Representing Mercy International Association at the United Nations.
In continuing to promote the vision of Catherine McAuley, the
Sisters of Mercy established Mercy Global concern (MGC) in 1998,
in order to bring the Mercy spirit to the United Nations (UN),
the one forum in the world where all nations have the potential
to meet as equals. MGC is the mechanism by which all those associated
with the Sisters of Mercy may interact with the UN system. At
the UN, Sisters of Mercy can advocate for the less privileged
and make explicit preferential options within a huge network
of international bodies.
Director: Deirdre Mullan rsm
777 United Nations Plaza 6th Floor
New York,
NY 10017
USA Ph: +1 646 227 1878 Fax: +1 646 227 1879 Email:mercyun@aol.com
Bridging The Gap between Policy and Practice
October 13-24, 2008
The 2008 Bridging the Gap Conference which began on October 13, 2008 ended on October 24. This year again we managed to attract Sisters of Mercy from throughout the Mercy World to this conference.
We want at the outset to express our appreciation and strong support for the adoption by the 46th Session of the Commission for Social Development of the theme Social Integration with a two-year work cycle. We assure you that we are fully committed to using this opportunity to draw on the extensive experience of our own organisations in the field, and on as wide a range of civil society actors as possible.
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Briefing Paper Number 1, December 2008
World Aids Day - December 1, 2008
The 1st of December, World AIDS Day, is the day when individuals and organizations from around the world come together to bring attention to the global AIDS epidemic. 2008 marks the 20th anniversary of World AIDS Day.
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Reports
Report Number 1, October 2008:
UN - Real (By Cathy Solano)
My first view of the UN was on a Monday afternoon and I wasn’t that impressed. The 63rd GA had just finished, the metal barricades were still (untidily) in place at the front, the flags of most nations hung limply on the poles and there was a small, dispirited demonstration by a group of Tibetans calling on Ban Ki-moon to do more to stop the torture of their people by the Chinese.
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Special Reports
September 2008
Report 1: Reaffirming Human Rights for ALL
The 61st Annual Conference for Non- Governmental Organizations associated with the UN took place in Paris, France from September 3 – 5, 2008. This was the first year that the annual conference took place outside of the UN Headquarters in New York.
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Report 2: Protection of Internally Displaced Persons – the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement
Currently there are 26 million internally displaced people who have had to flee their homes because of conflict, climate change or because of natural disasters.
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Report 3: Keynote Address: Ingrid Betancourt: In a world that is pregnant with threat- Where is the Hope? Who has the Courage?
Former Senator of Columbia, Ingrid Betancourt who was released from FARC Guerillas in July 2007 gave the closing keynote address. Some of the key points from her presentation follow.
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Report 4: UN Democracy Fund
At a meeting I attended at UNESCO, Paris on September 3, 2008, Mr. Roland Rich, Executive Director of the UN Democracy Fund outlined how NGOs and Civil Society can access money from the UN Democracy Fund.
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Announcements
Announcement Number 2, December 2008:
World Gender Report
It is more important now than ever before for countries and companies to pay heed to one of the fundamental cornerstones of economic growth available to them—the skills and talent of their human resource pool. Women not only make up one half of this potential talent base, they also contribute to bringing in some different perspectives that are so important in a complex, inter-dependent and fast-moving world.
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Announcement Number 1, December 2008:
Civil Society Forum on Financing for Development
Today the world is consumed by an urgent series of crises: energy, food, climate, and finance that not only threaten the realization of the MDGs and the lives and livelihoods of hundreds of millions of people, in the North and the South, but also the stability of the world’s economies. The Northern governments and financial system are responsible for the current crises, but the costs and the impacts are paid for by the entire world, and by the poorest countries in particular.
Gender inequality has long been acknowledged as a cause for discrimination and violence against women and girls. The Beijing Platform for Action in 1995, expressed a strong affirmation of the equal sharing of responsibilities for the family by men and women stating that a harmonious partnership between (women and men) is critical to their well-being and that of their families as well as to the consolidation of democracy.
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Submission Number 5, November 2008
Dear Mr President-Elect, The people of the United States have chosen you to lead them. We rejoice in their choice and we salute you. We ask God’s blessing on you as you prepare to assume the leadership of this nation and to work with the community of nations.
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Submission Number 4, November 2008
Poverty is more than inadequate income or human development. Poverty is also about lack of voice, power, and representation. One effective way to address these various dimensions of poverty is through the empowerment and participation of poor people in decision-making that affects their lives. …
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Submission Number 3, November 2008
The Beijing Platform for Action, Section L, pledges to eliminate all forms of discrimination against girls, specifically addressing violence, education, economic exploitation and harmful cultural attitudes and practices.
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Submission Number 2, November 2008
With Copenhagen we affirm that “the aim of social integration is to create ‘a society for all,’” in which every individual, each with rights and responsibilities, has an active role to play.
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Submission Number 1, November 2008
Social integration of migrants is one of the greatest challenges facing almost every government and society in the world today. Globalization increasingly requires international mobility as both developed and developing countries seek the exchange of skills and labour.
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Commissions
Commission on Social Development
Climate Change: The United Nations and the World at Work;
February 11-12, 2008 – United Nations Headquarters.
Commission for the Status of Women
Commission on the Status of Women which begins Next week in NY. February 26 - March 7, 2008 The Theme this year is: Financing for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women
Mercy Global Concern, representing the Sisters of Mercy at the UN will endorse this letter as part of the Global Call to Action Against Poverty.
This letter will be sent to all UN Government Missions in advance of the UN High Level Event on MDGs on September 25.
The letter is the result of a consultation with a number of
organisations including GCAP working groups. We hope that you will be able to add the weight of your organisations voice to these important comments and demands by signing the attached letter.
