International Day for Countering Hate Speech 2022; June 18th.

FORUM: "FIGHTING HATE SPEECH: GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES". International Day on Countering Hate Speech 2022

                     

In May 2019, the United Nations Strategy and Plan of Action on Hate Speech was launched highlighting that a disturbing groundswell of xenophobia, racism and intolerance is being observed around the world. Social media and other forms of communication are being exploited as platforms for bigotry. Public discourse is being weaponized for political gain with incendiary rhetoric that stigmatizes and dehumanizes minorities, migrants, refugees, women and any so-called “other”.

Hate speech is a menace to democratic values, social stability and peace. As a matter of principle, hate speech must be confronted at every turn and be tackled in order to prevent armed conflict, atrocity crimes and terrorism, end violence against women and other serious violations of human rights, and promote peaceful, inclusive and just societies.

The Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief addressed increasing limitations on freedom of expression related to religion or belief that take the form of anti hate speech laws, read the 2019 report (A/HRC/40/58).

EVENTS "NO TO HATE." International Day to Counter Hate Spech 2022

Hate speech and incitement to hatred or violence. Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief

Violence in “the name of religion” is often manifested through targeted attacks on individuals or communities, acts of extremism or terrorism, communal violence, State repression, discriminative policies or legislation and other types of embedded structural violence. Incidents involving hate speech, negative stereotyping, and advocacy of religious or national hatred have resulted in killings of innocent people, attacks on places of worship and calls for reprisals. Such violence also disproportionately targets religious dissidents, members of religious minorities, converts or non-believers.

The UN Rabat Plan of Action stresses the collective responsibility of public officials, religious and community leaders, the media and individuals, and the need to nurture social consciousness, tolerance, mutual respect, and intercultural dialogue to prevent incitement to hatred.

Read the Special Rapporteur’s reports on violence committed “in the name of religion” (A/HRC/28/66) and on the need to tackle manifestations of collective religious hatred (A/HRC/25/58).

World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought 2022; June 17th.

FORUM:"Rising up from drought together.''  World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought 2022.

Drought is one of the most destructive natural disasters in terms of the loss of life, arising from impacts, such as widescale crop failure, wildfires and water stress. Exacerbated by land degradation and climate change, droughts are increasing in frequency and severity, up 29% since 2000, with 55 million people affected every year. By 2050, droughts may affect an estimated three-quarters of the world’s population. It’s a global and urgent issue. Follow the converstion with the hastags #United4Land

EVENTS How can we contribute from gastronomy to fight against desertification?
Join us for a culinary experience for the World Day to Fight Desertification and Drought.
on June 16th, 2022 at 18:00, Arab House, Madrid.

Statements

• Statement by QU Dongyu, FAO Director-General on World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought 2022; June 17th.
• Statement by Ibrahim Thiam; UNCCD Excecutive Secretary on World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought 2022; June 17th.
• Ms. Patricia Espinosa, Executive Secretary United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
• Ms. Elizabeth Mrema, Executive Secretary United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity 

Key messages

• Droughts have always been a part of nature and the human experience but are now much worse largely due to human activity.
• Hardly any country is immune to drought, but all countries can prepare better to tackle drought effectively.
• Drought is daunting, as its effects on people’s lives and livelihoods are devastating. But through ingenuity, commitment and solidarity, it can be addressed successfully.
• Tools are available to assess drought risk. Solutions exist to ensure lives and livelihoods are no longer lost to drought.
• Everyone can participate in actions that increase our collective resilience because every action counts.
• Take action on this year’s Desertification and Drought Day and beyond
• Action can be taken at all levels, from citizens, businesses, governments and UN partners, everyone can come on board and lend a helping hand to rise up from drought together.

CAMPAIGN Droughtland campaign.

Thirsty for adventure? Dare to explore the one-of-a-kind experiences of Droughtland, the country with dryness of land, but not of spirit.

ACTIONS
The World Day to Cpmbat Desertification and Drought 2022 campaign  is a catalyst for action to be continued throughout the year:

1. As an individual, join the #Droughtland Campaign. Sign a pledge to keep your country from becoming a Droughtland – a nation plagued by drought; send a special Droughtland postcard or information booth; tag, post, share and inspire hope. Change your habits and share your actions. Visit https://droughtland.com/ to learn more.
2. Don’t stop on the day, schedule a monthly save-the-water-day. Grow your influence on- and off-line to promote sound water management and drought impact mitigation. Organize drought awareness events. Talk to your community. Seek out drought-mitigator champions and promote their initiatives.
3. Support communities to tackle drought head-on. No amount of early warning will work without action to protect the most vulnerable. Set up drought insurance programmes, establish food banks, build capacity and campaign for water-efficient food production.
4. Regenerate your land. When land is healthy, land is natural storage for fresh water. If it is degraded, it is not. Plant and consume drought-tolerant crops. Irrigate efficiently. Recycle and reuse water. Reduce water evaporation and soil erosion. Opt for a diverse plant-based diet.
5. Engage with schools. Educate, communicate and activate through children and youth.
6. Investigate and disseminate practical drought resilience ideas and inform local communities about the most appropriate actions for their soil and land types. Invest in projects that promote solar-powered water pumps and rainwater harvesting for drought-prone communities.
7. Share your stories about drought risks and resilience with the world.

