United Nations Civil Society Participation – Activities

Welcome to the United Nations. It's your world.

English
French

NGO Branch
About us
Contact us
ECOSOC Status
Introduction
Applying for Status
Committee on NGOs
NGO Response System
NGO Participation
UN Grounds Pass
Functional Commissions
High Level Segment
Calendar of Events
Conference Registration
Quadrennial Reports

Quadrennial Reports
Quadrennial report due? Read more on our updated page. Click here »

Curia Generalizia Agostiniana

View Activities

Areas of expertise & Fields of activity:	Economic and Social: Agriculture Biodiversity Business and Industry Children Climate Change Coorporate Accountability Culture De-mining Development Disarmament Drug Control Economics and Finance Education Energy Environment Extreme poverty Family Financing for Development Food Governance HIV/AIDS Human Rights Humanitarian Affairs Indigenous Peoples Information International Security Justice Labour Law of the Sea and Antarctica Least Developed Countries Media Migration Minority Rights New Global Institutions Peace and Security Population Private Sector Refugees Religion Safety Science and Technology Social Development Sustainable Development Torture Trade and Development United Nations Reform Values Violence Water Women Women/gender Equality Youth Financing for Development: Addressing systemic issues International Trade as an engine for development Gender Issues and Advancement of Women: Advocacy and outreach Education and training of women Human rights of women Indigenous women Information and communication technologies The girl child Trafficking in women and girls Violence against women Women and armed conflict Women and poverty Women and the economy Women in power and decision-making Population: International migration Morbidity and mortality Reproduction, family formation and the status of women Public Administration: Ethics, Transparency and Accountability Knowledge Systems and E-government Socio-Economic Governance and Management Social Development: Aging Conflict Indigenous issues Information and Communications Technologies Poverty Social policy Technical cooperation Youth Statistics: Demographic and social surveys Development indicators Environmental Accounts Sustainable Development: Agriculture Atmosphere Biodiversity Capacity-building Climate change Consumption and production patterns Desertification and Drought Disaster management and vulnerability Education Forests Freshwater Gender equality Health Human settlements Waste (hazardous) Peace and Development in Africa: Development in Africa Peace in Africa Conflict Resolution in Africa: Conflicts Resolution NEPAD: Agriculture and Food Security Climate Change and Natural Resource Management Crosscutting issues (Gender and Capacity Development) Economic and Corporate Governance Human Development Regional Integration and Infrastructure
Geographic scope:	International
Country of activity:	Costa Rica Belgium Algeria Papua New Guinea Viet Nam United States of America Argentina United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland Guatemala United Republic of Tanzania Philippines Portugal Bolivia (Plurinational State of) Indonesia Malta Netherlands Holy See Ireland Kenya Nicaragua Democratic Republic of the Congo Germany Congo France Peru Japan Nigeria Republic of Korea Chile Canada Honduras Ecuador Mexico Colombia Czechia Panama Dominican Republic Spain Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of) Uruguay Poland Cuba Italy Brazil Australia India New Zealand Paraguay El Salvador
Millennium Development Goals:	Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger Achieve universal primary education Promote gender equality and empower women Reduce child mortality Improve maternal health Ensure environmental sustainability Develop global partnership for development
Mission statement:	AUGUSTINIANS INTERNATIONAL promotes participation and dialogue as a means of responding to the great questions of our time. We are restless for justice, peace, and a better world. Augustinians are associated with the United Nations as a Nongovernmental Organization (NGO). We took on UN ministry as have other religious institutes of men and women like Franciscans, Dominicans and Carmelites. Other Christian communions including Lutherans, Methodists and Quakers and faith communities of Jewish, Moslem, Buddhist, and Hindu. Faith-based NGO motives include witnessing our beliefs on the worldwide scene, bringing faith into worldwide action and enriching our own spirituality with international perspectives and information. Moreover after arrival at the UN, NGOs encounter multiple possibilities for ecumenical and interfaith collaboration. A motive important for Catholic UN NGOs is Pope John Paul II’s October 2, 1979 New York UN address declaring the indispensable need for UN NGO ministry: No organization, however, not even the United Nations or any of its specialized agencies, can alone solve the global problems which are constantly brought to its attention, if its concerns are not shared by all the people. It is then the privileged task of the non-governmental organizations to help bring these concerns into the communities and the homes of the people, and to bring back to the established agencies the priorities and aspirations of the people, so that all the solutions and projects which are envisaged may be truly geared to the needs of the human person. While these words apply to all UN NGOs, John Paul II in his August 28, 1986 Apostolic Letter Augustinum Hipponensem makes an insightful observation about the scope of St. Augustine’s pastoral approach that should be a solid foundation for Augustinian UN NGO ministry. Augustine’s pastoral activity “had three fields which spread out like concentric circles: the local church of Hippo, which was not large, but was troubled and needy; the African Church, which was sadly divided between Catholics and Donatists; and the universal Church, which was attacked by Paganism and Manichaeism, and disturbed by heretical movements.” Augustine ministered on three levels of community: local, national and world, so our