OCHA in 2011 "Responding in a Changing World "

OCHA plays a key role in operational coordination in crisis situations. This includes assessing situations and needs; agreeing common priorities; developing common strategies to address issues such as negotiating access, mobilizing funding and other resources; clarifying consistent public messaging; and monitoring progress. OCHA also administers the cluster coordination system for the Humanitarian Coordinator, including meetings, data and information management, and reporting.

By ensuring that the right structures, partnerships and leaders are supported, OCHA and its humanitarian partners can better prepare for and more effectively coordinate humanitarian situations.

 

OCHA Strategic Framework

 

 

 

OCHA in 2011

OCHA serves as the secretariat for critical inter-agency coordination mechanisms such as the Inter-Agency Standing Committee, rapid-response tools, such as the United Nations Disaster Assessment and Coordination system, and the International Search and Rescue Advisory Group. OCHA also promotes efficient interaction between civilian and military actors in humanitarian operations, bridges gaps in environmental emergency management, and maps global emergency relief stockpiles on behalf of the whole humanitarian community.
 

2012 marks the 20th anniversary of the adoption by the UN General Assembly of the Declaration on the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance.

Press Release: OHCHR First UN International Day of the Disappeared, Tuesday 30 August 2011
(Statement by the United Nations Working Group on Enforced or involuntary Disappearances to mark the first UN International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances - 30 August 2011)


GENEVA (30 August 2011) - "They are not alone in their struggle. Today, the United Nations Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances marks the first UN International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances; a special day to spotlight this heinous crime, and to remind victims, including the families and associations of victims of those who disappeared, that they are not alone.

'He was arrested in 1997 and there has been no news since...' (Testimony of the mother of a disappeared person)

Unfortunately, enforced disappearances continue to be used by some States as a tool to deal with situations of conflict or internal unrest. We have also witnessed the use of the so-called 'short term disappearances,' where victims are placed in secret detention or unknown locations, outside the protection of the law, before being released weeks or months later, sometimes after having been tortured and without having been brought in front of a judge or other civil authority.

This very worrisome practice, whether it is used to counter terrorism, to fight organized crime or suppress legitimate civil strife demanding democracy, freedom of expression or religion, should be considered as an enforced disappearance and as such adequately investigated, prosecuted and punished.

'I have searched for him... I have searched for him for a long time all over the country...'

No one shall be subjected to enforced disappearance, and to end such a practice, States should continue promoting and giving full effect to the UN Declaration on the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, especially the definition of enforced disappearance as a separate and autonomous criminal offence in national legislation.

The inclusion of enforced disappearance as an autonomous offence, separate from similar acts like kidnappings, has proved to be effective in preventing and eradicating enforced disappearances. The Working Group stands willing to assist States who seek to include enforce disappearance in their criminal codes, according to international human rights standards.
'I was convinced I was going to find him, that it was a mistake, that they couldn't keep him, that they were going to set him free...'

Over the last thirty years, the families of disappeared persons have brought to the attention of the international community the extent of this odious crime. Largely due to their efforts, the International Convention for the Protection of all Persons from Enforced Disappearance entered into force on 23 December 2010.The willingness of a number of States to take on the commitment that 'no one shall be subjected to enforced disappearance' must also be stressed.

The Convention includes for the first time in a treaty the right of any person not to be subjected to enforced disappearance. It also recognizes the right of all the persons affected by enforced disappearance to know the truth about the circumstances of this crime, the progress and results of the investigation and the fate of the disappeared person.

Following the entry into force of the Convention, the Committee on Enforced Disappearances has been established. Like for many other thematic human rights issues such as torture, racial discrimination, discrimination against women, rights of the child, and a series of civil, cultural, economic, political, social rights, the Committee and the Working Group will coexist side by side, cooperating in the fight to prevent and eradicate enforced disappearances wherever they occur around the world.
'I used to make up reasons why he was arrested; like maybe it was because he did not register for military service, maybe this, maybe that...'

2012 marks the 20th anniversary of the adoption by the UN General Assembly of the Declaration on the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance. To commemorate it, we encourage all States and civil society to translate the Declaration into all languages and dialects, with no distinction, since all serve the purpose to assist in its global dissemination and the ultimate goal of preventing enforced disappearances.

On the UN International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances, which has been observed for many years in many countries, we pay tribute to the many victims, relatives of victims, human rights defenders, non-governmental organizations, lawyers and other individuals and groups who work untiringly and unstintingly, often in difficult circumstances, to denounce cases of enforced disappearance, discover the fate or whereabouts of the disappeared, and eradicate this terrible practice.

'So every minute I was expecting him to open the door and come home, but he never did come home...'
They are not alone."

 *************The Working Group was established by the UN Commission on Human Rights in 1980 to assist families in determining the fate or whereabouts of disappeared relatives. It endeavours to establish a channel of communication between the families and the Governments concerned, to ensure that individual cases are investigated, with the objective of clarifying the whereabouts of persons who, having disappeared, are placed outside the protection of the law. In view of the Working Group's humanitarian mandate, clarification occurs when the fate or whereabouts of the disappeared person is clearly established. It continues to address cases of disappearances until they are resolved.

