UN
in General
UN
News Centre: Coverage of the Rio+20 Conference
Tracking
Support for the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) - new website of
the
Integrated Implementation Framework (IIF)
This
site records and monitors commitments made in support of the Millennium Development
Goals (MDGs) by UN Member States and other international stakeholders. Data is
displayed through an interactive data visualization and mapping tool, raw
datasets and searchable qualitative data entries.
Green
Economy: A selection of recent material prepared by the UNOG Library
United Nations Publications: Spring
Summer 2012 Catalogue.
Peace
and Security
CTBTO
- revamped website
The
Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Organization (CTBTO)
has launched its revamped website. The design, structure and functionality have
been optimized for enhanced user-friendliness. Video-audio content and multiple
social media platforms have been integrated. It becomes ‘one stop shop‘ for all
information on ending nuclear testing.
Disarmament
and Atomic Energy
http://www.unidir.org/bdd/fiche-periodique.php?ref_periodique=1020-7287-2011-4-en
Disarmament
forum, four, 2011: Confronting cyberconflict, (UNIDIR - United Nations Institut
for Disarmament Research .
Strengthening
the Rule of Law in Crisis-affected and Fragile Situations: Global
Programme
Annual Report 2011 (UNDP)
Violent
conflict has declined significantly in the past two decades, yet one and a half
billion people still live in fragile or conflict-affected countries.
Strengthening the rule of law in crisis-affected and fragile countries by
providing people with security and justice will enable governments, communities
and individuals to find solutions to conflict and allow men, women and children
to live in transparent, accountable and just societies.
United
Nations Conference on the Arms Trade Treaty, 2-27 July 2012, New York
The
dedicated UN website on the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) negotiations went live on 7
June 2012. This website serves as the primary information platform regarding
the historic United Nations Conference on the Arms Trade Treaty that will take
place in New York from 2 – 27 July 2012. The Conference will begin with a
high-level segment during which the attendance of government ministers and the
Secretary-General of the United Nations is
expected.
The Conference aims to deliver on the most important initiative ever within the
United Nations in the field of conventional arms regulation: a robust agreement
on common standards regarding the international transfer of arms.
United
Nations Security Sector Reform
This
publication – published by the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) –
is the first of its kind and describes the evolution of the UN SSR agenda and
showcases activities being undertaken in the field and by the SSR Unit at
Headquarters. The UN SSR Perspective was produced by DPKO’s SSR Unit, which
serves as the focal point and technical resource capacity for the UN system, as
well as national and international partners The SSR Unit focuses on three
areas: it supports the rapidly expanding number of field Missions and Offices
involved in assisting national SSR efforts. It develops guidance and fosters a
normative basis for SSR. It co-chairs the UN Inter-agency SSR Task Force at the
working level, and serves as its secretariat.
Economic
& Social Development
Africa Human Development Report 2012:
Towards a Food Secure Future.
United Nations Development Programme.
New York. 2012. http://www.undp.org/content/dam/undp/library/corporate/HDR/Africa%20HDR/UNDPAfrica%
20HDR-2012-EN.pdf
Africa Human Development Report 2012:
Towards a Food Secure Future.
Summary:
Africa
Report on New and Emerging Challenges (AU / ADB / UNDP / UNEP).
Report:
http://www.uneca.org/eca_programmes/sdd/events/Rio20/cfssd7/4AfricaNewEmergingChallengesReportEN.pdf
Africa
is home to about one quarter of the internationally recognized biodiversity
hotspots whose resources are sustaining the livelihood of millions of people in
Africa. Two-thirds of the population in sub Saharan Africa relies on products
from the forests of the subregion while wild resources and non timber forest
products provide up to 35 percent of rural household incomes in Zimbabwe and
over 50 percent in Senegal.
Energy-Smart
Food at FAO: An overview (FAO)
The
report examined the linkages between energy and agrifood systems and their implications
for food security and climate. The study recommended programme based on three
pillars (1) improving energy efficiency in agrifood systems, (2) increasing the
use of renewable energy in these systems and (3) improving access to modern
energy services through integrated food and energy production.
Fundamental
principles and rights at work: From commitment to action (ILO)
The
International Labour Organization (LO) has issued a report on the worldwide
situation concerning its fundamental principles and rights of work – freedom of
association and collective bargaining, forced and child labour and
discrimination. It will be discussed at the 101st International Labour
Conference, to be held between 30 May and 14 June 2012 in Geneva.
Global
Environmental Outlook (GEO-5): Environment for the future we want
Report:
Further resources, including
regional summaries:
The
world continues to speed down an unsustainable path despite over 500
internationally agreed goals and objectives to support the sustainable
management of the environment and improve human wellbeing. The report assessed
90 of the most-important environmental goals and objectives and found that
significant progress had only been made in four.
Measuring
Water use in a Green Economy (UNDP)
The report
covers decoupling within integrated water resource management, including innovative
approaches and technologies to maximise water-use efficiency and productivity gains
in different sectors.
