UNITED NATIONS ASSOCIATION OF AUSTRALIA Queensland NEWSLETTER VOLUME 12 NO 8— AUGUST 2016 VOICE OF AMERICA News/Economy (July 24, 2016) UN DATES 2016 AUGUST 9 INT DAY OF WORLD’S INDIGENOUS PEOPLE 12 International Youth Day 19 World Humanitarian Day SEPTEMBER 21 International Day of Peace 27 Fitzgerald Biennial Lecture OCTOBERR 2 Int. Day of Non-Violence 3 World Habitat Day 5 World Teachers’ Day 11 Int. Day of the Child 16 World Food Day 17 Int. Day –Eradication of poverty UNAA Qld Office Eco Centre Griffith University, Nathan Email: [email protected] Finance ministers from the Group of 20 major economies Phone 3735 3525 Delegates meeting in the Chinese city of Chengdu issued a statement Sunday at the end of their two-day gathering expressing concern about Britain's plan President to leave the European Union and how Brexit will affect the world's economy. Donnell Davis They said, however, that member nations are "well positioned to proactively address the potential economic and financial consequences" from such devel- opments. Group 20 pledge to boost the global economy, which they say is Newsletter showing a weak recovery. Editor Virginia Balmain Past President Britain's new Finance Minister Philip Hammond told fellow ministers that con- [email protected] cerns about his country's withdrawal from the EU should diminish once Lon- Phone: 3254 1096 don lays out a future vision of how Britain will relate with the rest of Europe. Several ministers urged Britain and the EU to move quickly to resolve Brexit issues. The G-20 finance ministers also vowed to reject trade protectionism, which INSIDE THIS ISSUE became a prominent issue at the meeting since U.S. Republican presidential 1. G20 Major Economies nominee Donald Trump has said he wants to revamp the country's trade deals, adding various restrictions. The World Food Program U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew, speaking Sunday in Chengdu, said the 2. Annual General Meeting American economy is currently strong and the job market is healthy, but the UNHCR Aust. Refugee Children global outlook remains uncertain. 3. IPAN Conference The closing G-20 statement expressed the importance of reducing the excess production of steel that has led to a glut on the global market. The issue is of Hiroshima—Nagasaki major concern between China and its trading partners, who say Beijing ex- 4. Global Development ports steel at unreasonably low prices. http://bit.ly/2a5V5GP 5. Recognise THE WORLD FOOD PROGRAM has activated its own internal BREXIT emergency response mechanism, elevating the food crisis caused by El Nino 6. Events in southern Africa to a “level 3” emergency. That’s the highest level, putting on par South Sudan, Yemen, Iraq and Syria. 7. Media Peace Awards Griffith Empowering Women Speaking from Malawi, World Food Program executive director Ertharin 8. UNAA Qld Membership Cousin says the WFP is planning to reach 11.8 million people in the region Donations with food assistance between now and March 2017. But to do so, they need $549 million and raising this money has been difficult because the crisis in Southern Africa is slowly burning and off the headlines. With appreciation to “We have not received much attention from the world community as this Senator Claire Moore situation escalates,” she said. Of this $549 million, Cousin says $204 million for printing this issue. is needed “urgently” to preposition food ahead of the coming rainy season that is expected to be particularly intense as El Nino’s sister weather phe- nomenon, La Nina, sets in. UN Dispatch http://bit.ly/2auc9YS www.unaaqld.org ISSN 2203-4803 Page 1 UNITED NATIONS ASSOCIATION OF AUSTRALIA Queensland VOLUME 12 NO 8— AUGUST 2016 NEWSLETTER ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING Eco Centre Griffith University Nathan Held on 30th July 2016 from 9.30am After 3 years as President Clem Campbell stood down and became the Immediate Past President. A long term member and office holder of UNAA QLD Donnell Davis was elected President Donnell Davis - background Current: BDA at Swinburne University Centre for Design Innovation (under restructure). Owner: Urban Climate Governance-Climate Sensitive Cities Director: Greening the Boardroom, Envirobusiness Past: Adjunct /seasonal lecturer/ Master Class urban professional facilitator at Universities. Executive Director: Friends of South East Queensland Education: UN Law Uni (NL) & USQ, The University of Queensland, QIT, Darling Downs Institute of Advanced Ed, Mareeba State High School Committee Members: Secretary–Aigul Zholtayeva, Clem Campbell, Susan Forbes, Annette Brownlie, Just Peace-Vicki Henry, WILPF-Virginia Balmain, Soroptimists-Cesarina Gigante, Olivera Simic, Peter Johnston, Paul Stevenson, UNYA and UNEP representatives. UNHCR Australia 12 July 2016 Australians come to the aid of unaccompanied refugee children A record 98,400 children arrived at refugee transit centres and camps in 2015 without the protection of an adult guardian. At just 16 years-of-age, Emmanuel led his six young sisters away from