On October 17th, 2019, the Symposium on Women and Children/Girls experiencing Homelessness/Displacement was hosted by UNANIMA International at the Baha´i International Community Center. It was an extraordinary event due to the variety of knowledgeable experts and speakers. The first speaker was Guillermo Campuzano, C.M. – Father Memo – to provide a report and overview on the work of the Working Group to End Homelessness (WGEH). In this report, he made it clear by referring to several statistics that the issue of homelessness is of utmost urgency since about 1.8 billion people on this earth are homeless or inadequately housed – that is almost every fourth person. This shocking fact is accompanied by the reality that this affects the most vulnerable people groups, namely indigenous people, women and children. Father Memo made it clear that in order to accomplish the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030, those highly affected groups require special attention so that no one is left behind.
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               Throughout the meeting it was emphasized and mentioned repeatedly that the issue of homelessness regarding any group of people requires strong collaboration between the existing networks and working groups. The recent accomplishment by an expert group meeting in Nairobi, Kenya, was a definition of homelessness which is intended to be used in all advocacy work to reach the common goal of ending this particular crisis. As there is a lack of measurement, the following definition was a large achievement to be able to move forward on this issue collectively.

“Homelessness is a condition where a person or household lacks habitable space with security of tenure, rights and ability to enjoy social relations, including safety. Homelessness is a manifestation of extreme poverty and a failure of multiple systems and human rights.”

                 This year is the 30th anniversary of the adoption of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) which is the most ratified human rights treaty in history of this world. We look back to significant improvement across the globe, increasing regulations and support by states to ensure that children in any circumstances have the best opportunities possible to grow up and reach their fullest potential. Especially the global study conducted by Mister Nowak that was introduced to the Third Committee at the United Nations Headquarters on October 8th, 2019, provides valuable insight that even just recently established measures already show that states´ regulations have improved several aspects of some of the most vulnerable groups of children across the world. The number of children kept in state institutions has dropped by 2.6 million (more than 32 %) since 2006 while there are more than 50 % less imprisoned. Mister Nowak explains those significant changes by referring to several regulations implemented more effectively by several states that adhere to human rights treaties. As this year´s theme of the International Day of Eradication of Poverty indicates, it is vital to view children not as objects that need to be dealt with but part of a community, moreover of families that are the key supporters to ensure a protected and healthy child development. When we talk about ending poverty, we have to break down this issue to the smallest communities to fight and solve the root causes. Children are often forgotten in the fight against poverty, but as stated multiple times by several experts at the UN Third Committee Meeting on October 8th, 2019, they have to be put at the forefront of this fight. The consequences of children growing up in a broken and unstable environment are detrimental for the whole society. The economic costs alone – 7 trillion dollars per year according to the UN Special Representative of the Secretary General on Violence Against Children – are beyond imagination. How much worse are the negative consequences on a child´s development, heart and health.

            Indeed, there has been significant progress, but a lot more needs to be done. The issue of poverty as well as providing stable and safe circumstances for children to grow up in remains to be a pressing one. As the Deputy Executive Director of UNICEF reported to the Third Committee at the United Nations Headquarters on October 8th, 2019, 15,000 children die every day of treatable causes. Furthermore, poverty is the main driver of child labor while every year one billion children – half of the world´s children – experience violence. Those statistics are a horrifying reality for children around the world. As this year´s theme of the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty shows – Acting together to empower children, their families and communities to end poverty – it requires a joined effort to end poverty, especially at the smallest level of society. As Vincentians, our commitment to serve the poor doesn´t exclude children, but rather should be primarily focused on them. They are the future of this world! In order to create lasting, systemic change, promote peace and dignity – as our core Vincentian beliefs state – we need to start with those who suffer of a system and circumstances that they neither created nor chose to live in.

                   Along the goal of the UN Sustainable Development Goals to leave no one behind, as Vincentians we ought to take a leading role in serving the world´s poor and most vulnerable ones, those who are the future of this very planet. Lasting change starts by supporting and influencing the smallest communities which is the family. Parental care is a key element to prevent early exclusion, neglect and discrimination of children. As the Deputy Executive Director of UNICEF stated repeatedly, stable and protected circumstances are vital for children to grow up and reach their fullest potential. Ending poverty requires a systemic change of our society´s behavior that protects the most vulnerable groups on this earth to develop and grow in a healthy way. In St. Vincent de Paul´s example, we as Vincentians ought to serve the poor with relentless effort. The poor in the context of economic resources but also the ones who are poor in spirit. Those who had no choice but grow up in a broken and unjust system that prevents them from reaching their fullest potential and support a lasting, systemic change. Serving the poor starts with serving the most vulnerable to maintain this unfair distribution in this world, not because they choose that deliberately, moreover as they don´t have a different choice. It is our responsibility to serve them first and foremost to create lasting change.

