Dear Reader,

Our very first "PeaceTwalk" on Armistice Day went well, and gave rise to several ideas about how we could make it even more effective in the future.

Likewise the Restorative Justice Conference was very successful and gave rise to several useful ideas about how we could move forward to make Coventry a Restorative Justice City.

We are now working on project with students from Coventry and Warwick Universities to deliver workshops on Sustainable Development, War and Peace.

Thank you for your continued support of our work in promoting international and UN issues to the wider public.

Philip Brown

Secretary, UNA Coventry Branch
philip@unacov.uk

Recent News

Together First

Together First is a new global movement of organisations and individuals committed to pragmatic steps to improve our global governance system so that it is better able to address the most pressing risks facing the world. UNA-UK helped launch this new project to strengthen multilateralism at the inaugural Paris Peace Forum on 11-13 November 2018. In 2019, Together First intends to: Launch the …

Report on Restorative Justice Conference

On 14 November, Coventry Restorative Justice Forum held a Conference in Coventry Council House on the subject of RJ. Those who were delivering RJ to citizens of the city were able to describe their work, followed by a Question and Answer session with a panel of experts. One key question they were asked was "How can we make RJ more widely …

The Elders demand urgent climate action at G20 summit

Failure by G20 countries to take decisive, long-overdue action to cut emissions and end fossil fuel subsidies would be a global betrayal that threatens irreversible climate catastrophe, The Elders warned today. They noted that it is nearly a decade since the G20 nations first committed to phasing out fossil fuel subsidies in 2009. Doing so would reduce global carbon emissions …

Geneva UN process to stop killer robots is faltering

UNA-UK published this article on 29 November 2018 States met in Geneva last week to discuss how best to address the risks posed by lethal autonomous weapons systems, or, “killer robots”, at the annual meeting of the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW). The outcome was disappointing - states agreed to dedicate less time to the issue in 2019 and …

UNA-UK's Executive Director takes part in BBC's Moral Maze

UNA-UK’s Executive Director, Natalie Samarasinghe, took part in BBC Radio 4’s programme the Moral Maze. Yesterday’s show centred on the relevance of the United Nations following a visit to the UK by UN Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights Philip Alston. Professor Alston’s report highlighted shortfalls in UK policies and has been praised by anti-poverty campaigners, yet government representatives have accused Mr Alston of advancing …

UNA-UK disappointed by UK’s response to Foreign Affairs Committee inquiry on Humanitarian intervention

The UK government released its response to the Foreign Affairs Select Committee (FAC) report on the Responsibility to Protect and Humanitarian Intervention. The report called for the UK to establish a cross-government atrocity prevention strategy - something UNA-UK has requested for some time. UNA-UK is deeply disappointed to see the UK government reject the Inquiry’s core recommendation that the Government should adopt a new atrocity …

Global Youth Forum 2018

Global Youth Forum participants with Deputy Resident Representative of UNDP, Luciana Mermet MONDAY, OCTOBER 22, 2018 World Federation of United Nations Associations (WFUNA) held the 3rd Global Youth Forum from 19 to 21 October in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. Youth Delegates belonging to United Nations Association Youth Sections/Chapters from all around the globe gathered to discuss how we can engage and …

PeaceTwalk Report

A small but enthusiastic crowd of people gathered at the Park & Ride in the War Memorial Park at 1pm on 11 November, Remembrance Sunday and also the 100 anniversary of Armistice Day, to begin the world's first-ever PeaceTwalk. They walked around the park, visiting locations related to peace, guided by students from Coventry and Warwick Universities who are among the …

Water and Peace

Water insecurity is increasingly a cause of social and political instability threatening peace and security at all levels. However, the actual level of international water cooperation leaves much to be desired. In addition, water problems are becoming ever more central in the armed conflicts of our era, a tendency that serves as a dramatic reminder of the fundamental nexus between water, security and peace. …

#PeaceTwalk discussed on BBC

Philip Brown, Secretary of United Nations Association Coventry Branch, spoke briefly to Justine Greene on BBC Coventry and Warwickshire today about the world's first-ever #PeaceTwalk to be held at 13:00 this afternoon. Recording of interview

Paris Peace Forum: A Platform for Global Governance Projects

Peace is linked with global governance Peace is not just the suspension of war. It is made up of all the solutions that help minimize international tensions: cooperation to fight climate change and resource scarcity institutions to channel power rivalries and administer global public goods justice to assuage grievances and frustration regulation to address inequalities and abuses of power. The …

Forthcoming Events

Please get in touch if you want to help organise an event. Please contact events@unacov.uk

Can the UN Deliver and Build a Peaceful World?

Warwick United Nations Association are delighted to have Heidi Meyer Master of Lord Leycester Hospital in Warwick to come and address our Association on 12 January 2019. She will talk on the subject Can the UN Deliver and Build a Peaceful World? Heidi will base her answers on her personal experience of many years in war zones and post conflict …

WFUNA International Model UN (WIMUM) 2019

WIMUN offers the most accurate simulation of the United Nations by using the WIMUN approach and features training and briefings delivered by UN officials. WIMUN Geneva will be held at the Centre International de Conférences Genève near the UN Office in Geneva. More information www.wimun.org facebook.com/wimungeneva

Thank you for subscribing. If you find this newsletter interesting please tell your friends to visit the unacov.uk website and subscribe!

Please follow us on Twitter @UNACoventry, like our Facebook page and follow our LinkedIn page.