The Working Group is comprised of five independent experts from all regions of the world. The Chair-Rapporteur is Mr. Jeremy Sarkin (South Africa), the Vice-Chair is Mr. Olivier de Frouville (France), and the other Expert-Members are Mr. Ariel Dulitzky (Argentina), Ms. Jasminka Dzumhur (Bosnia and Herzegovina),and Mr. Osman El-Hajjé (Lebanon).

For more information

The Working Group, please visit: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Disappearances/Pages/DisappearancesIndex.aspx
UN Declaration on the Protection of All Persons From Enforced Disappearance: http://www2.ohchr.org/english/law/disappearance.htm

International Day of the Disappeared - August 30, 2011

Recognizing the global magnitude of the crime as reconfirmed by the annual reports of the UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances

• News

Link: 

http://www.icaed.org

 

30 August 2011 - Today, the International Coalition Against Enforced Disappearances (ICAED) joins the families of the disappeared and the whole international community in giving tribute to the world’s thousands of disappeared people.  “ For them and because of them and their suffering families, our Coalition exists to knock at doors of all States urging them to sign, ratify and implement the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance (The Convention), ” stated Mary Aileen D. Bacalso, Focal Person of the ICAED and Secretary-General of the Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances.

The forty member-organizations of the ICAED from around the globe are conducting various creative ways of paying homage to the disappeared. In so doing, they reiterate their calls to their respective governments to finally accede to the anti-enforced disappearance Convention and recognize the competence of the UN Committee on Enforced Disappearances.  It is the body of independent experts that monitors the implementation of the anti-disappearance treaty by States Parties.  The ICAED believes that the Convention is a very powerful tool to put to a stop the crime of enforced disappearances and to combat impunity.

To date, 88 States are signatories and 29 are States Parties with only 12 that recognize the competence of the Committee on Enforced Disappearances.  Bacalso further noted that:  “ The number of States Parties to the Convention pales in comparison with the global extent of the crime, thus, intensification of campaign and lobbying to garner wide support to the Convention is imperative.  Hence, for States to be true to the universality, indivisibility and indepence of human rights, they must speed up the process of signing and ratifying this important treaty that provides the right to truth and the right not to be subjected to enforced disappearances.” South Africa has stil not signed the Convention on Enforced Dissappearances despite repeated committments to do so.

As the international community commemorates the International Day of the Disappeared, the ICAED vows to intensify its efforts at the national, regional and international levels to concretize its mandate of campaigning for as as many States ratifications as possible and ensure universal implementation of the Convention.

This year is the first United Nations (UN) official commemoration of the International Day of the Disappeared.  In 2010, the UN called on its system and other international and regional organizations as well as civil society to observe the Day starting 2011. Recognizing the global magnitude of the crime as reconfirmed by the annual reports of the UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances, the UN joins the families of the disappeared who have been commemorating this day for already almost three decades.

International Day of the Disappeared on August 30

A Global Conversation with the UN Secretary-General Live on Social Media Networks Tuesday, 13 September 2011, 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. (New York time)

A Global Conversation with the UN Secretary-General
Live on Social Media Networks

Tuesday, 13 September 2011, 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. (New York time)

Who:

Ban Ki-moon, United Nations
Secretary-General, and YOU.

What:

As world leaders prepare to gather in New York for the annual United Nations General Assembly, please join us in a global conversation with the UN Secretary-General, streamed live on Facebook, Twitter, Weibo, Livestream and UN Webcast. Our Moderator will put your questions to Mr. Ban.
Join in to ask the UN Secretary-General any questions you have about the United Nations and its work, such as:  What more can we do to stop wars from breaking out? What can one individual do in the fight against climate change? What’s it like to be Secretary-General of the UN?




It’s your chance to get answers straight from the top, on the international issues you care about.

Where:

• Facebook
• Twitter using #asktheSG
• Weibo (Chinese)
• Livestream
• UN Webcast

How:

Tell us that you are “Attending” the event by visiting the Facebook event page.
Post your questions on Twitter using #asktheSG in English, French, Arabic, Chinese, Russian, Spanish, Portuguese or Swahili, before or during the live event. Questions in Chinese can also be posted on Weibo.

Watch the event live on Facebook, Weibo, Livestream or UN Webcast.

• UN At A Glance
• Global Issues

Watch live streaming video from unitednations at livestream.com

CTBTO Executive Secretary, Tibor Tóth, reflects on the significance of the International Day Against Nuclear Tests

CTBTO - Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization



This day is a reminder to us all that a world free of both nuclear tests and nuclear weapons is urgent, necessary and achievable. Here, CTBTO Executive Secretary, Tibor Tóth, reflects on the significance of the International Day Against Nuclear Tests and how the test ban treaty will help shape mankind's future.




The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) bans nuclear explosions by everyone, everywhere: on the Earth's surface, in the atmosphere, underwater and underground. It makes it extremely difficult for countries to develop nuclear bombs for the first time, or for countries that already have them, to make more powerful bombs. It also prevents the huge damage caused by radioactivity from nuclear explosions to humans, animals and plants.

