Campaigns: United Nations Association- UK

Leading campaign

Is the United Nations fit for purpose?

Do you think the UN is fit for purpose? How do you think it could be strengthened?

Click here for more info on the current state of the UN

Current and recent actions and campaigns

September-December 2011 - No women, no peace

No women, no peace calls for the meaningful participation of women in peace processes and for women's rights to be taken seriously. The campaign is run by the Gender Action for Peace and Security (GAPS) coalition, of which UNA-UK is a member.

Click here to read more

30 June - Support UN Women

In May and June we asked our supporters to urge the UK government to prioritise funding for UN Women and support this new UN agency's vital work.

Thank you to all those who took action for UN Women via our website. We are now able to inform you that the Department for International Development (DFID) has announced a funding commitment of £10m a year for two years. Is that sufficient?

Click here to read more

3 November - Thank a UN Peacekeeper

At present, over 120,000 men and women from some 116 countries are serving as UN peacekeepers. Stationed in 15 of the world’s most difficult regions, they work to rebuild societies wrecked by violence and natural disasters and restore a sense of security to people who have known little else than war.

Click here to send your message of support to a UN Peacekeeper.

3 August - Pakistan floods - UN steps up relief efforts and appeals for help

UN agencies are stepping up their relief efforts as thousands of people remain trapped by floodwater in north-western Pakistan. According to the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), three million people have been affected by this year’s monsoonal floods – said to be the region’s worst in living memory.

1,400 people are thought to have died and 1.5 million have been displaced.

Do something

To donate to UNICEF's Pakistan Flood Children appeal, click here
To donate to UNHCR's emergency appeal, click here
To donate to WFP's food appeal, click here
To donate to the Disasters Emergency Committee - an umbrella group of 13 major British-based humanitarian charities - click here

Campaigns we support

	WeFeedback.org - sharing food, changing lives WeFeedback's mission is to enlist the public's help and the help of social networks in the fight against the chronic hunger that burdens families all over the world. Click here to find out more about WeFeedback.org

	Free all Burma's political prisoners There are around 2,100 political prisoners in Burma. They have been imprisoned just for peacefully calling for democracy and freedom in Burma. Burma’s democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi has said, “the release of political prisoners is the most important thing for all those who truly wish to bring about change in Burma”. Click here to find out more and to take action

	Drought relief in Niger Worsening conditions in Niger – officially the world’s least developed country – have put 7 million people, including 400,000 children, at severe risk of starvation. Click here to find out more about the Save the Children campaign Click here to find out more about the Oxfam campaign

	Gaza Blockade UNA-UK believes the continued blockade of Gaza is unjustified and must end. Palestine refugees need your support now. Click here to read more >>>Click here to donate >>>

	Robin Hood Tax The Robin Hood Tax campaign is a movement of nearly 50 organisations pushing for a global tax on transactions between financial institutions as a means to generate funds in the fight against poverty, hunger and climate change. Click here to sign up to the e-action >>> Click here to read more >>>

	Put it Right Put it Right is a major, five-year initiative by UNICEF UK. It aims to inspire unprecedented action in the UK to protect the rights of children everywhere. Click here to see what you can do to put it right

	Haiti Relief On 12 January 2010, an earthquake devastated Haiti, one of the world’s poorest countries. The people of Haiti are still in need of substantial humanitarian assistance. Click here to read more Click here for the UNICEF Haiti Appeal Click here for World Food Programme 'How to Help Haiti' Click here for Jubilee Debt Campaign's call to drop Haiti's debt Click here to read a statement by UNA Haiti marking the sixth-month anniversary since the tragic earthquake of 12 January

	UN Convention on the Rights of Migrant Workers and their Families Just 42 states have ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of Migrant Workers and their Families, and only 15 further countries have signed. No member of the European Union is among them. Click here to find out more

	Banning Cluster Bombs One third of all recorded cluster bomb casualties are children. Yet despite efforts to ban these indiscriminate weapons, 138 banks and other financial institutions continue to invest over US$20 billion in companies that produce them - and YOUR bank could be complicit. Click here to do something

	10:10 Is a UK-wide initiative calling on individuals and organisations to pledge to reduce their carbon footprint by 10% in 2010. Thousands have already made this pledge. UNA-UK has too – have you? Click here to make the 10:10 pledge

	e-Parliament super-grid The transition to renewable sources of energy requires government investment and support for ambitious and essential long-term projects such as energy super-grids to see the light of day. Click here to urge the government to act

