13
May 2009: Interactive Thematic Dialogue of the UN General Assembly
on
 the
"Taking Collective Action to End Human Trafficking"
The day’s
dialogue examined the progress achieved over the last two years, and
draws upon last year’s thematic dialogue which focused on prevention
of trafficking and protection of victims. The dialogue used, as a
point of departure, the Background paper of the Secretary-General on
“Improving the coordination of efforts against trafficking in
persons,” and was organized into three separate, but interrelated,
panels comprised of leading officials from United Nations Global
Initiative to Fight Human Trafficking (UN.GIFT), civil society
experts and prominent officials from various Member States.
Between
two and four million men, women and children are trafficked
worldwide every year, and the number is growing, according to Stop
the Traffik: People Shouldn’t be Bought or Sold, a global coalition
dedicated to eradicating human trafficking. Stop the Traffik
operates in over 50 countries with some 1000 affiliated
organizations. Their work includes spreading awareness of the
growing threat posed by human trafficking, lobbying leaders with the
power to effect change and fundraising to help victims of human
trafficking and protect those vulnerable to the scourge.To see video
of the webcasts from the sessions, download the SG's background
paper, or read meeting summary
GO TO:
http://www.un.org/ga/president/63/interactive/humantrafficking.shtml
General
Assembly Summit on the World Financial and Economic Crisis and its
Impact on Development
The United Nations is convening a
three-day summit of world leaders from 1 to 3 June 2009 at
its New York Headquarters to assess the worst global economic
downturn since the Great Depression. The aim is to identify
emergency and long-term responses to mitigate the impact of the
crisis, especially on vulnerable populations, and initiate a needed
dialogue on the transformation of the international financial
architecture, taking into account the needs and concerns of all
Member States. The United Nations summit of world leaders in June
was mandated at the Follow-up International Conference on Financing
for Development, held in December 2008 in Doha, Qatar. Member States
requested the General Assembly President Miguel d’Escoto Brockmann
to organize the meeting “at the highest level”. The conference will
consist of plenary sessions and four interactive roundtable
exchanges among world leaders and representatives of the United
Nations system, including the World Bank and the International
Monetary Fund, as well as civil society organizations and the
private sector. The summit will produce an outcome document, a draft
of which is expected to be available in the first weeks of May. For
more information GO TO:
http://www.un.org/ga/econcrisissummit/
 United
Nations Economic Crisis Summit - Draft Outcome Document
The President of the General Assembly
(PGA) Miguel d'Escoto Brockmann has presented this draft outcome
document for the UN Conference which will take place June 1-3, 2009.
The EU, the US and Canada objected to the process of producing the
draft, arguing that the PGA has excluded member states from it. The
PGA explained that he has incorporated inputs from the
Co-Facilitators of the preparatory process as well as from his
visits to member states. The draft contains bold proposals to
transform the global economy in order to put a focus on people
instead of profit, including a new Global Economic Coordination
Council. To download Draft Outcome Document
GO TO:
http://www.un.org/ga/econcrisissummit/docs.shtml |
