united nations

Entries to fill the Vacancy of Member of working Group on Discrimination against Women in Law and in Practice at UNHR

Deadline- 23 OCTOBER 2012

Countries/Region- Latin America and Caribbean.

Applications are invited by Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights,United Nations Human Rights, from Latin America and Caribbean States to fill the vacancy for “Member of working group on discrimination against Women in Law and in Practice ” which is arisen due to the resignation of its member group of Latin America and Caribbean States.

Criteria- According to Human Rights Council resolution 5/1, the following general criteria will be of paramount importance while nominating, selecting and appointing mandate-holders:

expertise;
experience in the field of the mandate
independence
impartiality
personal integrity
objectivity.

Eligibility-

Qualifications- relevant educational qualifications or equivalent professional experience in the field of human rights; good communication skills in one of the official languages of the United Nations.
Relevant expertise-knowledge of international human rights instruments, norms and principles; as well as knowledge of institutional mandates related to the United Nations or other international or regional organizations’ work in the area of human rights; proven work experience in the field of human rights.
Established competence-nationally, regionally or internationally recognized competence related to human rights.
Flexibility/readiness and availability of time to perform effectively the functions of the mandate and to respond to its requirements, including attending Human Rights Council sessions.

Who can nominate candidates?

Paragraph 42 of Annex to Council resolution 5/1, provides that the following entities may nominate candidates:

(a) Governments,

(b) Regional Groups operating within the United Nations human rights system,

(d) non-governmental organizations,

(e) other human rights bodies, and

(f) individual nominations.

Paragraph 22 (a) of Annex to Council resolution 16/21 of 25 March 2011 further provides that national human rights institutions in compliance with the Paris Principles may also nominate candidates.

For more information, visit this link

United Nations Global Peace Games for Children and Youth

Deadline- December 1, 2012

Countries/Region- All Countries

United Nations invites applications for Global Peace Games for Children And Youth for all sports which can take part in this event (not only soccer/football), registration is free and all activities that contribute to the themes of the Games are encouraged.

The Games are an opportunity for young people all over the world to demonstrate their commitment to make the world a better and healthier place and their central role and solidarity in the mission of global friendship, peaceful solutions and nonviolence. The themes of the Games support the goals of the United Nations. They educate about and show support for peaceful solutions, and aim to build global friendship and understanding. They support the improvement of human life, as outlined in the United Nations Millennium Development Goals .

The Games recognize and demonstrate the value of sport to-

Unite, motivate, inspire and educate
Encourage peaceful solutions and cultural understanding
Teach essential values such as cooperation and respect
Promote life-long health and social skills
Improve health and well being
Strengthen links between children and adults
Contribute to the development of communities

Eligibility-

Participation in the Games is free and open to all who wish to take part. Communities, civil society organizations and governments are invited to organize and enjoy the games and events in their own countries and locations, limited only by their own local constraints of financing, organizing and planning capacity. Different organizations can hold multiple Games in the same country at different sites. Participating communities and organizations select their own sites.

For more information, visit this link

call for Nominations for NGO Delegates in UNAIDS PCB 2013-14 for Europe & North America

Deadline- 13 August 2012

Countries/Region– Europe, North America

Nominations of NGO Delegates 2013-2014 are invited for Europe & North America to represents a unique opportunity for committed activists and advocates to make a difference to HIV and AIDS policy implementation in their regions.

UNAIDS was the first United Nations programme to have formal civil society representation on its governing body. It is guided by the Programme Coordinating Board (PCB) with representatives from 22 governments, the UNAIDS Cosponsors and an NGO Delegation of 5 delegates and 5 alternate delegates.

The NGO Delegation to the UNAIDS PCB has vacancies for two-year terms beginning 1 January 2013 and ending 31 December 2014, for the positions mentioned below.

The UNAIDS PCB is the key global forum for HIV and AIDS policy. The Delegation is important to the effective inclusion of community voices; Delegates represent the perspectives of civil society, including people living with HIV, within UNAIDS policies and programming.

For more information, visit this link

Call for Nomination-World Habitat Awards

Deadline- November 1, 2012

Building and Social Housing Foundation is inviting nominations for World Habitat Award.

The World Habitat Awards were established in 1985 by the Building and Social Housing Foundation as part of its contribution to the United Nations International Year of Shelter for the Homeless.

