Dear Reader,

We now put most of our climate change news and events (of which there are a lot) on the CovCAN website at covcan.uk. For example Coventry City Council held a climate change debate in June and Coventry Climate Action Network (CovCAN) held its first meeting.

To keep up to date you might like to subscribe to the weekly CovCAN newsletter.

24 – 30 June 2019 Coventry celebrated Fly The Flag for Human Rights with excellent support from the City of Culture Trust.

Selections of our other news and forthcoming events are given below. Visit our website to see everything we are doing.

Philip Brown

Secretary, UNA Coventry Branch
philip@unacov.uk

Recent News Highlights

See our website for more of our recent news articles.

CovCAN First Meeting

The first meeting of Coventry Climate Action Network (CovCAN) was held in Coventry Council House on 7 June 2019. Three Coventry City Councillors attended and made valuable contributions: Kevin Maton, Richard Brown and Rupinder Singh. See here for the minutes of the meeting.

Celebration of Life and Legacy of Kofi Annan

On 3 June UNA-UK was delighted to host the UN Deputy Secretary-General, Amina Mohammed, former President of Ireland, Mary Robinson, and special guests for an evening to celebrate the life and legacy of former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan Although many roads around Westminster were shut on account of President …

Coventry #LiftTheBan Day of Action

On 26 June an event in Broadgate was organised to show that Coventry fully supports the #LiftTheBan campaign calling for the right to work for those seeking asylum. It is a crucial time in the campaign as the Home Office has stated it will be reviewing the policy, so the campaign hopes to show that people across the country support …

The Elders call for end to Gulf brinkmanship

The Elders have called on all states to refrain from any actions or rhetoric that could further inflame tensions in the Gulf region and the wider Middle East. They specifically called on all concerned to encourage Iran to continue to abide by its commitments under the nuclear deal reached with the international community in 2015. They noted there is a …

Climate Emergency Finally Recognised: Coventry Council to lead the world by doing nothing differently…

Commentary on the Coventry Council Climate Change debate of 18-6-19 by Dr Alastair Smith, Tile Hill resident. In response to the international and local Climate Strike of May 2019, individual Coventry Councillors, including the Council Leader, stepped back from the global wave of action, stating unambiguously that they “would not declare a state of emergency”. Somewhat fortunately, following further local …

Climate Change Debate by Coventry City Council

On 18 June 2019 Coventry City Council spent several hours debating the following motion proposed by Councillor Jim O’Boyle and seconded by Councillor Patricia Hetherton: This Council confirms its commitment to addressing the issue of climate change and recommends the course of action that we are currently undertaking to respond to the climate change emergency You can watch a video …

Great March of Return

Since late March 2018, thousands of Palestinians have participated in the weekly Great March of Return (GMR) demonstrations in the vicinity of Israel’s perimeter fence between the Gaza Strip and Israel, calling for the Palestinian right of return and the ending of the Israeli blockade. The large number of casualties among unarmed Palestinian protestors, in particular the high number injured …

Court of Appeal rules against UK arms sales to Saudi Arabia

This article first appeared on UNA-UK website on 20 June 2019. The UK Court of Appeal has ruled that UK arms exports to the Saudi Arabia for use in Yemen are unlawful. The case, brought by our colleagues at the Campaign Against the Arms Trade, found that the UK failed to adequately assess whether UK exports might be used to …

Culture of Peace

The idea of peace has long been presented as one of the most cherished goals of humanity, a vital precondition to fulfilling its potential. Peace is an overarching expression that denotes the ambitious quest of living together in harmony. The creation of the United Nations (UN) with the objective ‘to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war’ is a …

Forthcoming Events

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

Entries Open Now for UN Global Youth Combat Change Video Competition 2019

From 24 May to 28 July 2019, young people from around the world can showcase their actions to combat climate change by submitting a video to the fifth edition of the Global Youth Video Competition. The final three winners will be invited to attend the UN Climate Change Conference in Santiago, Chile (COP 25). Their videos will be presented in …

World Humanitarian Day

Every year, the global community commemorates World Humanitarian Day on 19 August to pay tribute to aid workers who risk their lives in humanitarian service, and to rally support for people affected by crises around the world. Find out more about World Humanitarian Day at worldhumanitarianday.org

International Day of Peace 2019

Each year the International Day of Peace is observed around the world on 21 September. The General Assembly has declared this as a day devoted to strengthening the ideals of peace, both within and among all nations and peoples. Sustainable Development Goal 16 “Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions” calls for promoting peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, providing access …

United Nations Day

UN Day is 24 October, anniversary of day UN Charter entered into force.

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, to be held from 30 Oct to 2 Nov, will be held at the Centre International de Conférences Genève near the UN Office in Geneva. More information www.wimun.org facebook.com/wimungeneva

Counter-Terrorism Conference 2019

Counter-Terrorism Conference 2019

Following the very successful conference in 2018, UNA Coventry will again be running a Counter-Terrorism Conference in Coventry Council House on Wednesday 13 November 2019. The details are still being planned and will be announced here in September. Link to this page by using ctc.unacov.uk

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