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	Mary Robinson Foundation - Climate Justice by Mary Robinson Ireland   The Mary Robinson Foundation - Climate Justice (MRFCJ) is a centre for thought leadership, education and advocacy on the struggle to secure global justice for those people vulnerable to the impacts of climate change who are usually forgotten - the poor, the disempowered and the marginalised across the world.   It is a platform for solidarity, partnership and shared engagement for all who care about global justice, whether as individuals and communities suffering injustice or as advocates for fairness in resource-rich societies.   MRFCJ provides a space for facilitating action on climate justice to empower the poorest people and countries in their efforts to achieve sustainable and people-centred development.   Principles of Climate Justice   Climate Justice links human rights and development to achieve a human-centred approach, safeguarding the rights of the most vulnerable and sharing the burdens and benefits of climate change and its resolution equitably and fairly. Climate justice is informed by science, responds to science and acknowledges the need for equitable stewardship of the world’s resources.   In seeking through its mission to realise its vision of a world engaged in the advancing of climate justice, the Mary Robinson Foundation - Climate Justice (MRFCJ) dedicates itself to action which will be informed by core principles.   The Foundation elaborated a draft set of principles which it had an opportunity to introduce to a meeting of a small group of people from all parts of the world who have been working on climate justice issues. The meeting was supported by Rockefeller Brothers Foundation in Pocantico in July 2011.   The draft principles were developed and amended based on the common understanding of key principles, concepts and opportunities identified and discussed at the meeting. The Principles of Climate Justice, now adopted by the Board of MRFCJ and operative in the Foundation’s activities, follow.   Respect and Protect Human Rights   The international rights framework provides a reservoir for the supply of legal imperatives with which to frame morally appropriate responses to climate change, rooted in equality and justice.   The idea of human rights point societies towards internationally agreed values around which common action can be negotiated and then acted upon. Human rights yardsticks deliver valuable minimal thresholds, legally defined, about which there is widespread consensus. The guarantee of basic rights rooted in respect for the dignity of the person which is at the core of this approach makes it an indispensable foundation for action on climate justice.   Support the right to development   The vast gulf in resources between rich and poor, evident in the gap between countries in the North and South and also within many countries (both North and South) is the deepest injustice of our age. This failure of resource-fairness makes it impossible for billions of humans to lead decent lives, the sort of life-opportunities that a commitment to true equality should make an absolute essential.   Climate change both highlights and exacerbates this gulf in equality. It also provides the world with an opportunity. Climate change highlights our true interdependence and must lead to a new and respectful paradigm of sustainable development, based on the urgent need to scale up and transfer green technologies and to support low carbon climate resilient strategies for the poorest so that they become part of the combined effort in mitigation and adaptation.   Share Benefits and Burdens Equitably   The benefits and burdens associated with climate change and its resolution must be fairly allocated. This involves acceptance of common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities in relation to reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. Those who have most responsibility for greenhouse gas emissions and most capacity to act must cut emissions first.   In addition, those who have benefited and still benefit from emissions in the form of on-going economic development and increased wealth, mainly in industrialised countries, have an ethical obligation to share benefits with those who are today suffering from the effects of these emissions, mainly vulnerable people in developing countries. People in low income countries must have access to opportunities to adapt to the impacts of climate change and embrace low carbon development to avoid future environmental damage.   Ensure that Decisions on Climate Change are Participatory, Transparent and Accountable   The opportunity to participate in decision-making processes which are fair, accountable, open and corruption-free is essential to the growth of a culture of climate justice. The voices of the most vulnerable to climate change must be heard and acted upon. A basic of good international practice is the requirement for transparency in decision-making, and accountability for decisions that are made. It must be possible to ensure that policy developments and policy implementation in this field are seen to be informed by an understanding of the needs of low income countries in relation to climate justice, and that these needs are adequately understood and addressed.   Decisions on policies with regard to climate change taken in a range of fora from the UNFCCC to trade, human rights, business, investment and development must be implemented in a way that is transparent and accountable: poverty can never be an alibi for government failure in this sphere.   Highlight Gender Equality and Equity   The gender dimension of climate change, and in turn climate justice, must be highlighted. The impacts of climate changes are different for women and men, with women likely to bear the greater burden in situations of poverty.   Women’s voices must be heard and their priorities supported as part of climate justice. In many countries and cultures, women are at the forefront of living with the reality of the injustices caused by climate change. They are critically aware of the importance of climate justice in contributing to the right to development being recognized and can play a vital role as agents of change within their communities.   Harness the Transformative Power of Education for climate stewardship   The transformative power of education under-pins other principles, making their successful adoption more likely and inculcating into cultures a deeper awareness of human rights and climate justice than is presently to be found. To achieve climate stabilisation will necessitate radical changes in lifestyle and behaviour and education has the power to equip future generations with the skills and knowledge they will need to thrive and survive.   As well as being a fundamental human right which is already well developed in the international framework of rights referred to above, education is indispensable to the just society. It draws those in receipt of it towards a fuller understanding of the world about them, deepening their awareness both of themselves and of those around them. Done well, it invites reflection on ethics and justice that make the well-educated also good citizens, both of their home state and (in these global times) of the world as well.   