One hundred and eighty-two countries have signed the Treaty, of which 154 have also ratified it. Of the 44 countries that have to ratify the Treaty for entry into force, 35 have already done so. The remaining nine are: China, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Iran, Israel, North Korea, Pakistan and the United States. On 3 May 2010, Indonesia stated it had initiated the CTBT ratification process.

Since the Treaty is not yet in force, the organization is called the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Organization (CTBTO). It was founded in 1996, has over 260 staff from over 70 countries, and is based in Vienna. It is headed by the Executive Secretary, Tibor Tóth from Hungary.

The CTBTO's main tasks are the promotion of the Treaty and the build-up of the verification regime so that it is operational when the Treaty enters into force.

The CTBTO is building a verification regime to monitor the planet for compliance with the Treaty. When complete, 337 facilities worldwide will monitor underground, the oceans and the atmosphere for any sign of a nuclear explosion. To date, 80 percent of the monitoring facilities send data to the CTBTO's headquarters in Vienna, Austria, where the data are processed and analyzed and then transmitted to the 182 Member States.

On-site inspections to collect information on the ground in the case of a suspected nuclear explosion complement the verification regime.

International Day against Nuclear Tests - August 29

Secretary-General's Message for 2011

This year’s observance of the International Day against Nuclear Tests marks the twentieth anniversary of the closure of the nuclear weapons test site at Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan.  Over the course of the Cold War, hundreds of nuclear weapon tests left behind a devastating legacy for local citizens and their natural environment.  Having visited the scene of this dark chapter in human history, I wish to emphasize my support for the Government and people of Kazakhstan as they continue to cope with the aftermath.  I commend efforts to ensure that something positive may result from highlighting the horrific effects of these tests.
We urgently need new progress in achieving a world free of both nuclear tests and nuclear weapons.  Current voluntary moratoriums on nuclear weapon tests are valuable, yet they are no substitute for a global ban.  This is why it is urgent that the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty enters into force as early as possible.  It is a major element of the international disarmament and non-proliferation regime, and it deserves the active support of all States.
The vital importance of the Treaty’s entry into force was reaffirmed at the 2010 Review Conference of the Treaty on the Non-proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and included in the agreed action plan.  The Treaty's verification regime has proven to be a valuable instrument for international cooperation.  I am fully confident of its future ability to provide an independent, reliable and cost-effective means of verifying -- and therefore deterring --any violation of the Treaty's provisions.

For these reasons, I urge all States that have not yet signed or ratified the Treaty to do so as a matter of priority.  Achieving that goal would further reinforce the growing movement for a nuclear-weapon free world.  Every day, more and more people are viewing both nuclear tests and nuclear weapons as dangerous relics of the Cold War, long overdue for permanent retirement.  On this International Day against Nuclear Tests, I call on all States to take a bold step towards a safer and saner world for all.

Ban Ki-moon

Message from Ms Irina Bokova, Director-General of UNESCO, on the occasion of International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition - 23 August 2011

Message from
Ms Irina Bokova,
Director-General of UNESCO,
on the occasion of International Day for the
Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition
23 August 2011

The transatlantic slave trade is one of the most extreme violations of human rights
in history. The duration, extent and magnitude of this dehumanizing enterprise have
led to its universal condemnation. The International Day for the Remembrance of
the Slave Trade and its Abolition is an opportunity to reflect once again on this
tragedy and to pay tribute to those who struggled for its abolition in the light of the
universal recognition of human rights.

The commemoration carries special importance this year. 2011 marks the 10th
anniversary of the World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination,
Xenophobia and Related Intolerance that was held in Durban, where the slave
trade was acknowledged as a crime against humanity.

2011, is also International Year for People of African Descent. This is a chance to
examine the effects of the slave trade, whose ignominious practice has in part
shaped the face of modern society, across all regions of the world. This history can
also nourish our thinking about our multicultural and multiethnic societies today.
The history of the slave trade provides unique insight also to nearly four centuries of
linkages and exchanges among peoples and cultures. Each of us must be
empowered to learn about this past and to reclaim it, as a necessary step in
building new common ground. Managing cultural diversity and fighting prejudice
and racial discrimination raise high stakes in globalizing world. Ten years after the
adoption of the UNESCO Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity, our collective
responsibility is greater than ever before.


UNESCO plays a leading role in fostering understanding and recognition of this
history. Since the establishment of the Slave Route project in 1994, UNESCO has
worked to break the silence on the slave trade and slavery. UNESCO helps States
in supporting research, in enriching their own national history and in facilitating the
sharing of memories.

On this day of remembrance, UNESCO will launch the international competition on
the permanent memorial to the victims of slavery and the transatlantic slave trade
that will be built at United Nations Headquarters in New York. UNESCO is proud to
participate in this initiative launched by the Secretary-General of the United Nations.
The memorial will symbolise universal recognition of the tragedy as one that befell
not only Africans and people of African descent but humanity as a whole.
On this day, call on all UNESCO partners -- national authorities, international
agencies, civil society, artists and historians -- to carry this message forward and to
join us at the official site of the competition United Nations slavery memorial

Irina Bokova




Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition 23 August 2011