New UN websites & publications
UN in General
Building the future: Stepping stones in United Nations history (UN Yearbook Timeline)
https://www.un.org/en/yearbook/building-future-stepping-stones-united-nations-history
Since its creation in 1945, the United Nations has come to hold an incontestable place in global imagination and in driving collective action among its Member States. The timeline presented in Building the future showcases significant moments in United Nations history in meeting the wide-ranging, ever-evolving challenges of our world. Each entry is a symbolic “stepping stone” marking the path of the United Nations through the decades in protecting and improving the lives of everyone everywhere. Highlighted text in the entries links to further narrative from the Yearbook of the United Nations collection (1946–2014), while clickable buttons lead to topically related United Nations websites and multimedia resources.
Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19)
Interim Report: System-wide Evaluation of the UNDS Response to COVID-19 (March 2022)
https://unsdg.un.org/resources/interim-report-system-wide-evaluation-unds-response-covid-19
The interim report’s main objective is to ensure that evaluative findings can be used in a timely manner for helping adjust and improve the ongoing pandemic response as well as the UN development reform process. Providing illustrative examples and analysis in real time may help the UN system undertake early course corrections. Importantly, it also shows Member States how their guidance and directions are translated into action and put into practice, thus providing a basis for potential refinements.
Are children really learning? Exploring foundational skills in the midst of a learning crisis (UNICEF)
Report in English, Executive Summary in English & French: https://data.unicef.org/resources/are-children-really-learning-foundational-skills-report/
Now entering its third year, the COVID-19 pandemic has continued to hold back some 405 million school children worlwide from a full return to the classroom, according to a new report released on 30 March 2022 by the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF). Are children really learning? features country-level data on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and related school closures on children, as well as an updated analysis of the state of children’s learning before the pandemic. It points out that 147 million children missed more than half of their in-person schooling over the past 2 years. This amounts to 2 trillion hours of lost in-person learning globally.
Assessing the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the livelihoods of rural people: A review of the evidence (FAO)
https://www.fao.org/emergencies/resources/documents/resources-detail/en/c/1477439/
In this paper FAO focusses specifically on differences in the welfare impacts of COVID-19 on rural livelihoods between countries using nationally representative data that we disaggregate by food system typology. This typology captures key structural differences in the organization of rural economies and the vulnerabilities to rural livelihoods due to the COVID-19 pandemic and associated lockdown measures. In particular, FAO draws on household survey data collected from 54 countries through the World Bank’s COVID-19 High Frequency Monitoring Dashboard to generate descriptive data on COVID-19 impacts in rural areas across three dimensions: income, coping strategies and food security. These descriptive data are disaggregated into four food system categories and contextualized and validated through a systematic review of rigorous, survey-based studies of COVID-19 impacts in rural areas. Through this analysis, the report provides insights on how COVID-19 is influencing rural livelihoods, how its impacts vary between countries and food system typologies, and, ultimately, how policymakers and the international community need to respond in order to foster an inclusive and sustainable recovery.
COVID-19-related vaccines and therapeutics: Preliminary insights on related patenting activity during the pandemic (WIPO)
https://www.wipo.int/publications/en/details.jsp?id=4589
Universities and research organizations filed nearly as many patent applications as corporations for COVID-19 vaccines during the early months of the global pandemic, with China and U.S.-based innovators most actively patenting new anti-COVID19 vaccine and therapeutic technologies, according to a WIPO report on pandemic-era innovation trends released on 10 March 2022. The “Patent Landscape Report: COVID-19 Related Vaccines and Therapeutics” also found that the greatest number of COVID-19 patent filings were related to conventional vaccine technologies and repurposed drugs, followed by more-novel vaccine technologies like mRNA. The report is part of WIPO’s package of pandemic support measures and is the first publication of its kind to identify and analyze COVID-19 related patenting activity.
Good practices in managing infectious diseases in prison settings: a snapshot of responses to COVID-19 implemented around the globe between May and September 2020 (WHO/Europe)
https://bit.ly/370SFwu
People living in prisons are more vulnerable to COVID-19 infection than those living in the outside community, but there are many ways to protect them. This new WHO report sums up the most effective policies from Member States that are aimed at reducing the risks of disease outbreaks in prisons while ensuring human rights and effectively using the resources at hand. The report highlights how several countries have already successfully implemented WHO’s recommendations on prevention and control of COVID-19 infection in prisons. The participating countries provided information about their activities in line with the structure of this guidance, and modified their practices based on new data, experience and changes in the WHO recommendations.
The Impact of COVID-19 on the welfare of households with children: An overview based on High Frequency Phone Surveys (UNICEF / World Bank)
https://www.unicef.org/reports/impact-covid-19-welfare-households-children
The effects of the Covid-19 pandemic have been widespread and disproportionately affected vulnerable segments of the population, including children and their families. The modest progress made in reducing child poverty has been reversed in all parts of the world by COVID-19. This joint World Bank and UNICEF publication presents findings from data from high frequency phone surveys collected in 35 countries. The analysis identifies the impact of the crisis on households without and with (few or many) children, both focusing on the initial impact in 2020 but also the subsequent evolution of this impact. The analysis focus on key areas such as income and job loss, food insecurity, social protection programs and access to education, shedding light on the importance of placing children in poverty and their families highly on the agenda in the COVID-19 response and recovery.