World Elder Abuse Awreness Day 2022; June 15th.

 FORUM: "Combatting Elder Abuse." World Elder Abuse Awareness Day 2022.

This year, WEAAD coincides with two important events. The first is the start of the United Nations Decade of Healthy Ageing (2021-2030). This marks the beginning of ten years of concerted, catalytic and sustained collaboration with diverse stakeholders on improving the lives of older people, their families and their communities. The second is the 20th milestone of the Second World Assembly on Ageing and the fourth review and appraisal of the implementation of the Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing (MIPAA). These provide an opportunity to generate renewed momentum for international action to advance the ageing agenda.

MIPAA represents the first time Governments agreed to link questions of ageing to other frameworks for social and economic development and human rights. The 159 Member States who signed onto the MIPAA reaffirmed the commitment to spare no effort to protect human rights and fundamental freedoms, including the right to development.

This complementarity between MIPAA and a human rights framework can be easily shown in the area of elder abuse. MIPAA includes various references to elder abuse, including “Issue3: Neglect, Abuse and Violence,” which provides two objectives relating to the elimination of all forms of neglect, abuse and violence of older persons; as well as the creation of support services to address elder abuse. Both objectives include actions to review policies, enact laws and create awareness, information, training, and research initiatives. However, in the absence of an international standard on the rights of older persons, gaps between policy and practice, and the mobilization of necessary human and financial resources, as well as the uneven progress in the implementation of MIPAA continues. An international legal instrument for older persons would advance the implementation and accountability of MIPAA.

Statement from the Independent Expert on the enjoyment of all human rights by older persons.

EVENTS

World Elder Abuse Awareness Day 2022 "Combatting Elder Abuse'' Programme #WEAAD2022

Join the NGO Committee on Ageing-NY in its observance of World Elder Abuse Awareness Day on 15 June 2022. Content experts will address the confluence of two under-reported experiences of many older persons, particularly older women: elder abuse and disability. 

Discussion will explore vulnerabilities while incorporating a strengths-based perspective. Approaches and resources to reduce situations of potential or actual mistreatment will be highlighted, including passage of a global legal instrument to protect the rights of older persons.

Date and venue: Wednesday, 15 June 2022, 1:30 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
New York, USA.

SIDE EVENT

Combatting Elder Abuse: What’s next?Five priorities for the Decade INPEA Side event, UNECE Ministerial Conference on Ageing Rome, 16 June 2022 held in commemoration of the WORLD ELDER ABUSE AWARENESS DAY #WEAAD2022 

Date and venue: 16 June 2022.
Rome, Italy.

By standing up to adult abuse, you are also standing up for the human rights of older people everywhere.

3rd Annual World Elder Abuse Awareness Day (WEAAD) Conference hosted by the Arizona Department of Economic Security (DES), which will be back in person this year! Individuals, professional organizations and communities are invited to connect and advocate against abuse, neglect and exploitation of aging adults and residents with disabilities.

World Blood Donor Day 2022; June 14th.

FORUM: “Donating blood is an act of solidarity." World Blood Donor Day 2022.

For 2022, the World Blood Donor Day slogan is “Donating blood is an act of solidarity. Join the effort and save lives” to draw attention to the roles that voluntary blood donations play in saving lives and enhancing solidarity within communities.

On World Blood Donor Day 2022, the WHO is calling on people all around the globe to give blood in a gesture of solidarity. KEY MESSAGES

OBJECTIVES

The specific objectives of this year’s campaign are to:

• thank blood donors in the world and create wider public awareness of the need for regular, unpaid blood donation;
• highlight the need for committed, year-round blood donation, to maintain adequate supplies and achieve universal and timely access to safe blood transfusion;
• recognize and promote the values of voluntary unpaid blood donation in enhancing community solidarity and social cohesion;
• raise awareness of the need for increased investment from governments to build a sustainable and resilient national blood system and increase collection from voluntary non-remunerated blood donors.

ACTIVITIES

A particular activity that countries in the world are encouraged to implement for this year’s campaign is to disseminate to various media outlets stories of people whose lives have been saved through blood donation as a way of motivating regular blood donors to continue giving blood, and to motivate people in good health who have never given blood to begin doing so.
Other activities that would help promote the slogan of this year’s World Blood Donor Day may include donor appreciation ceremonies, social networking campaigns, special media broadcasts, social media posts featuring individual blood donors with the slogan, meetings and workshops, musical and artistic events to thank blood donors and celebrate solidarity, and colouring iconic monuments red.

