update on the United Nations and UNA-UK: news, action points and events
March 2010
Welcome to UNA-UK's newsletter
Each issue features news updates and events listings, as well as actions and activities you can undertake in support of the United Nations.


What is UNA-UK?
UNA-UK is the UK's leading source of independent information and analysis on UN issues and a UK-wide grassroots movement for the UN.

UNA-UK is committed to a strong, credible and effective UN at the centre of an international system governed by multilateralism and the rule of law. We believe that a strengthened UN is in the UK's national interest, and we strive to promote consistent and constructive government support for the UN and its work.
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News
UNA-UK Annual General Meeting
UNA-UK will hold its Annual General Meeting on Saturday 6 March 2010 at 4pm in The Eastwood Room of the Farmers Club, 3 Whitehall Court, London SW1A 2EL. Tea and coffee will be served from 3.30pm. After the formal business is concluded, UNA-UK Chair Lord Hannay of Chiswick and UNA-UK Executive Director Sam Daws will report on UNA-UK's work over the past year and look ahead at some of the challenges facing the UN and the Association. This is your chance to ask them questions on UNA-UK's work going forward.

Click here to read the notice and agenda for the meeting.

If you are a paid-up UNA-UK member and are not able to attend, you can still vote by appointing another person as a proxy. Click here to access the proxy voting form.

If you have any questions or need further information, please contact Carol Hodson on 020 7766 3454 or hodson@una.org.uk

Opportunity to hear UNDP's Helen Clark in Oxford
Helen Clark, head of the UN Development Programme and former Prime Minister of New Zealand, will give a special lecture on ‘The UN's role in overcoming development challenges’ at the University of Oxford. This event will take place on Thursday 4 March at 2pm at the Examination Schools, Oxford. This event is supported by UNA-UK.
Click here for more information

New World Spring 2010 issue
The Spring 2010 edition of UNA-UK's magazine, New World, leads with an article by Helen Clark on why migration is an important tool for development. The issue also contains a special report on the UN's response to the Haiti earthquake, as well as the usual round-up of news and views from our members and branches.
Click here to read more
UN Forum update
Just 100 days to go until UN Forum 2010 - have you signed up yet?

On 12 June 2010 UNA-UK will hold its inaugural UN Forum, a large-scale civil society event entitled 'An effective UN in a more secure and just world'. Taking place shortly after the 2010 general election, it will be an opportunity to ensure that the UN remains at the heart of UK foreign policy, and consider what the new government (of whichever political stripe) can do to strengthen the UN so that it is better-equipped to tackle 21st Century challenges.

Featuring debates, workshops and contributions by prominent speakers including Dr Hans Blix, Dame Margaret Anstee, Zeinab Badawi, Edward Mortimer, Elizabeth Wilmshurst, Dr Abiodun Williams, Nigel Rodley and Dr Rebecca Johnson, UN Forum 2010 is an unmissable event for anyone interested in international affairs.
Nearly 400 people have already registered for this event - register now to avoid disappointment!
Do something!
Robin Hood Tax
Led by the Stamp Out Poverty network, this campaign advocates a global tax on transactions between financial institutions to generate funds to fight poverty and hunger, and tackle climate change. Show your support by clicking here.
Future of the UN Development System (FUNDS) survey
The NGO FutureUN.org is conducting a survey to determine opinions and expectations on the future of the UN Development System. Click here to complete the survey
Dates for the Diary
MARCH

4 March
UNA WEST OXFORDSHIRE
UNA West Oxfordshire will host a Witney prospective parliamentary candidates' meeting with Labour candidate Joe Goldberg on ‘The United Nations: priorities for the next government’. This event will take place at 8pm at The Cottages, Church Lane, Charlbury, Oxfordshire OX7 3PX.
Contact: Malcolm Harper on 07778 450 515 or malcolm.harper@ukonline.co.uk
6 March
UNA-UK Company Annual General Meeting
The 16th Annual General Meeting of the Company will take place from 4pm to 6pm on Saturday, 6 March 2010 in the Eastwood Room, Farmers Club, 3 Whitehall Court, London SW1A 2EL. Tea and coffee will be served from 3.30pm.
All UNA-UK members have been sent a letter enclosing the following documents:
- formal AGM notice
- draft financial summary for the year ended 30 June 2009
- minutes of the AGM held on 5 June 2009
- profiles of members standing for the four elected places on the UNA-UK Board of Directors
If you haven’t received any of these documents, please click here or contact Carol Hodson, Company Secretary and Head of Governance & Finance, on hodson@una.org.uk or 020 7766 3455. If you cannot attend the AGM in person and would like a proxy form, please click here.

