1975: Ratification by Australia of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination
2020-09-30 00:00 - 23:59 (Australia/Sydney)
“The International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination 1966 was one of the first human rights treaties to be adopted by the United Nations (UN). The Convention is widely supported, with more than 156 countries (four-fifths of the membership of the UN) having ratified it. Australia ratified the Convention on 30 September 1975.” Australian Human Rights Commission – Guide to the Law

International Day for Older Persons
2020-10-01 00:00 - 23:59
“The year 2020 marks the 75th Anniversary of the United Nations and the 30th Anniversary of the International Day of Older Persons. This year has also seen an emergence of COVID-19, that has caused an upheaval across the world. Considering the higher risks confronted by older persons during the outbreak of pandemics such as COVID-19, policy and programmatic interventions must be targeted towards raising awareness of their special needs. Recognizing older persons contributions to their own health and the multiple roles they play in the preparedness and response phases of current and future pandemics is also important.” The theme of the 2020 commemoration is “Pandemics: Do They Change How We Address Age and Ageing?”

Action:

Revisit the 2016-17 Social Justice Statement, A Place at the Table: Social Justice in an Aging Society.

International Day of Non-Violence
2020-10-02 00:00 - 23:59
“Just peace is the goal, nonviolence is the way. A sustainable culture of peace can only be established by nonviolence that absolutely respects human dignity. Rooted in the interconnectedness of God’s creation, it also opens the way to an ‘integral ecology’ , as expressed by Pope Francis in Laudato Si’. Violence undermines this interconnectedness. Nonviolence sustains it. Nonviolence teaches us to say ‘no’ to an inhuman social order and ‘yes’ to the fullness of life… In every age, the Holy Spirit graces the Church with the wisdom to respond to the challenges of its time. In response to what is a global epidemic of violence, we are being called again and again to invoke, pray over, teach, and take decisive action in the spirit of Jesus’ nonviolence. Nonviolence is at the heart of the Gospel. It is the calling of the Church. It is not passive or naïve. It is a way of faith and action. It is an effective alternative. It is a constructive force to protect all people and our common home. It includes a broad spectrum of approaches and activities. It is the core of a new moral framework. It is essential to integral human development and at the heart of a culture of peace. It is at the core of the witness and action of Jesus and man who have come after him, including Saints Francis and Clare of Assisi, Mohandas Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr, Dorothy Day, Beatus Franz Jagerstatter, Saint OScar Romero, Berta Caceres, Lanza del Vasto, Wangari Muta Maathai, and the many people involved in nonviolent social movements.” Reflections from the Pax Christi International/Catholic Nonviolence Initiative workshop on Path of Nonviolence: Towards a Culture of Pace, 4-5 April 2019, Rome.

World Habitat Day
2020-10-05 00:00 - 23:59
“Solutions begin with small steps individuals can take to alter the way our cities function. We must reduce the amount of waste we produce, and, at the same time, start seeing it as a valuable resource that can be re-used and recycled, including for energy.” — UN Secretary-General António Guterres

The United Nations designated the first Monday of October of every year as World Habitat Day to reflect on the state of our towns and cities, and on the basic right of all to adequate shelter. The Day is also intended to remind the world that we all have the power and the responsibility to shape the future of our cities and towns.

United Nations

World Teachers Day
2020-10-05 00:00 - 23:59
Held annually on 5 October since 1994, World Teachers’ Day commemorates the anniversary of the adoption of the 1966 ILO/UNESCO Recommendation concerning the Status of Teachers. This Recommendation sets benchmarks regarding the rights and responsibilities of teachers and standards for their initial preparation and further education, recruitment, employment, and teaching and learning conditions. The Recommendation concerning the Status of Higher-Education Teaching Personnel was adopted in 1997 to complement the 1966 Recommendation by covering teaching and research personnel in higher education.

World Teachers’ Day is co-convened in partnership with UNICEF, UNDP, the International Labour Organization, and Education International.

UNESCO

World Post Day
2020-10-09 00:00 - 23:59
World Post Day is celebrated each year on 9 October, the anniversary of the establishment of the Universal Postal Union in 1874 in the Swiss Capital, Bern. It was declared World Post Day by the Universal Postal Union Congress held in Tokyo, Japan in 1969. Since then, countries across the world participate annually in the celebrations. The Posts in many countries use the event to introduce or promote new postal products and services.

