November 2022
Ka nui te mihi ki a koutou katoa - UNA NZ monthly newsletter
Dear Members and Supporters of the United Nations Association
Welcome to the November newsletter.
Earlier this month I was pleased to chair our National Council meeting in Ōtautahi Christchurch. UNA NZ is an organisation of volunteers and it is always heartening to see the dedication and commitment of our office holders.
Like our members, office holders come from all areas and walks of life and what brings them together is a shared interest in the work of the United Nations and in trying to make the world a better place. In this newsletter you will read about our 2022 United Nations Day reception which was held at Premier House. Every year we celebrate this occasion and the keynote address by former Prime Minister Sir Geoffrey Palmer provided renewed motivation to those present to continue striving for this important objective.
On 8 December we will be holding a Human Rights Day event at the New Zealand Parliament. This year it will honour the memory of John Morgan who served as our Special Officer for Human Rights from 2008 to 2018. John was a pillar of our organisation and most recently served as a representative on the National Council. His sudden passing on 28 August 2022 was a tremendous loss for UNA NZ. Further details on this event, including a link to register, are included below.
Ngā mihi nui,
Karim Dickie
Acting President
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Human Rights Day 2022
UNA NZ will be marking the 74th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the 7th Anniversary of the Agenda for 2030 Sustainable Development with a seminar entitled: "Human Rights Day 2022 - The Refugee Crisis as a Human Rights Crisis". This event honours the memory of John Morgan from UNA NZ.
The seminar will address the themes of:
- the refugee crisis
- Is prejudice and racism adding to the refugee crisis?
- What can we do as a society and as individuals to find solutions to the crisis; is New Zealand doing enough?
The event will be held at the Beehive Theatrette in the New Zealand Parliament Buildings on Thursday 8 December. Light refreshments will be served following the event. Tickets can be purchased at: https://events.humanitix.com/human-rights-day-2022
The event will feature several excellent and knowledgeable speakers. The host and keynote speaker will be MP Ibrahim Omer and he will be joined by Rachel O’Connor (Chief Executive of English Language Partners New Zealand and previous lead advisor to the Race Relations Commissioner at the Human Rights Commission), Murdoch Stephens (the driving force behind the “Double the Refugee Quota” campaign and Senior Research Fellow with the University of Auckland's Centre for Asia Pacific Refugee Studies) and Ali Muhammad, who came to New Zealand as a refugee and works today to enable opportunities for youth from refugee backgrounds to thrive.
Karim Dickie, the Acting President of UNA NZ, will chair and Dr Marnie Lloydd, Lecturer at the School of Law of Victoria University of Wellington, whose principal field of expertise is international law related to armed conflict and the protection of civilians, will moderate the seminar.
The seminar will be an informative and thought-provoking call to action, so get your tickets soon!
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United Nations Day 2022 at Premier House
Monday 24 October marked United Nations Day 2022. UN Day marks the anniversary of the entry into force in 1945 of the UN Charter. With the ratification of this founding document by the majority of its signatories, including the five permanent members of the Security Council, the United Nations officially came into being. On UN Day, the Secretary General António Guterres delivered his annual UN Day message, commenting that "Now, more than ever, we need to bring to life the values and principles of the UN Charter in every corner of the world." His full UN Day message can be read here: https://unric.org/en/secretary-general-antonio-guterres-message-on-united-nations-day-24-october-2022/
UNA NZ celebrated UN Day on 27 October at Premier House, the Prime Minister's official residence in Wellington. This year marked the 77th anniversary since this occasion was first marked in 1946. The event was well received, with several speeches and an engaging discussion about how the UN Charter and the Sustainable Development Goals are being implemented in New Zealand and abroad. Attendees and guests at the event included diplomats, civil society representatives and public servants, as well as members of the UNA NZ. Guests enjoyed refreshments and canapés during the event.
UNA NZ National President Gaya Paranisamy delivered the opening and concluding remarks in which she provided an update on what work the UNA NZ is doing to address global issues in Aotearoa including the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals.
