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Over 150 people from all walks of life gathered on the Millennium Bridge in Dublin at 8:00pm on Thursday 24th September to join citizens around the world in calling on governments to commit to the new Sustainable Development Goals and tackle the most urgent issues of our time – poverty, inequality and climate change. The event was one of over 150 taking place in cities globally as part of action/2015’s #LightTheWay action ahead of the historic gathering of world leaders in New York, on 25 September, for the adoption of the Global Sustainable Development Goals. Ireland has played a key role…

Breaking news on 25th September 1 - ATD's  open letter to Taoiseach Enda Kenny for the occasion of the UN Summit for Sustainable Development 2 - Message of support from the Irish President Michael D Higgins to the participants to the #LightTheWay event in Dublin 3 - Message to the members of ATD worldwide for the occasion of the adoption of the 2030 Agenda This September world leaders will meet in New York to adopt new global goals. These goals have the potential to tackle poverty, inequality and climate change. Join us on 24 September as thousands around the world call…

The next General election will come at an important time in Irish history. Next year Ireland will celebrate the centenary of the 1916 Rising, a momentous point in Irish history which gives us an opportunity to reflect on and re-think Irish priorities as a country and Irish ideas of how to shape a future. The next elections should reflect that Ireland is part of an international community and that Ireland is, in fact, “a global island”. In September 2015, world leaders will agree a new set of global priorities, a ‘recipe’ for a better world. They will change the landscape of…

The World Humanitarian Day 2015 will be commemorated on August 19th. . On this occasion, ATD presents its contribution to the ongoing international consultation process ahead of the World Humanitarian Summit to take place in May 2016 in Istanbul. This first World Humanitarian Summit is managed by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs UN OCHA and will bring together governments, humanitarian organizations, people affected by humanitarian crises and new partners such as the private sector. Four main themes have been guiding the consultation process: (1) humanitarian effectiveness; (2) reducing vulnerability and managing risk; (3) transformation through innovation and (4)…

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…