8 March
UNA WESTMINSTER
UNA Westminster has teamed up with Clifford Chance LLP, the International Relations Committee and the Bar Council to hold the 8th Ruth Steinkraus-Cohen International Law Lecture. Stephen Hockman QC, former chairman of the Bar Council, will speak on ‘The case for an International Court for the Environment’. This event will take place from 6.30pm at The Lecture Theatre, Brunei Gallery Building, School of Oriental and African Studies, Thornhaugh Street, Russell Square, London WC1H 0XG. Please register for this free event by 3 March.
Contact: David Wardrop on 0207 385 6738 or davidwardrop6@googlemail.com
9 March
UNA PUTNEY & ROEHAMPTON
UNA Putney & Roehampton will hold a meeting to mark International Women's Day with the theme entitled ‘Crisis for women in the Democratic Republic of Congo - how can the UN help?’. Speakers include Vijay Mehta from Action for UN Renewal and Martha Jean Baker from the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) and Nounou Booto from WILPF and International Action Network on Small Arms. This event will take place at 7.30pm at the Methodist Church Hall, corner Upper Richmond Road and Gwendolen Avenue, Putney SW15 6SN.
Contact: Jo Stocks on 020 8870 5536 or jo.stocks@talk21.com
9 March
UNA SHEFFIELD
UNA Shefffield will hold a joint meeting in collaboration with the UNYSA branch at Sheffield University. Craig Barnett, co-founder of the City of Sanctuary Movement, will give a talk on the influx of asylum seekers nationwide and the response of cities to this trend. This event will take place at 7.30pm at Lecture Room 2, Hicks Building, University of Sheffield, Hounsfield Road, Sheffield S3 7RH.
Contact: Cliff Crellin on 0114 230 2102 or patricliff@gmail.com
10 March
UNA EXETER DISTRICT
UNA Exeter District will hold its Annual General Meeting from 7.30pm at Friends Meeting House, Wynards Lane, Exeter EX2 4HU.
Contact: Susan Stevens on 01392 256 559

10 March
UNA OXFORD
UNA Oxford will host a talk with Natalie Samarasinghe, UNA-UK Head of Communications, on ‘What chance for change in Sri Lanka?'. This event will take place from 5.30pm to 6.30pm at the Wesley Memorial Church, New Inn Hall Street, Oxford OX1 2DH.
Contact: Dr Neville Shepherd on 01865 761 630 or neville.shepherd@metronet.co.uk
10 March
UNA SAFFRON WALDEN
UNA Saffron Walden will hold a lunchtime meeting with Dodie Brooks who will give a talk on ‘Living in China’. This event will take place from 12.45pm to 2pm at Friends Meeting House, 69 High Street, Saffron Walden CB10 1AA. Lunch is available for £2.50 at 12.30pm.
Contact: Francis Deutsch on 01799 502 272 or francis.deutsch@ntlworld.com
11 March
UNA GLOUCESTERSHIRE RURAL
UNA Gloucestershire Rural is pleased to welcome Professor Spenser Zifcak, Visiting Professor (Australia) from Bristol University to speak and conduct a question-and-answer session on 'UN reform' following the publication of his book of the same title. The event will take place at 6pm in the Wills Memorial Building, Queens Road, Bristol BS8 1RJ.
Contact: Chris Dickenson, Branch Secretary, on 01242 870 260 or grb.una-uk@live.com
12 March
UNA WEST OXFORDSHIRE
UNA West Oxfordshire will host a Witney prospective parliamentary candidates' meeting with Green candidate Stuart MacDonald on ‘The United Nations: priorities for the next government’. This event will take place at 8pm at The Cottages, Church Lane, Charlbury, Oxfordshire OX7 3PX.
Contact: Malcolm Harper on 07778 450 515 or malcolm.harper@ukonline.co.uk
16 March
UNA MID CORNWALL
UNA Mid Cornwall will host a talk by John James entitled ‘Living with Native Americans’. The talk will be followed by a discussion, news of members' activities, a Traidcraft sale, and light refreshments. This event will take place from 7.30pm to 9 - 9.30pm at the Quaker Meeting House, Friends' Way, Pauls Terrace, Truro Vean, Truro, Cornwall TR1 1HD.
Contact: Toni Olsson on 01726 812 505 or 53 Rosehill, St Blazey, Par, St Austell, Cornwell PL24 2LQ.
16 March
UNA WESTMINSTER
UNA Westminster will co-host a meeting with the Imperial College School of Medicine Students Union Tropical Medicine Group and the Imperial College Friends of Medecins sans Frontieres to review progress on UN Millennium Development Goal 6 on combating HIV/AIDS, malaria and other major diseases. Speakers include, Professor Peter Davies, Director, Tuberculosis Research Unit, Cardiothoracic Centre; Dr Sanjoy Bhattacharya, Wellcome Trust; Professor Karol Sikora, Medical Director, CancerPartnersUK; and Professor Alan Fenwick, Imperial College London. This event will take place at 5.30pm at the Alexander Fleming Building, Imperial College, London SW7 2AZ.
Contact: David Wardrop on 0207 385 6738 or davidwardrop6@googlemail.com

