Rapports annuels > Rapports annuels 1997

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Review of our Programme Initiatives and Activities in 1997

Human Rights for All

On December 10th, 1948, the General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), a document that would change the face of international law by having states agree to protect a clearly-documented list of rights for the people they governed.

On December 10th, UNA-Canada joined many other NGOs on Parliament Hill, our branches and other organizations across Canada, to launch the 50th Anniversary of the UDHR. On that day, UNA inaugurated a Listserv discussion group, inviting human rights organizational partners, new and old, to subscribe to the list and participate in an on-line forum for dialogue and debate on human rights. Long before December 10th, UNA distributed informational packages about the anniversary year to over 550 organizations across the country, encouraging them to become actively involved. Many of these organizations now consult our web site, with its key points of reference, a national calendar of events for 1997-98, and an ideas bank of activities for commemorating the 50th.

Work on an ambitious, inspirational, and educational Action Guide - A Human Rights Resource Manual for Secondary Schools, which promotes awareness of human rights issues and encourages participation in human rights initiatives, was also well under way in 1997.

As information becomes more readily accessible through the Internet, UNA-Canada has made sure that it has maximized its potential for outreach and impact, by establishing on-line forums for discussion, learning and action, that keep issues such as human rights at the top of the agenda.

Towards a Global Ban on Anti-Personnel Landmines

In early December, representatives from 120 governments gathered in Ottawa for the historic signing of the "Convention on the prohibition of the use, stockpiling, production, and transfer of anti-personnel mines and on their destruction", (the "Landmines Treaty").

Our activities in this area have been varied. Thousands of our members participated in an eleventh-hour media blitz across the country by placing over half a million "Ban Landmines" stamps on their letters, packages and holiday greeting cards. Many of our branches have sent letters, faxes and e-mails to foreign governments urging them to support the ban. Branches have also been active in promoting the "People’s Treaty Process" in their communities. The National Capital Region Branch was instrumental in promoting the "APM Detection and Removal Technology Research Competition". Through MAC, we forwarded recommendations to the Government that, among other things, an empty chair be left at the signing table to show that there was still a place in the convention for non-signatories. We also encouraged Canadian Ambassador to the UN, Robert Fowler, to call for the establishment of an International Day for the Eradication of Anti-Personnel Landmines.

As a member of the Mines Action Canada (MAC) Steering Committee, UNA-Canada contributed time, energy and ideas to the "Ottawa Process" and participated in the NGO Workshops that made up part of the landmines treaty signing conference. For the past year and a half, we have made sure that UNA has been a key player in the landmines process long before, during and after the signing of the treaty.

Global Network on Food Security

Our membership takes the issue of food security, and its human rights implications very seriously. Nineteen ninety-seven was an important year in our efforts to continue raising awareness among the general public about the commitments made at the November 1996 World Food Summit in Rome.

Since October 1995, the Global Network on Food Security (GNFS) has been promoting food security issues and policy on both a national and international level. After mobilizing various sectors of civil society for the 1996 World Food Summit, GNFS was an active participant in the follow-up to the summit. It brought food security issues to the attention of Parliamentarians through a special meeting of the House of Commons Standing Committee, and was included in both the American and Canadian consultations that developed the respective National Plans of Action on Food Security.

To bring these issues to the attention of the Canadian public, GNFS helped organize a series of televised programmes on the Canadian Public Affairs Channel. These included an interview with the Director of the World Food Summit about global goals for poverty and hunger, and a second-annual live broadcast from the House of Commons on World Food Day. It has also helped promote a greater understanding of food security issues by participating in the establishment of other groups and networks, including the founding in Brasilia of the Global Forum on Sustainable Nutrition and Food Security, and in Toronto, of four NGO Commissions.

By participating in UN and international conferences, and working in collaboration with non-governmental organizations, government departments, and consultative groups in Canada and around the world, UNA-Canada helps to link all Canadians to the peoples and problems of the world.

Traditional Technologies for a More Sustainable World

The "Sri-Lankan Field Demonstration on Sustainable Agricultural Technology and Urban Gardening" fosters a local commitment to the World Food Summit’s Plan of Action and "Food For All" campaign.

The project sought to demonstrate to Canadians, through educational presentations and a demonstration plot at the Agriculture Museum in Ottawa, the potential benefits of adopting farming practices employed in other countries.

Through grass roots Projets such as the Sri Lankan Field Demonstration, UNA-Canada helps to illustrate just how people can incorporate sustainable practices into their lives, and contribute to the safekeeping of the land for generations to come.