The keynote speech was delivered by the Rt Hon Sir Geoffrey Palmer, the 33rd Prime Minster of New Zealand. Sir Geoffrey Palmer shared his personal reflections on his engagement with the United Nations and thoughts on the value of multilateralism and the international rules based system. In particular, he provided a detailed trajectory of New Zealand's modern history of international affairs, from the sinking of the Rainbow Warrior to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. He spoke passionately about how the recent Russian action underscores and enhances the importance of the United Nations and a rules based international order. There was opportunity for questions from the audience on these important issues and an engaging discussion followed.
UN Day 2022 also acknowledged the 20th Anniversary of the We The People's Foundation, of which UNA NZ is a beneficiary. Hayden Montgomerie, Chair of the Foundation, delivered a speech on the history and future of the Foundation.
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Seminar on National Security and Diplomacy
In late September, UNA NZ's Tauranga Branch hosted an online meeting on the role of diplomacy in addressing national security. In this time of increasing international threat, when many nations are looking to increased military strength to enhance security, it is important that New Zealand considers other options such as diplomacy and related processes. These talks were followed by small group workshops to share your views with others and to explore a way forward.
This seminar presented two very experienced experts:
Colin Keating, Former Permanent Representative of New Zealand to the United Nations (1993 to 1996) and Security Council (1993 to 1994)
Emeritus Professor Kevin Clements, Retired Foundation Director of the National Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies.
In the small groups participants focused on three key questions:
1. What are the most important international threats New Zealand faces?
2. What should New Zealand be doing about these threats?
3. What is the best way of progressing to achieve recognition of the need for cooperative solutions?
There was a wide ranging discussion on these issues. Two main threats identified by most groups were war between states, including the active risk of nuclear war developing out of conventional conflict, and the faltering of the rules based international order which the United Nations finds increasingly difficult to uphold and enforce. However groups also identified the climate crisis and cyber security as major threats to New Zealand.
It was commonly identified that while New Zealand is a small nation, it cannot afford to wait on larger nations to address these global issues. Instead New Zealand should act as an example for other countries in taking active steps to combat climate change and in following the rules based international order. Additionally, New Zealand could support other smaller nations that are trying to combat international issues such as supporting the Vanuatu initiative to take the climate crisis to the International Court of Justice.
Following the initial seminar in late September, there was a follow up meeting held virtually in November. Attendees focused on issues discussed in the seminar and raised ideas of how the people in New Zealand themselves could contribute to resolving these issues both collectively and individually. Ideas raised included the value of community groups submitting to the Government on defence and security issues and the value of generating greater public awareness of global security issues in New Zealand.
Thanks to UNA NZ Tauranga Branch President Gray Southon for organising the event and to the speakers for sharing their valuable insights.
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Annual UNA NZ Magazine Now Available
Each year UNA NZ publishes a magazine with important news and events from the preceding year. The 2021-22 issue is now available on our website under the heading "UNA NZ News" or at this link: https://www.unanz.org.nz/learn/newsletter/
This edition contains summaries of important events and activities undertaken by UNA NZ. Some of the major events summarised include UN Day 2021, the Climate Change event on "Youth Perspectives on Carbon Neutrality in Aotearoa" hosted by the UNA NZ, and the UNA NZ annual conference in which we celebrated 75 years of UNA NZ. In the discussion of the Climate Change event, the magazine includes the transcript of the keynote speech delivered at the event by the Minister of Transport, the Hon Michael Wood, as well as the reflections of Sophie Hanford, a youth climate activist. The review of the UNA NZ annual conference includes a transcript of the Dame Laurie Salas Memorial Address which was given by Dell Higgie, New Zealand's former Ambassador for Disarmament and Permanent Representative of New Zealand to the Conference on Disarmament (Geneva), in which she spoke about the complex subject of nuclear disarmament and multilateralism in the post-pandemic world. Dell Higgie stated that:
"COVID-19 has reminded us that there is a third threat – pandemics – to be added to the double billing of climate change and nuclear holocaust which, at least until recently, were typically cited as the truly existential risks facing life on earth"
The activities section of the magazine includes a discussion of the 65th session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) which was held virtually and was attended by seven young women from New Zealand. The Ministry of Women Manatū Wāhine also held a side event in Wellington for CSW attended by these women. You can read about their thoughts and reflections on these activities in the magazine.