Life amidst a Pandemic: Urban livelihoods, food security and nutrition in Sub-Saharan Africa (UN-Habitat / WFP)
https://unhabitat.org/life-amidst-a-pandemic-urban-livelihoods-food-security-and-nutrition-in-sub-saharan-africa
The socioeconomic situation of the urban poor in Sub-Saharan Africa has worsened following the COVID-19 pandemic, with millions of people facing acute food insecurity and malnutrition – this new report shows. Released on 11 March 2022 by the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UNHABITAT) and the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) – it shines a spotlight on urban vulnerabilities and food insecurity amidst the global pandemic, revealing that the urban poor in Africa have been disproportionately affected. The analysis reveals that the urban poor often rely on the informal economy, live in overcrowded settlements, and have limited access to basic social services including water, sanitation and health and formal social safety nets. Moreover, urban livelihoods in Sub-Saharan Africa are less diversified, irregular, unstable and are predominantly informal and more reliant on markets and cash economy. In this context, the loss of income combined with price surges due to COVID-19 containment measures, and the closure of informal markets on which the urban poor rely for the large part of their food supplies, have all undermined their ability to access nutritious foods. While the pandemic has affected all segments of society, urban poor living in slums and informal settlements, who make up more than 60 percent of the total population of Sub-Saharan Africa, were particularly hard hit, with over 90 percent of the COVID-19 cases recorded in cities. An estimated 68.1 million women, men and children among the urban population were at risk of acute food insecurity in Sub-Saharan Africa in 2020. This includes 22 million in Central Africa, 16 million in West Africa, 15.7 million in East Africa and 14.4 million in Southern Africa, representing 15 percent of the total urban populations in the region.
One hundred million cases in one hundred week: Working towards better COVID-19 outcomes in the WHO European Region (WHO/Europe)
https://bit.ly/3I9e5nO
11 March 2022 is a grim milestone as we mark 2 years since WHO categorized the COVID-19 outbreak as a pandemic – a health emergency spanning countries and continents. Since cases of COVID-19 were first reported, more than 6 million people have died from the disease worldwide, with over 1.8 million of them in the WHO European Region. The new WHO/Europe showcases the achievements of WHO/Europe’s COVID-19 Incident Management Support Team (IMST) – the mechanism activated to deal with emergency situations – from its establishment in early 2020, as the first cases of COVID-19 were being detected in the European Region, to 2022. It also includes insights into the work of the operational teams during this time as they supported some of the Region’s Member States in dealing with the challenges of a global pandemic.
Powering change: Young people leading the COVID-19 response and recovery
https://globalyouthmobilization.org/impact/
Young people everywhere have borne the brunt of the COVID-19 pandemic. Their education has been disrupted. Many have lost jobs. Their mental health has suffered and too many have experienced gender-based violence. However, a significant number of young people remain optimistic that an inclusive, resilient, and sustainable recovery from the pandemic is possible. With ingenuity and determination, they are helping develop solutions to ensure their communities emerge from the pandemic stronger than before. The newly released Global Youth Mobilization progress report demonstrates the power of collective action and decision-making by young people, for young people. The report includes case studies of global youth-led projects and outlines recommendations, developed from discussions with young people and youth-led organizations, to help multinational agencies and institutions, governments, policymakers, and the private sector to address and prioritize the needs of young people and future generations.
WTO issues inventory of COVID-19 information resources
English: https://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/covid19_e/inventory_resources_e.htm
French: https://www.wto.org/french/tratop_f/covid19_f/inventory_resources_f.htm
Spanish: https://www.wto.org/spanish/tratop_s/covid19_s/inventory_resources_s.htm
The WTO has published a compilation of information resources, such as databases and reports, that provide information and data on a wide range of issues relating to COVID-19. The inventory provides a useful tool for government officials and other stakeholders wishing to access information about the latest developments regarding COVID-19.
Economic Growth and Sustainable Development
Climate Change 2022: Mitigation of climate change (IPCC)
https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg3/
In 2010-2019 average annual global greenhouse gas emissions were at their highest levels in human history, but the rate of growth has slowed. Without immediate and deep emissions reductions across all sectors, limiting global warming to 1.5°C is beyond reach. However, there is increasing evidence of climate action, said scientists in the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report released on 4 April 2022. Since 2010, there have been sustained decreases of up to 85% in the costs of solar and wind energy, and batteries. An increasing range of policies and laws have enhanced energy efficiency, reduced rates of deforestation and accelerated the deployment of renewable energy. The Summary for Policymakers of the IPCC Working Group III report, Climate Change 2022: Mitigation of Climate Change was approved on 4 April 2022, by 195 member governments of the IPCC, through a virtual approval session that started on 21 March. It is the third instalment of the IPCC’s Sixth Assessment Report (AR6), which will be completed this year.
The Development Impact of the War in Ukraine: Initial projections (UNDP)
https://www.undp.org/publications/development-impact-war-ukraine-initial-projections
The immediate humanitarian assistance to the people of Ukraine is of utmost importance and at the center of global attention. Early estimates by the Humanitarian Country Team indicate that nearly 30 percent of the population are likely to require life-saving humanitarian assistance. In its current scale and direction, 18 million people are projected to become affected and more than 7 million people internally displaced. The development impacts of the war in Ukraine remain too much below the waterline of public visibility, in Ukraine, regionally and globally. Early UNDP projections suggest that already in the short- to medium term, the development setbacks for Ukraine will be significant. Poverty and inequalities will rise; the country’s economy, its social fabric, and the environment will suffer.
European Health Report 2021 (WHO/Europe)
https://www.euro.who.int/en/data-and-evidence/european-health-report/european-health-report-2021
Given the far-reaching impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic in the WHO European Region, countries face daunting challenges in tackling health inequities and achieving the health-related Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030. But a critical window of opportunity still exists if governments and health authorities take necessary actions, according to the flagship European Health Report 2021, released by the WHO Regional Office for Europe on 10 March 2022. Published every three years, the latest report takes stock of the Region’s progress on SDG health indicators such as universal health coverage, noncommunicable diseases and environmental health, but it also illustrates how the COVID-19 pandemic has impeded countries’ efforts to reach crucial targets. Importantly, for the first time, the report includes a set of projections outlining health impacts across three scenarios: no strategic action is taken to get back on track; progress is accelerated and strengthened; or progress is further slowed and diluted.
