New UN websites & publications
UN in General
New agenda sets sail with bold action as UN Water Conference closes (UN News, 24 March 2023)
The UN 2023 Water Conference closed on 24 March 2023 Friday with the adoption of the Water Action Agenda, a “milestone” action plan containing almost 700 commitments to protect “humanity’s most precious global common good”.
English: https://news.un.org/en/story/2023/03/1135022
French: https://news.un.org/fr/story/2023/03/1133667
Spanish: https://news.un.org/es/story/2023/03/1519677
Portuguese: https://news.un.org/pt/story/2023/03/1811947
see also: Historic UN 2023 Water Conference generates transformative commitments
(27 March 2023): https://www.unwater.org/news/historic-un-2023-water-conference-generates-transformative-commitments
UN Archives Geneva Research Guide: League of Nations Secretariat
https://libraryresources.unog.ch/LONSecretariat
UN Archives in Geneva has developed a new research guide on the League of Nations Secretariat with Saxo Institute, University of Copenhagen.
Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19)
Access to NCD medicines: emergent issues during the COVID-19 pandemic and key structural factors (WHO)
https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240069442
The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic exacerbated pre-existing inequalities in the treatment and care of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs). This report examines the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on access to NCD medicines, and the policies and strategies implemented by countries and health systems to anticipate and mitigate stresses across NCD medicine supply chains. The full range of upstream and downstream impacts are investigated, including: manufacturing; procurement, importation and last mile delivery; patient-level effects through affordability and availability; and the effects on NCD medicine availability by category of disease. The report culminates in recommended actions and interventions for key stakeholders in the NCD pharmaceutical supply chain, including governments, regulatory authorities, manufacturers and the private sector; as well as directions for future research for improving access and supply chain access resilience.
COVID-19 School Closures, Learning Losses and Intergenerational Mobility (World Bank Policy Research Working Paper 10381)
https://www.preventionweb.net/publication/covid-19-school-closures-learning-losses-and-intergenerational-mobility
The paper presents a first global investigation of the longer-term inequality implications of COVID-19 by examining the effect of school closures on the ability of children from different countries and backgrounds to engage in continued learning throughout the pandemic, and their implications for intergenerational mobility in education. The analysis builds on the data from the Global Database of Intergenerational Mobility, country-specific results of the learning loss simulation model using weekly school closure information from February 2020 to February 2022, and high-frequency phone survey data collected by the World Bank during the pandemic to assess the incidence and quality of continued learning during periods of school closures across children from different backgrounds. Based on this information, the paper simulates counterfactual levels of educational attainment and corresponding absolute and relative intergenerational educational mobility measures with and without COVID-19 impacts, to arrive at estimates of COVID-19 impacts. The simulations suggest that the extensive school closures and associated learning losses are likely to have a significant impact on both absolute and relative intergenerational educational mobility in the absence of remedial measures. In upper-middle-income countries, the share of children with more years of education than their parents (absolute mobility) could decline by 8 percentage points, with the largest impacts observed in the Latin America region. Furthermore, unequal access to continued learning during school closures across children from households of different socioeconomic backgrounds (proxied by parental education levels) leads to a significant decline in relative educational mobility.
Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on violations against children in situations of armed conflict: Follow-Up Study
https://childrenandarmedconflict.un.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/OSRSG-COVID-19-study-web-fa.pdf
Lessons learned can be drawn from the adaptability shown by child protection teams in their work as they adjusted to the restrictions linked to the COVID-19 pandemic to ensure the continuity in the implementation of the children and armed conflict mandate, highlights a follow-up study on the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on violations against children in situations of armed conflict. This follow-up study complements the publication of a first study on the impact of the pandemic on violations against children in April 2021, focusing more on the immediate effects that the COVID-19 pandemic and related restrictions had on children affected by conflict and on the capacity to respond to grave violations. Building on the finding of the first paper and recommendations of Member States who participated in an Arria formula meeting on Children and Armed Conflict in May 2021, this follow-up study aims at drawing lessons learned on ways to sustain prevention and response through this crisis and future ones. The study covers the year 2020 and 2021 and was produced by the Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict (OSRSG CAAC) with the generous support of the Government of Estonia and the Government of Qatar. The follow-up study covers seven (7) country situations on the CAAC agenda, with the addition of Somalia and Yemen to the group of countries covered in the first study namely Afghanistan, the Central African Republic (CAR), Colombia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), and Sudan.
