The annual United Nations Day will be on 24 October  – you are “invited” to learn more about the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDG) and where the world is at with only five years left to meet the targets.

Led by the United Nations Association-USA and local chapters (perhaps in your own locale), key-noters and workshops on this day will be devoted to updates and what strategies still need to be employed to meet the 2015 targets set by the world body.

There are other ways to learn about the MDGs…

Although there has been measurable improvement in childhood education, many more of the world’s people are are falling into poverty, while the goal of the MDGs is to “eradicate poverty.” Another achievable target of 86% success is that of providing those in the developing countries with drinkable water of the current trend continues.

One strategy was that each country would devote .7% of their foreign policy budgets to this aim; the United States currently designates .4%. However, for the first time, US trade policies are being incorporated into the strategies with a coalition group of representatives from the departments of State, Treasury and Trade participating.

The annual United Nations Summit will be held in New York on 20-22 September 2010.

Leading up to the Summit will be an NGO-sponsored Stand Up for MDGs” campaign on 17-19 September. Groups that are endorsing this are: US Mayors’ Conference, the United Nations Development Programme, the United Nations Global Compact – an initiative by businesses aligning their strategies to those of the MDGs, and the UN Non-Governmental Liaison Service, in which IFUW is a partner.

For Women Graduate-USA members, of the eight categories, our organizational focus is on Universal Education and Gender Equality.

From the Advocates for Human Rights

January is a month in which people around the world celebrate religious freedom and the key role that faith and spirituality have played in solving global challenges. This edition of Rights Sites News is dedicated to the fundamental right of every human being to freedom of thought, conscience, and religion and commemorates U.S. National Religious Freedom Day (January 16th), World Religion Day (January 17th), and Martin Luther King Day (January 18th).

Religious leaders and teachers play a significant role in explaining and defending human rights within their communities. Part of their role includes transmitting the importance of mutual understanding among people and groups of different beliefs. It is important that children learn from an early age about different faiths and to respect those who have different beliefs. The Convention on the Rights of the Child emphasizes this point: “Children have the right to know about their own cultural identity but also about cultures and civilizations different from their own.”

As we commemorate these three days in January, let us remember that the universal values we celebrate transcend the boundaries of religion, ethnicity, gender, and geography and help us to build a culture where we, the peoples of the world, can address together our common global concerns in a holistic, positive, and transformative way and “live together in peace with one another” – thus realizing the core objectives and universal principles stated in the UDHR.

On December 18th join advocates from around the country to commemorate the 30th anniversary of CEDAW, the treaty for the rights of women. Contact the White House to urge President Obama to lead ratification efforts of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women [CEDAW]. The treaty needs visible leadership and support from the President to gain Senate advice and consent.  Actions on December 18 will include call-ins, emails, and postings on Facebook, Twitter and other social networking sites maintained by the White House and the President.  We hope you and your organization will participate.

The information can be found here, or you can contact Abigail Long, Programs Coordinator of Citizens for Global Solutions at (202) 546-3950 x105. Achieving a high volume of calls, emails, and online posts will help convey our message of urgency and make this day successful. Please let us know if you will seize this opportunity for your networks to participate in this key event. Below are details about how to send a message to the White House on December 18.
1. CALL-IN: Call the White House comment line at 202.456.1111 before 5 pm Eastern on December 18th. The line is manned by operators, to whom you will relay the following message, and there is no answering machine capability after 5 pm, so you must call during the day.
Suggested script:
Option (1) Where is CEDAW?  President Obama, I’m asking you to take the lead to get the Treaty for the Rights of Women (CEDAW) ratified. The treaty is critical to ending violence against women and girls and for ensuring economic opportunity.  Please act now. Thank you.
Option (2) Mr. President, I urge you to demonstrate your commitment to women’s human rights globally by actively supporting ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). We need your strong leadership to move the Senate to take up this treaty. Thank you.

2. SOCIAL NETWORKING CAMPAIGN: If you use any social networks like Facebook or Twitter, leave your comment for the White House on  between now and December 18th. 

UNIFEM, is taking the “Say No” campaign one step further and launch a new platform for action, Say NO – UNiTE to End Violence against Women, starting on 6 November 2009.

Say NO – UNiTE will encourage individuals, organizations and governments to take action to stop this pervasive human rights violation: up to 70 percent of women experience sexual or physical violence from men in their lifetime! Through the power of the Internet and social media, we will count and report on each action — and connect Say NO – UNiTE supporters to each other as part of an unprecedented global movement for change.

Say NO’s initial goal is to reach 100,000 actions by March 2010. Let us count you in!

Here’s how you can help:
1.    Inspire others: Let us know your ideas for actions to take, such as volunteering at a domestic violence hotline, signing a petition to support policies that protect women from abuse or hosting a bake sale to raise money. We know that you have many more ideas and we will share them on the Say NO web site. Just reply to this email.
2.    Add to our list of blogs: Do you have a blog? Write for one? Know of blogs you think could be partners on the issue? If so, please email our associate Hugh McMullen(hmcmullen@fenton.com) with the blog names and the links. We will include them in our outreach.
Once the platform is officially launched, we hope you will be among the first to sign up and have your own action counted toward our initial 100,000 actions goal. Together we can expand the global Say NO coalition of people determined to put an end to violence against women.

Sincerely,
Nanette Braun
Head of Communications, UNIFEM

Are you participating in the 5th Annual Celebration of “11 Days of Global Unity” Sept. 11-21? This is an annual worldwide promotion of peace, justice, and environmental sustainability that includes more than 700 events in over 60 countries around the world. It culminates on September 21st, the U.N. International Day of Peace. Hope you will all do your part to promote global peace — and as women we should consider our roles in achieving peace, starting with the United Nations Resolution #1325.