united nations

A Catalan debate over Responsibility to Protect

November 29, 2013 04:16 PM | ACN

The Public Diplomacy Council of Catalonia (DIPLOCAT) organized on Friday in Barcelona a conference on the Responsibility to Protect. This UN-backed principle claims that all countries have the responsibility to protect their citizens from human rights violations. The Executive Director of the World Federalist Movement-Institute for Global Policy, William Pace, argued that “the EU has in its DNA the responsibility to protect” and added that the attitude of the Catalan society is “also fundamental” in order to fight against “impunity for serious crimes”. The Secretary General of the DIPLOCAT, Albert Royo, said that “it is especially important” for Catalonia to “be able to explain which role it wants to play” in the international arena, now that is considering becoming an independent country.

FC Barcelona to extend alliance with Unicef until 2016

November 12, 2013 09:13 PM | ACN

The Catalan club’s Board have approved the motion to extend the alliance with the UN body until the end of their term in office, which lasts until 2016. FC Barcelona has agreed, as it has done in recent years, to donate €1.5 million euros a year to joint projects with Unicef, which involve the promotion of education and sport among vulnerable children. Barça and the United Nations first joined forces in September 2006. The current deal was due to end in 2014. “We are very satisfied with this alliance”, stated the  Board Spokesman and Secretary, Toni Freixa.

Barcelona to host an international United Nations congress on tourism in large cities in 2014

April 20, 2013 12:32 AM | CNA

The announcement coincides with the kick off of Catalonia’s International Tourism Fair (SITC), which takes place in Barcelona from the 19th to the 21st of April. The news was announced by Taleb Rifai, the Secretary General of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), and the Catalan Minister for Business and Employment, Felip Puig. The United Nations tourism congress takes place every two years. Furthermore Rifai praised the SITC’s international projection, since this year it has replicated the number of participating countries and has the United Nations’ support.

Ban Ki-moon asks for talks regarding Catalonia’s self-determination claims

April 3, 2013 12:05 AM | CNA

“The United Nations respect self-determination processes” stated the Secretary General of the United Nations when he was asked about Catalonia’s and Scotland’s self-determination processes during his official visit to Andorra, a small independent country in the Pyrenees which has Catalan as its official language. Ban Ki-moon urged all the political leaders to talk and find a negotiated and peaceful solution. “All the pending issues among countries have to be solved via peaceful means and through dialogue, respecting the genuine will of the affected people”, he stated. As opposed to the United Kingdom’s Government, the Spanish Executive currently refuses to even talk about Catalonia’s self-determination claims, which are backed by November’s electoral results and recent opinion polls.

UN’s body for Water Management (GWOPA) will be based in Barcelona

July 3, 2012 12:04 AM | CNA

Depending on UN-Habitat, the Global Water Operators' Partnerships Alliance (GWOPA) has established the Catalan capital as the permanent base for its headquarters. GWOPA will set up its offices in one of the historical Art-Nouveau pavilions of the old Sant Pau Hospital, in Barcelona. These pavilions will host other international organisations, such as one institute of the United Nations University. “It is not the first and neither will it be the last organisation to choose” Sant Pau’s historical site to base its headquarters, stated the Catalan Minister for Sustainability, Lluís Recoder.

The Spanish Government will formally ask to restore Pau Casals’ anthem for the United Nations

February 22, 2011 10:28 PM | CNA / Maria José Fidalgo

The Catalan violoncello player and composer Pau Casals was asked in 1971 to create an anthem for the United Nations by the former Secretary General. However, after Pau Casals death and the change of UN Secretary General, the anthem was never played again. The Spanish Parliament’s Culture Commission came to an unanimous motion to ask the Spanish Government to push for the restoration of the United Nations official anthem.