanitarian aid is based on a number of founding principles, including humanity, impartiality, neutrality and independence. Humanitarian aid workers should be respected, and be able to access those in need in order to provide vital assistance. Humanitarian aid workers can be international, but most come from the country in which they work. They reflect all cultures, ideologies and backgrounds and they are united by their commitment to humanitarianism. Everyone can be a humanitarian. People affected by disasters are often the first to help their own communities following a disaster. Responding to emergencies is only one aspect of humanitarian work. Humanitarian workers also support communities to rebuild their lives after disasters, to become more resilient to future crises, to advocate for their voices to be heard, and to build lasting and sustainable peace in areas of conflict.
World Day Against Trafficking in Persons
At any given time, an estimated 2.5 million people are trapped in modern-day slavery. Men, women and children fall into the hands of traffickers both in their own countries and abroad. Every country in the world is affected by human trafficking, whether as a country of origin, transit or destination for victims. Slavery, in both its ancient and modern forms, is not only shameful, it is as the abolitionist John Wesley said “the execrable sum of all villanies,” and has no place in our world. In 2010, the General Assembly adopted the Global Plan of Action to Combat Trafficking in Persons, urging Governments worldwide to take coordinated and consistent measures to defeat this scourge. The Plan calls for integrating the fight against human trafficking into the UN’s broader programmes in order to boost development and strengthen security worldwide. One of the crucial provisions in the Plan is the establishment of a UN Voluntary Trust Fund for victims of trafficking, especially women and children. In 2013, the General Assembly held a high-level meeting to appraise the Global Plan of Action. Member States also adopted resolution A/RES/68/192 and designated July 30 as the World Day against Trafficking in Persons. This resolution declared that such a day was necessary to “raise awareness of the situation of victims of human trafficking and for the promotion and protection of their rights.”
United Nations International Day in Support of Victims of Torture
Torture seeks to annihilate the victim’s personality and denies the inherent dignity of the human being. The United Nations has condemned torture from the outset as one of the vilest acts perpetrated by human beings on their fellow human beings. Torture is a crime under international law. According to all relevant instruments, it is absolutely prohibited and cannot be justified under any circumstances. This prohibition forms part of customary international law, which means that it is binding on every member of the international community, regardless of whether a State has ratified international treaties in which torture is expressly prohibited. The systematic or widespread practice of torture constitutes a crime against humanity. On 12 December 1997, by resolution 52/149, the UN General Assembly proclaimed 26 June the United Nations International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, with a view to the total eradication of torture and the effective functioning of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, (resolution 39/46), annex, which entered into force on 26 June 1987.