What the COVID-19 Pandemic has Exposed: the Findings of Five Global Health Workforce Professions (Human Resources for Health Observer Series No. 28)
https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240070189
Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, WHO asserted that a holistic assessment of the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact is needed and accordingly formulated a comprehensive framework for measurement and reporting that broadly draws upon four main domains. Two domains, ‘health’ and ‘social and well-being,’ are central to the individual HCW and two domains, ‘availability and distribution’ and ‘working conditions,’ are central to the organizational and working environment. The overarching goal of this holistic framework is to empower countries, global partners and WHO to collectively inform strategies that guide recovery plans, future investments, and further develop the health and care workforce at the national and global levels. Relative to that, the primary objective of the evidence synthesis (guided by WHO’s four domains of interest) is to triangulate data and information generated by the World Health Professions Alliance. It was conducted using information and report summaries from the World Health Professions Alliance to generate a comparative secondary analysis of the surveys conducted in the period 2020–2021. No standardized data collection instrument, variable, or question was used across the five organizations. Instead, the organizations gathered data from their respective national professional associations using various instruments and developed reports that discussed either the pandemic specifically or in conjunction with additional priority issues. At least one World Health Professions Alliance organization is represented in 169 (87%) of the 194 WHO Member States. In 42 Member States (21%), all five World Health Professions Alliance organizations are represented. This evidence synthesis describes how the five professions were impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic in common and different ways by comparing the experiences of dentists, nurses, pharmacists, physicians and physiotherapists. The individual organizational findings of the five World Health Professions Alliance organizations inform the five key themes and the subsequent findings and recommendations. The inspiration was to inform future data collection efforts by building upon collective knowledge, data accessibility and question formats that have generalizable applicability to all World Health Professions Alliance organizations.
Economic Growth and Sustainable Development
AR6 Synthesis Report: Climate Change 2023 (IPCC)
https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/syr/
https://www.ipcc.ch/report/sixth-assessment-report-cycle/
A major UN “report of reports” from the authoritative Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), outlines the many options that can be taken now, to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to human-caused climate change. The study, “released on 20 March 2023 following a week-long IPCC session in Interlaken, brings into sharp focus the losses and damages experienced now, and expected to continue into the future, which are hitting the most vulnerable people and ecosystems especially hard. Temperatures have already risen to 1.1 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, a consequence of more than a century of burning fossil fuels, as well as unequal and unsustainable energy and land use. This has resulted in more frequent and intense extreme weather events that have caused increasingly dangerous impacts on nature and people in every region of the world. Climate-driven food and water insecurity is expected to grow with increased warming: when the risks combine with other adverse events, such as pandemics or conflicts, they become even more difficult to manage.
Asia and the Pacific Sustainable Development Goals Progress Report 2023: Championing sustainability despite adversities (UNESCAP)
https://www.unescap.org/kp/2023/asia-and-pacific-sdg-progress-report-2023
The United Nations has lauded countries in the Asia-Pacific region for demonstrating an ongoing commitment to sustainable development despite facing unprecedented recent challenges such as intensifying climate change, health crises and geopolitical conflicts. The Asia and the Pacific Sustainable Development Goals Progress Report 2023 issued on 22 March 2023 by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) spotlights several heartening evidence-based national initiatives such as reducing child marriages in India, increasing the rate of births attended by skilled personnel in Timor-Leste, improving the processing of identity documents for Afghan refugees in Pakistan, and a Clean Air Plan to tackle air pollution in Cambodia. However, this year’s report also warns that at the midpoint mark, the region has only achieved 14.4 per cent of progress needed. At the current pace, Asia and the Pacific will miss 90 per cent of the 118 measurable SDG targets by 2030 unless efforts are multiplied.
Building Bright Futures: What is needed to expand early childhood education and care for Ukraine’s refugee children (Innocenti Research Report)
https://www.unicef-irc.org/publications/1691-building-bright-futures-what-is-needed-to-expand-early-childhood-education-and-care-for-ukraines-refugee-children.html
Nine out of every 10 refugees arriving in host countries from Ukraine are women and children. Only 1 in 3 of Ukrainian refugee children are enrolled in early childhood education and care services. This emphasizes the need for expanding and strengthening early childhood education systems to ensure sufficient access for all children, and the integration of Ukranian refugee children in the host-community. These briefs offer recommendations for policymakers on ways to expand services, and how to facilitate the integration of refugee children and their families. Strategies include limiting the barriers that may hinder refugee children’s access to ECEC settings, capitalizing existing physical and human resources to address gaps in service delivery, in addition to the inclusion of refugees in national and sub-national plans, data systems and financing, adapting policies and programmes to ensure considerations are made for refugee children.
Climate Action in the Tourism Sector: An Overview of Methodologies and Tools to Measure Greenhouse Gas Emissions” (UNWTO)
https://www.e-unwto.org/doi/10.18111/9789284423927
Measurement of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is key for climate action. However, the tourism sector as the value chain is complex, diverse and overlapping, making sure measurement challenging. The new report was developed by UNWTO with support from the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection of Germany (BMUV) and is released in collaboration with UN Climate Change (UNFCCC). It focuses on three areas – accommodation, tour operators and destinations – with the following findings: Accommodation has the largest number of methodologies and specifically-designed tools, followed by tour operators; Destinations face the greatest challenges when it comes to engaging in measurement; There is little consensus over the differing responsibilities and boundaries of stakeholders, or over metrics used when organisations measure emissions.