17 March
UNA WOMEN’S ADVISORY COUNCIL
UNA's Women's Advisory Council will hold its Annual General Meeting, featuring a presentation by Felicity Aston, leader of the Commonwealth Women's Antarctic Expedition 2009. This event will take place at 2.30pm at the International Maritime Organization (IMO), Albert Embankment, London SE1 7SR. Those wishing to attend should send details in advance for IMO security.
Contact: Suzanne Long on sdlong123@btinternet.com or Rubi Bhattacharyya on rubirani@yahoo.co.uk
18 March
UNA BIRMINGHAM
UNA Birmingham will hold a meeting with speaker Gillian Briggs on UN women peacekeepers, followed by a question-and-answer session. This event will take place at 7.30pm at St Columba's Church Hall, Chantry Road, Moseley, Birmingham B13 8DJ. Light refreshments will be served.
Contact: Sarah Teversham on 01214 495 683
19 March
UNA BIRKENHEAD
UNA Birkenhead will host a talk entitled ‘Copenhagen and the limits of the UN process’ by Chris Davies, Liberal Democrat MEP for the North West, who attended the recent Copenhagen Conference on climate change. This will be followed by a question-and-answer session and general discussion. The event will take place at 7.30pm at the Westbourne Hall Community Centre, 59 Westbourne Road, West Kirby, Wirral CH48 4DQ.
Contact: Peter Guyan on 0151 512 0946 or peterguyan@ntlworld.com
19 March
UNA TYNEDALE
UNA Tynedale will hold a public meeting with Fiona Hall MEP, who will speak on the relationship between the UN and the European Union, followed by a question-and-answer session. This event will take place from 2pm at the Friends Meeting House, Branch End, Stocksfield NE43 7NA.
Contact: Dulcie Pettigrew on 01661 843 009 or dulcie@pettigrews.org.uk
20 March
UNA LYMINGTON
UNA Lymington will host a talk by Professor Andrew Bradbury entitled 'Global warming and the impact on The New Forest and its coastline: will Lymington be under water?'. This event will take place from 12.30pm to 2.30pm at The Lymington Community Centre, New Street, Lymington SO41 9BQ.
Contact: Patricia de Mowbray on 01590 679 030 or patricia@radioactive.org.uk

20 March
UNA SOUTHAMPTON
UNA Southampton will host a one-day human rights conference entitled ‘Born free and equal?'. Speakers will include Rob Atkinson (Amnesty International) on poverty and human rights violations, and Sister Teresa (founder of the Medaille Trust) on trafficking of women. There will also be workshops on women's rights, children's rights, asylum seekers, refugees and homelessness. The conference is supported by a coalition of local groups interested in human rights. This event will take place from 10am to 4.30pm at the Central Baptist Church, Devonshire Road, The Polygon, Southampton SO15 2GY. Fee £5.00 to include lunch. Registration forms and further information are available from the following point of contact.
Contact: Margaret Matthews on 02380 557 334 or memat56@tiscali.co.uk

20 March
UNA LONDON & SOUTH-EAST REGION
UNA London & South-East Region will hold its Regional Spring Council meeting to discuss and brainstorm key questions for candidate MPs in the run-up to the general election. This event will take place from 1.30pm to 4.30pm at the Resource Centre, 356 Holloway Road, London N7 6PA. Please confirm attendance/register in advance as space is limited.
Contact: Wendy Higgs on 07751 297 291 or 020 8318 1050
24 March
UNA BURY ST EDMUNDS & NEWMARKET
UNA Bury St Edmunds & Newmarket will host a talk entitled ‘Sustainable agriculture in Africa: good for the environment or perpetuating poverty?’ by Bruce Liggitt, Africa Programme Co-ordinator for Flora and Fauna International. This event will take place at the Friends Meeting House, St John's Street, Bury St Edmunds IP33 1SJ.
Contact: Brian Wesley on 01284 705 792 or brian@wesley.freeserve.co.uk
27 March
UNA WEST OXFORDSHIRE
UNA West Oxfordshire will hold a street stall in Charlbury to seek signatures for a petition on Burma organised by the Burma Campaign. For further details contact Malcolm Harper.
Contact: Malcolm Harper on 07778 450 515 or malcolm.harper@ukonline.co.uk
28 March
UNA LUTON
UNA Luton is marking 'International Mother Language Day' by staging, in collaboration with Purbachal, a Bangladeshi cultural group, an afternoon of song, dance and poetry in a variety of locally spoken languages. This event is free and will take place from 3pm to 6pm at Dallow Learning Community Centre, 234 Dallow Road, Luton LU1 1TB.
Contact: Dr Nazia Khanum OBE on 01582 566 468 or nkhanum@aol.com