Two awards are given annually to projects from the global North as well as the South that provide practical and innovative solutions to current housing needs and problems. An award of £10,000 is presented to each of the two winners at the annual United Nations global celebration of World Habitat Day.

For more information, visit this link

Traineeship Programme for UN Agencies in Nepal – Cohort II

Nepal, Real Solutions Pvt. Ltd., on behalf of the United Nations invites applications from potential candidates for a traineeship programme with UN Agencies. UN Agencies in Nepal have initiated a joint traineeship programme to offer professional training as well as capacity building and to University graduates from socially excluded groups to develop their professional competencies and enhance their employability prospects.

The programme will be for an 11 month period with a full time on the job training assignment with access to mentoring and practical experience in an international UN working environment. Opportunities for prospective trainees are available in the areas of general administration, programme/ project development and management in the areas of Poverty Reduction, Environment, Governance, Peace Building, Child Protection, Nutrition, Health, Water Sanitation and Hygiene, Social Policy, Education, Social Inclusion & Gender Equality, Population, Monitoring and Evaluation, Human Resource Management, Finance, Logistics, Supplies Procurement and other UN related themes.

The minimum selection criteria for the applicants are given below:

• University graduate (minimum Bachelors degree)

• Belonging to a socially excluded group

• Passion to work in the development sector

• Appreciation of UN Core Values (Professionalism, Integrity & Respect for Diversity)

• Strong commitment to learn

• Willingness to work with others

• Basic communication skills (oral and written) in English and Nepali languages

• Commitment to complete the assignment during the traineeship period.

Deadline: May 22, 2012

For further information, visit the link.

How NGOs can obtain Consultative Status with the United Nations’ ECOSOC

The United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) provides NGOs the opportunity to obtain consultative status which benefits NGOs in attending international conferences and events, make written and oral statements at these events, organize side events, enter the United Nations premises and have opportunities to network and lobby.

Every year, prior to June 1st, ECOSOC seeks applications from NGOs by first asking them to get their profiles registered in their database and then submit their online application for consideration to obtain the consultative status. The NGO Branch at the United Nations receives, reviews and forwards the applications to the Committee on NGOS which meets twice a year to decide which NGOs applying for consultative status it will recommend to the ECOSOC Council.

As this process of obtaining consultative status is beneficial for both NGOs and the ECOSOC, many NGOs around the world fail to apply or get their applications rejected easily either because they have poor knowledge about the process involved in selection or they have less interest in it.

In order to increase awareness about the benefits of the consultative status, the United Nations has published a simple and useful guide outlining the meaning, benefits, process and selection of NGOs. The objectives of the guide are “to encourage relevant NGOs to apply for consultative status with the Council, as well as to help organizations already in consultative status to get the most of this relationship while increasing their contribution to the work of ECOSOC.”

Running to some 44 pages, the guide provides basic information about the way in which NGOs can interact with the United Nations in general and with ECOSOC in particular. It describes the different formal and informal mechanisms that civil society can utilize in order to work with the different ECOSOC Commissions.

The guide available in English and Portuguese versions can be downloaded from this link.

INTERNATIONAL TRAINING COURSE ON GIS FOR DISASTER RISK MANAGEMENT

Duration of Course : 2 weeks,

Date: 07 May – 18 May 2012

Location: Bangkok, Thailand

The United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) an autonomous body within the United Nations system, announce the 2 Week course on GIS for Disaster Risk Management.

This course is co-organized by the Asian Disaster Preparedness Center (ADPC), the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT), the Faculty of Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation of the University of Twente, the Netherlands (ITC) and UNITAR/UNOSAT.

The main aim of this course is to provide an overview of the use of spatial information in disaster risk management. The course not only reveals what spatial data is and how it is collected, but also emphasizes the use of such spatial data during pre- and post-disaster management, such as during early warning, hazard, vulnerability and risk assessment, damage assessment, as well as in the design of risk reduction measures. The course ultimately hopes that scientific advancement can be utilized for better disaster risk reduction practices.