United Nations

World Mental Health Day
2020-10-10 00:00 - 23:59
“This year’s World Mental Health Day, on 10 October, comes at a time when our daily lives have changed considerably as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The past months have brought many challenges: for health-care workers, providing care in difficult circumstances, going to work fearful of bringing COVID-19 home with them; for students, adapting to taking classes from home, with little contact with teachers and friends, and anxious about their futures; for workers whose livelihoods are threatened; for the vast number of people caught in poverty or in fragile humanitarian settings with extremely limited protection from COVID-19; and for people with mental health conditions, many experiencing even greater social isolation than before. And this is to say nothing of managing the grief of losing a loved one, sometimes without being able to say goodbye.” World Health Organisation, Mental Health Day 2020

Action

Read the Social Justice Statement 2020-21 To Live Life to the Full: Mental health in Australia today

Access the Do Not be Afraid website for guidelines and resources to assist parishes in welcoming and supporting people with mental ill-health and their families.

Find out about mental health services in your area.

International Day of the Girl
2020-10-11 00:00 - 23:59
“We need to uphold the equal rights, voices and influence of girls in our families, communities and nations. Girls can be powerful agents of change, and nothing should keep them from participating fully in all areas of life.” — UN Secretary-General António Guterres

Since 2012, 11 October has been marked as the International Day of the Girl. The day aims to highlight and address the needs and challenges girls face, while promoting girls’ empowerment and the fulfillment of their human rights.

United Nations

International Day for Disaster Reduction
2020-10-13 00:00 - 23:59
“Making infrastructure more climate-resilient can have a benefit-cost ratio of about six to one. For every dollar invested, six dollars can be saved. This means that investing in climate resilience creates jobs and saves money.” — UN Secretary-General António Guterres

The International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction was started in 1989, after a call by the United Nations General Assembly for a day to promote a global culture of risk-awareness and disaster reduction. Held every 13 October, the day celebrates how people and communities around the world are reducing their exposure to disasters and raising awareness about the importance of reining in the risks that they face.

United Nations

International Day of Rural Women
2020-10-15 00:00 - 23:59
“As early adopters of new agricultural techniques, first responders in crises and entrepreneurs of green energy, rural women are a powerful force that can drive global progress.” — UN Secretary-General António Guterres

The crucial role that women and girls play in ensuring the sustainability of rural households and communities, improving rural livelihoods and overall wellbeing, has been increasingly recognized. Women account for a substantial proportion of the agricultural labour force, including informal work, and perform the bulk of unpaid care and domestic work within families and households in rural areas. They make significant contributions to agricultural production, food security and nutrition, land and natural resource management, and building climate resilience. Even so, women and girls in rural areas suffer disproportionately from multi-dimensional poverty.

United Nations

World Food Day
2020-10-16 00:00 - 23:59
World Food Day 2020 marks the 75th anniversary of Food and Agricultural Organisation of the United Nations (FAO). As countries around the world deal with the widespread effects of the COVID-9 pandemic, it’s a time to look into the future we need to build together.

Action

Use the hashtag #WorldFoodDay to share your action online or join the FAO call to develop a virtual event or activity. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

International Day for the Eradication of Poverty
2020-10-17 00:00 - 23:59
Find out more about why the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty was established here.

Learn about the Sustainable Development Goals here.

The goal of the Raise the Rate campaign is to fix our social security safety net for good so that it keeps people out of poverty. Find out how to join the campaign here.

United Nations Day
2020-10-24 00:00 - 23:59
UN Day marks the anniversary of the entry into force in 1945 of the UN Charter. With the ratification of this founding document by the majority of its signatories, including the five permanent members of the Security Council, the United Nations officially came into being.

This year is the 75th anniversary of the UN. Learn about the celebrations here. To mark the anniversary, the UN has launched a global conversation on how to tackle the challenges we face and build a better future for all. Join the conversation here #UN75

World Development Information Day
2020-10-24 00:00 - 23:59
“Information and communications technologies have the potential to provide new solutions to development challenges, particularly in the context of globalization, and can foster economic growth, competitiveness, access to information and knowledge, poverty eradication and social inclusion.” — General Assembly Resolution (A/RES/65/141)

The General Assembly in 1972 established World Development Information Day to draw the attention of the world to development problems and the need to strengthen international cooperation to solve them (resolution 3038 (XXVII)). The Assembly deemed that improving the dissemination of information and the mobilization of public opinion, particularly among young people, would lead to greater awareness of the problems of development, thus, promoting efforts in the sphere of international cooperation for development.

1945: Establishment of the United Nations
2020-10-24 00:00 - 23:59
In 1945, representatives of 50 countries met in San Francisco at the United Nations Conference on International Organization to draw up the United Nations Charter. The Charter was signed on 26 June 1945 by the representatives of the 50 countries. Poland, which was not represented at the Conference, signed it later and became one of the original 51 Member States.

The United Nations officially came into existence on 24 October 1945, when the Charter had been ratified by China, France, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, the United States and by a majority of other signatories. United Nations Day is celebrated on 24 October each year.