The Launch of the Rapport mondial sur le développement humain

This year’s Rapport mondial sur le développement humain, commissioned by the UN Development Programme, argues that eradicating poverty everywhere is more than a moral imperative — it is a practical possibility. The world has the resources and the know how, it argued, to create a poverty-free world in less than a generation.

As in past years, UNA-Canada, in partnership with the International Development Research Centre, was responsible for the Canadian launch of the report. The roundtable discussion generated tremendous interest from the general public and the media, many of whom interpreted Canada’s ranking as the "number one country in which to live", as setting a moral imperative on which the Provincial and Federal governments must act to eradicate poverty within Canada.

The media launch of this report is one of the ways in which UNA-Canada connects Canadians to seemingly lofty global issues—like the eradication of poverty—and helps them see the relevance these issues have to their own communities.

Good Governance and Democratization - the key to Sustainable Human Development

In late October, UNA-Canada invited parliamentarians and their staffs, representatives of Canadian development agencies, High Commissioners, practitioners, academics, lawyers, NGOs and senior officials from UN agencies to participate in a two-day conference on "Good Governance and Democratization: The Role of International Organizations". The UN Development Programme was a key partner in the event.

Attended by some 200 people, discussions focused not only on the UN’s collaborative efforts with member states to promote a more participatory, transparent and accountable government, but also on the lessons learned by Canadian development agencies and NGOs working in the field, and the policies and practices that have evolved from the experiences.

By generating public support for and participation in issues that are central to the UN’s activities—such as good governance and democratization—UNA-Canada provides Canadians with an opportunity to learn about issues that contribute to a more secure, equitable, and sustainable world.

Civil Society and the United Nations

In 1997, UNA-Canada began work on a feasibility study that explored the relationship between civil society (a definition that encompasses more than just non-governmental organizations) and the United Nations.

The final report of Phase I calls for a second phase of the project, essentially fact-finding and analysis, that would look, in particular, at the impact of civil society on the United Nations through a) the mega-conferences of the 1990s, b) regional NGO networks, c) and profiles on the experiences of a few UN agencies.

The project is even more timely and relevant following the announcement in Kofi Annan’s Track II UN Reform report in which he calls for a "People’s Millennium Assembly" in New York in the year 2000 to look at the whole relationship of civil society to the UN. As a precursor to the Assembly, UNA-Canada hopes to become involved in the planning of a "World NGO Conference" in the fall of 1999, that will emphasize its role as a mediator between the NGO community and the UN.

Visit of UN Secretary General Kofi Annan

Secretary General Kofi Annan joined UNA-Canada’s friends and supporters on his first official visit to Canada at a fundraising gala dinner held in Toronto in his honour.

In his key note address to the guests, His Excellency touched upon the increasing importance that the UN is placing on good governance—what many countries now recognize as one of the pillars of peace, prosperity and democracy. Inclusive and participatory in nature, good governance is generating a forum in which members of civil society can play a meaningful role. "Our duty, therefore," he said, " is not only to make talented and courageous people believe that their contribution to public service will make a difference—it is to make them understand that without them the mission of good governance will fail."

Public lectures by world leaders remain an important tool for educating Canadians about the important role that they can play on the world stage. Fundraising dinners also help our organization to expand its outreach into the corporate community, and to generate financial support for our ongoing programmes and activities.

Supporting the UN and Protesting its Financial Crisis

For over two years, the United Nations has been on the verge of financial collapse as it tries to reform itself. At the end of January 1998, Member States owed $2.85 billion to the regular and peackeeping budgets, with the United States alone accountable for $1.61 billion, or 56% of the amount.

In an effort to bring greater public and media attention to the UN’s financial crisis, UNA-Canada participated with the World Federalists in the Second Worldwide Vigil for the United Nations. The cities of Guelph, Hamilton, Montréal, Ottawa, Toronto and Victoria joined close to fifty other cities around the world in a peaceful demonstration to protest the on-going financial crisis at the UN. Days prior to the event, UNA sent a letter to the American Ambassador to Canada, stating that, "We believe that the United Nations is vital to a peaceful world. The United States used to be a strong defender of this position also, and we can only hope that the US Congress will soon come to its senses and pay its treaty share of the costs of the United Nations."

Many of our members also took up the challenge issued by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, and pledged their support for a reformed United Nations by writing to the Executive Coordinator for UN Reform, Maurice Strong. This seemingly simple gesture underscores the interest and attention on the part of Canadians to the key issue of UN reform.