Forest Products in the global bioeconomy: Enabling substitution with wood-based products and contributing to sustainable development goals (FAO)
https://www.fao.org/documents/card/en/c/cb7274en
From drinking a glass of water to building a house, forests are precious resources for people’s lives and are key to solving many global challenges, including the climate crisis and poverty, according to this new report developed by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in collaboration with the European Forest Institute (EFI). The publication, was launched on 21 March 2022 on the occasion of the International Day of Forests 2022, celebrated at the EXPO 2020 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The report is a comprehensive document that outlines wood-based innovations that pave the way for the use of forest products in ways that decrease environmental impact and waste generation. It also offers the private sector, governments, international cooperation bodies and researchers a set of recommendations to both enable and boost the substitution of products which are not sustainable from a social, economic on environmental perspective.
https://www.who.int/data/GIS/GHFD
The World Health Organization’s new Global Health Facilities Database will be a key resource to help countries provide access to healthcare services for all populations. The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed urgent gaps in countries’ current ability to locate health facilities, impeding progress to provide equitable access to therapeutics, diagnostics, and vaccinations through the ACT-Accelerator and other initiatives. As a standardized and open access repository of health facility information, the database will provide critical insights to deliver primary health care, especially during emergencies. It will also leverage the power of geospatial data to map health facilities in relation to communities and help bridge long-standing inequalities in access and use.
Halfway to 2030: How Many Targets Will Be Achieved in the UNECE Region?
https://w3.unece.org/sdg2022/
As we approach the halfway mark between the adoption and finish line of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the region is on track to achieve only 26 of 169 SDG targets, according to the UNECE 2022 SDG progress report released on 25 March 2022. For all other measurable targets, the region must accelerate progress or reverse current trends to achieve its 2030 ambitions. Seven years after the adoption of the SDGs, time is starting to run out to correct course. The report identifies the targets and goals where urgent action is required to make the 2030 Agenda a reality.
The Impact on Trade and Development of the War in Ukraine: UNCTAD Rapid Assessment, 16 March 2022
https://unctad.org/system/files/official-document/osginf2022d1_en.pdf
UNCTAD has prepared a rapid assessment of the impact of war in Ukraine on trade and development, and interrelated issues in the areas of finance, technology, investment and sustainable development. The results confirm a rapidly worsening outlook for the world economy, underpinned by rising food, fuel and fertilizer prices, heightened financial volatility, sustainable development divestment, complex global supply chain reconfigurations and mounting trade costs. This rapidly evolving situation is alarming for developing countries, and especially for African and least developed countries, some of which are particularly exposed to the war in Ukraine and its effect on trade costs, commodity prices and financial markets. The risk of civil unrest, food shortages and inflation-induced recessions cannot be discounted, particularly given the fragile state of the global economy and the developing world as a result of the COVID-19 (coronavirus disease) pandemic.
Making Standards Work for Sustainable Development: UNIDO and ISO – a longstanding partnership (UNIDO)
https://hub.unido.org/sites/default/files/publications/ISO_BROCHURE_online_FINAL_2022.pdf
Providing an overview of UNIDO’s partnership with the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), the publication highlights the oganizations’ joint efforts in assisting developing countries to take a more active role in the development and adoption of international standards. It also highlights UNIDO’s standardization work over the years and its involvement in all stages of standardization. International standards play an increasingly important role as a policy mechanism and market tool for trade and sustainable development. In this regard, UNIDO’s collaboration with ISO is important for overcoming global challenges and fostering trade, and is instrumental in the implementation of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals.
Progress on drinking water, sanitation and hygiene | 2000-2020: Five years into the SDGs (UNICEF / WHO)
https://data.unicef.org/resources/progress-on-drinking-water-sanitation-and-hygiene-in-africa/
The WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (JMP) produces internationally comparable estimates of progress on drinking water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) and is responsible for global monitoring of the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) targets related to WASH. This snapshot presents regional estimates for WASH in households, schools and health care facilities in the African Union and assesses progress five years into the SDG period (2015-2020).
Seeing the Invisible: A Strategic Report on Groundwater Quality (World Bank)
http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/099630103212260957/P1569240c6df070910b4ed099a7538c46f6
Rivers, lakes, and wetlands cover the landscape of our blue planet, but over 97 percent of the world’s freshwater resources lie beneath the ground. In fact, scientists estimate that there is 100 times as much groundwater on Earth as there is freshwater on its surface. Groundwater is vital to human welfare and development, and in many countries it is the principal source of water for drinking, irrigation and industry. As a core component of the hydrological cycle, groundwater is also critical to sustaining many aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. Globally, groundwater resources are under increasing pressure due to overexploitation, pollution and climate change. Our response to this pressure is often not adequate as we still lack sufficient knowledge about these invisible resources. Because of the prominent role groundwater plays in supporting climate change adaptation strategies, its depletion has drawn global attention in recent years. This new publication argues that the quality of groundwater, deserves equal attention. Groundwater quality is important for many reasons, most notably because of the consequences of contaminated groundwater for human health, agriculture, and the economy – and the resulting restrictions that are then placed on the capacity of the resource to support climate change adaptation. The chemical and microbiological quality of groundwater is central to its utility, yet the resource remains vulnerable to contamination from both natural processes and human activities. Seeing the Invisible, and its companion, A Practical Manual on Groundwater Quality Monitoring, not only provide a detailed description of the types and nature of contaminants in groundwater, but also the tools and resources for their measurement and long-term monitoring, and techniques to protect the resource from being contaminated in the first place.
