As you know from previous Briefings, the United Nations
Conference on the World Financial and Economic Crisis and its
Impact on Development was scheduled for June 1,
2 and 3. However, the preparations for this important
meeting required a great deal more time than anticipated. The
Conference will now be held from June 24 - 26. As always,
more information will follow.
In the meantime, plans are underway for the annual Department
of Information Conference, to be held in Mexico City, from September
9 – 11. Our Dominican brother, Chrys McVey, who was
recently assigned to St. Joseph’s in Greenwich Village,
and is a welcome part of our Dominican presence
at the UN here in New York, attended last week’s DPI Briefing
regarding this upcoming conference.
Chrys provides us with
the following Report on UN Briefing 4 June 2009:
In preparation for the 62nd Annual Conference of NGOs associated
with the UN Department of Public Information (DPI), which will
be held in Mexico City at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from
9-11 September 2009, the DPI held a Briefing for NGOs on 4 June
2009.
The theme for the Mexico City Conference is For Peace and
Development: Disarm Now! The Briefing, on the same theme,
was chaired by Maria-Luisa Chavez, Chief, NGO Relations, DPI,
and the panelists were expertly chosen, all of them knowledgeable
and passionate. Each addressed the main question: ‘How
do we persuade governments and individuals that ridding the world
of this destructive class of [nuclear] weapons is in their best
interest?’ The purpose of the Briefing was to increase
awareness on the link between disarmament and development. This
was addressed by Claude Heller, the Mexican Ambassador to the
UN.
Panelists spoke on conventional (small) arms as a disarmament
issue, seeing a direct link between armed conflict and migration
and hunger. It is civilians who suffer most from crime and violence
in conflict areas. The proliferation of small arms should thus
be seen as a priority, for nothing undermines investment and
development more than small arms [Daniel Prins, Chief, UN Office
of Disarmament Affairs]. The next panelist [Frida Berrigan,
Arms and Security Initiative, New America Foundation] spoke about
the relation between military spending and development, supporting
her argument with astonishing figures, and contrasting ‘National
Security’ with ‘Human Security.’
Rhianna Tyson [Senior Officer, Global Security Institute] focused
on ‘The Reality of Nuclear Disarmament,’ especially
for us who are not ‘idealists’ but ‘realists,’ who
understand that we live in an inter-related and integral world,
and gave examples of how these values should be articulated.
The final panelist [Ray Acheson, Women’s International
League for Peace and Freedom, UN Office] asked, ‘How can
we convince governments that social spending is more beneficial
than military spending?’ She argued, convincingly, that
strengthening ‘multilateralism’ would result in less
military spending.
A lively Question and Answer period followed. The presentations
are available here.
Information on the Mexico
City Conference can be found here.
 |
Margaret Mayce, OP (DLC/Amityville)
NGO in Special Consultative Status
at the United Nations
Dominican Leadership Conference
211 East 43 St. Rm 910
New York, NY 10017
email: Margaret
Mayce, OP | 