            Lastly, since this is the 30th anniversary of one of the most influential human rights treaties in human history, it is a great opportunity as Vincentians to look back on our efforts and evaluate what we can do better or more effectively. As countries and organizations around the world remember this historic ratification, we as Vincentians should keep in mind that it is a joined effort to fight poverty. As this year is an ideal time to review the past three decades, it allows us to strengthen our partnerships, create new allies and build more effective strategies for our service to the world´s poor to ultimately end poverty on this earth!
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Tuesday June 4, Brian Wilson - The Working Group to End Homelessness hosted an open discussion on “Affordable housing and social protection systems for all to address homelessness.” The meeting began with an opening presentation from Memo Campuzano. He began by sharing a story called the Tree of Love. The story is about a group of homeless people who had no place for privacy and therefore had no place to be intimate with their partners. The tree was the only place for these people to feel like they had a private place. It was a powerful way to begin this meeting since stories such as the Tree of Love reminds all who are present the importance for advocating for the homeless. After Memo’s presentation, moderator Jean Quinn opened the discussion to the panelists. The panel members included; Daniela Bas from United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA), Iris Bailey, Sr. Winifred Doherty of the Global Coalition for Social Protection Floors, Craig Mokhiber of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights New York, and Dame Louise Casey who is the chair of IGH. 

    Perhaps the most memorable and moving moment of the morning came from Iris Bailey who recalled her life as a homeless woman. Throughout her experience as a homeless woman she witnessed and felt the effects of homelessness first hand. Ms. Bailey was placed in mental health institutions as well as temporary shelters. She remembers the fear and feeling of uncertainty in this period of her life. She recommended that the government “Stop building shelters and start building affordable housing.” She also called for the end of discrimination of homeless people. Ms. Bailey’s brave remarks moved everyone in the room and her final message to all of us was that “You have to live it to know it.” 

    Everyone in the room agreed that homelessness is a violation of human rights. Daniela Bas was the first to speak on this point. She said, “To have a home is a human right.” She also spoke energetically of the need to develop policies to enforce such human rights as well as stopping the violations before they can happen. Craig Mokhiber called homelessness a breach of human rights. He said that homelessness is a complex issue and it can be the catalyst to many other human rights violations, which is why Mr. Mokhiber called homelessness an “octopus” because of the way it can be connected to so many other issues. Sr. Winifred Doherty echoed Mr. Mokhiber’s view and spoke about its effects on women and children. Homelessness can leads to lack of education and malnutrition for children. 

    Many of the speakers offered recommendations that could be done. As Ms. Bailey said the government should “Stop building shelters and start building affordable housing.” This was reflected by Dame Louise Casey’s remark that “You can not always ‘house’ your way out of homelessness.” She also called for nations to begin collecting data and statistics so that there can be action. Similarly, Mr. Mokhiber said people often forget that homelessness is a human rights violation because there is no data or statistics to support it. Another recommendation was made from Daniela Bas who said that focusing on peace and security efforts is crucial since conflicts are a large factor of homelessness around the world.

The major theme from this meeting was the call for a common definition, description or language on homelessness at United Nations. This is an urgent issue with the future of the Working Group to End Homelessness but also for the future of homelessness globally. The obstacle the WGEH is facing is creating language that is inclusive and non-controversial so that it does not ostracize any member states or NGOs. At the meeting, there were people who spoke on behalf of the need for common language as well as those who cautioned against it. During the opening presentation Memo proposed using the language established by a group of experts on the issue in Nairobi, Kenya recently, 

"Homelessness is a condition where a person or household lacks habitable space with security of tenure, rights and ability to enjoy social relations, including safety.  Homelessness is a manifestation of extreme poverty and a failure of multiple systems and human rights”


Dame Louise shared that it is time for a common description as soon as possible. She warned the group against waiting around another decade for a description or definition. Others in the room, such as a representative from the Mission of Austria as well as Daniela Bas, recommended against establishing a description or definition like the one proposed by Memo. 