their burning village in South Sudan to find safety in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). In late December, the children reached the Congolese town of Dungu where they were registered as refugees, and they told UNHCR protection staff that their mother was killed when gunmen stormed their village just before Christmas. Their father wasn't home at the time and they had to flee without him. These children are part of a global phenomenon: more than 98,400 children arrived unaccompanied at refugee transit centres and camps during 2015 — the highest number on record since UNHCR started collecting such data. Many were Syrians, Afghans, Eritreans and Somalis arriving in Europe by boat. Thousands more, like Emmanuel and his sisters, fled to neighbouring countries to escape from violence and threats like child soldier recruitment and early marriage. UNHCR is constantly on the lookout for children travelling alone. We work closely with our partners, sharing in- formation between refugee sites and border crossing points to locate and reunite families as quickly as possible. Meanwhile, our protection officers ensure that the children are safe and cared for. They may be temporarily placed with another refugee family or given special shelter assistance and support. Help from Australia Australia for UNHCR launched an urgent appeal in March to help boost UNHCR's child protection programs in refu- gee camps and reception centres and along key transit routes through Africa, the Middle East and Europe. So far, thanks to our generous Australia donors,A quick we haveguide raised to nearly statets $320,000 on keyto help UN build child-safe accommodation and support child counselling and family reunification. Gifts to Australia for UNHCR are helping to boost child protection services in camps in northern Ethiopia where extraordinary numbers of children are fleeing across the Eritrean border on their own to escape the country's dra- conian military conscription laws. Of the thousands of new arrivals that UNHCR has registered in these camps over the past six months, nearly a quarter have been unaccompanied children. Grave fears are held for these children, particularly those who are moving further afield, seeking a better future. Hundreds are disap- pearing in Europe, sparking fears of widespread child trafficking, slavery and sexual exploitation. Others are drowning in smugglers’ boats on the Mediterranean Sea. Australia for UNHCR is helping to upgrade services in northern Ethiopia to provide a safe environment for these highly vulnerable children and dissuade them from embarking on these dangerous journeys. We are helping to station UNHCR protection teams at the border to identify unaccompanied children as they cross. We are funding improvements to child-safe accommodation, water and sani- tation services in the camps. We are providing these vulnerable youngsters with a bed, blankets, meals, emergency nutrition, health care and counselling, while efforts are made to contact their families back home. For updates and e-mail alerts, visit UN NEWS CENTRE at www.un.org/news Page 2 Alice Springs Program: 26/9/16 – 1/10/16 DISARM protest camp, 30/9/16 IPAN Annual General Meeting 30/9/16 IPAN Public Forum Speakers: Prof. Lisa Natividad (University of Guam), Prof. Kosuzu Abe (University of Ryukyus, Okinawa), Prof Richard Tanter (University of Melbourne), Senator Scott Ludlam (Aust. Greens), IPAN National Conference Saturday 1st October 2016 8:30am - 5:00pm Venue: The Chifley, Alice Springs Resort, 34 Stott Terrace, Alice Springs $60 Full registration ($30 Concession), (negotiable if financial constraints) 2/10/16 Joint Cavalcade to Pine Gap gates. We hope this Conference will help build momentum for achieving an independent and peaceful Australia. Qld contact Annette Brownlie: 0431 597 256, [email protected] To register for the conference: http://www.trybooking.com/KTNF Hiroshima and Nagasaki: never again This August 6 and 9 mark 71 years since the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. More than 210,000 civilians died in the attacks, with many more victims of radiation poi- soning to follow in the years and decades after. This year has seen a UN working group narrow it's focus on disarmament. A majority of nations are ready to begin negotiations on a new instrument to prohibit nuclear weapons. We expect a resolution proposing this course of action to be taken to the UN General As- sembly in October. Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum - 広島平和記念資料館 Hiroshima Peace Memorial, commonly called the Atomic Bomb Dome or Genbaku Dōmu, in Hiroshima, Japan, is part of the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park and was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996. On 6 and 9 August 2016 the world remembers the nuclear weapon attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Every year, thousands gather at the iconic dome, now the Hiroshima Peace Memorial, to commemorate the day that forever changed the world . Hiroshima has 75 monuments to peace.