Connections that matter: How does the quality of governance institutions help protect our Ocean? (UNDP)
https://www.undp.org/publications/connections-matter-how-does-quality-governance-institutions-help-protect-our-ocean
With the SDGs, countries agreed that Peace, Planet, Partnership, Prosperity and People are connected. To maximise synergies and minimize trade-offs, their interactions need to be better understood. While ‘SDG interlinkages’ are increasingly studied, SDG 16 is rarely covered. This new publication builds on the first, ground-breaking study ‘Connections that Matter: How the Quality of Governance Institutions may be the Booster Shot we need to reduce Poverty and Inequality’ on the interlinkages between SDG 16 and SDG 1 (No Poverty) and SDG 10 (Reduced Inequality). UNDP’s Oslo Governance Centre and the German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS) have now released this second study on interlinkages between SDG 16 and SDG 14 (Life Below Water). Based on a scoping literature review of 300+ academic papers, the study finds empirical evidence from across the globe that inclusion and participation, accountability and rule of law, as well as transparency and control of corruption and crime can improve the effectiveness of marine and coastal protection efforts and contribute towards the sustainability of fisheries. The study highlights a number of examples, including how governance can regulation, management and enforcement tends to improve marine park conservation whereas lack of enforcement can lead to ‘paper parks’. This publication offers initial policy insights on how to identify and activate governance levers to accelerate progress on SDG 14.
Employment Policy Action Facility (EPAF)
https://www.ilo.org/global/topics/employment-promotion/epaf/lang–en/index.htm
A new web-based platform that provides easy access to cutting-edge employment policy expertise has been launched by the International Labour Organization (ILO). The Employment Policy Action Facility (EPAF), is a comprehensive platform that brings together the ILO’s latest evidence, expertise and policy advice. It offers innovative tools, including a curated list of key resources relevant to different stages of the policy action process. Ensuring the gender-responsiveness of employment policies – a guiding principle of the ILO’s core approach – is a cross-cutting theme of EPAF. The platform mainstreams a gender perspective, including gender-responsive employment diagnostic guidelines and gender-sensitive pro-employment policies. The EPAF comprises of two sections. The Employment Diagnostic Toolbox gives access to key ILO tools, resources, and guidance on country analytics, to support evidence-based policymaking.
Europe and Central Asia – Regional Overview of Food Security and Nutrition 2022: Repurposing policies and incentives to make healthy diets more affordable and agrifood systems more environmentally sustainable
https://www.fao.org/documents/card/en/c/cc4196en
In Europe and Central Asia, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the outbreak of the war in Ukraine put food security and healthy nutrition under enormous pressure. Food prices peaked, posing a challenge for decision makers to ensure that no one is left behind. Developed by eight United Nations agencies, the Regional Overview of Food Security and Nutrition in Europe and Central Asia 2022 report provides valuable information to assist in addressing this situation. Released on 14 March 2023 at a virtual event, the report offers fresh data and analysis of regional trends and progress made towards reaching the Zero Hunger Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) and includes studies on creating policy frameworks that make healthy diets more affordable and agrifood systems more environmentally sustainable in the Europe and Central Asia region. Taking advantage of the figures and recommendations contained in the report, countries should be in a position to assist smallholders, rural communities and all actors along the food value chain and to help the poor and vulnerable through holistic programmes, as envisaged in the SDGs. The report was jointly prepared by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO); the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD); the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF); the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP); the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE); the World Food Programme (WFP); the World Health Organization (WHO); and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).
Global Bottled Water Industry: A Review of Impacts and Trends (UNU-INWEH)
https://inweh.unu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/UNU_BottledWater_Report_F.pdf
The rapidly-growing bottled water industry can undermine progress towards a key sustainable development goal: safe water for all, says a new United Nations report. Based on an analysis of literature and data from 109 countries, the report says that in just five decades bottled water has developed into “a major and essentially standalone economic sector,” experiencing 73% growth from 2010 to 2020. And sales are expected to almost double by 2030, from US$ 270 billion to $500 billion. Released a few days prior to World Water Day (March 22), the report by UN University’s Canadian-based Institute for Water, Environment and Health concludes that the unrestricted expansion of the bottled water industry “is not aligned strategically with the goal of providing universal access to drinking water or at least slows global progress in this regard, distracting development efforts and redirecting attention to a less reliable and less affordable option for many, while remaining highly profitable for producers.”
see also: https://inweh.unu.edu/bottled-water-masks-worlds-failure-to-supply-safe-water-for-all-can-slow-sustainable-development/
Global Report on Cocaine 2023: Local dynamics, global challenges (UNODC)
https://www.unodc.org/documents/data-and-analysis/cocaine/Global_cocaine_report_2023.pdf
Global production of cocaine has jumped dramatically over the past two years following an initial slowdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new report released on 16 March 2023 by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). The Global Report on Cocaine 2023 details how coca cultivation soared 35 per cent from 2020 to 2021, a record high and the sharpest year-to-year increase since 2016. The rise is a result of both an expansion in coca bush cultivation and improvements in the process of converting coca bush to cocaine hydrochloride. The steep growth in supply has been matched by a similar swelling in demand, with many regions showing a steady rise in cocaine users over the past decade. While the cocaine market remains quite concentrated in the Americas and parts of Europe, the report warns that there is a strong potential for a large expansion in Africa and Asia. Nevertheless, interceptions of cocaine shipments by law enforcement around the world have also risen sharply, with seizures reaching a record high of nearly 2,000 tons in 2021.