	Fight corruption in all its forms, on all fronts Corruption can lead to the ruin of a country's economy. Ask the CEO of your company to support a letter urging governments to effectively implement the UN Convention against Corruption. Visit the UN Global Compact website to sign the letter

	Safeguard the honey bee! UNA-UK supports a Soil Association campaign urging the UK government to protect honeybees by banning the use of neonicotinoids. Neonicotinoids have already been banned in a number of European countries. Click here to sign a petition calling for ban on neonicotinoids

	Massive Good initiative Make a small, voluntary contribution when purchasing an airline ticket through the Massive Good initiative Click here to make a contribution today
	Fill the Red Cup By filling the red cup, as part of the World Food Programme initiative you are taking a decisive action to help the world's most vulnerable people. Click here to Fill the Red Cup
	Campaign to Stamp out Poverty Organise your own campaign and take a stand against poverty, order your own campaign pack from Stamp out poverty here Click to order your campaign pack
	Your Voice Tell Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg to prioritise the most disadvantaged children at this September’s UN meeting on the MDGs by taking part in UNICEF's interactive email petition.

Ongoing campaigns

	Support the Millenium Development Goals The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) - agreed by world leaders in 2000 - are eight time-bound objectives which range from halving world poverty to ensuring environmental sustainability.There are five years left to achieve the MDGs. There is still some way to go. Click here to find out about UNA-UK's work on the MDGs >>> Click here to add a signature to the bottom of your emails, spread the word about the MDGs
	Hold the government of Sri Lanka to account Between 120,000 and 140,000 displaced civilians are still languishing in internment camps in Sri Lanka. After months of sustained pressure and with an election looming in early 2010, the Sri Lankan government announced in November 2009 that it will ‘resettle’ all those still confined by the end of January 2010. Click here to read more and to take action

	Towards zero Support 'Towards Zero', UNA-UK's campaign for nuclear non-proliferation & disarmament Visit Twitter to add you voice to the growing disarmament campaign You can learn more about nuclear issues by visiting the Nuclear Security Project’s website and completing their interactive online tutorials. Watch and/or screen ‘Last Best Chance’, a film by the Nuclear Threat Initiative, that can be ordered for free via their website. To sign the Global Zero petition - click here

	UNite to end violence against women! One in five women worldwide will become the victim of actual or attempted rape. If you are a woman aged 15 to 44 years, you are more likely to die as a result of rape or domestic violence than from cancer, war or road accidents. Ending violence against women is one of UNA-UK's major campaigns this year in support of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s UNite campaign. Launched in February 2008, one of the central planks of the campaign is its bid to promote leading among men and boys in the global effort to end violence against women and girls. Find out more here. Click here to take action!

Campaign successes

-SUCCESS-

End the vulture culture - YOU DID IT!

Vulture funds are private companies looking to scavenge huge profits from some of the world's poorest countries. On 26 November 2009, a British court ordered Liberia to pay two such funds more than $20 million for a debt that dates back to 1978.

The Debt Relief (Developing Countries) Bill met significant opposition and was dead in the water. But, thanks to ongoing campaigning by you, and the determination of a few MPs, the Government agreed to select this measure for the ‘wash up’, a process of passing a few laws quickly, with cross-party support, at the end of a Parliamentary session.

Click here to find out more

UK legal loopholes on international crimes closed

A series of government amendments to the Coroners and Justice Bill will close a loophole in UK legislation which has hitherto allowed those suspected of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes to escape being brought to justice.

The amendments have come after sustained pressure by a cross-party group of back bench peers, which included UNA-UK Chair Lord Hannay of Chiswick, and organisations such as UNA-UK, the Aegis Trust and REDRESS.

Click here to read more.

Resolution for a global moratorium on the death penalty

On 18 December 2007, the General Assembly voted 104 to 54, with 29 abstentions, to adopt a resolution calling for a global moratorium on capital punishment. The resolution, spearheaded by Italy and tabled by the European Union, calls on states to progressively restrict the use of the death penalty and asks those countries that have abolished it in practice not to reintroduce it.

-NEARLY THERE-

Cluster munitions

We secured the ban, lets get it ratified

Cluster munitions have a steep humanitarian cost, with both immediate and long-term consequences for civilians. They are also redundant - warfare has changed in ways which undermine their military utility.

UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

Ratified, but with reservations

UNA-UK has campaigned vigorously for the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, without reservations. In June 2009, the UK ratified the convention with four reservations, UNA-UK chair Lord Hannay of Chiswick stated that three out of four of the reservations were 'excessively pernickety'.

Click here to read more