Author: ATD Ireland

After months of negotiations, the 193 members of the United Nations have reached an agreement. Late on Sunday night 2nd August 2015, they agreed on the text of the "2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development." Ireland has played a crucial role in this process, co-facilitating the negotiations to reach this agreement together with Kenya, represented by Ireland’s Ambassador to the UN, David Donoghue. "This new development agenda has 17 goals and 169 sub-targets, ranging from ending extreme poverty and hunger to reducing inequality and tackling climate change. These seventeen goals reveal the scope and ambition of a new 'universal agenda'; a new recipe for…

On 1st August 2015 ATD Ireland on behalf of the 17 October Committee (www.17october.ie) launched the project "The Roles We Play, Here and There". Project will promote the new Sustainable Development Goals to be adopted during the "European Year for Development".  "The Roles We Play, Here and There" will also celebrate the contribution of people in poverty in their communities and for the implementation of the new Global News! Project is funded by the ATD Foundation and by the EU through the European Year for Development Sub-Granting Scheme. The scheme is operated by the Civil Society Alliance and Concord. Project "The…

You have an important opportunity to influence the upcoming peer review of Ireland’s human rights track record. All of the United Nation’s 192 member states are required to take part in a periodic reviews of each country’s performance under the various international Human Rights treaties. These reviews take place in addition to the review processes under specific treaties, and are therefore considered “universal”, as they apply to the full range of human rights obligations. In April next year, it is Ireland’s turn to be reviewed.  These “Universal Periodic Reviews” (UPR) take place every four years and are meant as a stock…

In March 2015, ATD launched the project “Let’s put Human Rights in our Manifestos”. From March 2015 to June 2015, ATD volunteers and community groups from the North Inner City looked at what Economic, Social and Cultural Rights mean today and discussed the request of Irish Constitutional Convention to strengthen the protection of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in the Irish Constitution. The project will be concluded with a plenary workshop gathering all participants (on 28th July from 10.30am in the new offices of the IHREC) and with the design of an advocacy booklet which will invite political parties to include…

The July session of the intergovernmental negotiations on the post-2015 agenda will extend over a two-week period (20-31 July) and focus on the revised zero draft of the post-2015 outcome document. Beyond 2015 is a global civil society campaign, pushing for a strong and legitimate successor framework to the Millennium Development Goals. Beyond 2015 brings together more than 1000 Civil Society Organisations in over 130 countries around the world. In preparation for this session, Beyond 2015 has released an official reaction. Check it out: full reaction available here; 3-page summary available here.

With 27 other national networks and organisations, ATD Ireland is member of the  Community Platform to work to address poverty, social exclusion, and inequality. Our objectives are to facilitate solidarity amongst the organisations involved, organise community sector participation in partnership arrangements with the State, and establish a critical voice for equality, rights and anti-poverty interests at a national level. The paper "The Future Perspective of the Community Platform", launched on 14th July 2015, sets out some key elements of the situation in Ireland after six years of austerity policies and proposes policy directions for a future Ireland that would better reflect…

CAMPAIGNERS TAKE TO STREETS AROUND THE GLOBE AHEAD OF FINANCE SUMMIT On Saturday 11 July, in more than 70 cities around the world, tens-of-thousands of campaigners backed by leaders such as Desmond Tutu or Malala Yousafzai are taking to the streets to call for governments to fairly fund essential services, honour their aid commitments and crack down on tax dodging. In Ireland, All Together in Dignity with action/2015 invites citizens to support the Global Day of Action on the social networks using the hashtags #FfD3 #FinanceOurFuture #RecommitToAid #Action2015 #EndPoverty and #LeaveNoOneBehind. ATD joins the “Act Now on 2015” campaign giving to…

The Irish Government & the UCD Centre for Humanitarian Action will convene the Irish Humanitarian Summit on July 2nd 2015. This Summit, the first of its kind in Ireland, will be addressed by President of Ireland, Michael D. Higgins. Minister for Foreign Affairs & Trade, Charlie Flanagan and Minister of State Séan Sherlock will also address the event which is an opportunity for the Irish humanitarian community to affirm a new Humanitarian Agenda for Ireland. This Irish Summit is part of a consultation process in order to prepare the World Humanitarian Summit. This process was initiated by the UN Secretary General to…

The 17th of June marked a symbolic countdown towards the United Nations Summit on the Post 2015 Agenda and the adoption of the new Sustainable Development Goals: only 100 days are left until Member State delegates, UN staff and representatives of civil society and major groups will meet in New York end of September, at possibly the most important UN Summit in history, to discuss and agree on issues concerning sustainable development, poverty eradication, balancing inequalities and climate change. After a couple of years’ worth of consultations and even more discussions and debates, the much anticipated Zero Draft of the outcome…

The Irish Government has been examined by the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights onJune 8th and 9th 2015. The UN Committee comprises a group of 18 independent international experts, who will examine the Irish State's progress in protecting, respecting and promoting the rights contained in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. At the occasion of this monentum many NGOs (see the FLAC report) and the IHREC reported about the situation in Ireland. Read also the #UnIrl Updates on humanrights.ie and in media. At the examination, Irish State representant said that the Constitutional Convention recommendation…