Disarmament Week
2020-10-24 00:00 - 2020-10-30 23:59
“The adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development was a defining moment for global efforts to prevent, combat and eradicate the illicit arms trade: the Agenda included a specific target to significantly reduce illicit arms flows by 2030.”— UN Secretary-General’s report

Disarmament Week begins on the anniversary of the founding of the United Nations (24 October). The creation of this week was recommended in the Final Document of the General Assembly’s 1978 special session on disarmament (resolution S-10/2). That document called for abandoning the use of force in international relations and seeking security in disarmament.

World Cities Day
2020-10-31 00:00 - 23:59
The United Nations General Assembly designated the 31st of October as World Cities Day, by its resolution 68/239. The Day is intended to promote interest in global urbanization, push forward cooperation among countries in meeting opportunities and addressing challenges of urbanization, and contributing to sustainable urban development around the world.

How can you take action today to make your city or town more sustainable?

World Tsunami Awareness Day
2020-11-05 00:00 - 23:59
In the past 100 years, 58 tsnamis have claimed more than 260,000 lives, or an average of 4,600 per disaster. The Indian Ocean tsunami of December 2004 lone caused an estimated 227,000 fatalities in 14 countries, with Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India and Thailand hardest-hit.

“In December 2015, the UN General Assembly designated 5 November as World Tsunami Awareness Day. World Tsunami Awareness Day was the brainchild of Japan, which due to its repeated, bitter experience has over the years built up major expertise in areas such as tsunami early warning, public action and building back better after a disaster to reduce future impacts. The date for the annual celebration was chosen in honour of the Japanese story of “Inamura-no-hi”, meaning the “burning of the rice sheaves”. During an 1854 earthquake a farmer saw the tide receding, a sign of a looming tsunami. He set fire to his entire harvest to warn villagers, who fled to high ground. Afterwards, he built an embankment and planted trees as a buffer against future waves.” Tsunami Day, United Nations

International Day for Preventing the Exploitation of the Environment in War and Armed Conflict
2020-11-06 00:00 - 23:59
“… the environment has often remained the unpublicized victim of war. Water wells have been polluted, crops torched, forests cut down, soils poisoned, and animals killed to gain military advantage. Furthermore, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has found that over the last 60 years, at least 40 percent of all internal conflicts have been linked to the exploitation of natural resources, whether high-value resources such as timber, diamonds, gold and oil, or scarce resources such as fertile land and water. Conflicts involving natural resources have also been found to be twice as likely to relapse.” United Nations

Action

Read the United Nations resolution declaring 6 November the International Day for Preventing the Exploitation of the Environment in War and Armed Conflict. How can you respond?

What does Pope Francis have to say about this in Laudato Si’? How might you include action to prevent harm to creation as a result of war and armed conflict in your commitment to justice, ecology and peace?

World Science Day for Peace and Development
2020-11-10 00:00 - 23:59
By linking science more closely with society, World Science Day for Peace and Development aims to ensure that citizens are kept informed of developments in science. It also underscores the role scientists play in broadening our understanding of the remarkable, fragile planet we call home and in making our societies more sustainable. This year’s theme focuses on how science can help society to deal with the pandemic.

Remembrance (Armistice) Day, commemorating the end of World War I in 1918
2020-11-11 00:00 - 23:59
“At 11 am on 11 November 1918 the guns on the Western Front fell silent after more than four years of continuous warfare… The 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month attained a special significance in the post-war years. The moment when hostilities ceased on the Western Front became universally associated with the remembrance of those who had died in the war. This first modern world conflict had brought about the mobilisation of over 70 million people and left between 9 and 13 million dead, perhaps as many as one-third of them with no known grave. The allied nations chose this day and time for the commemoration of their war dead.” Australian War Memorial

World Diabetes Day
2020-11-14 00:00 - 23:59
Diabetes is a major cause of blindness, kidney failure, heart attack, stroke and lower limb amputation. Healthy diet, physical activity and avoiding tobacco use can prevent or delay type 2 diabetes. In addition diabetes can be treated and its consequences avoided or delayed with medication, regular screening and treatment for complications.

Communities experiencing poverty and disadvantage often have higher than average rates of diabetes due to factors such as lack of access to reasonably priced fruits and vegetables, recreational facilities, and health care services, and greater exposures to environmental toxins

Find out more about World Diabetes Day here.

International Day of Tolerance
2020-11-16 00:00 - 23:59
“At a time when extremism and fanaticism are unleashed too often, at a time when the venom of hatred continues to poison a part of humanity, tolerance has never been more vital a virtue.” — Audrey Azoulay, Director-General of UNESCO on the occasion of the International Day for Tolerance.