The magazine also included a range of research articles and other publications relevant to the United Nations and global issues. The magazine contains many photos from UNA NZ events throughout the year and is a great way to see what the UNA NZ gets up to and ways you can participate.
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United Nations General Assembly session and UN Disarmament Week
During October, UNA NZ Special Officer for Peace and Security Alyn Ware was in New York for UN General Assembly sessions and UN Disarmament Week. A notable achievement is the recent UNGA resolution adopted on 12 October opposing Russia’s illegal annexation of parts of Ukraine. There is a short report of this at UN General Assembly condemns Russia’s move to annex parts of Ukraine.
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Improving the health of New Zealand's ocean ecosystems: "Community action reversing ecosystem decline"
The United Nations General Assembly has declared that 2021-2030 is the "Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development" and the "Decade of Ecosystems Restoration". Its objective is to generate collective action across society to solve global challenges facing the oceans ecosystems through scientific and technological innovation.
On 6 November the UNA NZ Wellington branch held a virtual seminar on "Community action reversing ecosystem decline". It featured community groups and practitioners speaking about their experience working to reverse the decline of New Zealand's ocean ecosystems. Speakers were: Sue Nuereuter (Trustee of the Noises Charitable Trust and spokesperson for the Noises Marine Restoration Project), Dr Tom Trnski (Head of Natural Sciences for Auckland Museum), Dr Nick Shears (Associate Professor in Marine Science at the University of Auckland), Katina Conomos (former project manager for the Noises Marine Restoration Project). The event was moderated by Dr Nicole Miller (Chair of the Friends of Taputeranga Marine Reserve Trust). The seminar can be viewed on the UNA NZ website here: https://www.unanz.org.nz/learn/news-and-events/new-blog-poimproving-the-health-of-new-zealands-ocean-ecosystems-community-action-reversing-ecosystem-decline-focus-on-the-hauraki-gulf-thursday-6-oct-2022st/
The event was part of an ongoing effort from the UNA NZ Wellington and Auckland branches to share local conservation action across New Zealand and generate discussion on oceanic conservation. It was well received and provided a useful opportunity for participants to transfer knowledge and share experiences.
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Sustainable Development Goal for November - Climate Action
The global temperature has already risen 1.1ºC above the pre-industrial level with glaciers melting and the sea level rising. Impacts of climate change also includes flooding and drought - displacing millions of people, sinking them into poverty and hunger and denying them access to basic services. Sustainable Development Goal 13: "Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts" is a call to action on climate change in light of its devastating impacts on human and animal welfare.
This goal was more important than ever this November as world leaders gathered for the UN Climate Change Conference "COP27" which took place from the 6 to 18 November in Egypt. COP27 sought international solidarity and cooperation on reducing greenhouse gas emissions and delivering financing for developing countries who have been most badly effected by climate change.
As UN Secretary General António Guterres has stated, "We must close the emissions gap before climate catastrophe closes in on us all”.
To learn more, visit https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/goal-of-the-month/
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UNA NZ Education Portal Resources
Curious to know about our education portal?
The UNA NZ Education Portal is an excellent web page for UN-related resources.
The resources on this site are designed for primary school aged children. If you are an educator please use these resources as you wish. We also encourage educators, students and parents to contribute to the portal to help it grow. Find out how you can contribute here.
Check out the 'about' page to watch an introductory video, read updates, learn how to contribute and most importantly, how you can take advantage of these resources to make learning exciting for your students.
Click here to learn more.
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