1. Seekers of truth and doers of justice in the 21 st century Adapted from a Report given by Anne Kelly ibvm. April 2013 PART 1.

2. Background  Loreto has had a representative at the United Nations since 2003.  Evanne Hunter from the Canadian Province was the first Representative.  Doryne Kirby from the Canadian Province  Marilla De Souza from Darjeeling Region  Anne Kelly from Australia/South East Asian Province  Cecilia O’Dwyer from Spanish Province Focus areas of attention in the past have been: o Millennium Development Goals o Gender equity o Human trafficking o Climate Change o HIV and AIDS o Innovative Financing for Development 2

3. 3 Why are we at the UN?

4. Primary Goals at the UN Our primary goals at the UN are: 1. to work for systemic change to redress the major inequities in our world with a particular focus on the eradication of poverty and the promotion of gender equity for women and girls 2. To promote an understanding of the factors underlying systemic injustice 4

5.  Our main areas of focus: o Human rights – underpins all issues o Empowerment of women and girls o Human trafficking o Poverty eradication (MDGs) o Significant omission: care of the Earth and sustainability 5

6. 1.The NGO has developed over the years. During the last three years we - have been commended for our Annual Reports to Department of Public Information (DPI) - have conducted workshops at the last two DPI conferences - have conducted a highly successful workshop on means to prevent human trafficking at the recent Commission on the Status of women (CSW) - have established good working relationships with a number of UN missions 6

7. Committees and Commissions Working Groups and Task Force 7 

8. 2a) Working Group on Girls In the advocacy task force Research and writing ‘interventions’ Producing documents on violence against women and girls an FGM fact sheet an indigenous girls fact sheet a child-headed households fact sheet for advocacy visits to missions of Member States 8 There is a direct correlation between girls’ school attendance and community development

9. 9 2b). Committee to Stop Trafficking in Humans Labour trafficking (focus on children) Advocacy visits to UN missions Conducted workshop at the recent CSW 2c). Commission on Social Development Research and writing of interventions Breakfast advocacy meetings with UN ambassadors

10. 2d).RUN (Religious at the UN) Facilitating advocacy workshops for members of RUN Planning a reflection day for RUN members 2e).Religious NGOs Interfaith events, liturgies, presentations 2f). UN Meetings General Assembly, ECOSOC, panel discussions, report launches, briefings, special events 2g).Commissions Women, Indigenous, Social Development 10

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12. 12 WHOLE GROUP DPI CONFERENCE MELBOURNE

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14. 14 Alex Flores Rene Salazar, Mauricio Orellana presented a workshop on sustainable farming in Bonn. Canada USA have a long-term commitment to El Salvador

15. 15 Clare Condon - Australia INTERNSINTERNS Anne Kelly – Cecilia O’Dwyer Pat Hanvey - Zambia Ana Stakaj – Albania – CSW 2012

16.  This information gives an overview of our engagement with the UN in New York through the UN Representative.  The IBVM/Loreto world –wide network and the UN will be dealt with in Part 2 at a later date. 16