Fraternite Notre Dame is involved in, and regularly speaks out at the Sessions of the Council on Human Rights in Geneva.
On March 27th, 2009, Fraternite Notre Dame spoke to express its view point on Item No. 3: Freedom of Religion and Minorities. Fraternite Notre Dame's representative spoke on Item No. 9 at the 13th Session of the Council on Human Rights, held March 1-26, 2010. Fraternite Notre Dame spoke also on Item No. 9: Racism and Racial Discrimination, addressed during the 14th Session of the Council on Human Rights, held May 31st through June 18th, 2010. The Organization intervened anew on Item No. 9 from Sept. 13 to Oct. 1st, 2010, for the 15th Session of the same Council.
In 2011, Fraternite Notre Dame participated in the Council's 16th Session, held Feb. 28th till March 25th, 2011, addressing the audience on Item No. 9. It also took part in the 17th and 19th Sessions of the Council on Human Rights (again speaking on Item No. 9, Racism and Discrimination) which occurred from May 30th to June 17th and September 5-17th, 2011, respectively.
In parallel with such an involvement, Most Rev. Bishop Jean Marie Roger Kozik, Founder of Fraternite Notre Dame, concerned with sustainable development initiatives dealing with habitat, sent a representative to participate in the 23rd Session of the Governing Council of the United Nations' Human Settlement Program, held April 11-15 at the Headquarters of UN Habitat in Nairobi, Kenya.
The event allowed for a great deal of sharing with African NGOs, but also with representatives from the member States. Fraternite Notre Dame played an active role there, getting involved in several round-tables on habitat and the recurring problems of slums, in particular, three round-tables, of which one dealt with the need for safer public spaces for women and girls.
Various representatives from UN Women and UN Habitat spoke on several undertakings that have contributed in creating such safer spaces. Another discussion insisted on housing geared towards the future: new global strategies at the dawn of 2015. Again, a constructive discussion group focusing on housing for women and their right to the land within the framework of hurbanization.
Bonn – September 3rd-5th, 2011 Closely involved with UN-DPI, Most Rev. Bishop Jean Marie Roger Kozik, our Founder, also sent a representative to the 64th Session of the Annual DPI/NGO Conference held in Bonn, Germany, Sept. 3rd-5th, 2011. For Fraternite Notre Dame, the Conference provided an opportunity to meet with many other German or European NGOs concerned with environmental issues in their agenda,while visiting the various booths of those present, but also on the occasion of round-tables inviting to dialogue with the participants.
This year, the topic of the Conference emphasized on the responsibility of the citizens on sustainable development. This brought an important contribution from civil society towards the Rio Conference + 20, which is scheduled for later this year, 2012. the Session focused on promoting the means with which citizens and civil society can contribute in creating and fostering durable societies, notably when it comes to their economy, culture and the environment.
Fraternite Notre Dame actively participated in round-tables such as the one dealing with Development through Volunteering, moderated by Maria Luis Chavez and Marco Van Der Ree; other round-tables were held throughout the Session.
The Conference gathered government representatives, NGOs and members of civil society, and allowed for an in-depth evaluation of the progress realized todate and the achievements still to be realized in the implementation of the Goals set by the most prominent Summits on Sustainable Development, and presentation of some new recently-targeted challenges.
From these important UN-related gatherings, Fraternite Notre Dame came to appreciate the fact that voluteering can tremendously assist people in sharing more easily their own life experiences, and new partnerships are most likely prone to creating the right atmosphere for sustainable development.