Your involvement and support will help to ensure greater impact for World Blood Donor Day 2022, increasing recognition worldwide that giving blood is a life-saving act of solidarity and that services providing safe blood and blood products are an essential element of every health care system. Participation of interested partners is welcome at all levels to make World Blood Donor Day 2022 a global success.

Learn What you can Do during World Blood Donor Day!

EVENT
Host for world blood donor day 2022 events.

Mexico will host World Blood Donor Day 2022 through its National Blood Centre. The global event will be held in Mexico City on 14 June 2022.

HOW MUCH DO YOU KNOW ABOUT BLOOD DONATION?
WOULD YOU LIKE TO BECOME A DONOR?

International Albinism Awareness Day 2022, June 13th.

FORUM: "UNITED IN MAKING OUR VOICE HEARD." International Albinism Awareness Day 2022.

United in Making our Voices Heard is the theme of International Abinism Awareness Day 2022. The observance is celebrated annually on June 13th to celebrate the human rights of persons with albinism worldwide. Albinism is a rare, non-contagious, genetically inherited difference present at birth. In almost all types of albinism, both parents must carry the gene for it to be passed on, even if they do not have albinism themselves. The condition is found in both sexes regardless of ethnicity and in all countries of the world. Albinism results in a lack of pigmentation (melanin) in the hair, skin and eyes, causing vulnerability to the sun and bright light. As a result, almost all people with albinism are visually impaired and are prone to developing skin cancer. There is no cure for the absence of melanin that is central to albinism. Follow the conversation with the hastags #UnitedInMakingOurVoiceHeard, #AlbinismDay, #13june

ACTIONS

The theme was chosen because including voices of persons with albinism is essential:

- to ensure equality and inclusion
- to celebrate how groups of persons with albinism and individuals increase the visibility of persons with albinism in all domains of life
- to encourage and celebrate unity among groups of persons with albinism.
- to amplify the voices and visibility of persons with albinism in all areas of life
- to highlight the work being done by albinism groups around the world.

CAMPAIGN 
Urging all nations and communities to protect and fulfil the human rights of all persons with albinism and provide necessary support and care

On International albinism Awareness Day, the UN Independent Expert on the rights of persons with albinism, Muluka Miti-Drummond, pays tribute to those living with the condition and to those fighting to dispel the harmful myths fueling the discrimination, stigmatization and violence against them.

World Day Against Child Labour 2022; June 12th.

 FORUM: "Universal Social Protection to End Child Labour" World Day Against Child Labour 2022.

12 June marks the World Day Against Child Labour under the theme “Universal Social Protection to End Child Labour.” On this day, the ILO, together with its constituents and partners, is calling for increased investment in social protection systems and schemes to establish solid social protection floors and protect children from child labour.

Social protection is both a human right and a potent policy tool to prevent families from resorting to child labour in times of crisis. However, as of 2020 and before the COVID-19 crisis took hold, only 46.9 per cent of the global population were effectively covered by at least one social protection benefit. Coverage for children is even lower. Nearly three quarters of children, 1.5 billion, lacked social protection.

 STATEMENTS

In his statement for World Day Against Child Labour 2022, International Labour Organization Director-General, Guy Ryder, warns the choices made by governments now will make or break the lives of millions of children. He says social protection is one of the most powerful measures to prevent child labour, providing families with income security in difficult times.

EVENTS

• World Day Against Child Labour: High-level Discussion on Universal Social Protection to End Child Labour 

Friday, 3 June 2022 at 15:30 until 17:00 (Europe/Zurich)
High-level event organized by the International Labour Organization (ILO) during the 110th Session of the International Labour Conference, with the support of Alliance 8.7 and the Global Partnership for Universal Social Protection (USP2030). The discussion will focus on the ILO/UNICEF report on social protection and child labour, released at the 5th Global Conference on Child Labour in May 2022. This report demonstrates that a majority of studies on the links between social protection and child labour have identified a child labour reduction effect.
Hosts
Guy Ryder. ILO Director-General International Labour Organization (ILO)
Catherine Russell, Executive Director United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)

• 5th Global Conference on the Elimination of Child Labour

Durban, 15-20 May 2022.

PUBLICATIONS

For more information on social protection and child labour see the report: The role of social protection in the elimination of child labour: Evidence review and policy implications .