The
State of the World's Forests 2012 (FAO)
Sustainable
use of forestry resources can make a significant contribution to meeting many of
the core challenges being discussed in Rio, including reducing poverty and
hunger, minimizing the impacts of climate change, and creating alternative and
more sustainable sources of bio-products and bio-energy for human use.
Towards
the future we want: End hunger and make the transition to sustainable
agricultural
and food systems (FAO at Rio+20)
This
policy document – issued by the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) –
urges governments to establish and protect rights to resources, especially for
the poor; incorporate incentives for sustainable consumption and production
into food systems; promote fair and well-functioning agricultural and food
markets; reduce risks and increase the resilience of the most vulnerable;
invest public resources in essential public goods, especially innovation and
infrastructure.
UNEP
South-South Cooperation Exchange Mechanism
What
do a biomass project at a Kenyan sugar factory, sustainable mining in Sierra
Leone and orang-utan conservation in the rainforests of Borneo have in common?
All three are among a host of initiatives included in a new online database
from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), which aims to strengthen
partnerships between sustainable development projects in developing countries.
Working
towards sustainable development: Opportunities for decent work and
social
inclusion in a green economy (UNEP / ILO / IOE / ITUC)
The
transformation to a greener economy could generate 15 to 60 million additional
jobs globally over the next two decades and lift tens of millions of workers
out of poverty, according to a new report led by the Green Jobs Initiative. The
study "Working towards sustainable development: Opportunities for decent
work and social inclusion in a green economy " says that these gains will
depend on whether the right set of policies are put in place.
World
Economic Situation and Prospects 2012: Update as of mid-2012 (UN DESA)
The
European debt crisis is currently the biggest threat to the world economy,
according to a United Nations report released on 7 June 2012, which warns that
the austerity measures followed by countries in the region will plunge them
further into recession, and calls for a shift in fiscal policies to stimulate
growth. “An escalation of the crisis could result in severe turmoil in
financial markets and a sharp rise in global risk aversion, leading to a
further weakening of global growth,” states the WESP 2012 mid-year update.
Human
Rights
Children
and armed conflict (A/66/782–S/2012/261)
The
Secretary-General issued his annual report on children and armed conflict to
the Security Council which gives an overview of the situation of girls and boys
in conflict zones and measures taken for their protection. The report includes
a list of parties who recruit and use children, kill and maim, commit sexual
violence or attack schools and hospitals; the so-called “list of shame.” “2011
shows a mixed picture. While new crises erupted with a heavy toll on children
such as in Syria, and also in Libya, violations against girls and boys have
come to an end in other parts of the world,” the Special Representative of the
Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict Radhika Coomaraswamy said.
Report
on Human Rights in Iraq: 2011 (UNAMI / OHCHR)
The
human rights situation in Iraq remains fragile as the country continues its
transition from years of dictatorship, conflict, and violence, to peace and
democracy,” states a United Nations report for 2011 on the human rights
situation in Iraq prepared and published by the United Nations Assistance
Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) in cooperation with the UN Office of the High
Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). e report recognizes that the Government
of Iraq made some progress in implementing measures to protect and promote the
human rights of the Iraqi people. However, the impact of these measures on the
overall human rights situation remained limited.
Humanitarian
Affairs
Global
Trends Report 2011 (UNHCR)
The
report shows 2011 to have been a record year for forced displacement across
borders, with more people becoming refugees than at any time since 2000. In
all, 4.3 million people were newly displaced, with a full 800,000 of these
fleeing their countries and becoming refugees.
OCHA
Annual Report 2011
A
wave of natural disasters and political upheaval in 2011 threatened tens of
millions of lives. Earthquake and tsunami in Japan, disasters in Australia, New
Zealand and the United States. Globally, natural disasters killed almost 26,000
people. The cumulative economic cost was US$380 billion, making 2011 the most
expensive year in history.
The
State of the World's Refugees: In Search of Solidarity (UNHCR).
The
number of displaced persons worldwide will significantly grow over the next ten
years due to factors such as conflict, natural disasters and climate change,
according to the flagship publication of the Office of the United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), launched on 31 May 2012, which stresses that
international solidarity is needed to address the issue.
Trade, Finance and Commerce
Economic Development in Africa Report
2012: Structural Transformation and Sustainable Development in Africa.
Bulletins,
brochures:
Bulletin
on action by the United Nations system and intergovernmental organizations relevant
to the question of Palestine, January 2012, Volume XXXV, Bulletin No. 1. United
Nations. Division for Palestinian Rights.
Bulletin
on action by the United Nations system and intergovernmental organizations relevant
to the question of Palestine, April 2011, Volume XXXIV, Bulletin No. 4. United
Nations. Division for Palestinian Rights.
Bulletin
on action by the United Nations system and intergovernmental organizations relevant
to the question of Palestine, March 2011, Volume XXXIV, Bulletin No. 3. United
Nations. Division for Palestinian Rights.
Bulletin
of the World Health Organization: Volume 90, Number 6, June 2012, p. 401,476.
United
Nations Peacekeeping Operations – Fact Sheet: 31 May 2012
(Rev.133,
June 2012)
United
Nations Political and Peacebuilding Missions – Fact Sheet: 31 May 2012
(Rev.107,
June 2012)
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