News

Former First Lady’s 137th Birthday & Legacy Celebrated

By UNA-NCA’s Human Rights Committee Members Shuyang Wang and Ian Sloan

On October 13th, 2021, from 5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m., the UNA-NCA’s Human Rights Committee hosted a celebration of Former First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt’s 137th birthday. With a warm welcome from UNA-NCA’s President Paula Boland, tributes from guest speakers, and breakout room interactions throughout the night, this event celebrated Eleanor’s impact on human rights protection and advocacy efforts for the second consecutive year via Zoom.

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By Nakita Laiteng, Member, UNA-NCA Human Rights Committee

On Tuesday, September 21, UNA-NCA, through its Human Rights Committee, hosted a virtual conversation on “Human Rights in the Practice of Diplomacy”. The event welcomed current UNA-NCA members for an exclusive off-the-record conversation. The featured speakers were a US Foreign Service Officer employed by the State Department and a Regional Representative working for the UN Office of High Commissioner for Human Rights.

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UNA-NCA is a bridge—between constituents and Congressional affiliates, between change and changemakers, and between global and local goals.

UNA-NCA’s advocacy work is underpinned by an enrichment and empowerment of local stakeholders and advocates seeking to advance the universal principles of rights and dignity for all persons, citing the Global Goals for Sustainable Development (SDGs) as a framework for engagement and evaluation. Local partners and levels of government possess a uniquely advantageous flexibility and network to support advancement of SDGs at city-level; as such, cities across the United States have begun to assess the status of their local goals and social policies through the SDG framework.

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A Review of The Enduring Struggle – The History of the U.S. Agency for International Development and America’s Uneasy Transformation of the World, by John Norris

By A. Edward Elmendorf and Richard Seifman, Members, UNA-NCA Board of Directors

This is an important book for those who care about the world, and the role of the United States and the United Nations in our common future. Commissioned by the USAID Alumni Association which instructed the chosen author, John Norris, to produce an independent and unvarnished assessment of American foreign assistance, both good and bad. The book does this and could not be more timely.

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This Sunday, August 29, is the annual International Day against Nuclear Tests, a day designated by the United Nations General Assembly to increase awareness about the devastating effects nuclear testing poses to humans, animals, and the environment. The day is an opportunity for civil society activism to drive global action on nuclear disarmament and a nuclear-weapons-free world.

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By Adam Wolf, Chuck Wooldridge, Pauline Placide, Patrick Realiza and Micayla Costa

Organized by the UNA-NCA Peace and Security Committee in partnership with the UNA-NCA International Law Committee and All Souls Church, Unitarian of Washington, DC

“The voices of civil society continue to form important conversations on nuclear disarmament to this day.” - René Holbach, United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA)

The United Nations Association of the National Capital Area (UNA-NCA), through its Peace and Security Committee and International Law Committee, hosted a panel discussion, entitled “Toward a Nuclear Weapons-Free World: Ethics, Social Justice, and Civil Society Activism” on Tuesday, August 3, 2021, in partnership with All Souls Church, Unitarian of Washington, DC. The event took place virtually and welcomed panelists and participants from across the United States and Japan. The panel was moderated by Mr. Melvin Hardy, President of the Millennium Arts Salon, and Ms. Karen Mulhauser, UNA-NCA Past President and UNA-USA Past National Council Chair.

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The Arms Control Association estimates that 13,500 nuclear weapons are still stockpiled in military arsenals, enough to destroy the world several times over. Despite the potentially catastrophic immediate and long-term humanitarian consequences these weapons pose, efforts to disarm them have become stalled. However, after many years of negotiation, the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) entered into force in January 2021, setting the stage to alter the global nuclear landscape and change how the United States and other nuclear powers not party to the TPNW will interact with the treaty’s supporters.

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By Hank Burke-Manwaring, UNA-NCA Program Assistant

On Tuesday July 20^th, UNA-NCA, in collaboration with Young Professionals in Foreign Policy (YPFP) held a moderated panel discussion that delved into expectations of the Biden-Harris Administration’s approach to foreign policy and international organizations such as the United Nations. The Panelists also reflected on Biden’s successes since his inauguration.

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By Mackenzie Norton, UNA-NCA Program Assistant

On Tuesday, June 15th, UNA-NCA held its Annual Membership Meeting. This event featured a discussion with UNFPA Director, Dr. Natalia Kanem, as well as a presentation of the Annual Reports, announcement of the newly elected members to the Board of Directors, granting of the annual awards, and a live piano performance by Graduate Fellow Alumna Keren Yang.

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By Jill Christianson, UNA-NCA Chair-Elect of the Board of Directors

Taking on LGBTQ+ discrimination and bias faced by youth – at the global and local levels – can be done in context with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The Coffee Chat on June 1 provided insights. 

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