6th Informal Meeting of the Alliance

6^th Informal Meeting of the Alliance for Vienna-based Representatives of International NGOs     
July 7th, 2020 15:30 – 16:50 (via Webex)

Participants: Anna Alvazzi del Frate (Chair), Ingeborg Geyer (Treasurer), Evelyn Dürmayer, Jeanne Sarson, Linda MacDonald, Jolanta Redo, Ian Tennant, Jay Albanese, Francesco Serra (Intern), Marene Parenzan, Christian Ponti, Barbara Hoffman, Rory Field, Yasushi Higashizawa, Sarah Pirker, Renate Amesbauer, Tobias Krachler (Secretary), Mirella Dummar-Frahi (UNODC-CST), Billy Batware (UNODC-CST), Anders Frantzen (UNODC-CST).

The informal meeting via Webex was facilitated by the Secretary. The Chair welcomed the participants and introduced the agenda of the meeting:

Updates from the Alliance

Tour de table with discussion

AOB

Updates from the Alliance

Chair:

The Chair welcomed the participants and shared updates on forthcoming events:

The Alliance participated in the Beijing +25 Conference and it is attempting to increase its participation in UNODC Events, which diminished due to the pandemic. In person meetings at the VIC are soon going to replace remote meetings. The General Assembly is planned for October 14^th, so to coincide with UNTOC Session. It will be possible to propose nominations for the new board, starting from August 5^th.

Ian Tennant (Vice Chair) on the Workshops for the Kyoto Crime Congress:

There is still uncertainty about the exact dates of the Crime Congress, as many other events have been postponed to 2021. There are two working groups: one group will work on the General Statement of the Alliance at the Congress, and the other one will be looking at key issues emerging from to the pandemic, and how civil society can play a part in the current circumstances. The communications will be sent soon to everyone that volunteered to collaborate in the working groups.

Treasurer:

19 membership fees from Ordinary Members have been paid. In addition, one fee from an Extraordinary Member and 6 from Individual Members have been paid as well. For 16 Ordinary Members the fees still pending. The treasurer is actively working on enlarging the membership by reaching out to CSOs.

Secretary:

Important changes have been made to the website structure. It is now easier to upload content on the website. Further details will be given at the GA. Members are invited to share events and information with the Alliance, which will be posted on the website. A template for sharing information will be prepared so to guide members through the process.

Tour de table

Many participants shared information on their ongoing work and experiences also via chat (copy of the chat is attached for information). Topics included updates on the impact of the pandemic on imprisonment; safety of journalists; lethal violence against women; trafficking in persons; protection of lawyers; as well as updates on new publications and research initiatives. Many participants shared links to relevant information and publications in the Webex chat, which is attached as an Annex to these minutes.

Updates from UNODC-CST

The Vienna International Center is gradually reopening, but the full staff is already back at work. The trainings for the UNTOC Stakeholder Engagement project (SE4U) will take place 21-24 July. The initial training will focus on the Americas region, with deadline for participation is on 14 July. There are already many applications from NGOs and academia, but more private sector actors are welcomed. Trainings focusing on Europe, Africa and Asia will take place later in the year. https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/ngos/se4u-training.html

The meeting concluded with information on next meetings:

4 August 2020 – 15:30 Vienna Time – 7^th Informal Meeting

ANNEX

COPY OF THE MESSAGES AND LINKS SHARED VIA CHAT AT THE MEETING

From Yasushi Higashizawa to everyone: Last week, more than 50 bars in the workd released a joint call for action paper for UN Human Rights Council, coinciding with the 30th Anniversary of the United Nations Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers.  It was originally planned to release for the UN Congress last April.  It was initiated the Japan Federation of Bar Associations (JFBA) along with the Union Internationale des Avocates (UIA) and the International Bar Associations (IBA).  www.ibanet.org/Document/Default.aspx?DocumentUid=57a20b14-2904-4499-93cb-ae6eb5502d90