Global Water Security 2023 Assessment (UNU-INWEH)
https://inweh.unu.edu/global-water-security-2023-assessment/
A global water security assessment led by United Nations water experts found that the majority of the world’s population currently live in water-insecure countries. This is a cause for major concern because water security is fundamental to development. This global assessment released on the second day of the UN 2023 Water Conference provides a multidimensional comparison of the state of water security affecting 7.8 billion people across 186 countries midway into the Water Action Decade (2018-2028) and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The report provides some very alarming statistics, arguing that the world is far from achieving “clean water and sanitation for all” known as Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6.
Guidance for Wind Energy Projects in a World Heritage Context (UNESCO online tool)
English: https://whc.unesco.org/en/wind-energy
French: https://whc.unesco.org/fr/wind-energy/
UNESCO has launched a new guidance tool to enhance mutual understanding and achieve improved and constructive cooperation between the deployment of wind energy projects and the conservation of the world’s most precious heritage places. The aim of the newly released ‘Guidance for Wind Energy Projects in a World Heritage Context’, made possible thanks to the support of the Government of the Netherlands, is to assist stakeholders engaged in policy development, planning and implementation of wind energy projects on the one hand, and key actors involved in the protection of UNESCO World Heritage properties on the other. Designed specifically to support States in protecting heritage properties inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List while pursuing their energy transition to renewable sources, this new tool seeks to guide them towards the best possible solutions that meet both conservation priorities and sustainable development needs.
How to make data work for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development: Note by the UNCTAD secretariat (TD/B/EDE/6/2, 28 February 2023)
English, French & Spanish: https://undocs.org/TD/B/EDE/6/2
“Summary: The role that data can play in the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is addressed in the present note. Data and digital technologies are becoming increasingly critical in monitoring and achieving sustainable development. Challenges faced in harnessing data and cross-border data flows are discussed in this note, in particular among developing countries, along with ways of capturing and sharing more equitably the benefits from the digital economy and the ways in which national, regional and international approaches can contribute to harnessing data for the 2030 Agenda and in order to make up lost ground due to recent crises. In this context, it is critical to strengthen international cooperation on global data governance and capacity-building aimed at bridging data and digital divides, to enable a better future for people and the planet.”
In our words: Voices of Women of African Descent for Reproductive and Climate Justice (UNFPA)
English, French & Portuguese: https://www.unfpa.org/publications/our-words-voices-women-african-descent-reproductive-and-climate-justice
Climate, racial and gender justice are interlinked and interdependent. Although climate affects the whole planet, it disproportionately affects those who are socially, economically and politically furthest behind. It exacerbates existing inequalities and exclusions resulting from intersecting histories of racism, oppression and discrimination. The result is a reduced ability to realize health, well-being and rights and to respond to the shocks and impacts of the climate crisis. This advocacy brief amplifies the voices of Afrodescendent activists, practitioners and advocates in climate and reproductive health, rights and justice. It demonstrates how women of African descent are leading and inspiring action in their communities and spotlights the pervasiveness of discrimination and how it manifests to impact Afrodescendent women and girls. The brief also examines how society’s poorest and most vulnerable, despite having contributed very little to the global climate crisis, are too often left to deal with its worst effects. Finally it underscores action points brought forward by civil society organizations and practitioners, which recommend recognizing the role of racism, investing in research on how climate change affects Afro-descendant communities and amplifying Afro-descendant voices and expertise along the road to climate justice.
Measuring Progress: Water-related ecosystems and the SDGs (UNEP)
https://www.unep.org/resources/report/measuring-progress-water-related-ecosystems-and-sdgs
Fifty-nine (59) per cent of environment-related indicators for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) now have sufficient data to analyse progress, up from 34 per cent in 2018. A report released on 16 March 2023 by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), focusing on freshwater ecosystems, finds that while the world is not on track to achieve the environmental dimension of the SDGs, there is some positive movement towards reaching these goals. The report calls on governments to further strengthen their statistical capacity in relation to the environment and to promote the use of non-traditional data sources – such as big data and citizen science – to fill the data gap. It is published one week ahead of the UN 2023 Water Conference and in view of the September SDG Summit in New York, marking the mid-point of implementing the 17 SGDs of the 2030 Agenda agreed in 2015. The UN 2023 Water Conference is calling for bold commitments to be made to accelerating progress on SDG 6 and other water-related SDGs, including increased access to data and information, and increased use of economic and environmental accounting (SEEA) to advance the financing and protection of wetlands and other water bodies, factoring them into financial and other national accounts. These all require more and better data from global to local levels.
