GFDD Attends Seminar on Effective Engagement at the UN, organized by United Nations Association of the United States of America

On Tuesday May 6, 2014, GFDD attended an engaging seminar at the offices of the United Nations Association of the United States of America (UNA USA) entitled “The UN and you: Guiding Effective Engagement”.

The meeting helped to provide Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) with an overview of the role of UNA USA and how it fits in to the United Nations System as a whole.

Chris Watley, Executive Director of UNA USA, gave an overview of the history behind UN associations generally, explaining that there are around 100 UN Associations throughout the world. He stressed that the relationship between CSOs and the UN Secretariat very much depend on the desire to collaborate of the acting UN Secretary-General. As a result of this he warned that CSOs pay close attention to the nature of their relationship with him, given that this may affect
how involved they can become in UN conferences. To date, Mr. Watley reassured attendees that UN SG, Mr. Ban Ki-Moon has been effective at engaging with civil society, particularly following the UN’s latest Conference on Sustainable Development (“Rio+20”).

Commenting on the role of UNA USA within this framework, Mr. Watley confirmed that UNA USA has aimed to connect the voices of Americans and US CSOs to the UN since its inception 70 years
ago. He stressed that gender equality has been noted as the most important theme for US based CSOs.

Stepahnia Piffanelli, Deputy Director of the Washington DC-based, United Nations Information Center (UNIC) next gave a presentation on the function of UNIC. Explaining that UNIC helps to relate the work of CSOs and developments in Washington DC back to UN headquarters in New York, Ms. Piffanelli explained
that CSOs are the perfect forum for advancing contributions of individuals to the post 2015-development agenda. She commented that, thanks to the close relationship of the UN SG and the President of the World Bank (WB), UNIC had noticed an increase in the amount of International Finance Institutions. In light of this important development, she highlighted the importance of Washington DC in the International Policy arena.

Jordie Hannum, director of the Better World Campaign gave further insight on the structure and purpose of the United Nations. Mr. Hannum highlighted the work of the UN and confirmed that the big UN items at the moment include the post-2015 development agenda, climate change and peace keeping (the latter requiring $9 billion a year of investment from the UN, $2.5 billion of which is raised by the USA). Later commenting on the position of the US
Congress regarding the United Nations, Mr. Hannum stated that the US position is often misunderstood. He explained that there is support for the UN among congress representatives; however they are often too afraid to make their voices known for fear of losing their seat through reprisals from their electorate. As a result of this dilemma, Mr. Hannum explained that only the critiques of the UN have their voices heard in the media, which gives the impression that there is a significant anti
UN voice in the US, when this is not the case in reality.

Aaron Etra, Co-Chair of the UNA Council of Organization, gave the final presentation of the day highlighting the importance of the 65th Annual UN Department of Public Information NGO Conference (DPI NGO Conference) taking place at UN headquarters in New York on 28 – 29 August 2014, as the event will focus on the
post-2015 Development Agenda. He explained that the conference is an opportunity to showcase the civil society’s opinion on the post 2015 development agenda as the declaration to be issued by this conference will be considered by the UN Secretary General.

Taking the floor at the conclusion of the seminar, Diane Whitehead, Co-Chair, UNA Council of Organization explained that UNA USA would be hosting its June 8, 2014 General Assembly meeting in Washington DC to provide members with an opportunity to meet all the representative of the regional chapters of UNA USA.

This engaging seminar was followed by a networking session for the event’s participants. This provided GFDD with an opportunity to announce its future involvement during the DPI NGO Conference as
co-facilitator of the event’s official declaration.

About UNA USA
The United Nations Association of the United States of America (UNA-USA) is a membership organization dedicated to inform, inspire, and mobilize the American people to support the ideals and vital work of the United Nations. For 70 years UNA-USA has worked to accomplish its mission through its national network of Chapters, youth engagement, advocacy
efforts, education programs, and public events. UNA-USA is a program of the United Nations Foundation. UNA-USA and its sister organization the Better World Campaign represent the single largest network of advocates and supporters of the United Nations in the world. Learn more about UNA-USA’s programs and initiatives at www.unausa.org.

Related links
http://www.unicwash.org/
http://www.betterworldcampaign.org/
http://www.unausa.org/