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Self Report 2017

The self-report on WHS Commitments below is organized according to the 24 transformations of the Agenda for Humanity. It is based on commitments pledged at the time of report submission. Click on the 'Expand' symbol to expand each section and read the reporting inputs by transformation.

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1B
Act early

Individual Commitment

  • Commitment
  • Commitment Type
  • Core Responsibility
  • ACUNS will conduct and disseminate online or in print through its global network, special podcast interviews and short analytical articles addressing conflict prevention best practices and lessons learnt.
  • Operational
  • Political Leadership to Prevent and End Conflicts

Core Commitment

  • Commitment
  • Core Responsibility
  • Commit to make successful conflict prevention visible by capturing, consolidating and sharing good practices and lessons learnt.
  • Political Leadership to Prevent and End Conflicts

  • What led your organization to make the commitment?

    ACUNS has many members - research scholars, and practitioners - with direct interests in issues of conflict prevention, resolution, and victim-assistance, and in post-conflict rebuilding or reconciliation - including addressing issues related to human displacement, forced migration, and refugees.

  • Achievements at a glance

    Since the WHS, ACUNS has conducted 3 podcast interviews on (1) Displaced Persons Convention, (2) South Sudan peace process, (3) US approaches to Human Rights (https://acuns.org/category/podcasts/current-issues/). In its newsletter, ACUNS published analytical pieces on (1) urban development and conflicts in Ethiopia, (2) human trafficking, (3) the Responsibility to Protect, and (4) counter-terrorism and self-defense. Archived copies are available here: https://acuns.org/category/publications/newsletters/. ACUNS has continued to work with the US studies associations of Japan, China and South Korea, including on the theme of regional contributions to UN peacekeeping operations, and on regional conflict resolution.

  • How is your organization assessing progress

    ACUNS does not have any measure for the 'end-user' effect of those reading its articles or listening to the podcasts; it can report that distribution numbers have increased, and social media connections have grown considerably - so, ACUNS engaged audience has been building.

  • Challenges faced in implementation

    Identifying, contacting, and connecting with good potential podcast interviewees and article authors is an ongoing challenge, but ACUNS has had reasonable success. Engaging with Missions in NYC is a challenge, while Missions in Vienna have been very receptive. ACUNS now has good relations also with the DG at UNOG.

  • Next step to advance implementation in 2017

    Continue to reach out to Missions in NYC; build on strong relations with Missions and with UNOV in Vienna; increase presence and profile in Geneva, and seek accreditation with UN in Nairobi. ACUNS 2017 Annual Meeting will be held in Seoul, Korea, deepening its engagement in the country and region.

  • If you had one message for the annual report on what is most needed to advance the transformation 'Act early', what would it be

    Support the new SG's emphasis that prevention is critical.

  • Cross cutting issues

    ☑Gender ☑ Urban

  • Specific initiatives

    ☑Platform on Disaster Displacement ☑ The Global Alliance for Humanitarian Innovation

  • Other related Agenda for Humanity transformations

    ☑2A - Respect and protect civilians and civilian objects in the conduct of hostilities ☑ 3A - Reduce and address displacement ☑ 3B - Address the vulnerabilities of migrants and provide more regular and lawful opportunities for migration

2C
Speak out on violations

Core Commitment

  • Commitment
  • Core Responsibility
  • Commit to speak out and systematically condemn serious violations of international humanitarian law and serious violations and abuses of international human rights law and to take concrete steps to ensure accountability of perpetrators when these acts amount to crimes under international law.
  • Uphold the Norms that Safeguard Humanity

  • What led your organization to make the commitment?

    ACUNS has an interest in addressing the problem of human trafficking, especially of vulnerable groups (women and children).

  • Achievements at a glance

    Working with the Mission of the Holy See to the UN in NY, to have an article on the Holy See's efforts to curb human trafficking.

  • How is your organization assessing progress

    ACUNS will continue to work with relevant Missions and with UN bodies in New York and Vienna to build greater awareness and to identify best policy practices.

  • Challenges faced in implementation

    Increased displacement due to conflict, and emergence of populist backlash in several Western European societies has meant that the problems of assisting refugees and vulnerable groups often are not being addressed.

  • Next step to advance implementation in 2017

    ACUNS has conferences in Vienna (January 2017) and Seoul (June 2017), at which these issues and related matters will be discussed with scholars, government representatives, and NGOs from those regions.

  • If you had one message for the annual report on what is most needed to advance the transformation 'Speak out on violations', what would it be

    ACUNS needs to continue to promote both awareness of, and empathy for, the dangers facing displaced persons.

