United Nations
Reports on the United Nations and global governance
New Bahá’í representative to open office in Brussels to strengthen ties with European Union
GENEVA — Sarah Vader has joined the Bahá’í International Community as a representative to the United Nations. (October-December 2007)
Moral issues of climate change stressed at Commission on Sustainable Development
UNITED NATIONS — As the scientific consensus on global warming grows, it’s time to look more closely at how to share the economic, social, and humanitarian burdens that climate change will likely bring.
Focus on the empowerment of girls at 2007 UN meeting on women’s status
UNITED NATIONS — Last autumn, Anisa Fadaei started a discussion group on women’s issues at her high school. Meeting every two weeks at lunch, about a dozen girls examined issues like domestic violence, unequal pay rates, and trafficking in girls. (January-March 2007)
UN Declaration on religious tolerance commemorated in Prague
PRAGUE — Although it was negotiated at the height of the Cold War, a 25-year-old international agreement on freedom of religion or belief remains as relevant today — and perhaps even more so — said speakers at a major United Nations-sanctioned observance here in late November.
Canadian lawyer joins UN Office
NEW YORK — Tahirih Naylor, a lawyer from Canada, has joined the Bahá'í International Community as a representative to the United Nations. (July-September 2006)
At the UN, Bahá'ís host panel on violence against women
UNITED NATIONS — Stemming the global tide of violence against women will require changes in deeply rooted attitudes that for the most part transcend culture and national borders, said participants in a panel discussion here on 8 September 2006. (July-September 2006)
New Bahá'í representative at the UN
UNITED NATIONS — Bringing wide-ranging experience in women's issues, civil society organization, and international development, Fulya Vekiloglu has joined the United Nations Office of the Bahá'í International Community in New York as a representative to the UN. (April-June 2006)
Commission on the Status of Women remains a global rallying point
The high level of participation by nongovernmental organizations at the Commission on the Status of Women shows shows its relevance for women and men who care about the advancement of women. (January-March 2006)UN creates new Human Rights Council
In outlining a plan for reform of the United Nations a year ago, Secretary General Kofi Annan made human rights a central component of his proposal. So it was viewed as an historic step when the UN General Assembly its creation. (January-March 2006)In Tunisia, the World Summit on the Information Society sets global goals
Declaring that the free flow of information and ideas can greatly strengthen social and economic development, governments at the World Summit on the Information Society here approved a global agenda for making information and communications technologies more open, accessible, and available.(October-December 2005)At the UN, world leaders renew promises
World leaders renewed their five-year-old promise to halve global poverty rates, ensure education for all, and sharply reduce HIV/AIDS and other diseases — and also took new steps towards reforming the United Nations — at the 2005 World Summit in September. (July-September 2005)At the UN, governments and civil society try a new mode of interaction
Historic “Informal Interactive” hearings with civil society focus on core issues of UN reform, poverty, human rights, and security; the advancement of women emerges as a critical theme.Veteran actor Earl Cameron brings a sense of world citizenship to UN role
When veteran actor Earl Cameron stood at the lectern in the United Nations General Assembly hall, portraying an African despot for the film The Interpreter, he had one of those strange moments where the larger reality of things snaps into focus.At the UN, governments and religious NGOs convene a peace conference
Although the United Nations is at its heart a secular institution, a day-long “Conference on Interfaith Cooperation for Peace” brought together three distinct groups — governments, UN agencies, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). And sponsors said it was the first time ever that representatives of those three groups have convened a substantive interfaith event at the United Nations.At the UN, women rally to preserve advances gained in Beijing
Ten-year review of 1995 Fourth World Conference on Women finds a mixed record of gains and delays on women's rights worldwide and sees a large turnout of NGOs.Copenhagen plus 10 fights to keep social development at center stage
Advocates for the world's poor, the unemployed, and the disempowered, laboring under the shadow of the 11 September 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and all that followed, indicated they were hard-pressed merely to hold ground on social development promises.High Level Panel calls for a new vision of collective security at the UN
Saying threats to global security have evolved far beyond traditional war, a panel of high-level experts has called on the United Nations to embrace a new and more encompassing definition of collective security, one that recognizes the interconnectedness of all peoples and nations.UN again expresses concern about Iran's Bahá'ís
For the 17th time since 1985, the United Nations General Assembly has passed a resolution expressing “serious concern” over the human rights situation in Iran, making specific mention of the on-going persecution of the Bahá'í community there.UN “eminent persons” panel sees rise of civil society as a “landmark” event
UNITED NATIONS – As the world's problems grow ever more complex and globalized, the United Nations must reach out more vigorously to civil society — and give non-governmental actors more access to high level deliberations that have traditionally been reserved for governments.In the advancement of women, men are increasingly seen as important partners
At this year's session of the Commission on the Status of Women, more men than ever stepped forward in a spirit of partnership to advocate for the rights of women. In so doing, they helped promote a new model of masculinity.Role of religion in conflict-torn areas explored at NGO experts meeting
The positive role of faith and religion in healing conflict-torn populations emerged as an important theme here at a recent experts meeting held by non-governmental organizations (NGOs).