Overall, this meeting was a great opportunity for the WGEH to meet and come together before July’s high level political forum at the United Nations.

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On Tuesday March 12th, I attended an event hosted by the Committee to Stop Trafficking in Persons and Mariana Vanin from the Coalition Against Trafficking in Women on using the Sustainable Development Goals to prevent women and girls from being trafficked. 
On the panel were:

Angela Reed, the coordinator of Mercy Global Action. As a social worker she focused on trafficking and gender based violence. She has worked with survivors in the Philippines and Australia. She has conducted multiple research projects on human trafficking and how the experience is understood by survivors. She now focuses on prevention. 

Shandra Woworuntu, the executive director of Mentari. She is a survivor leader who works with survivors of gender based violence in New York and Indonesia. Her aim is to help survivors reintegrate into society, with the aim being that they can live independently. 

Ruchira Gupta, The founder and president of Apne Aap. She has worked on multiple documentaries focusing on the human rights abuses of human trafficking. She works now on advocating for the punishment, suppression, and prevention of human trafficking. 

     The conversation brought forth the importance of seeing human trafficking in a context with the rest of the world. Certain groups of people face oppressions (such as poverty, sexism, racism, homophobia, and so on), and human trafficking is one of the many tools of domination. 
     With this in mind, they all pointed to important assets that all women and girls need in order to avoid being victimized by traffickers. Basic needs, social connections, education, safety, documents, and political knowledge were some of the important things needed to prevent human trafficking. It is not hard to see how the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals would help prevent further victimization. By creating systems in which young women are able to advance themselves in positive ways, they would be less vulnerable to traffickers. 

 "I am not crazy, I want to make a change." - Shandra Woworuntu

     Shandra brought up some important things I think we should all think about as we continue CSW 63, and our fight to end trafficking in persons. First, she clarified the role of NGOs (like ours) from the survivor's perspective. According to her, we need to act as the bridge between survivors and governments. We should be listening, learning, understanding, and identifying. Our responsibility is to work with survivors to find the best solutions, and put pressure on the right people to make it happen. With these goals in mind, I am more renewed in our need to implement the SDGs effectively than I have every been. As Shandra said "I am not crazy, I want to make a change." 

Apefa runs a mentorship program for girls, that takes into account their experiences, culture, race, socioeconomic status and other factors when pairing mentors. 
She spoke about how The Pearl Project came from her own barriers to accessing social protection, due to her race and gender. Her program aims to pair students up with mentors who can relate to them socially, as well as a mentor for their career interests. This gives young girls goals in terms of who, and what they want to be. 

Associazione Don Bosco provides shelters and education for immigrants, especially those coming from Africa. They work to integrate members into Italian society by teaching them sustainable agricultural and enterprising skills. 
They are then giving the opportunity to return back to their hometowns to implement sustainable agriculture micro-enterprises in those areas, to increase economic development

Devopriya works with youth in India on sustainable development, advocacy for those in need, women's rights, and their intertwining with cultural events. They work to educate many throughout the country on how to be organic, on solar power, and how to clean water. 

Morgan shared her insights in how as a college student, she became involved in UNICEF. She expressed concerns about how she and other college students were facing barriers to entry in terms of NGO engagement due to financial restraints. She offered insight into ongoing efforts to increase the number of paid internships.

Saphira expressed excitement in the rise of youth involvement in service to others, and described some possible futures for increased involvement. She described her view of the system as one that is inherently unjust, and called for redistribution of wealth. She raised important questions about how we will support and work with youth to address causes of poverty. She also called upon the group to think about how we can design a better system that is more inclusive to all

On January 29th, I attended a briefing on the Commission on the Status of Women. Led by H.E. Ms. Geraldine Byrne Nason (Ireland), we were briefed on the themes, goals, and procedures. 

Themes:
Priority theme: Social protection systems, access to public services and sustainable infrastructure for gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls
Review Theme: Women’s empowerment and the link to sustainable development

The commission will take place from Monday March 11th to Friday March 22nd, concluding in the adoption of the report of the CSW on its 63rd session.

We are very excited to take part in this transformative and powerful event! I personally am quite excited to continue our efforts in CSTIP to end human trafficking for all genders with women all from around the world. We all will be updating you on events we are working on as the commission gets closer. We hope to see you there!