WHAT IS THE VETERANS FOR PEACE UN NGO RELATIONSHIP?
- VFP's first permanent representative to the United Nations was Benjamin Weintraub of Staten Island, New York, who was seated in 1990. Son of a Viet Nam vet Michael John Carley served after him, and now Ellen Barfield is our head VFP UN representative. VFP currently can have four representatives to the UN. Either the Executive Director or the President of each organization is automatically a representative, so Mike Reid has served until his departure. In late 2013, Patrick McCann, Ellen Barfield, Michael McPhearson and Bill Collins are our representatives. Al Jaccoma, Harold Burbank, George McAnanama, Elliott Adams, Leah Bolger, and Matt Southworth have also been designated as representatives in the past.
- VFP is not a “part” of the United Nations as such and we cannot use their logo on our material. We work through the UN’s Department of Public Information (DPI), first established in 1946. Its charge is to “…actively assist and encourage national information services…[to spread] information about the United Nations….” We might consider upgrading our UN affiliation to the more prestigious “Consultative Status” by joining the Economic and Social Council if we qualify for that which is unclear and would need research. This level of participation would give us more privileges and wider access to contact within the UN.
- The representatives are encouraged to attend NGO briefings held most Thursdays 10:00am to noon, EST from October through June. In recent years representatives have attended on average, one of these briefings each month (many briefings are not at all related to VFP issues). NGO representatives and other VFP members are also encouraged to attend the major NGO conference usually held in September, though not the last few years, and to attend other UN events, including “issue conferences.” As an official NGO, we receive many invitations to UN-sited or related events. Many briefings and other events are open to other organizational members, as long as they obtain temporary passes several days in advance through the Head Representative.
- Our obligation is to disseminate information about VFP’s participation at the United Nations and about UN projects related to our work
- The DPI/NGO website is located at outreach.un.org/ngorelations.
HOW CAN VFP USE THIS NGO STATUS?
●One major responsibility is to push our own United States UN ambassador, currently Samantha Power, and delegates (as well as the President and Congress) to sign, respect, and follow international treaties, not to mention complying with existing treaty obligations and signing new treaties that advance the cause of world peace (imagine, for example, using our UN/NGO “forum” to raise hell about the United States government recently refusing to sign the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities).
at usun.state.gov/about/contact/index.htm
you may also contact us via the following:
Mailing Address:
Press and Public Diplomacy Section
United States Mission to the United Nations
799 United Nations Plaza
New York, N.Y. 10017
Opinion & Comment line:212-415-4062
Fax:212-415-4053
●Develop a more robust working relationship with Non Aligned Movement nations. The Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) is an international organization (group of countries) who do not want to be officially aligned (friends) with or against any major power bloc (group of countries). In 2011, the movement had 118 members and 20 observer countries. The countries of the non-aligned movement are nearly two-thirds of the United Nations's members and 55% of the world population.
The Havana Declaration of 1979 said that the purpose of the NAM is to help countries keep "the national independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity and security of non-aligned countries" in their "struggle against imperialism, colonialism, neo-colonialism, racism, and all forms of foreign aggression, occupation, domination, interference or hegemony as well as against great power and bloc politics."
●We can use our NGO status as standing to contact other nations’ UN Missions in New York to discuss such topics as what Non-Aligned Movement nations can do in response to our own government’s military expansionism. We can network with other nations’ UN Missions by attending events with them, visiting their offices, and communicating via e-mail and snail mail.
We can further develop relationships with international NGO’s initiated by VFP members who have worked at the UN over the years, and can continue to raise awareness of what VFP can offer our fellow NGO’s, strengthening our position with like-minded organizations around the world.
●We could work to have a VFP member elected to the DPI board, thereby having access to setting future agendas.
●We could continue to present workshops at the September UN Conferences.
●We could become more involved in planning VFP events for the International Day of Peace that is observed around the world on 21 September. The General Assembly has declared this as a day devoted to strengthening the ideals of peace, both within and among all nations and peoples.
●We have agreed to establish a featured UN/NGO page on our national website. The
web page could include
- an archive of past briefings that involved VFP (Ellen submits a report at the end of
each year as well as comments occasionally during the year), - a list of future briefings,
- a list of future UN events which NGO's can attend as notice becomes available,
- an archive of newsletter articles about VFP and the UN,
- an up-to-date posting of all the UN Charter Articles that the United States is violating
SOME HIGHLIGHTS OF VFP USING ITS NGO STATUS:
- Michael John Carley in the late 1990's used his UN international connections to run a VFP project to bring children injured by the war in the Balkans to the U.S. for medical care
- Ellen Barfield arranged for the “Former Fighters Working For Peace” workshop to be presented at the 2006 NGO September Conference. VFP board member and Iraq era veteran and conscientious objector Anita Cole, VFP member and Iraq vet Garrett Reppenhagen, and Palestinian Combatants for Peace member Souliman al Khatib presented.
- Ellen Barfield traveled to Geneva, Switzerland, to represent VFP and Women's International League for Peace and Freedom as they, along with 29 other NGO’s, signed the NGO “shadow report” to the 2008 UN committee meeting on the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), commenting on U.S. behavior relating to the optional CRC protocol on child soldiers and recruiting. She pointed out that the U.S., along with only Somalia, had not ratified the whole convention. She also disseminated information about the US JrROTC program and monetary enlistment incentives unfairly targeting the poor. She and the WILPF delegation urged committee members to address the issue of defining “recruiting” and to be wary of how the military is being promoted in our schools. The CRC committee’s conclusions, released in early June, 2008, “…were rather critical of the U.S.”
- Former VFP assistant UN Representative Harold Burbank attended an event in 2007 hosted by the Iranian Mission and presented a VFP statement expressing our concern over our government’s bellicose posturing and outlining VFP’s work on preventing war and encouraging disarmament
- VFP Board member Gerry Condon and VFP associate member Helen Jaccard attended the September 2011 UN NGO conference in Bonn, Germany and worked on a conference sustainable development document, accomplishing inclusion of a statement that peace is a pre-requisite for sustainable development.
- Ellen Barfield’s proposal to make the September NGO Conference theme focus on the “…terrible environmental and health damage of war” at a summer 2012 DPI business meeting was met with much acclaim.
WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?
Incorporate our UN NGO status into VFP’s Strategic Plan as an objective under “Specific Vision 2’s” goal of “Withdrawing military support for current U.S. foreign policy.”
The objective might read this way: “ To use our United Nations status as an NGO within the UN’s Department of Information Services as a means
- *to become acquainted with representatives from and dialogue directly with NGO’s from nations directly impacted by the United States military,
- *to educate VFP members of the consequences of U.S. military expansionism, and
- *to develop, nurture, and strengthen VFP’s affiliation with like-minded organizations in other countries.
Develop and maintain an up-to-date web page on our national VFP website that would keep members informed of developments relating to our NGO status within the UN
Seek out VFP members who can continue representing VFP at the United Nations. Representatives must commit to attending UN NGO briefings and to writing up remarks about the briefings for dissemination within VFP. These should be annual appointments subject to review by the board. The board should consider a budgetary line item to help cover minimal expenses incurred by representatives.
Promote UN events within VFP, encouraging members to attend and participate whenever possible.