The latest available data for the 92 environment-related SDG indicators tell us that the world is not on track to achieve the environmental dimension of the SDGs by 2030. However, 38 per cent of the 92 indicators signal environmental improvement – a solid improvement compared to only 28 per cent in 2020. At the same time, 21 per cent of indicators saw negative or no change, and 41 per cent lack data.
Progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals in the Arab region (ESCWA, March 2023)
https://www.unescwa.org/publications/progress-towards-sdgs-arab-region
The Arab region, which has been characterized by instability and conflict for the past two decades, is facing various challenges. Moreover, the COVID-19 pandemic has not only hampered development efforts, increased poverty, and burdened health systems in many Arab countries, but it has also halted data production crucial to monitoring development progress and the impact of policies. The 2022 High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development called for a new phase of accelerated progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals. It is therefore more urgent than ever to drive development and compile much-needed evidence to measure progress, stagnation and setbacks. The present report provides information on the region’s progress in each of the 17 SDGs and their 169 target and related indicators, and highlights where the region now stands in relation to 2030, with a 2015 baseline. It stresses the importance of data availability and its impact on planning processes. It also presents key messages under each Goal.
Situation Analysis of Children Rights in Europe and Central Asia: Unequal progress, Children left behind (UNICEF)
https://www.unicef.org/eca/reports/situation-analysis-children-rights-europe-and-central-asia
The COVID-19 pandemic, climate disasters and ongoing conflict have deepened inequalities among children in Europe and Central Asia, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said in a report published on 9 March 2023, calling for more robust support for boys and girls at risk of poverty and social exclusion. The report on children’s rights is the first of its kind to bring together existing data and analysis for all countries in the region, while highlighting critical data gaps that need to be filled. UNICEF Regional Director Afshan Khan said the war in Ukraine, the pandemic, climate change and the current economic and energy crisis have plunged many families into uncertainty, affecting their well-being and that of their children. An estimated 35 to 40 million children across Europe and Central Asia are living in poverty, according to UNICEF. The report reveals inequalities in access to healthcare and education for some of the most vulnerable.
The State of School Feeding Worldwide 2022 (WFP)
Report in English, Executive Summary in English, French & Spanish: https://www.wfp.org/publications/state-school-feeding-worldwide-2022
Amidst a global food crisis which sees families in many countries struggling to put food on the table, a new report says governments worldwide are increasingly convinced that school meals are a powerful and cost-effective way of ensuring that vulnerable children get the food they need. Almost 420 million children worldwide receive school meals on 21 March 2023, according to the State of School-Feeding Worldwide report, issued on 21 March 2023 by the UN World Food Programme. At a time when 345 million people face crisis levels of hunger, including 153 million children and young people, school meals are a critical safety net for vulnerable children and households, the report said.
see also: https://www.wfp.org/stories/4-things-you-should-know-about-school-feeding-worldwide
Technology and Innovation Report 2023: Opening green windows; Technological opportunities for a low-carbon world (UNCTAD)
https://unctad.org/tir2023
Many developing countries may miss out on the benefits of the “green tech” revolution unless governments and the international community take decisive action now, the head of the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) said on 16 March 2023, releasing its latest report. The 17 frontier technologies covered in UNCTAD’s Technology and Innovation Report 2023 have the potential to create market revenues of more than $9.5 trillion by 2030, about three times the size of India’s economy today. Used to produce goods and services with smaller carbon footprints, the new wave of green technologies spans artificial intelligence to electric vehicles. The report calls for coherent policy action to enable developing countries to profit from green tech or risk facing growing economic inequalities, as developed countries reap most of the benefits.
Trade Hope: The impact of the Black Sea Grain Initiative (UNCTAD)
https://unctad.org/system/files/official-document/osginf2023d3_en.pdf
These agreements have helped to bring down the cost of food, stabilize global markets and keep them open. However, this progress is fragile and price pressures remain. While food prices have gone down from their all-time high at the start of the war, they remain high compared to pre-crises levels. Moreover, currency depreciations prevent many developing countries from benefiting from global price decreases, and, in the most severe cases, prices have even gone up. Additionally, as is so often the case, the most vulnerable bear the brunt, particularly women. The United Nations remains committed to both agreements, and to remove all remaining impediments that constrain access of food and fertilizers from the Russian Federation and Ukraine to global markets. This report concentrates on showing the benefits of one of the agreements, the Black Sea Grain Initiative, and its contribution to ease market pressures and avert the worst impacts of the food crisis. The continuation and effective implementation of both agreements are vital for global food security.
Triple threat: How disease, climate risks, and unsafe water, sanitation and hygiene create a deadly combination for children (Advocacy Spotlight – March 2023)
https://www.unicef.org/reports/triple-threat-wash-disease-climate
190 million children in 10 African countries are at the highest risk from a convergence of three water-related threats – inadequate water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH); related diseases; and climate hazards – according to a new UNICEF analysis. The triple threat was found to be most acute in Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, and Somalia, making West and Central Africa one of the world’s most water-insecure and climate-impacted regions, according to the analysis. Many of the worst-affected countries, particularly in the Sahel, are also facing instability and armed conflict, further aggravating children’s access to clean water and sanitation.