29 March
UNA TWICKENHAM & RICHMOND
UNA Twickenham & Richmond will hold an event to open new public art to commemorate the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This event will take place at 2pm at York House, Richmond Road, Twickenham TW1 3AA.
Contact: Cllr Virginia Morris 0208 979 4131

APRIL
6 April
UNA CHELTENHAM
UNA Cheltenham will hold a public meeting with speaker Lee Adamson on ‘The International Maritime Organization’ from 7.15pm to 8.45pm at Parmoor House, Lypiatt Terrace, Lypiatt Road, Cheltenham GL50 2SX.
Contact: Sue Thompson on 01242 235 072 or suethompson682@hotmail.com
17 April
UNA SAFFRON WALDEN
UNA Saffron Walden will hold a small fundraising stall from 10am to 12pm outside Boots chemists, Market Place, Saffron Walden, Essex CB10 1HR.
Contact: Francis Deutsch on 01799 502 272 or francis.deutsch@ntlworld.com
20 April
UNA SAFFRON WALDEN
UNA Saffron Walden will hold its Annual General Meeting at 7.30pm at Friends Meeting House, 69 High Street, Saffron Walden CB10 1AA.
Contact: Francis Deutsch on 01799 502 272 or francis.deutsch@ntlworld.com
20 April
UNA MID CORNWALL
UNA Mid Cornwall will hold a discussion on human rights to follow-up a talk on ‘What price liberty?’, which was chaired by Kate Adie in Truro, followed by refreshments and a raffle. This event will take place from 7.30pm to 9.30pm at the home of Verna and Howard Roberts, Trethewey Farm, Par 24 2SA (tel: 01726 812 065).
Contact: Toni Olsson on 01726 812 505 or 53 Rosehill, St Blazey, Par, St Austell, Cornwell PL24 2LQ.
27 April
UNA SHROPSHIRE
Together with Concord College and South Shropshire Interfaith Forum, the branch will hold 'Building Bridges, a conversation across cultures’, an event on issues of war and peace in Afghanistan. This event will take place from 7.15pm to 9.30pm at Concord International College, Acton Burnell Hall, Shropshire SY5 7PF.
Contact: Canon Noel Beattie on 01694 725 530 or noelandsuzanne@dsl.pipex.com
Please note the branch website is www.unashropshire.org.uk
External Events
9 March
LONDON SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS
LSE Global Governance public discussion - The Goldstone Report and the Peace Process
This public discussion, chaired by the distinguished UN diplomat and envoy Lakhdar Brahimi, will discuss the findings of the UN Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict and the 'Goldstone Report' that it produced. Panellists will also examine the state of the peace process, and how this might unfold in the future.

17 March
EARTHWATCH INSTITUTE
Farming and sustainable environments
As the world’s population increases and climate change forces land use patterns to change, pressures on farmers to produce more food on limited agricultural land grow by the day. Some believe we will have to grow more food over the next 50 years than we have over the last 10,000. Can we reconcile the conflict between urgently intensifying agriculture and conserving precious ecosystems?

12 April
UNIVERSITY OF EAST LONDON, CENTRE ON HUMAN RIGHTS IN CONFLICT
The Security Council and Children and Armed Conflict
UEL's Centre on Human Rights in Conflict will host a public lecture by Radhika Coomaraswamy, UN Under-Secretary-General and Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict.

Tell A Friend!
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Members receive regular updates about UNA-UK activities and campaigns, as well as invitations to branch, regional and national events. All members automatically receive a subscription to our magazine, New World.
Legal Notice:

Events are the responsibility of national, regional or branch UNAs or other bodies that organise them. Events may be subject to change at any time, and such changes may not be reflected on the above listings. Please therefore check with the local contact for each event. It is assumed that local organisers have obtained all legal permissions required for their events and have provided UNA-UK with the correct contact details. UNA-UK is not responsible for such events - and cannot be held responsible for any inaccuracies in the above information.

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