Chair of UNA Westminster, David Wardrop, has given the following response to the BBC programme The Whistle-blowers: Inside the UN The BBC programme The Whistle-blowers: Inside the UN’ will have shocked UNA members. It reported on scandalous cases of wrongdoing, corruption and especially sexual harassment of junior UN staff by their line managers or superiors. Several […]

In July 2021, The Nationality and Borders Bill was introduced to Parliament. It contained provisions about nationality, asylum, immigration, victims of slavery and human trafficking. The UK government stated that the reforms in the Bill were about saving lives and breaking the economic model of people smugglers. However, these claims have not been supported by […]

Since 2004, The Houthi movement has been leading an insurgency against the military in Yemen. In 2014, tensions between Houthis and government forces escalated into outright civil war. Protests around the 2011 Arab Spring had pressured Yemen’s President Saleh to hand power to his deputy, Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi. The transition was not smooth. As security […]

COP 26 – Summary and Action Summary This summary is mostly from Gareth Redmond-King of the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit, whose Director, Peter Chalkley, is a keynote speaker at the UNA LASER 2021 AGM. COP26 landed various ‘sector deals’ – on coal, deforestation, methane, vehicles, funding for overseas fossil fuels, and getting beyond oil […]

Update from COP 26 on 12th November The latest COP26 draft political text, published early on Friday 12th, is significantly more balanced than the previous one, with stronger elements on adaptation, finance and loss & damage. The elements of the text aimed at speeding up action to close the gap towards emissions goals are there […]

Update from COP 26 on 10/11 Cover text: The first draft of the cover text (the political umbrella text coming out of the summit) was published overnight. The text includes: Commitment for 196 countries to boost climate targets by 2023 Countries to submit net-zero targets & plans in line with Paris by 2022 Countries to accelerate […]

Update from COP 26 on 8th November Adaptation, Loss and Damage day has led to Christian Aid reporting that climate change could cause 64% GDP hit to world’s vulnerable countries. Looming crunches and fights are coming up in week 2. The urgent climate-change related needs of developing countries – adaptation, loss and damage, and climate […]

Update from COP 26 on 4th November Historic Pledges: According to analysis from Climate Resource, new COP26 pledges bring projected warming to below 2°C for the first time in history. Reverse Deforestation: More than 100 world leaders have agreed to a commitment to halt and reverse deforestation by 2030. The commitment, called the Glasgow Leaders’ […]

Update from COP 26 On G20: Last weekend, G20 leaders made some small steps towards limiting global warming to 1.5C. But there’s lots more work to do for world leaders now gathered at the UN Climate Talks to agree plans to tackle the climate crisis This weekend, the world’s most powerful leaders met and committed […]

The Billion Seeds Challenge: Planting Seeds of Hope Before COP26, and following the many activities of last month’s Big Green Week, do join other members of the Climate Coalition in planting seeds of hope. Last month you were part of the greatest, biggest, greenest week the UK has ever seen. With your help, we showed […]

UNA LASER is among the signatories of the following letter to go to the Heads of States, Environment Ministers, President of COP26, Alok Sharma and the Heads of Delegations at COP26 At just over 1 degree Celsius of warming above pre-industrial levels, climate change is already causing havoc in countries around the world. UN Secretary-General […]

UNA LASER is among the signatories of the following letter from the Arms, Militarisation and Climate Justice Working Group to Nigel Topping, UK High Level Champion for Climate Action at COP26. Dear Mr Topping Military greenhouse gas emissions must be on the agenda for COP27 Militaries are major greenhouse gas (GHG) emitters and typically the […]

Key features to note about the current Afghan situation are: Afghanistan is a multi-ethnic country with Baluch, Hazara, Pashtun, Tajiks and Turkmen (Pashtun and Tajiks constituting nearly 70% of the population). The current Islamic Emirate, declared on 15th August, is practising what appears to be a non-inclusive approach to governance of the nation. The government appears […]

We have been horrified: by the incompetence of the international community’s withdrawal from Afghanistan in response to the Taliban’s successful takeover of power; and by the resultant suffering – and prospective loss of human rights – of the people of Afghanistan. Here are some useful ideas from Humanists International of what we can ask our […]

The UNA LASER 2021 Summer Council was held on 17th July. It was organised by the Twickenham and Richmond UNA Branch (TRUNA). The theme was: The UN: Past – Present – and Future? The speakers were: Past (from its roots in the League of Nations Union) – David Wardrop Present (especially on Women, Peace and […]

UNA LASER is a member of the Crack the Crises coalition. There is an important opportunity to influence the G7 world leaders due to meet in Cornwall on 11th June. Please add your voice by joining the Wave of Hope and messaging your MP through this link: crackthecrises.org. You can also retweet here. Here is […]

LASER – as a member of the Climate Coalition – has signed the following letter, coordinated by the Global Gas and Oil Network and being sent to the Prime Minsiter on Thursday 27th May. Do use it as a basis for lobbying your MP! Dear Prime Minister, The International Energy Agency (IEA), the world’s most […]

Please write to your MPs to ask them to urge her Majesty’s Government to help bring an urgent settlement in the Holy Land to achieve both peace and justice. Below is a letter you could adapt., with thanks to Dr Brian Beeley for help in drafting it. We have sent a similar letter on behalf […]

Here is the Gllsgoe Action Plan for COP26, with its 5 key actions that are needed to: Close the Gap to 1.5 deg C Address Loss and damage Increase climate finance for adaptation Scale up high quality nature-based solutions Support a just energy transition Unlock the green recovery to get on track to Net Zero […]

We have written on  behalf of LASER to the Prime Minister and the Foreign Secretary, urging them to give more support to the Yemen. These letters mnay be dealt with by officials, so it is important we all also write to our MPs, as they have better access to Ministers. Here is a template letter […]