Ukraine – Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment: February 2022 – 2023
http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/099184503212328877/P1801740d1177f03c0ab180057556615497
A new joint assessment released on 23 March 2023 by the Government of Ukraine, the World Bank Group, the European Commission, and the United Nations, estimates that the cost of reconstruction and recovery in Ukraine has grown to US $411 billion (equivalent of €383 billion). The estimate covers the one-year period from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, to the first anniversary of the war on February 24, 2023. The cost of reconstruction and recovery is expected to stretch over 10 years and combines both needs for public and private funds. This second Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment (RDNA2) provides a comprehensive evaluation of war impacts across twenty different sectors. It quantifies the direct physical damage to infrastructure and buildings and describes the impact on people’s lives and livelihoods. The RDNA2 also includes the amounts needed for recovery and reconstruction. The RDNA2 estimates Ukraine will need $14 billion for critical and priority reconstruction and recovery investments in 2023. Meeting these needs will require $11 billion in financing beyond what the government has already addressed in its 2023 budget, including $6 billion in unfunded budget needs and another $5 billion in financing to support state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and catalyze the private sector.
The United Nations World Water Development Report 2023: Partnerships and cooperation for water
English: https://www.unesco.org/reports/wwdr/2023/en
French: https://www.unesco.org/reports/wwdr/2023/fr
Spanish: https://www.unesco.org/reports/wwdr/2023/es
Between two and three billion people worldwide experience water shortages. These shortages will worsen in the coming decades, especially in cities, if international cooperation in this area is not boosted, warn UNESCO and UN-Water in the latest edition of the UN World Water Development Report. Globally, 2 billion people (26% of the population) do not have safe drinking water and 3.6 billion (46%) lack access to safely managed sanitation, according to the report, published by UNESCO on behalf of UN-Water and released on 22 March 2023 at the UN 2023 Water Conference in New York. Between two and three billion people experience water shortages for at least one month per year, posing severe risks to livelihoods, notably through food security and access to electricity. The global urban population facing water scarcity is projected to double from 930 million in 2016 to 1.7–2.4 billion people in 2050. The growing incidence of extreme and prolonged droughts is also stressing ecosystems, with dire consequences for both plant and animal species.
WHO Global Report on Sodium Intake Reduction
https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240069985
A first-of-its-kind World Health Organization (WHO) Global report on sodium intake reduction shows that the world is off-track to achieve its global target of reducing sodium intake by 30% by 2025. Sodium, an essential nutrient, increases the risk of heart disease, stroke and premature death when eaten in excess. The main source of sodium is table salt (sodium chloride), but it is also contained in other condiments such as sodium glutamate. The report shows that only 5% of WHO Member States are protected by mandatory and comprehensive sodium reduction policies and 73% of WHO Member States lack full range of implementation of such policies. Implementing highly cost-effective sodium reduction policies could save an estimated 7 million lives globally by 2030. It is an important component of action to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal target of reducing deaths from noncommunicable diseases. But today, only nine countries (Brazil, Chile, Czech Republic, Lithuania, Malaysia, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, Spain and Uruguay) have a comprehensive package of recommended policies to reduce sodium intake. … WHO calls on Member States to implement sodium intake reduction policies without delay and to mitigate the harmful effects of excessive salt consumption. WHO also calls on food manufacturers to set ambitious sodium reduction targets in their products.
Women, Business and the Law 2023 (World Bank)
Report in English, Executive Summary in English, French & Spanish: http://hdl.handle.net/10986/39462
“Women, Business and the Law 2023” is the ninth in a series of annual studies measuring the laws and regulations that affect women’s economic opportunity in 190 economies. The project presents eight indicators structured around women’s interactions with the law as they move through their lives and careers: Mobility, Workplace, Pay, Marriage, Parenthood, Entrepreneurship, Assets, and Pension. The 2023 edition identifies barriers to women’s economic participation and encourages reform of discriminatory laws. This year, the study also includes research, a literature review, and analysis of 53 years of reforms for women’s rights. Examining the economic decisions that women make throughout their working lives as well as tracking regulatory changes from 1970 to today, the study makes an important contribution to research and policy discussions about the state of women’s economic opportunities. By presenting powerful examples of change and highlighting the gaps still remaining, “Women, Business and the Law 2023” is a vital tool in ensuring economic empowerment for all. Data in “Women, Business and the Law 2023” are current as of October 1, 2022.
World Employment and Social Outlook 2023: The value of essential work (ILO)
https://www.ilo.org/digitalguides/en-gb/story/weso2023-key-workers
Countries need to improve the working conditions and earnings of key workers – who were essential during the COVID-19 crisis – to fully reflect their contribution to society and their importance in the daily functioning of economies, a new report from the International Labour Organization (ILO) says. The report underscores the extent to which economies and societies depend on key workers, and also how they are undervalued. The poor working conditions of key workers exacerbate employee turnover and labour shortages, jeopardizing the provision of basic services. Improvements in working conditions and greater investment in food systems, health care and other key sectors are necessary for building economic and social resilience to shocks, the report says. Key workers can be found in eight main occupational groups covering health, food systems, retail, security, cleaning and sanitation, transport, manual, and technical and clerical occupations.