Skilled Migration: A Sign of Europe’s Divide or Integration? (World Bank)
https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/37101
This study examines the trends, determinants, and impacts of migration of high-skilled workers within the European Union in the past two decades. High-skilled migration, whether internal or international, is largely a symptom rather than a cause of the gaps in labor market and educational opportunities, productivity, welfare, and the quality of institutions across the regions. Free movement within the European Union is an incentive for workers and firms to take advantage of these gaps by moving from low- to high-productivity sectors and regions. This process, however, results in winners and losers depending on the extent of the complementarity and substitutability between migrants and natives and on the capacity of the sending regions to realize benefits from return or circular migration and other knowledge spillovers. This study assesses the economic benefits and the costs of skilled migration in the short and long runs, emphasizing the potential implications of a large outflow of highly qualified workers on the economies of the originating regions. This book uses empirical analysis to present recommendations for labor market and education policies and identify effective ways to address the various costs that migration induces among different skill groups within regions that send migrants and those that receive migrants. These methods must also improve cross-country coordination to more effectively unlock the overall benefits of migration.
State of World Population 2022: Seeing the Unseen: The case for action in the neglected crisis of unintended pregnancy (UNFPA)
English, French & Spanish: https://www.unfpa.org/swp2022
German: https://www.dsw.org/weltbevoelkerungsbericht/
The neglected crisis of unintended pregnancy is the subject of UNFPA’s flagship 2022 State of World Population report, released on 30 March 2022. Titled “Seeing the Unseen,” the report examines how such pregnancies represent a global failure to uphold basic human rights. On average, 121 million unintended pregnancies occur every year – 331,000 per day – and the number is expected to rise with population growth if we don’t take decisive action. The ability to decide whether to have children, how many and with whom, is fundamental to the reproductive rights of girls and women. When this right is ignored or compromised – by social constraints or abuse, lack of health services or the low priority in general placed on the female half of humanity – the consequences snowball. Unintended pregnancy impacts individual lives and whole societies, impeding progress in health, education and gender equality, increasing poverty and lack of opportunity and costing billions in resources.
see also: 7 myths about unintended pregnancy debunked (30 March 2022): https://www.unfpa.org/news/7-myths-about-unintended-pregnancy-debunked
Status of Digital Agriculture in 47 Sub-Saharan African Countries (FAO)
https://www.fao.org/documents/card/en/c/cb7943en
The digital revolution currently underway in Sub-Saharan Africa offers enormous potential for economic growth and agricultural productivity. Coastal countries benefit from fast internet, thanks to undersea cables, and 4G mobile networks are expanding rapidly across the continent. Kenya’s capital, Nairobi, is referred to as the “Silicon Savannah” of Africa because of its buzzing digital economy. In spite of such success stories, much of sub-Saharan Africa remains unconnected: About one-third of the population is still out of reach of mobile broadband signals, and only 28 percent has any access to the internet. This has implications for the local agricultural sector, where productivity could be easily boosted by new digital technologies such as e-commerce, sensors, drones and better weather forecasts. A new report co-published on 10 March 2022 by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) offers one of the most comprehensive overviews to date on the status of digitalization in the region, focusing on digital agriculture transformation. The report takes a deep dive into the status quo and the challenges that countries face along their digital transformation journeys. An overview is given for each of the 47 countries on a variety of key indicators, such as access to electricity, ownership of mobile devices, number of apps in the national language, the gender gap in social media use, and regulatory frameworks. But the study goes further than that, highlighting local examples and initiatives that should be promoted, replicated and scaled up to advance the region’s digital agriculture transformation.
Tapering in a time of conflict: Trade and Development Report Update (March 2022)
https://unctad.org/webflyer/tapering-time-conflict-trade-and-development-report-update-march-2022
The UN’s trade and development body has downgraded its global economic growth projection for 2022 to 2.6% from 3.6% due to the Ukraine war and to changes in macroeconomic policies made by countries in recent months. In an update to its Trade and Development report published on 24 March, UNCTAD says that while Russia will experience a deep recession this year, significant slowdowns in growth are expected in parts of Western Europe and Central, South and South-East Asia. The ongoing war in Ukraine is likely to reinforce the monetary tightening trend in advanced countries following similar moves that began in late 2021 in several developing countries due to inflationary pressures, with expenditure cuts also anticipated in upcoming budgets. UNCTAD is worried that a combination of weakening global demand, insufficient policy coordination at the international level and elevated debt levels from the pandemic, will generate financial shockwaves that can push some developing countries into a downward spiral of insolvency, recession and arrested development.
UN World Water Development Report 2022: Groundwater: Making the invisible visible
English: https://www.unesco.org/reports/wwdr/2022/en
French: https://www.unesco.org/reports/wwdr/2022/fr
On 21 March 2022, UNESCO on behalf of UN-Water is launching the latest edition of the United Nations World Water Development Report, titled “Groundwater: Making the invisible visible” at the opening ceremony of the 9th World Water Forum in Dakar, Senegal. The authors call on States to commit themselves to developing adequate and effective groundwater management and governance policies in order to address current and future water crises throughout the globe. Groundwater presently provides half of the volume of water withdrawn for domestic use by the global population, including the drinking water for the vast majority of the rural population who do not get their water delivered to them via public or private supply systems, and around 25% of all water used for irrigation. Globally, water use is projected to grow by roughly 1% per year over the next 30 years. Our overall dependence on groundwater is expected to rise as surface water availability becomes increasingly limited due to climate change.
