Dear Reader,

In November our volunteers helped Coventry Lord Mayor's Committee for Peace and Reconciliation run the very successful Young People's Conference on Peace and Reconciliation. We also ran our second Restorative Justice Conference.

But our main focus has been on Climate Change, and there is a lot happening in this field. First Coventry City Council is starting to update its climate strategy. And secondly the National Lottery is inviting bids for the first round of its £100 million Climate Action Fund.

Selections of all our news and forthcoming events are given below. Visit our website and the CovCAN 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.

Why is there a backlash against climate policies?

The following is a transcription of an episode from the BBC programme The Inquiry which can be heard and downloaded from https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w3csyth0 About the broadcast A year ago more than a quarter of a million people took to the streets across France, in what became known as the “gilets jaunes” protests. They began as a reaction to an increase in …

UN Expert Condemns US Decision to "Jettison International Law"

This report was originally published by the UN Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights. GENEVA (19 November 2019) – The announcement by the US Secretary of State that Israeli settlements do not violate international law is a decisive break with international consensus, and will only further entrench the perpetual Israeli occupation, a UN human rights expert said today. …

World heading for a 3.2°C temperature rise unless countries cut emissions

A United Nations Environment Programme Report published on 26 November 2019 says that, even if all current unconditional commitments under the Paris Agreement are implemented, the world is nevertheless heading for a 3.2°C temperature rise. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has warned that going beyond 1.5°C will increase the frequency and intensity of climate impacts. In order to …

State of the Global Climate 2018

The World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) Statement on the state of the global climate in 2018 was published on 25 November 2019. The following are the highlights of the report, originally published here. The full report is available here. 2018 is on course to be the fourth warmest year on record. This means that the past four years—2015, 2016, 2017 and …

Questions to Ask General Election Candidates 2019

The following questions were suggested on UNA-UK website. What will you do to support the United Nations? What is your approach to nuclear disarmament? Do you support the Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW)? How can the UK take a leading role in the safeguarding of human rights globally? Would you increase UK contributions to UN peacekeeping? Would you …

UNA-UK General Election Manifesto 2019

This article was first published on the UNA-UK website 1 November 2019. The UK will hold a General Election on 12 December 2019. Clearly, debates around the UK’s decision to leave the European Union, a matter on which UNA-UK remains neutral, will play a significant part in the national conversation. However, this poll, which will decide what policies the United Kingdom …

The Elders condemn US shift on Israeli settlements as attack on international law

Published by the Elders on 20 November 2019. “The US position is bad law made in bad faith.” – Mary Robinson, Chair of The Elders. The Elders today strongly condemned the policy shift announced by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on the legality of Israeli settlements in Palestinian territories as injurious to peace and an attack on the broader system …

Very Simplified Universal Declaration of Human Rights

1 We are all born free. We all have our own thoughts and ideas. We should all be treated in the same way. 2 These rights belong to everybody. 3 We all have the right to life. 4 Nobody has any right to make us a slave. 5 Nobody has any right to hurt us or to torture us. 6 …

Take Part in UN75

To mark its 75th anniversary, the United Nations will launch #UN75 on 2 January 2020. It will be the biggest-ever global conversation on the role of global cooperation in building the future we want. Why #UN75? Tackling issues such as the climate crisis, inequality, new patterns of violence and the major changes we are seeing in population and technology in …

Fantastic Christmas Presents: Olive Trees for Palestinians and Certificates for Friends

Support a Palestinian olive tree planting project and receive a certificate bearing the name of your family member or friend which you can send them for Christmas. Your money is passed on to the Palestine Fair Trade Association's Trees for Life program that gives thousands of olive trees to farmers starting out, as well as smaller farmers and those whose …

Forthcoming Events

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

Algeria: Nation, Culture and Transnationalism

The Centre for Trust, Peace and Social Relations invite you to this important panel discussion on 4 December. 2019 has been a turning point in the history of Algeria. The “Hirak” movement has mobilised millions of Algerians in massive unifying peaceful demonstrations. Calls for integrity and true democracy have found expression through slogans, songs and artwork, also drawing on symbols …

Run a Human Rights Quiz to Raise Money for UNA and the Big Give will Double It!

Raise money for UNA-UK between 3 and 10 December and "The Big Give" will double it! By coincidence, 10 December is Human Rights Day. So UNA Coventry are putting together a Human Rights Quiz for you to use to run a pub quiz (or perhaps several quizzes, not necessarily in pubs!) to raise some money. Write to unacoventry@gmail.com with details …

UNA Coventry AGM

The Annual General Meeting of the Coventry Branch of the United Nations Association will be held at 18:00 to 20:00 on Thursday 23 January in Coventry Council House. There will be a short formal meeting to hear reports from the Chair and Secretary and to elect Officers for 2020 followed by a talk from Dr. Math Noortmann Executive Director, Academic …

International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation

Female genital mutilation (FGM) comprises all procedures that involve altering or injuring the female genitalia for non-medical reasons and is recognized internationally as a violation of the human rights of girls and women. It reflects deep-rooted inequality between the sexes, and constitutes an extreme form of discrimination against women and girls. The practice also violates their rights to sexual and …

LIMUN 2020

The London International Model United Nations is the LIMUN Foundation's flagship annual event, welcoming over 1200 delegates to the great cosmopolitan capital of Britain for three days of intensive debate and exciting social events. Our 21st edition will take place from 21st to 23rd February 2020. The conference consists of a simulation of United Nations organs and other fora of …

COP26

The UK and Italy are the favourites to jointly host the 26th Conference of the Parties (COP26) from 9 to 19 November 2020. The COP is the supreme decision-making body of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Italy would host preparatory events and a significant ‘youth event’, in recognition of the disproportionate impact that climate change will …

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