Durban Call to Actionon the Eliminationof Child Labour

We, the representatives of governments, employers’ organizations and workers’ organizations, together with United Nations Agencies, international and civil society organizations, businesses, children and academic institutions, the participants of the 5th Global Conference on the Elimination of Child Labour, gathered in Durban, South Africa and around the world, stand together in our commitment to prevent and eliminate child labour and forced labour; Welcoming the universal ratification of the Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182) by all ILO Member States, an historic first, which is also the most rapidly ratified Convention in the history of the ILO, and the decisive strides made by governments, employers’ organizations, and workers’ organizations resulting in a decline in child labour of some 86 million since 2000; Alarmed that, according to the 2020 Global Estimates of Child Labour, 160 million girls and boys remain in child labour, half of whom are in hazardous work; 112 million are in agriculture; and the recruitment of child soldiers continues; and that in the 2016-2020 period, child labour increased by 8.9 million, entirely among children aged 5-11; Noting with grave concern the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, armed conflicts, and humanitarian and environmental crises, which threaten to reverse years of progress against child labour; Convinced that meeting target 8.7 of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, to end child labour in all its forms by 2025, requires immediate, intensified, gender-responsive, wellcoordinated, multi-sectoral, multi-stakeholder, rights-based action to scale up efforts to eliminate child labour and forced labour; Recalling target 8.7, the Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182), the Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138), the Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29) and the Protocol of 2014 to the Forced Labour Convention, 1930, the Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957 (No. 105); the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and its first and second Optional Protocols; the United Nations Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Target 1.31 and the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child; Recognizing that decent work for all, including for women, in all their diversity, and adequate income for adults, inclusive and well-performing education systems, and adequate social protection systems are essential for child labour elimination and for protection against poverty, the main cause of child labour; Respecting children’s capacity to form their own views and their right to effectively participate and express those views freely in all matters affecting them; Recognizing the responsibility of businesses and their contribution to the elimination of child labour and forced labour by carrying out due diligence in their operations and supply chains and ensuring responsible and sustainable business practices that address the root causes of child labour and forced labour, in line with the Tripartite Declaration of Principles concerning Multinational Enterprises and Social Policy, and the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights; further acknowledging the role of guidance from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, including the Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises and Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Business Conduct. 

CALL TO ACTION 

We adopt on the twentieth day of May of the year two thousand and twenty-two this Durban Call to Action on the Elimination of Child Labour.

 We commit to scale up action to: 

I - Accelerate multi-stakeholder efforts to prevent and eliminate child labour, with priority given to the worst forms of child labour, by making decent work a reality for adults and youth above the minimum age for work. 

II - End child labour in agriculture. 

III - Strengthen the prevention and elimination of child labour, including its worst forms, forced labour, modern slavery and trafficking in persons, and the protection of survivors through datadriven and survivor-informed policy and programmatic responses.

IV - Realize children’s right to education and ensure universal access to free, compulsory, quality, equitable and inclusive education and training. 

V - Achieve universal access to social protection. 

VI - Increase financing and international cooperation for the elimination of child labour and forced labour

World Oceans Day 2022; June 8th

 FORUM: "Revitalization: Collective Action For The Ocean." World Oceans Day 2022.

 The ocean connects, sustains, and supports us all—but its health is at a tipping point. As the past years have shown us, we need to work together to create a new balance with the ocean that no longer depletes its bounty but instead restores its vibrancy and brings it new life. Follow the conversation with the hashtags #RevitalizeTheOcean

This film is narrated by Supermodel and Sustainability Advocate, Amber Valletta, who will be the host of year's event, Youth Climate Activist, Xiye Bastida, and Marine Biologist, Sheena Talma, who will be speaking this year's event.

See how States, Civil Society, Private Sector, and Intergovernmental Organizations are working to Revitalize The Ocean.

EVENT:  Join us to learn from the communities, ideas, and solutions that are working together to protect and revitalize the ocean and everything it sustains. Hear from thought leaders, celebrities, community voices, private sector and cross-industry experts, and ocean managers to discover how we can ignite collaborative change for the ocean and all that it sustains. 

UN World Oceans Day is a free, digital event streaming from 10AM-1:30PM EDT at UNHQ on 8 June 2022! 

This event is hosted by the United Nations Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea, Office of Legal Affairs, with the generous contribution of Oceanic Global, which is made possible by La Mer. 

CAMPAIGN: Join us for United Nations World Oceans Day 2022 on 8 June 2022, celebrating the theme "Revitalization: Collective Action For The Ocean"

Discover stories, resources, and videos to learn more about our shared blue planet.

Highlighting the communities, ideas, and solutions
 that are working to revitalize the ocean and all it sustains.

If you would like to attend the United Nations World Oceans Day event in-person, taking place on Wednesday 8 June 2022 at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, please register your interest in attending by completing this registration form.


Hosted by the Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of 
the Sea of the Office of Legal Affairs. Generous Contribution of Oceanic Global. Made Possible by La Mer.