UN-Water Global Analysis and Assessment of Sanitation and Drinking-Water (GLAAS) Data Portal (WHO)
https://glaas.who.int
The portal features GLAAS data from the past three GLAAS cycles (2013/2014, 2016/2017, 2018/2019) on governance, finance, monitoring and human resources. On the portal, users can explore and download data, analyze trends, and make country and regional comparisons. Over the coming months, the World Health Organization (WHO) will continue to add additional data, including financial data from WASH accounts, as well as add a feature to develop country highlights and create a document repository for GLAAS and national documents.
UNECE Portal on Standards for the SDGs
https://standards4sdgs.unece.org/
UNECE has launched an expanded version of the Portal on Standards for SDGs, which allows users to identify standards which can contribute to the realization of individual Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The Portal has been updated from 1,600 standards mapped across five SDGs to 20,000 standards, mapped across all seventeen SDGs, 40 case studies and 10 expert comment pieces, bringing together perspectives of standards experts from across the globe. This makes it the largest single repository of standards mapped to the SDGs. Innovative research-based tools, such as the UNECE Portal on Standards for SDGs and associated mapping database, are crucial to fostering greater understanding of standardization and encourage standards developing organizations (SDOs) to increasingly consider standards as accelerators of sustainability. To this end, UNECE’s unique new standards database enables users to find standards which can assist them with their sustainability targets. As such, it is an important contribution to the world of standardization and promotes greater public and private sector dialogue on the adoption of standards for targeted, sustainable outcomes.
International Peace and Security
Children as part of the solution in ending violence – A child-friendly version of: 2022 report to the Human Rights Council / By the Special Representative to the UN Secretary-General on Violence Against Children
English, French & Spanish: https://violenceagainstchildren.un.org/content/child-friendly-report-human-rights-council
In 2022, for the first time since the establishment of the mandate, the Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General on Violence Against Children, Dr. Najat Maalla Maalla M’jid, prepared a child-friendly version of her annual report to the Human Rights Council. This version of the Special Representative’s report to the Human Rights Council, highlights how children are part of the solution to end violence and provides practical information to support children and young people’s actions to address violence and other priorities. This child friendly version has been reviewed and received input from children, including messages from children to other children empowering them to act in their communities. With the Special Representative’s strong belief in children’s agency, child participation is one of the three strategic priorities of the Special Representative. A specific goal is to help build bridges between two key sets of stakeholders: Governments and other policy makers, and children, so that the lived experiences of the latter become an integral part of all decision-making processes addressing violence against children. This child-friendly version promotes the need for the international community to invest more in children: in preventing violence, in children’s participation, and in better services for children and young people.
Concept note for the Security Council high-level briefing on the theme “Cooperation between the Security Council and the League of Arab States”
English, French & Spanish: http://undocs.org/S/2022/240
The Security Council held a high-level briefing in connection with the item entitled “Cooperation between the United Nations and regional and subregional organizations in maintaining international peace and security”, on the theme “Cooperation between the Security Council and the League of Arab States” on 23 March 2022. In order to guide the discussions on this topic, the United Arab Emirates, Security Council President for March 2022, has prepared this concept note.
SDG16 Survey Initiative Implementation Manual
https://www.undp.org/publications/sdg16-survey-initiative-implementation-manual
The SDG16 Survey Initiative jointly developed by UNDP, UNODC and OHCHR provides a high quality, well tested tool that countries can use to measure progress on many of the survey-based indicators under SDG16. It can support data production on peace, justice, and inclusion (SDG 16) which can help to better understand complex realities that exist at national and local levels. It can help unveil some of the hidden truths of how violence, discrimination, inequality, and injustice manifest itself in the community and identify entry points to begin to address some of these persistent challenges.
Women’s meaningful participation in transitional justice: Advancing gender equality and building sustainable peace (UNDP / UN Women)
Publication & Policy Brief: https://bit.ly/3IEVFM4
This detailed research paper and synthesized policy brief explore what women’s meaningful participation in transitional justice means and “looks like” in policy and practice. The publications focus specifically on women and addressing the unique barriers to women’s meaningful participation in transitional justice processes as a result of gender-based discrimination. These publications review the current policy framework and assertions for women’s meaningful participation in transitional justice and highlight critical gaps between policy and practice. The research paper and policy brief suggest a definition for women’s meaningful participation in transitional justice, as well as typologies of women stakeholders and roles that women play within transitional justice. The research paper and policy brief also examine series of lessons for advancing women’s meaningful participation in transitional justice based on past experience. The publications argue that transitional justice needs to re-imagine “change models” and acceptable “outcome domains”. They also suggest “benchmarks” for what women’s meaningful participation in transitional justice would ideally look like, if it is to contribute in some way towards gender transformative outcomes. Lastly, the publications recommend several adjustments for UN policy and programming—both in general and in relation to the updating of the UN Secretary-General’s 2010 Guidance Note on transitional justice—to better promote women’s meaningful participation in transitional justice.
Youth and peace and security: Report of the Secretary-General (S/2022/220, 16 March 2022)
English, French & Spanish: https://undocs.org/S/2022/220
“Summary: Young people have faced unprecedented challenges in the past two years owing to multiple crises: the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, climate change, violence and armed conflict, and their compounded effects. However, the mobilization of young people for peace, social justice, climate action and equality remained unfaltering and critical to the peaceful development of societies. Young women and men have continued to drive peace even though the impact of the pandemic has reinforced barriers and created new challenges for their meaningful participation in peace and security processes. The safety, security and protection of young people has not improved: shrinking civic spaces, coupled with the impact of armed conflicts and the pandemic, have led to acute protection challenges requiring urgent action. Young people – young women in particular – are at risk of being left behind in terms of education, economic opportunities, health and social protection during a crucial stage of their lives. Inclusive partnerships with young peacebuilders are crucial to the youth and peace and security agenda and should be prioritized by all partners. Preventive efforts can only be effective if use is made of the capacities, perspectives, contextual knowledge and creativity of diverse groups of young people. The institutionalization of the agenda has noticeably accelerated since the first report on youth and peace and security (S/2020/167), yet profound challenges persist that concern meaningful participation of young people in decision-making and financing for peacebuilding this is led by and inclusive of young people.”