Canada can be proud that it pays its assessments in full and on time. By working together with our branches, our members and other like-minded NGOs, UNA-Canada can continue to support the United Nations, and to promote a Canadian role that will bring its work from strength to strength.

Learning about the UN’s Procurement Market

The United Nations and its family of agencies constitute a lucrative procurement market of $3 billion. The UN system, however, represents a complex market which is not always the easiest to understand nor penetrate.

In 1996-97, UNA began to develop a procurement programme that would inform Canadian companies about the procurement opportunities available within the UN system. With many now calling for a stronger Canadian role in the area of procurement, UNA has begun a comprehensive programme to acquaint corporate Canada with a market that remains relatively untapped by Canadian companies. With helpful on-line resources already in place, and a revised—and substantially expanded—Second Edition of our popular Selling to UN Agencies: A Canadian Business Strategy planned for 1998, UNA is planning regional procurement seminars across the country.

Through its work on UN procurement, UNA-Canada is serving as a central focus point for Canadian companies keen to take advantage of the opportunities available in doing business with the UN.

Honouring Canadians Who Have Made a Difference

The Pearson Peace Medal has become a tradition at UNA-Canada. Every year we recognize a Canadian who, through his or her working life and voluntary commitments, has promoted equal rights and social justice for humanity.

On December 10th, International Human Rights Day, UNA’s Vice-President, Geoffrey Pearson, honoured Dr. Hanna Newcombe as the 19th recipient of the Pearson Peace Medal. Dr. Newcombe has dedicated her life to peace research and education; to equal rights for all; and to actively promoting social justice in her community. At age 75, Dr. Newcombe continues to edit the Peace Research Abstracts Journal and Peace Research Reviews and participates in conferences at local, national and international levels.

"Good governance", as Secretary General Kofi Annan said in a speech to UNA in December, "needs good people". UNA is proud of the annual tradition it has established of recognizing good Canadians who have personally contributed to the advancement of humanity in Canada and abroad.

Giving Young Canadians Their First International Work Experience...at the UN!

For many young Canadians, the closest they have come to experiencing the United Nations has been through their participation in a local Model UN, or a tour of UN Headquarters in New York.

In 1997, all of that changed. UNA-Canada, in partnership with the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, coordinated a youth internship programme that placed 25 young Canadians for six to eight months in a variety of UN agencies and programmes around the world. UNA-Canada selected the candidates and facilitated communications between the hosts and interns, while the agencies provided each intern with a rich professional experience and a launch pad to limitless international opportunities.

The International Youth Internship Programme has helped UNA-Canada not only strengthen its ties to the United Nations, but it has given us an opportunity to educate young Canadians about the UN, by letting them experience it first hand.

Seeking New Ways to Educate and Inform

In 1997, UNA has both embraced the new and exciting age of information technology, while not forgetting the emphasis it has always placed on personal contact and communication.

Basic Information services Throughout the year, UNA-Canada is actively involved in responding to countless inquiries from the general public about the United Nations and Canada’s role in the UN. In most cases, the questions are as diverse as the people asking them: young people doing research Projets on peacekeeping or poverty; University students preparing for Model United Nations simulations; citizen’s with queries about various international days, or the availability of certain publications; MPs and government officials seeking information about UN decisions, treaties or meetings. UNA provides services to them all.

Public education programmes UNA-Canada has a vast public education programme which is carried out, in part through a series of direct mail campaigns. Our programme focuses on global issues and has implemented an innovative feed-Retour mechanism which provides our supporters with an opportunity to act as social advocates for change.

UNA also produces fact sheets on such topics as International Human Development; The Funding and Financial Crisis at the UN; The Universal Declaration of Human Rights; Public participation, NGOs and the UN; Peacekeeping; and Canada’s Role in the UN.

Our new and informative newsletter, LIAISON, was launched at the beginning of the year. It is drawing more and more subscribers from across the country, keen for up-to-date news on the Association and the UN, and the unique Canadian perspective that LIAISON has to offer.

UNA-Canada’s web site For the past 50 years UNA-Canada has been the de facto UN Information Centre in Canada, and since May 1995, it has become the key electronic focal point for Canadians seeking information on the UN system. Through our web site, we provide Canadian perspectives on such key UN issues as food security, human rights, sustainable development and UN reform, while also offering a roadmap to the often confusing and intimidating maze of UN-related information on the Internet. We are also excited about our new role of monitoring the UN’s involvement in sustainable development. We find that UNA-Canada news, fact sheets, briefing papers, answers to frequently asked questions and school curricula material, help feed the increasing appetite of the Canadian public for news about the UN and our Association.