Annual Conference 2009: United Nations Association- UK

Annual conference 2009

64th UNA-UK Annual Conference
Scottish Parliament and Edinburgh University, 5-7 June 2009

scottish parliament flags johnholmes

Keynote speaker:
Sir John Holmes, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator.

Annual Conference 2009
Returning to Scotland after nearly thirty years, this year's Annual Conference was held in the prestigious surroundings of the Scottish Parliament and Edinburgh University.

Alex Fergusson, the Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament, hosted the keynote speech, which was delivered by Sir John Holmes, UN Under-Secretary-General on Humanitarian Affairs. Sir John spoke about the challenges facing the UN in its role as the world's humanitarian coordinator, in particular in reconciling the tensions between national sovereignty and international responsibilities. He gave examples of natural and man-made disasters, and drew attention to the humanitarian consequences of climate change.

Click here to read Sir John Holmes's keynote speech

Click here to view photos of the event
Click here to read the Scottish Parliament press release
Click here to read the address by UNA-UK Chair Lord Hannay of Chiswick
Video recording of the speech - coming soon!

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Climate change was a major theme at the conference. Delegates debated effective follow-up to the Kyoto Protocol at Copenhagen, the UK's climate change policy, refugee flows resulting from climate change impacts, conflict over resources and new technologies such as a solar power supergrid. Trewin Restorick, one of Al Gore's UK climate change ambassadors, ran workshops on how individuals can combat climate change in their daily lives. And the new climate change film 'The Age of Stupid' was screened. In his message (link to news story) to the conference, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon thanked UNA-UK for its series of conferences on climate change - held in Birmingham, Belfast, London and now Edinburgh - and called for multilateralism and 'smart solutions' to the twin challenges of poverty and climate change, which 'threaten global upheaval'.

Click here to read UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's message
Click here to read about our climate change conferences in Birmingham, Belfast and London

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Nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament was the other conference priority. UNA-UK received messages from the leaders of the UK’s three main political parties expressing their commitment to the success of global nuclear disarmament initiatives. UNA-UK has secured a five year 'WMD Special Peace Grant' through the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust to fund, during 2009-2014, a major programme of work in support of a world free from nuclear weapons.

Click here to read a press release and links to letters of support from the leaders of the UK's three main political parties, who serve as UNA-UK's Honorary Presidents.

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The conference also considered a raft of issues and called for action on human rights, development, peace and security and UN reform. The outcome document will be posted here shortly.

UNA-UK has already taken action on some of the policies adopted by Annual Conference 2009:

Aung San Suu Kyi - click here to read a press release in which UNA-UK condemns Suu Kyi's arrest on 'trumped-up charges' and calls for her release

UN Disability Convention - UNA-UK Chair Lord Hannay delivered this statement on the occasion of the ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

Recognition of UN peacekeeping - UNA-UK Chair Lord Hannay has written to FCO Minister Lord Malloch-Brown on the possibility of a memorial being erected to the memory of British peacekeepers and humanitarian workers.