Human Rights
Advancing the Human Rights and Inclusion of LGBTI People: A Handbook for 
Parliamentarians (UNDP)
https://www.undp.org/publications/advancing-human-rights-and-inclusion-lgbti-people-handbook-parliamentarians-0
Launched in 2017, the Handbook has assisted parliamentarians around the world to use their mandates to advance the human rights and inclusion of LGBTI people. To reflect major advances since then, the handbook has been revised and relaunched. The revised Handbook offers parliamentarians tips, tools and examples of actions taken by their peers around the world. It is designed to assist those who wish to launch inclusive reform initiatives and those seeking to amplify existing efforts.
Asia and the Pacific SDG Progress Report: Widening disparities and COVID-19 (UNESCAP)
https://www.unescap.org/kp/2022/asia-and-pacific-sdg-progress-report-2022
The need to reach those who are furthest behind has never been greater, reveals the 2022 Asia and the Pacific Sustainable Development Goals Progress Report issued on 16 March 2022 by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP). The report finds that average progress in the region disproportionately excludes some groups with distinct demographic and socioeconomic characteristics. Those furthest behind, including women, persons with disabilities, rural populations and poorer households, are also facing increased vulnerabilities. For many vulnerable populations, food security, education and livelihoods have also deteriorated during the pandemic. The challenges of achieving the SDGs in the region have been magnified in recent years by an increase in the frequency and intensity of human made crises and natural disasters, as well as the challenges of responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. Progress on the 17 SDGs have tremendously slowed down and with each passing year, the Goals are moving further out of reach for the region. At its current pace, Asia and the Pacific is now only expected to achieve the SDGs by 2065 – more than three and a half decades behind the original goalpost.
Conflict-related sexual violence against women and girls in South Sudan: Conference room paper of the Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan (A/HRC/49/CRP.4, 21 March 2022)
https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/2022-03/A_HRC_49_CRP_4.pdf
On 21 March 2022, the United Nations Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan published a 48-page report that describes a hellish existence for women and girls. Widespread rape is being perpetrated by all armed groups across the country, often as part of military tactics for which government and military leaders are responsible, either due to their failure to prevent these acts, or for their failure to punish those involved. The report is based on interviews conducted with victims and witnesses over several years. Survivors detailed staggeringly brutal and prolonged gang rapes perpetrated against them by multiple men, often while their husbands, parents or children have been forced to watch, helpless to intervene. Women of all ages recounted being raped multiple times while other women were also being raped around them. A woman raped by six men said she was even forced to tell her assailants that the rape was good, or they threatened to rape her again. The resultant traumas ensure the complete destruction of the social fabric.
Journalism is a public good: World trends in freedom of expression and media development; Global report 2021/2022 (UNESCO)
Report & Highlights: https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/unesco-business-model-news-media-broken-our-fundamental-right-information-risk
A New UNESCO report examining global trends in Freedom of Expression and Media Development from 2016-2021 highlights the existential threat social media now poses to the very survival of the professional news media. In the last five years, both news audiences and advertising revenues have migrated in vast numbers to internet platforms. The report finds that Google and Meta/Facebook now soak up approximately half of all global digital advertising spending, while global newspaper advertising revenue has fallen by half in the last five years. The pandemic intensified existing trends in declining advertising revenue, job losses, and newsroom closures. The UNESCO report cites data from the International Center for Journalists showing two-thirds of journalists feel less secure in their jobs as a result of the economic pressures of the pandemic.
Protecting Internally Displaced Persons: A Handbook for National Human Rights Institutions (UNHCR / OHCHR / GANHRI / UNDP)
https://www.undp.org/publications/protecting-internally-displaced-persons-handbook-national-human-rights-institutions
Over 50 million people were estimated to be internally displaced by the end of 2020 due to conflict, disasters, human rights violations and violence. Given the multiple drivers of displacement, human rights infringements are often experienced before, during and after displacement. The handbook analyses the role and activities of national human rights institutions (NHRIs) in addressing the human rights dimensions of internal displacement. It provides an overview of good practices, experiences and lessons learned by the UN system and partners.
Regressing Gender Equality in Myanmar: Women living under the Pandemic and Military rule (UNDP)
https://bit.ly/3D7QaVa
One year after the military takeover, it is difficult to foresee any rapid improvement in the divisive course of events in Myanmar. Women are starting to see their future disappear before their eyes. They are scared to leave their homes and the peace, political and economic rights they enjoyed for a decade are rapidly disappearing. UNDP and UN Women brought their complementary mandates and capacities together to conduct this study. This alliance has generated much-needed data on the impact of the twin crises on women. This complements datasets already held by both organizations, supports analysis to highlight the gendered nature of the pandemic and coup and provides a solid foundation for designing gender-sensitive interventions. The Women living under the pandemic and military rule survey looks at the way that women are affected by macro developments and trends. It is important to understand the real-time social and economic impacts of COVID-19 and the military rule, not just for measures of income poverty but also for vulnerability more generally and for how the double crisis is impacting Myanmar’s women both at the family and individual levels.
Reporting on Violence against Women and Girls: A Handbook for Journalists (UNESCO)
English, French & Spanish: https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000371524
Conceived in the framework of UNESCO’s mandate to promote media development, journalism education and gender equality in media, the publication Reporting on Violence against Women and Girls – A Handbook for Journalists is a resource for media professionals from across the world with the intention to stimulate reflections on current reporting practices, provide information and promote and improve ethical coverage of gender-based violence. Conceived in the framework of UNESCO’s mandate to promote media development, journalism education and gender equality in media, the publication is a resource for media professionals from across the world with the intention to stimulate reflections on current reporting practices, provide information and promote and improve ethical coverage of gender-based violence.