The United Nations is committed to strengthening tolerance by fostering mutual understanding among cultures and peoples. This imperative lies at the core of the United Nations Charter, as well as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and is more important than ever in this era of rising and violent extremism and widening conflicts that are characterized by a fundamental disregard for human life.

For reflection

In Fratelli Tutti (On Fraternity and Social Friendship) Pope Francis goes beyond tolerance to encourage dialogue, friendship and encounter. How might tolerance be related to these aspirations? Might it be a stepping stone?

World Toilet Day
2020-11-19 00:00 - 23:59
Toilets save lives, because human waste spreads killer diseases. World Toilet Day is about inspiring action to tackle the global sanitation crisis and help achieve Sustainable Development Goal 6 (SDG 6), which promises sanitation for all by 2030.

Universal Children's Day
2020-11-20 00:00 - 23:59
“Around the world, children are showing us their strength and leadership advocating for a more sustainable world for all. Let’s build on advances and re-commit to putting children first. For every child, every right.” – UN Secretary-General António Guterres

World Children’s Day was first established in 1954 as Universal Children’s Day and is celebrated on 20 November each year to promote international togetherness, awareness among children worldwide, and improving children’s welfare.

November 20th is the date in 1959 when the UN General Assembly adopted the Declaration of the Rights of the Child. It is also the date in 1989 when the UN General Assembly adopted the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

1959: Adoption by UN of the Declaration of Rights of the Child
2020-11-20 00:00 - 23:59
In 1959, the UN General Assembly adopted the Declaration of the Rights of the Child, which defines children’s rights to protection, education, health care, shelter, and good nutrition. It was followed on the same day in 1989 by a Convention on the Rights of the Child. Unlike a Declaration, a Convention is legally binding on those states that have ratified the instrument. The Convention views children as human beings with a distinct set of rights instead of as passive objects of care and charity.

A simple version of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (Simple Version) is available

Did you know?

The Convention on the Rights of the Child is the most rapidly and widely ratified international human rights treaty in history.

World Television Day
2020-11-21 00:00 - 23:59
Television continues to be the single largest source of video consumption. Though screen sizes have changed, and people create, post, stream and consume content on different platforms, the number of households with television sets around the world continues to rise. The interaction between emerging and traditional forms of broadcast creates a great opportunity to raise awareness about the important issues facing our communities and our planet.

United Nations

1981: UN Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief
2020-11-25 00:00 - 23:59
The Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief was proclaimed by General Assembly resolution 36/55 of 25 November 1981.

Today is a great day to consider how we can play a part in rejecting intolerance and discrimination based on religion or belief in our communities. This is not only about our own freedom and rights. As Christians we are called to stand with and to stand up for people of other faiths who experience intolerance and discrimination in Australia.

International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women
2020-11-25 00:00 - 23:59
The Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women issued by the UN General Assembly in 1993, defines violence against women as “any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life.”

Although men and children – both girls and boys – may be victims of domestic violence, overwhelmingly the victims of domestic violence are women. Responsibility for prevention and for responding to the victims cannot be left to our social service organisations – a Church response must include action by parish communities.

“Domestic violence is at epidemic levels across Australia, creating vulnerability for women of all walks of life. For the past three years, one woman a week is murdered by her partner. This is a tragic epidemic that the Australian Catholic Church hasn’t addressed in a systematic manner...” – Liz MacKinlay, “Domestic Violence: Moving from Silence to Inclusion and Dialogue in the Australian Church”, in Still Listening to the Spirit: Woman and Man Twenty Years Later

As Bishop Peter A Comensoli (previously Bishop of Broken Bay now Archbishop of Melbourne) says in his introduction to the Broken Bay Diocese resource kit A Catholic Response to Domestic Violence:

“As Church, the living body of Christ, we cannot remain silent. We must collectively and personally denounce a violence which erodes the human person in every way. We must work to build communities of peace, safety, true reconciliation, and relationships that seek alternatives to violence. Pope Francis tells us ‘If violence has its source in the human heart, then it its fundamental that non-violence be practised before all else within families…’ I encourage you to do whatever you can to act on this issue. Do not be a bystander. Find out now what you can do to help those suffering in silence within your community. Broken Bay Diocese, A Catholic Response to Domestic Violence

International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People
2020-11-29 00:00 - 23:59
“On this International Day of Solidarity, let us reaffirm our commitment to upholding the rights of the Palestinian people.” – United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres

In 1977, the General Assembly called for the annual observance of 29 November as the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People (resolution 32/40 B). The resolution on the observance of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People also encourages Member States to continue to give the widest support and publicity to the observance of the Day of Solidarity.
