The Environmental and Economic Crises This edition of The United Nations and You is not an action alert, but is designed, instead, to lead to a better understanding of what is emerging on the world scene in light of the environmental and economic crises. For many years the prosperity of a country has been based  Read more »

December 2011 As in years past  the Sisters of Charity Federation NGO Office is offering an alternative gift giving program for Christmas. The goal behind the program is to offer our members an alternative to traditional gifts in the name of their families and friends that will benefit the most vulnerable in our global community.  Read more »

November 2011 The United Nations and You: The Social Protection Floor Background One of the main issues that continues to arise at the United Nations is the need for a Social Protection Floor (SPF). The SPF corresponds to a set of basic social rights, services and facilities that all global citizens should enjoy. It can be  Read more »

October 2011 The United Nations and You “While humankind has made enormous progress in improving material welfare over the past two centuries, this progress has come at the lasting cost of degradation of our natural environment…continuation along previously trodden economic growth pathways will further exacerbate the pressures exerted on the world’s resources and natural environment,  Read more »

September 2011 The United Nations and You 11 Days of Global Unity 11 Ways to Change the World “11 Days of Global Unity,” first started by We, The World, is expanding this year to mark the tenth anniversary of the tragic events surrounding September 11, 2001 and the thirtieth anniversary of the UN resolution creating  Read more »

The United Nations and You The Financial Transaction Tax Background: A financial transaction tax (FTT) would impose a small fee, approximately 0.25% on the sale or transfer of stocks, bonds and other financial assets. A current bill in the House (HR755) would tax all currency transactions made by or on behalf of a US person  Read more »

The United Nations and You Women’s Empowerment Principles The Women’s Empowerment Principles are a set of Principles for business offering guidance on how to empower women in the workplace, marketplace and community. They are the result of a collaboration between the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM, part of UN Women) and the United  Read more »

February 2011 Update on the UN in the Congo MONUSCO took over from an earlier UN peacekeeping operation – the United Nations Organization Mission in Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC) – on 1 July 2010. It was done in accordance with Security Council resolution 1925 of 28 May to reflect the new phase reached in  Read more »

World Interfaith Harmony Week, February 1-7, 2011 In October of 2010 the General Assembly of the United Nations unanimously passed a resolution to recognize World Interfaith Harmony Week annually during the first week of February. The initiative was sponsored by HM King Abdullah II of Jordan who states that World Interfaith Harmony Week is “not  Read more »

October 2010: The United Nations and You The Millennium Development Goals The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) were adopted by the United Nations Millennium summit in September, 2000. Government leaders from countries around the world agreed to set these goals in order to reduce by half the number of people throughout the world living in extreme poverty  Read more »