Situation of human rights in Belarus in the run-up to the 2020 presidential election and in its aftermath: Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (A/HRC/49/71, 4 March 2022) (Advance edited version)
https://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/HRC/RegularSessions/Session49/Documents/A_HRC_49_71_AdvanceEditedVersion.docx
The fundamental human rights of tens of thousands of people in Belarus have been violated and the lives of countless others negatively affected by the Government’s continued crackdown on opponents, civil society, journalists and lawyers, without yet seeing the perpetrators held accountable, a report published on 9 March 2022 by the UN Human Rights Office says. The report details the findings of OHCHR’s examination of the human right situation in Belarus, mandated by the UN Human Rights Council. This review covered the run-up to the 9 August 2020 elections and the aftermath up to 31 December 2021, drawing on 145 first-hand interviews, as well as analysis of a wide range of information and evidence.
Tackling violence against women and girls in the context of climate change (UN Women)
Publication & Infographic: https://bit.ly/3NqISR9
Violence against women and girls (VAWG) and climate change are two of the most pressing global emergencies and sustainable development challenges of our time. VAWG is the most widespread and pervasive human rights violation worldwide, affecting more than an estimated one in three women throughout their lifetime. Climate change is threatening our planet’s sustainability with devastating social, cultural, economic, health and human rights impacts, affecting women and girls disproportionately, especially the most marginalized groups. It is also a serious aggravator of the different forms of VAWG. The shadow pandemic of VAWG during COVID-19 exemplified the surge of violence that occurs during crises and disasters. While there has been increased international attention over the last decade in understanding and addressing gender-climate issues, the intersections between climate change and VAWG have received much less focus. This paper provides a brief overview of the evidence of the impact of climate change on VAWG and makes recommendations across both the climate change and ending VAWG sectors.
Humanitarian Affairs
Afghanistan Welfare Monitoring Survey (World Bank)
https://thedocs.worldbank.org/en/doc/138d0857c9a66e7e2a963a1a6137860e-0310062022/original/Afghanistan-Welfare-Monitoring-Survey.pdf
The World Bank released on 15 March 2022 results of a household survey conducted in Afghanistan in the fall of 2021 to assess changes in basic living conditions in the early days of the interim Taliban administration. The survey was conducted by phone and provides a representative sample of Afghan households covering all regions of the country. Overall, the results suggest that while the Afghan population is still able to find work and access some key public services, the situation is quite fragile, and a rapid and dramatic decline in welfare outcomes and access to services could occur unless salaries, at least for key services, can be restored and food security improved.
The Early Engagement of the United Nations in Disaster Risk Reduction (1970-2000): A Brief History (UNDRR)
https://www.undrr.org/media/78789/download
This publication is the first part of the Early Days of Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) initiative, supported by the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR). As a brief history document, it focuses primarily on the International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction (IDNDR): its origins, the 1994 Yokohama Conferencem the IDNDR DRR days and campaigns, the engagement of the different UN agencies, and others. The publication highlights the key developments approaches and values of the early UN pioneers in disaster risk reduction. It also includes a timeline with the key events and developments between 1970 and 2000. While the recent history of DRR (from 2000) is overall well documented since the established of the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR), there are serious gaps in the knowledge on the different actors and initiatives during the three early DRR decades. This publication aims to fill this gap. As part of this initiative, a walk through history webpage will soon become available, consisting of timelines that focuse on the early DRR work carried out by different actors. A selection of DRR pioneers’ interviews will also be accessible, capturing the earlier lessons learned and insights valuable for the current DRR discourse and practice.
Gender equality and women’s empowerment in the world of work in fragile, conflict and disaster settings (ILO)
https://www.ilo.org/global/topics/employment-promotion/recovery-and-reconstruction/WCMS_840082/lang–en/index.htm
A virtual panel discussion organized during the 66th session of the Commission on the Status of Women provided the platform for the launch of a new guide designed to strengthen gender equality and women’s empowerment in fragile, conflict and disaster settings. The new publication will guide ILO staff, constituents, and other stakeholders on integrating gender-responsive and conflict-sensitive approaches in initiatives related to employment and decent work across the Humanitarian-Development-Peace Nexus, i.e. the interlinkages between humanitarian, development and peace actions. The new guide, Gender equality and women’s empowerment in the world of work in fragile, conflict and disaster settings, provides an overview of how fragility, conflicts and disasters affect gender equality in world of work-related areas. It also presents the key global frameworks and contains practical guidance – both general recommendations and technical area-specific guidance on gender mainstreaming in crisis settings.
Principles for Resilient Infrastructure (UNDRR)
https://www.preventionweb.net/publication/principles-resilient-infrastructure
This report describes a set of principles, key actions, and guidelines to create national scale net resilience gain and improve the continuity of critical services such as energy, transport, water, wastewater, waste, and digital communications, which enable health, education, etc. to function effectively. The interconnected Principles for Resilient Infrastructure provide normative goals and desirable outcomes for systemic resilience of infrastructure to meet the targets of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030. The key actions and governance guidelines for resilient infrastructure communicate the collaborative activities by which infrastructure will become more resilient, together with the mechanisms for improvement and monitoring infrastructure at national scale that will deliver net resilience gain and improved provision of critical services. These principles are applicable to any level of government, institutions, donors, investors, owners, regulators, operators, designers and contractors, service providers, and international organisations that are interested in implementing a set of actions to improve infrastructure resilience contributing to positive economic, social and environmental outcomes.
