From the UN

Sister Durstyne Farnan, OP, Dominican Representative at the United Nations

Wishing you a wonderful 2022.  The U.N. is hopefully opening its doors to Civil Society. We have applied for a badge but have not received word yet if they will be granted.  There are many commission meetings/forums planned for the first half of the year. Here are a few:

CSocD58 Photo CR

February: CSOCD 60:  The theme is Inclusive and resilient recovery from COVID-19 for sustainable livelihoods, well-being and dignity for all:  eradicating poverty and hunger in all its forms and dimensions to achieve the 2030 Agenda.

The commission will be held from February 7-16, 2022. The Commission is the advisory body responsible for the social development pillar of global development.

66th session of the Commission on the Status of Women - banner

March: Commission on the Status of Women 66. The theme is Achieving gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls in the context of climate change, environmental and disaster risk reduction policies and programs. The dates are March 14th to 25th 2022.

A group of people posing for a photo Description automatically generated with medium confidence

The Twenty-First session of the Indigenous Peoples Forum will be held April 25 – May 6 at the UN building at this moment.  The priority theme is “indigenous peoples, business, autonomy and the human rights principles of due diligence including free, prior and informed consent.

The International Migration Review Forum 2022: This will be the first Review Forum. It will be held May 10-13, 2022, at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. It is the primary intergovernmental global platform for Member States to discuss the progress on the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration, and how it relates to 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The forum will be preceded by a one-day informal interactive multi-stakeholder hearing on Monday, 9 May 2022.

COP 26 FINAL OUTCOME DOCUMENT

GLASGOW CLIMATE PACT

A Final summary of the outcomes not covered in previous UN Update

January 14, 2022

Affirmed Temperature Level:

  • Countries reaffirmed the Paris Agreement goal of limiting the increase in the global average temperature to below 2 degrees C.
  • All agree that we are in a critical decade when carbon dioxide emissions must be reduced by 45% to reach net zero mid-century. COP26 called on all countries to strengthen their action plans next year instead of 2025.

Fossil Fuel

  • The Climate pact calls for a phase down of coal and a phase out of fossil fuel subsidies these were “two key issues that had never been explicitly mentioned in a decision at climate talks before – despite coal, oil and gas being the key drivers of global warming”. (Ms. Martina Volpe Donlon, Climate Communications Lead at the United Nations)
  • According to the UN official, Glasgow signaled “an accelerated shift away from fossil fuels and towards renewable energy”. 
  • A call to move away from fossil fuels just before COP 26 came to end, weakened the full impact of this “phase down” vs a “phase out.”

Dues

  • Each country failed to deliver US $1000 billion a year for developing countries.  

Loss and Damage

  • For the first time at COP 26 countries were focused on loss and damage. This was a good follow up to what is known as the Santiago Network that connects vulnerable countries with providers of technical assistance to address climate risks. 

Forests

  • One of the most important outcomes was the conversation on Forests.  137 countries took a landmark step and committed to halting and reversing forest loss and land degradation.
  • South Africa, United Kingdom, France, Germany U.S. A. and the European Union announced a ground breaking agreement to support South Africa with $8.5 billion over the next three year

NEXT: Conference Of Parties (COP) meeting of the Parties to the Paris Agreement from Monday, November 7 to Friday, November 18, 2022 in Egypt.

United Arab Emirates prior to the United National General Assembly 2023.