International Peace and Security
Concept note for the Security Council briefing on strengthening security sector reform and governance
English, French & Spanish: https://undocs.org/S/2023/168
Mozambique, in its capacity as President of the Security Council for the month of March 2023, chaired a briefing on the topic “Maintenance of international peace and security: security sector reform”, on 16 March 2023. In order to guide the discussions, Mozambique has prepared this concept note.
Concept note for the Arria-formula meeting on the theme “Situation of human rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea”
English, French & Spanish: https://undocs.org/S/2023/192
The Permanent Mission of Albania to the United Nations, with the United States Mission to the United Nations, organized an Arria-formula meeting on the theme “The situation of human Rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea” on 17 March 2023. In order to guide the discussions on this topic, this concept note was prepared.
Concept note for the Security Council open debate on the theme “Peace and security in Africa: the impact of development policies in the implementation of the Silencing the Guns initiative”
English, French & Spanish: https://undocs.org/S/2023/148/Rev.1
Mozambique, in its capacity as President of the Security Council for the month of March 2023, convened a Security Council open debate on the theme “Peace and security in Africa: the impact of development policies in the implementation of the Silencing the Guns initiative” on 30 March 2023. In order to guide the discussions on the topic, Mozambique has prepared this revised concept note.
Financing for gender equality and the implementation of the women, peace and security agenda: Assessment of the implementation of a minimum 15 per cent financial target (UN Women)
https://www.unwomen.org/en/digital-library/publications/2023/03/financing-for-gender-equality-and-the-implementation-of-the-women-peace-and-security-agenda
In 2019, the UN Secretary-General put forward a set of directives for the UN system on women, peace, and security (WPS), including commitments on financing. Progress on the implementation of these commitments is reviewed on an annual basis by the Secretary-General’s Executive Committee (EC) under its agenda item on WPS. At the 2021 review, the EC tasked UN Women to provide an updated assessment of implementation related to UN system’s commitment of a 15-per-cent financial resource earmark, and to amplify efforts to raise awareness of this specific commitment as well as share updated figures during the annual EC WPS item for more consistent tracking. This report responds to that request, provides an assessment of the status of implementation, and puts forward a set of recommendations to accelerate the pace of progress.
Human Rights
Addressing violence against women through social protection: A review of the evidence (UN Women)
https://www.unwomen.org/en/digital-library/publications/2023/03/policy-brief-addressing-violence-against-women-through-social-protection
In the wake of the “shadow pandemic” of violence against women and girls during COVID-19, policymakers, practitioners, and activists are searching for novel and effective ways to address violence against women (VAW), including in the context of ongoing crises and disasters. Social protection systems provide a wide range of policy tools and mechanisms that have the potential to address VAW. To date, however, this potential is largely unrealized. Policy discussions and practice on social protection and VAW remain siloed and evidence generation dispersed.
Based on a phased scoping review of peer-reviewed academic and grey literature, which captured 48 articles focused on both social protection and gender-based violence, this policy paper brings the two fields together, to identify pathways for harnessing social protection to address VAW. In doing so, the paper enables policymakers to move beyond a focus on singular social protection interventions and towards a systems perspective that opens opportunities for preventing and addressing VAW through a broad range of social protection schemes, such as multisectoral coordination, accompaniment models, and training for social protection providers.
OHCHR Fact Sheet No. 6 (Rev. 4):
Enforced Disappearances
https://www.ohchr.org/en/publications/fact-sheets/fact-sheet-no-6-rev-4-enforced-disappearances
OHCHR report on the Treatment of Prisoners of War and Persons Hors de Combat in the Context of the Armed Attack by the Russian Federation against Ukraine: 24 February 2022 – 23 February 2023
https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/documents/countries/ukraine/2023/23-03-24-Ukraine-thematic-report-POWs-ENG.pdf
“Executive summary: This report by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) focuses on the treatment of prisoners of war (POWs) by the parties to the international armed conflict since the large-scale armed attack by the Russian Federation against Ukraine commencing on 24 February 2022. The report covers the period from 24 February 2022 to 23 February 2023 and is based on the findings of the Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine. It examines international humanitarian law (IHL) and international human rights law (IHRL) violations in relation to the treatment of POWs during all stages of captivity – from their capture through to their internment and repatriation. The report also describes IHRL and IHL concerns in relation to the criminal prosecution of POWs. By providing recommendations to both Ukraine and the Russian Federation, OHCHR seeks enhanced protection for POWs and improvement of their conditions of internment, regardless of their affiliation, and for all perpetrators responsible for violations of the rights of POWs to face due accountability.”
Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse: Ukraine Emergency Response, Thematic update (March 2023)
https://data.unhcr.org/en/documents/details/99863
Safeguarding and protection from sexual exploitation and abuse (PSEA) are key priorities for UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, in the Ukraine emergency response. The Ukraine situation is one of the largest forced displacement crises in the world today, with more than 8 million refugees across Europe. The emergency is characterized by a number of heightened risk factors, such as a high incidence of family separation, and of women and children travelling alone, as well as a wide range of new actors involved in the response, many of whom have limited experience and capacity on PSEA. Separated and unaccompanied children, persons with disabilities, LGBTIQ+ persons, and members of the Roma community are considered to be at particular risk of SEA. In 2023, the risks of SEA are expected to increase due to the increasing socio-economic difficulties facing refugees in neighbouring countries and the dwindling support from host communities, and humanitarian actors. As the emergency enters into its second year, it is therefore essential to maintain collective efforts to safeguard refugees from sexual exploitation and abuse. This note outlines the ongoing and planned efforts by UNHCR and partners to prevent, mitigate risk of, and to respond to, SEA in Ukraine and refugee hosting countries.
“These Wounds Do Not Heal”: Enforced disappearance and abductions by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (OHCHR)
https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/documents/countries/korea-dpr/2023-03-28-Enforced-disappearance-DPRK-en.pdf
A report published on 28 March 2023 by the UN Human Rights Office vividly details the ongoing suffering of victims of enforced disappearance and abduction by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. The report calls for renewed efforts for truth, justice, reparations and guarantees of non-recurrence. The report is based on interviews with 38 male and 42 female victims of abduction and enforced disappearance, including relatives of forcibly disappeared people. The testimonies lay bare the severe and sustained psychological harm and emotional suffering, as well as the economic impact, such violations have had on their lives. The effect was particularly severe where a family’s main income earner was targeted, leaving remaining family members at acute risk of poverty and discrimination.
Towards a Human Rights-Based Approach to Migration: Training Guide (OHCHR)
https://www.ohchr.org/en/publications/professional-training-series/towards-human-rights-based-approach-migration-training
This training guide is designed to enable participants to understand the human rights perspective on migration, and how human rights laws and standards can be operationalized to make migration safer and an empowering experience for all. It provides an introduction to related principles and issues and is designed for persons with limited knowledge of human rights or migration. The training guide contains session plans for the trainer and is supported by sample slide presentations and associated materials, including activities and handouts for participants, which are available electronically as individual components.
Justice and International Law
The 8 March Principles for a Human Rights-Based Approach to Criminal Law Proscribing Conduct Associated with Sex, Reproduction, Drug Use, HIV, Homelessness and Poverty
https://icj2.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/8-MARCH-Principles-FINAL-printer-version-1-MARCH-2023.pdf
The International Committee of Jurists (ICJ) along with UNAIDS and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) officially launched a new set of expert jurist legal principles to guide the application of international human rights law to criminal law. The ‘8 March principles’ as they are called lay out a human rights-based approach to laws criminalising conduct in relation to sex, drug use, HIV, sexual and reproductive health, homelessness and poverty. The principles are the outcome of a 2018 workshop organized by UNAIDS and OHCHR along with the ICJ to discuss the role of jurists in addressing the harmful human rights impact of criminal laws. The meeting resulted in a call for a set of jurists’ principles to assist the courts, legislatures, advocates and prosecutors to address the detrimental human rights impact of such laws. The principles, developed over five years, are based on feedback and reviews from a range of experts and stakeholders. They were finalized in 2022. Initially, the principles focused on the impact of criminal laws proscribing sexual and reproductive health and rights, consensual sexual activity, gender identity, gender expression, HIV non-disclosure, exposure and transmission, drug use and the possession of drugs for personal use. Later, based on the inputs of civil society and other stakeholders, criminalization linked to homelessness and poverty were also included.
Drug Control, Crime Prevention and Counter-terrorism
Smuggling of Migrants in the Sahel (Mixed Migration Centre / UNODC)
https://www.unodc.org/documents/data-and-analysis/tocta_sahel/TOCTA_Sahel_som_2023.pdf
https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/data-and-analysis/Tocta_Sahel.html
The Transnational Organized Crime Threat Assessment – Sahel (TOCTA Sahel) consists of a series of research reports that provide in-depth analysis of the main criminal markets in the Sahel, including trafficking in medical products, fuel trafficking, firearms trafficking and the smuggling of migrants. The reports paint a comprehensive picture of the enablers of organized crime and its impact on the region. They do this by highlighting the diversity and multiplicity of criminal flows and actors in the region and by emphasizing the role of corruption in the legal supply chain as a catalyst and/or facilitator of trafficking. They revisit certain assertions, most notably on the nexus between terrorism and organized crime and the type of actors involved in the exploitation and abuse of migrants in transit in the Sahel, and assess how organized crime undermines stability in the region. The TOCTA Sahel is aimed not only at fostering greater international cooperation in order to disrupt criminal networks but also, with its special focus on the role of armed groups and stability, at assisting Member States in anticipating and addressing challenges that may arise in the near future.
Newsletter Archive: https://unric.org/en/unric-info-point-library-newsletter-archive