2D
Take concrete steps to improve compliance and accountability

Individual Commitment

  • Commitment
  • Commitment Type
  • Core Responsibility

  • ACUNS through its Vienna Liaison Office will promote efforts to identify, focus global attention on, and offer new ideas to prevent and/or stop, femicide (killing of women, as women) and the targeting of women in conflict situations.


  • Advocacy
  • Uphold the Norms that Safeguard Humanity

  • ACUNS will conduct and disseminate critical studies on core responsibility 2 (core commitments 1 and 5), using podcasts and written articles to highlight both issues, which are disseminated online and in print through its global network.


  • Policy
  • Uphold the Norms that Safeguard Humanity

Core Commitment

  • Commitment
  • Core Responsibility
  • Commit to promote and enhance respect for international humanitarian law, international human rights law, and refugee law, where applicable.
  • Uphold the Norms that Safeguard Humanity
  • Commit to speak out and systematically condemn serious violations of international humanitarian law and serious violations and abuses of international human rights law and to take concrete steps to ensure accountability of perpetrators when these acts amount to crimes under international law.
  • Uphold the Norms that Safeguard Humanity
  • Implement a coordinated global approach to prevent and respond to gender-based violence in crisis contexts, including through the Call to Action on Protection from Gender-based Violence in Emergencies.
  • Uphold the Norms that Safeguard Humanity

  • What led your organization to make the commitment?

    The ACUNS Vienna liaison office is especially strongly engaged in addressing issues of femicide and of juvenile justice.

  • Achievements at a glance

    ACUNS recently published the sixth volume of "Femicide: Violence Against Girls in Flight" https://acuns.org/femicide-volume-vi-violence-against-girls-in-flight/

  • How is your organization assessing progress

    The ACUNS Vienna office works regularly with a number of interested and engaged Missions in addressing femicide through the General Assembly, and in national policy development. It encourages governments to pursue policies in support of the goals in the report.

  • Challenges faced in implementation

    While governments acknowledge femicide as a problem, moving from recognition to policy, and from policy to implementation, can be slow and sometimes faces vested interests or social practices that are difficult to change.

  • Next step to advance implementation in 2017

    At the conference in Vienna (January 2017) these issues and related matters will be discussed with scholars, government representatives, and NGO officers from those regions. The Vienna liaison office is considering opportunities for researching and producing a new volume of the femicide publication.

  • If you had one message for the annual report on what is most needed to advance the transformation 'Take concrete steps to improve compliance and accountability', what would it be

    Look for small steps as well as major advances that can be accomplished.

2E
Uphold the rules: a global campaign to affirm the norms that safeguard humanity

Core Commitment

  • Commitment
  • Core Responsibility
  • Commit to promote and enhance respect for international humanitarian law, international human rights law, and refugee law, where applicable.
  • Uphold the Norms that Safeguard Humanity

  • What led your organization to make the commitment?

    There is a historically high level of human displacement as a result of conflict, and there is the potential of new challenges from climate induced displacement. It is important to recognize these as challenges that are not anomalies but are going to continue or possibly increase in the future unless we can address their root causes now.

  • Achievements at a glance

    ACUNS' Executive Director attended and participated in the World Humanitarian Summit, while its office acted as a digital advocate for the Summit. ACUNS' efforts as a digital advocate led to a notable spike in its followers and "tweet impressions" on twitter (in one month its "tweet impressions" increased from 4,000 to over 45,000).

  • How is your organization assessing progress

    ACUNS has continued to reach out to individuals and organisations whom it connected with as a digital advocate.

  • Challenges faced in implementation

    ACUNS is continually seeking good quality, substantive and critical analyses of current humanitarian problems and needs. Its challenge then is to connect these analyses to policy practitioners and to have the latter accept these contributions as useful for their policy formulation. There always is a tendency for practitioners to see scholarly analysis as less useful for their practical needs.

  • Next step to advance implementation in 2017

    ACUNS has a number of special events planned for New York and Geneva which will bring together small groups of researchers and practitioners (government representatives and UN officers) which it hopes will help to continue to build better dialogue, familiarity and trust between the engaged academic and practitioner communities.

  • If you had one message for the annual report on what is most needed to advance the transformation 'Uphold the rules: a global campaign to affirm the norms that safeguard humanity', what would it be

    It is important to have clear, consistent, and credible leadership from the United Nations in combination with leading member states.

Attachments

  • Femicide - Violence Against Girls in Flight (2016)
    Transformation - 2D | Gender