Augustinian UN presence today is in his spirit. Centuries ago Augustinians fought hunger with immediate relief, giving food to the hungry. More recently but without abandoning immediate relief, we began to fight hunger on national levels through collaborative projects and policy advocacy. And most recently but without abandoning immediate relief and national advocacy, we can now join the worldwide fight against hunger through UN agencies: the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) to strengthen world food security; the UN World Food Programme (WFP) to provide effective food and nutrition assistance where critically needed; the UN International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) to combat rural poverty especially in developing countries. What is true for feeding the hungry is true for all the ministries to Jesus suffering in any way in the least of his brothers and sisters (Mt. 25). In 1987, one year after Pope John Paul II recognized Augustine’s ministry as operative on the three levels of community – local, national and world-wide—his encyclical Sollicitudo Rei Socialis (9) directed the entire Church to embrace this same pastoral scope. “In the first place, a possible misunderstanding has to be eliminated. Recognition that the ‘social question’ has assumed a worldwide dimension does not at all mean that is has lost its incisiveness or its national and local importance…On the contrary (issues) depend more and more on the influence of factors beyond regional boundaries and national frontiers.” This is why the Church is at the UN. This is why the Augustinians belong there.
Year established:	2014
Year of registration:	2013
Organizational structure:	As an international community of faith that follows the inspiration of St. Augustine, the Order follows a structure that is very ancient. The Curia in Rome and the many provinces throughout the world, headed by a provincial, is the basic structure for communication and service. When confronted with social issues like immigration, poverty, and the impact of climate change, communities ponder ways of responding. A method for thinking critically through the issues is vital, otherwise biases and assumptions will be projected on to the other. Two approaches of critical reflection are offered for communities to adopt. Method 1: Regardless of our culture, language, or social condition, we naturally go through a process of knowing and understanding. We begin to ask questions and find answers. These answers lead to connections and to further questions. We make judgments about the situation based on values, such as the dignity of the person and the common good. We then make a decision to act. When judgments are made according to the values of the true, the good, actions will contribute to human flourishing. When they do not, they contribute to decline and breakdown. Individuals practice the transcendental precepts in their daily lives. However, communities can also practice the precepts by observing their situation (be attentive!) and asking and answering questions about it: Who? What? Where? Why? How come? Data must be collected (Be intelligent!). After gathering the data and insights relevant to the matter at hand, the community contemplates the data, and asks “Is it so?” “Is this what it is all about?” “Are there more questions to be asked?”(Be reasonable!). If the community believes it has the understanding, limited as it is, then it makes a judgment about the situation according to a set of values (core principles of CST and Gospel values). A decision to act or not is then embraced (Be responsible!). Method 2: The second method is similar to the first. People are more familiar with the “See-Judge-Act” approach for exploring issues. Peasant and rural communities organized themselves in these groups to reflect on unjust structures oppressing the poor. This method continues to be used by those working on social justice issues. See The first step in the see-judge-act method is to “see” what is going on in a particular environment. Social analysis and data gathering are important in this phase of inquiry: What is really going on? Judge The second step in this process is evaluative. In difficult times one might feel overwhelmed and paralyzed. It is valuable to have a moral compass to move beyond feeling helpless. This step requires bringing together the data, stories, research, and insights in step one and analyzing them with the moral compass of CST and the Gospels. Act Action without ethical reflection is blind, but ethical reflection without action is pointless. Motivated by the urgency of issues and having reflected on these issues in a critical manner, people make a decision to act. As Augustinians, we want to keep paragraph 185 of the Order’s Constitution in mind personally and as an item for discussion within local communities. Along with this document, reflection on the SDGs is the following step: What are the urgent needs? What categories of the SDGs do they fall under: Goal #1 – “Eradicate poverty,” Goal #4 – “Quality Education,” or Goal #13 – “Climate Action”? Working in this way and connecting this activity with the Augustinians International office and its resources in New York is one manner in which the local and regional concerns find voice at the international level.
Number and type of members:	There are about 2000 members worldwide in 45 countries. As members of the Order of St. Augustine, they are called "friars." Most are involved in service-types of ministries, such as health care and agricultural development, education, and pastoral work.
Affiliation with NGO networks:	NGOs associated with finance, development, migration, trafficking, business, mining, and climate change.
Funding structure:	Funds from Religious Institutions
Funding structure other:	Donations

Previous

Next

Contact NGO Branch
Questions on applications, reports, or other inquiries Click here »

Online Application
Applying for ECOSOC Consultative Status? Click here »

UN Grounds Pass
Obtaining a UN Grounds Pass Click here »

Conference Registration
Registering for a UN Conference? Click here »