The course is open to all participants who are working or will be working in the organizations where spatial information is used or considered to be used for the purpose of disaster risk management, disaster management, or disaster risk reduction. There is no prerequisite GIS knowledge for participant who is interested in this course

UNITAR QCPR Series IV Workshop: Findings of Surveys of Key Stakeholders

Workshop Date : 02 May 2012 , 22 June 2012, 28 September 2012

Location : New York, NY, United States

The United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) an autonomous body within the United Nations system, announce the “workshop on QCPR Series IV: finding of surveys of Key Stakeholders.

The Quadrennial Comprehensive Policy Review (QCPR) is the mechanism through which the General Assembly assesses the effectiveness, efficiency, coherence and impact of UN operational activities for development and establishes system-wide policy orientations for the development cooperation and country-level modalities of the UN system

The QCPR course series is being organized into six half-day sessions, led by experts and practitioners in the respective fields. At the beginning of each session, the QCPR process will be briefly explained. the modules 1,2,3 has been already organized as below:

Module 1 (1 February 2012):Funding for UN operational activities for development (UNDESA in cooperation with UNDP and UNICEF). (Already Done )
Module 2 (22 February 2012):Functioning of the UN development system: (a) UNDAF process, (b) UN Resident Coordinator system and (c) harmonization of business practices: challenges and opportunities.
Module 3 (13 March 2012): Positioning of the UN system in a changing development landscape.

The Workshop on Modules 4, 5 & 6 are being organized as per schedule mentioned below.

Module 4 (2 May 2012): Perspectives from the field: findings of surveys of programme country governments, UN Resident Coordinators and UN country teams and civil society organizations working with the UN system at the country-level.

Module 5 (22 June 2012): Briefing before the operational segment of the Economic and Social Council:Designed fordiplomats coming to New York for the substantive session of the Economic and Social Council, this intensive module will summarize the key messages of the first four briefings and explain the QCPR process itself.
Module 6 (28 September 2012): Final briefing before the General Assembly: Designed for diplomats who arrived during the summer and were unable to attend the other briefings, this last module will present all the materials produced in the past briefings and explain the QCPR process itself.

This course is open to female members of the Permanent Missions accredited to UN Headquarters and other government officials; representatives of international, intergovernmental, and non-governmental organizations, and other interested individuals. Priority is given to delegates from developing and least developed countries.

For more information, visit this link

Humanitarian Response funding

Humanitarian Response funding is allocated in response to specific emergencies to alleviate the adverse humanitarian effects of natural disasters.

These disasters include drought, epidemics, floods, storms, earthquakes, volcanoes along with man-made disasters including wars, conflict, famine, technological, environmental as well as social.

Humanitarian Response funding is especially for United Nations agencies, not-for-profit organizations and the Red Cross Movement. These guidelines demarkate the need for monitoring, evaluation and accountability activities to be included in proposals and budgets. This funding focus our support for the Humanitarian Accountability Partnership (HAP) principles of accountability.

For further information, visit the link.

United Nations Journalism Fellowship

Deadline: March 30, 2012.

Countries/Region- Developing Countries

The Dag Hammarskjold fund is being granting fellowships to journalists from five decades. The first fellowship was awarded in the year 1962.

The Dag Hammarskjold Fund for Journalist has launched a call for proposals 2012 for professional journalists from the developing countries. The fellowships are available for radio, print, television and web journalist who are willing to come to New York to report on international affairs during the 67th session of the United Nations General Assembly. This fellowship is applicable for the journalist between the ages of 25 -35.

Every year four journalists are selected for this fellowship. The selected journalist gets the opportunity to observe international diplomatic deliberations at the United Nations, to make professional contacts that will serve them for years to come, to interact with seasoned journalists from around the world, and to gain a broader perspective and understanding of matters of global concern.

The fellowship program is open to journalists who are native to one of the developing countries in Africa, Asia, South America and the Caribbean, and are currently working full -time for a bonafide media organization in a developing nation. Applicants must demonstrate an interest in and commitment to international affairs and to conveying a better understanding of the United Nations to their readers and audiences. They must also have approval from their media organizations to spend up to two months in New York to report from the United Nations.

In an effort to rotate recipient countries, the Fund will not consider journalist applications for 2012 from nations selected in 2011: China, Ethiopia, India and Nigeria. Journalists from these countries may apply in 2013.

The fellowships will begin in early September and extend to late November and will include the cost of travel and accommodations in New York, as well as a per diem allowance.

For further details visit this link.