The fiftieth session of the Commission for Social Development on the priority theme Poverty Eradication from 1 to 10 February 2012 has come to a stormy end with a vote on the resolution and the US dissociating itself from the resolution and also the EU abstaining from the vote! Still for the NGOs it was a success [...]

Edmund Rice International (ERI), an advocacy non-governmental organisation (NGO), supported and sponsored by the Christian Brothers and the Presentation Brothers, has had a significant success with the United States government. In 2010, ERI submitted a report on the issue of migrant workers in the United States whose conditions of employment were such that they amounted [...]

The UN DPI had a special session for the NGOs  on ‘Greening the Value Chain for a Sustainable Future’ commemorating the World Day of Justice 20th Feb. It was a two hour programme and can be viewed in the UN Webcast for 16th Feb. http://www.unmultimedia.org/tv/webcast/2012/02/dpi-ngo-briefing-greening-the-value-chain-for-a-sustainable-and-equitable-future.html The following is the SG’s message that was presented by an ILO expert. Secretary-General’s Message [...]

Rio+20 Conference is a major summit of all time as stated by UN Secretary General Ban Ki moon. It is hoped that it will bring the world leaders together for the triple agenda – poverty eradication, new model of economic growth and human wellbeing as the subject of Rio. There is a lot of anxiety [...]

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (B&MGF or the Gates Foundation), the largest transparently operated private foundation in the world, is opening up applications for grant awards. The primary aims of the Seattle-based foundation are to enhance healthcare, reduce extreme poverty globally, and expand educational opportunities and access to information technology. The Gates Foundation “encourages youth organizations, socio-cultural organizations, community organizations, [...]

The 50th Session of the Commission for Social Development is taking place for the next two weeks at the United Nations in New York. The Commission is committed to finding ways to eradicate poverty in the world. The eradication of poverty is at the heart of the work of Presentation Sisters around the world, especially [...]

MESSAGE TO SEMINAR marking the 70th Anniversary of the “Declaration by United Nations” organized by the University of London School of Oriental and African Studies London, 18 January 2012 Delivered by Dame Margaret Anstee, former United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Special Representative of the Secretary-General in Angola It is a pleasure to convey greetings to the [...]

Do you believe that every individual in this world has the right to clean water, education, and adequate housing? In order to eradicate the extreme poverty of the world, The International Labour Organization (ILO) and the World Health Organization (WHO) have coordinated the Social Protection Floor Initiative (SPF-I) as a joint UN effort to build [...]

The first draft of recommendations (zero draft of the Rio+20 Conference outcome document), titled “The Future We Want” was released this week. The draft will form the basis for negotiations by countries in the lead-up to the Rio+20 meeting in Brazil in June this year. It can be accessed at http://www.uncsd2012.org/rio20/. Mr.  Sha Zukang, Secretary [...]