Delivered in an effective multi-disciplinary school, college or university environmental education can increase consciousness of climate change, producing new insights not only at the scientific but also at the sociological and political level. Education is also achievable outside the formal system, through public and, increasingly, virtual (i.e. web-based) activity. The learning required to see climate change in justice terms cannot be done at the schools and university alone: it is a life-long responsibility and therefore a commitment.   Use Effective Partnerships to Secure Climate Justice   The principle of partnership points in the direction of solutions to climate change that are integrated both within states and across state boundaries.   Climate justice requires effective action on a global scale which in turn requires a pooling of resources and a sharing of skills across the world. The nation state may remain the basic building block of the international system but without openness to coalitions of states and corporate interests and elements within civil society as well, the risk is that the whole house produced by these blocks will be rendered uninhabitable. Openness to partnership is a vital aspect of any coherent approach to climate change, and in the name of climate justice, this must also involve partnership with those most affected by climate change and least able adequately to deal with it – the poor and under-resourced.   These principles are rooted in the frameworks of international and regional human rights law and do not require the breaking of any new ground on the part of those who ought, in the name of climate justice, to be willing to take them on. Visit the related web page
	Nelson Mandela International Day by United Nations News & agencies   Africans celebrate Nelson Mandela International Day, by Jocelyne Sambira.   “Happy birthday Grandpa Madiba. You remain true and the only icon to Africa.” Okero Issack Otieno, in Nairobi, shared his salute to the legendary former South African President Nelson Mandela with Africa Renewal.   The freedom fighter turned 94 on 18 July. But his birthday has also been designated as Nelson Mandela International Day by the United Nations. It is in recognition of Mr. Mandela’s leading role and support for Africa’s struggle for liberation and unity. It also hails his outstanding contribution to the struggle for a non-racial, non-sexist and democratic South Africa.   To mark the day, the UN has joined the Nelson Mandela Foundation to ask people to give 67 minutes of their time to help others. Mr. Otieno heeded the call by doing some charitable work in a low-income district in Kenya’s capital, Nairobi. “Spent my 67 minutes supporting orphans at a home in Kawangware,” he said. “Good to give back.”   Mr. Otieno is not alone in taking part in the festivities. In neighbouring Tanzania, Nuru Kessay, a student at Benjamin William Mkapa High School, recently travelled to South Africa to learn more about Mandela’s legacy. What really inspired her was his will to serve his people and fight apartheid even at the risk of his life. “I learned that all that I want to achieve is in my hands. All I want to do, I can do, no matter what experiences I pass through. As long as I have an aim and I am willing to do it, I can do it,” she told UN Radio.   Nelson Mandela’s birthday has become an annual call to action for people around the world. They have been inspired by his service to humanity. Mr. Mandela has devoted 67 years of his life to public service, as a human rights lawyer, a prisoner of conscience, an international peacemaker and the first democratically elected president of a free South Africa.   Since 2010, the UN has been holding events around the world to carry forth this legacy. This year’s theme, “Building a caring world — Nelson Mandela’s vision,” calls on people to inspire change.   Africa has been shaken up by what has been dubbed as the “Arab Spring.” In Egypt and Libya, popular protests movements toppled long-standing regimes, noted the president of the UN General Assembly, Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser.   In his remarks at a UN gathering in New York, he said, “Mr. Mandela’s persistence in cultivating national consensus and social cohesion resonates deeply with the Arab Awakening.” Mr. Al-Nasser called on people to “rise to the challenges to realize Mandela’s vision.”   Meanwhile, Jeff Radebe, minister of justice and constitutional development in South Africa reflected on the important strides made over the years — referring to Mr. Mandela by his Xhosa clan name. “South Africa, Africa and the world have changed since 1918, when Madiba was born,” Mr. Radebe said. “Almost the entire continent of Africa was under imperialism and colonialism. It is symbolic that Madiba was born at the height of the First World War, when the dream of a peaceful world, which Mandela has tirelessly worked for, was unimaginable.”   Mr. Mandela spent 27 years in prison fighting racist apartheid rule in South Africa, and later won a Noble Peace Prize for his efforts. He has become a symbol of freedom and justice to many people around the world. His story is one of change, of hope.   “Make every day a Mandela Day,” UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in his message for the day, urging people to commit one minute for each year of Mr. Mandela’s own service to humanity. “Nelson Mandela gave 67 years of his life to bring change to the people of South Africa. Our gift to him can — and must — be to change our world for the better.”   July 2012   This year on 18 July — Nelson Mandela"s 94th birthday — the UN is joining a call by the Nelson Mandela Foundation to devote 67 minutes of time to helping others, as a way to mark Nelson Mandela International Day.   For 67 years Nelson Mandela devoted his life to the service of humanity — as a human rights lawyer, a prisoner of conscience, an international peacemaker and the first democratically elected president of a free South Africa.   In November 2009, the UN General Assembly declared 18 July "Nelson Mandela International Day" in recognition of the former South African President’s contribution to the culture of peace and freedom.   The General Assembly resolution recognizes Nelson Mandela’s values and his dedication to the service of humanity, in the fields of conflict resolution, race relations, the promotion and protection of human rights, reconciliation, gender equality and the rights of children and other vulnerable groups, as well as the upliftment of poor and underdeveloped communities.   It acknowledges his contribution to the struggle for democracy internationally and the promotion of a culture of peace throughout the world.   * Visit the link below to access the offical United Nations site, see also http://www.mandeladay.com/ and http://www.nelsonmandela.org/ for more details. 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