The United Nations grapples with the idea of a global "information society"
Hailed as a major new direction for the United Nations, the World Summit on the Information Society focused not on a single issue area, but rather on emerging information and communications technologies that cut across many issues in the global arena. (October-December 2003)Civil Society innovates for influence at WSIS
Representatives of civil society played an active and influential role in the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS). By one count, some 60 percent of the language and/or ideas in the final documents originated with civil society. (October-December 2003)UN again expresses concern over human rights in Iran
For the 16th time in 19 years, the United Nations General Assembly expressed concern over continuing human rights violations in Iran, also making specific mention of the "continuing discrimination" faced by Bahá'ís and other religious minorities there. (October-December 2003)Perspective: The Family and Development
Throughout recorded history, in every culture, the family has been the fundamental building block of society. And throughout history, the main factor in the cohesion of the family has been religion. Today, by many yardsticks, the family is in crisis. (July-September 2003)New representative of the Bahá'í International Community to the United Nations joins New York office
Bahiyyih Chaffers, a 33-year-old attorney from Canada, has been appointed as a representative of the Bahá'í International Community to the United Nations. (July-September 2003)The Bahá'í International Community expresses concern about the human rights of Iranian Bahá'ís
GENEVA - The Bahá'í International Community has expressed deep disappointment that the UN Commission on Human Rights failed this year to put forward or adopt any kind of resolution on the human rights situation in Iran. (April-June 2003)UN addresses violence against women
UNITED NATIONS -- At a panel discussion on the problem of violence against women, Radhika Coomaraswamy told of a young Nepalese girl who eloped with a young man -- who then placed her in a brothel in India before disappearing. The tale reflects the complex connection between violence against women and the abuse of basic human rights around the world. (January-March 2003)In Europe, businesspeople apply spiritual insights to economic problems
Restructuring often means laying off workers in the search for greater efficiency. Since 2000, the European Bahá'í Business Forum (EBBF) and the International Labour Organization have produced a joint paper and sponsored a series of workshops, all on the topic of "socially responsible enterprise restructuring," which among other things, consider the application of spiritual principles to economic problems. (January-March 2003)In Johannesburg, a shift in emphasis on sustainable development
At the World Summit on Sustainable Development, governments reaffirm the basic agenda of the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio while stressing an urgent need to fight poverty; a new partnership with civil society is forged. (July-September 2002)World leaders promise to create "A World Fit for Children" at UN Special Session
-- UNITED NATIONS - The world has changed greatly in the dozen years since world leaders last met to discuss how to better help and protect the world's children.Partnership a key theme in lead up to the World Summit on Sustainable Development
UNITED NATIONS - Among the outcomes of the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro was an unprecedented coming together of civil society from all sectors on a global scale. Some 30,000 representatives of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) concerned with a wide range of issues gathered in Rio, making the Summit among the most dynamic and colorful meetings of the decade.Amid controversy, the World Conference against Racism reaches consensus
-- DURBAN, South Africa - After nine days of intense and often difficult deliberations, governments represented at the World Conference against Racism (WCAR) agreed to an international action plan that condemns racism, xenophobia and intolerance in all forms and calls for concrete efforts by the international community to eradicate them wherever they may be found. (July-September 2001 /OC 13.2)Bahá'í International Community issues statement on HIV/AIDS
UNITED NATIONS - In a statement prepared for the United Nations General Assembly Special Session on HIV/AIDS, the Bahá'í International Community called for behavioral changes on the part of men and women - and for greater "love and compassion" on the part of religious leaders and people of faith - as part of an overall effort to address the worldwide HIV/AIDS crisis. (April-June 2001 /OC 13.1)Looking ahead to "Rio Plus 10," the UN begins to assess progress since the Earth Summit
UNITED NATIONS - Of the major United Nations conferences in the 1990s, none captured the world's imagination like the Earth Summit, held in Rio de Janeiro in June 1992. (April-June 2001 /OC 13.1)Final financial statement on the Millennium Forum issued, follow-up committee established
UNITED NATIONS - After a series of hearings held here in March, April and May on possible follow-up activities to the Millennium Forum, it was announced that the Millennium Forum Executive Committee had been dissolved and its work passed to an "Interim Millennium Forum Follow-up Committee." (April-June 2001 /OC 13.1)Creating a "World Fit for Children"
The upcoming UN Special Session on Children will review progress since the 1990 World Summit on Children, focusing on new problems and issues facing children and adolescents worldwide. (OC12.4 / January-March 2001)UN General Assembly again expresses concern over treatment of Bahá'ís in Iran
UNITED NATIONS - For the 15th time in 16 years, the United Nations General Assembly has expressed "concern" over human rights violations in Iran, once again specifically mentioning the "unabated pattern of persecution" against the Bahá'í community of Iran, that country's largest religious minority, and calling for its complete emancipation. (OC12.3 / October-December 2000)