Ukraine: Note on the impact of the war on food security in Ukraine, 25 March 2022 (FAO)
https://www.fao.org/3/cb9171en/cb9171en.pdf
FAO is deeply concerned about the food security situation in Ukraine. The war that began on 24 February 2022 has caused extensive damage and loss of life in key population centres, spread across rural areas, and sparked massive displacement. It is clear that the war has resulted in a massive, and deteriorating, food security challenge. It has already significantly disrupted livelihoods during the agricultural growing season, through physical access constraints and damage to homes, productive assets, agricultural land, roads, and other civilian infrastructure. It is uncertain whether Ukraine will be able to harvest existing crops, plant new ones or sustain livestock production as the conflict evolves. As insecurity persists, and both local and national supply chains are disrupted, people are likely to fall deeper into emergency levels of hunger and malnutrition. Noting that the immediate food security dimension of this conflict is related to food access and not food availability, agricultural production must be allowed to resume immediately and safely to avoid further potential impact on food security in Ukraine – and beyond – in the coming days, weeks and months.
Water Security in Africa: A Preliminary Assessment (UNU-INWEH)
http://inweh.unu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/State-of-Water-Security-in-Africa-A-Preliminary-Assessment-v5-revised.pdf
This report summarizes the results of a preliminary assessment of water security in 54 countries in Africa using a common methodology. Ten complementary and interdependent components of national water security are considered: 1. access to drinking water, 2. access to sanitation, 3. hygiene and health, 4. water availability, 5. efficiency of water use, 6. water infrastructure, 7. water quality, 8. water governance, 9. water disaster risks and 10. physiography. The assessment reveals that the state of water-related data on just about any water issue in Africa remains ‘very poor’ despite all efforts undertaken to date. The lack of water data in Africa manifests itself so strongly that some critical components of water security simply cannot be assessed without introducing second-best surrogates. With such poor data availability, progress is difficult to assess accurately. For example, what percentage of African population will have access to safely managed drinking water services or safely managed sanitation by 2030 is a big unknown, although both need to reach 100% as required by Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Action needs to be undertaken immediately by national governments to radically improve data collection for Africa, with support from international agents. Without this data, progress in water security in most African countries and progress towards SDG 6 (water) targets can only be ‘guesstimated’. It may be argued that water data availability itself should be seen as an indicator in future water security assessments.
Justice and International Law
Compendium of International and National Legal Frameworks on Female Genital Mutilation, Sixth Edition (World Bank)
https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/37074
Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C) is a development issue and a form of violence against women and girls that affects at least 200 million women in the world FGM/C is a harmful practice proven to impact the physical and mental health of affected women and girls from the moment of the cutting, with prolonged and irreversible consequences during their entire lives. Studies show that FGM/C has economic and social consequences and a high obstetric cost although a comprehensive study on the exact extent of these economic, health and social costs is still to be carried out. Beyond the data and the statistics, researcher have shown that FGM/C deprives women of sexual satisfaction, sexual health, and psychophysical wellbeing. The Compendium of International and National Legal Frameworks on Female Genital Mutilation (the “Compendium”) was prepared to contribute to this urgent and important development debate with the understanding that the knowledge of the law is an important empowerment tool to end FGM/C. It provides a survey of the key international and regional instruments as well as domestic legislation as they relate to the prohibition of FGM/C.
Nuclear, Chemical and Conventional Weapons Disarmament
The Biological Weapons Convention: An Introduction, Second Edition
Available in all official languages: https://www.un.org/disarmament/publications/the-biological-weapons-convention/
First published in 2017, the updated publication ‘The Biological Weapons Convention: An Introduction’ provides its readers with a comprehensive overview of the Biological Weapons Convention. The publication covers the history of the negotiations and the current state of implementation of the Convention. It also explains the significance of the Convention in the modern world.
Drug Control, Crime Prevention and Counter-terrorism
Conflict in Ukraine: Key evidence on risks of trafficking in persons (UNODC)
https://www.unodc.org/documents/data-and-analysis/tip/Conflict_Ukraine_TIP_2022.pdf
One month into the war in Ukraine, millions of people, mainly women and children, continue to flee their homes. As long as the conflict continues, the risk of them being targeted by criminal networks grows. The United Nations Office on Drugs on Crime (UNODC), the leading entity within the UN system to address the criminal elements of human trafficking, is supporting countries that are affected by the refugee crisis to identify potential victims and develop short and long-term strategies to prevent this crime. Latest figures from the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) indicate that around ninety percent of the over 3.6 million refugees from Ukraine are women and children. UNODC is working closely with other UN and international entities, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and law enforcement authorities to coordinate responses to the current risks. UNODC research has demonstrated how people fleeing conflict are vulnerable to becoming victims of trafficking.
The International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) – Report 2021
https://www.incb.org/incb/en/news/AR2021/incb-2021-annual-report-and-precursors-report-launched.html
The International Narcotics Control Board (INCB), an independent, UN-backed body, is calling on governments to do more to regulate social media platforms that glamourize drug-related negative behaviour and boost sales of controlled substances. In its annual report, released on 10 March 2022, the INCB notes increasing evidence of a link between exposure to social media and drug use, which disproportionately affects young people, the main users of social media platforms, and an age group with relatively high rates of drug abuse. The report also calls on the private sector to moderate and self-regulate their platforms and limit the advertisement and promotion of the non-medical use of drugs. As well as social media platforms, criminals are exploiting many other digital tools, such as digital currencies, mobile payments and e-wallet services, which make the international transfer of funds easier and faster, and allow them to hide the origins of illegal funds and maximize profits.
Newsletter Archive: https://unric.org/en/unric-info-point-library-newsletter-archive