On May 30th it took place the NGO Briefing where the Dag Hammarskjold Foundation and the Multi Partner Trust Fund Office presented their second annual Report:   « Financing of the UN Development System – Current Trends and New Directions. », looking at the implications of Agenda 2030 for the financing of the UNDS.   It provides a detailed overview of UNDS resources, amounting to $48,6 billion in 2014 and it identifies a variety of essays -still  under discussion- that will be high on the UN financing agenda over the coming years, such as : the different sources of finance and funding mechanism ;...

On May 24th IIMA attended a conference at the Un Library called «  Rethinking Development strategies after the financial crisis », an event organized in collaboration with the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development. The event, has been an opportunity to launch two books published by Unctad, called ‘Making the case for Policy Space’ and ‘Country Studies and International Comparisons’, which represent a sort of recipe to rethink the development strategies after the economic and financial crisis. During the conference two important facts came out :  the need to find a new type of economic policies that are different in respect...

On May 18, 2016 the Book Launch “Investment Treaties” – Views and experiences from developing Countries on the Reform of the Investment Protection Regime - took place at the UN library in Palais des Nations The panelists were Prof. Carlos Correa, Special Advisor on Trade and Intellectual Property, South Centre, H.E. Mr Xavier Carim, Ambassador of South Africa to the World Trade Organization, Elisabeth Tuerk, Chief, International Investment Agreement Section, UNCTAD, and Kinda Mohamadieh, Research Associate, South Centre. The event was introduced by  Martin Khor, Executive Director of South Centre. The debate on the implications of international investment treaties and the investor-state dispute settlement...

 On May 11th IIMA attended the event entitled “What’s trust got to do with Migration?” at the UN Library, in which the guests shared their personal stories, each focusing on issues related to migration and the importance of trust-building. The initiative was opened by Cornelio Sommaruga, Honorary President of Initiative of Change International (IofC) who stated the importance of consolidating and revaluating human security relating to integration in the global phenomenon of migration. This initiative was animated by the participation of Leonard Doyle, Spokesperson for the International Organization for Migration (IOM); Melissa Fleming, Chief Spokesperson for the United Nations High Commissioner for...

The International Volunteer Day (IVD) is celebrated at the United Nations General Assembly because of Resolution A / RES / 40/212 which was adopted in December 1985. Every day volunteers and organizations offer time and resources to promote peace and development in various communities around the world. This day gives us the opportunity to acknowledge their efforts and give recognition to the positive contribution that volunteering gives our societies. "I express my deepest gratitude to more than 6,700 UN Volunteers, 12,000 Volunteers UN online and a billion community volunteers around the...

On April 18th IIMA attended the event « Intern with a mission – The Youth 2030 Agenda: Empowering Youth and the Sustainable Development Goals » in Palais des Nations, organized by UNOG with the support of the Permanent Missions of Switzerland and Belgium. This year the event was an initiative to promote dialogue between UN officials, diplomats and UN interns about the topic of Youth empowerment through the Sustainable Development Goals: the scope was to underline the contribution that young people can give in shaping the world’s future. The event was twofold: the first part, consisting of four panellists, considered what SDGs can do for...

On April 4th, 2016, the International Catholic Center of Geneva (CCIG) organized a meeting between the UPR platform members with the Chief, Ms. Shahrzad Tadjbakhsh, and other OHCHR representatives from the UPR Branch.   The goal of the meeting was to provide information  in preparation of the 3rd cycle of the UPR, which will start in 2017.    The meeting offered the occasion to improve platform members contribution within the UPR and to discuss difficulties that NGOs encounter while working with this mechanism. The implementation of UPR recommendations on the ground was also directly addressed as a main challenge for the...

On March 21st, 2016 the Ambassador of El Salvador delivered a cross-regional statement regarding youth and human rights under Item 8 of the Human Rights Council . The statement was promoted by a core group of 9 States, namely El Salvador, Egypt, Cote d’Ivoire, Greece, Italy, Morocco, Portugal, Phillipines and Tunisia, and co-sponsored by 59 States from 6 continents. Nowadays, the number of youth is the largest the world has known, with a record number of 1.2 billion in 2015, and continues to increase according to the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs Population Division. Youth...

Every year during the Human Rights Council at the United Nations in Geneva, a full day is reserved on the rights of the child. This day presents an opportunity for representatives from countries and NGOs to meet and compare various realities and international initiatives regarding children. This year, on March 7th 2016, Mr. Benyam Dawit Mezmur (Chairperson of the Committee on the Right of the Child), Ms. Maud de Boer-Buquicchio (Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography) and Mr. Hernias Allen (Chairperson of the International Advisory Board of the United Kingdom) attended...

The 12th of February 2016, on the occasion of the International Day Against the Use of Child Soldiers, or “Red Hand Day” in support of the victims, IIMA assisted a talk at the UN Library on how to prevent the recruitment of child soldiers through the use of comic books. There has been a huge development in International Law to protect children from recruitment in armed conflicts including: the Additional Protocol to the CRC entered into force 14 years ago; the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development which targets specific measures to eliminate the worst forms of child labor, including...