UNRIC Info Point & Library Newsletter: December 2022

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New UN websites & publications

UN in General

UDHR 75 – Dignity, Freedom, and Justice for All
A movement to rekindle the spirit of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
English: https://www.ohchr.org/en/get-involved/campaign/human-rights-day/udhr-75
French: https://www.ohchr.org/fr/get-involved/campaign/human-rights-day/udhr-75
Spanish: https://www.ohchr.org/es/get-involved/campaign/human-rights-day/udhr-75
On Human Rights Day (10 December), UN Human Rights will launch a year-long campaign to promote and recognise the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR 75), which will be celebrated on 10 December 2023. The year-long campaign will showcase the UDHR by focusing on its legacy, relevance and activism using the slogan, “Dignity, Freedom, and Justice for All.”

International Year of Millets, 2023
English: https://www.fao.org/millets-2023
French: https://www.fao.org/millets-2023/home/fr
Spanish: https://www.fao.org/millets-2023/home/es
The United Nations General Assembly at its 75th session in March 2021 declared 2023 the International Year of Millets (IYM 2023). FAO is the lead agency for celebrating the Year in collaboration with other relevant stakeholders. Millets can grow on arid lands with minimal inputs and are resilient to changes in climate. They are therefore an ideal solution for countries to increase self-sufficiency and reduce reliance on imported cereal grains.
#IYM2023 will be an opportunity to raise awareness of, and direct policy attention to the nutritional and health benefits of millets and their suitability for cultivation under adverse and changing climatic conditions. The Year will also promote the sustainable production of millets, while highlighting their potential to provide new sustainable market opportunities for producers and consumers.

amplifyHER – new podcast
https://news.un.org/en/podcast/amplifyher
On 24 November 2022, the UN launched amplifyHER; a vibrant, music-filled podcast, celebrating exciting women artists from around the world. Many women produce art in the face of, and sometimes inspired by, the challenges they face in society, whether related to insecurity, human rights, climate change, inequality, or simply because of their gender. In amplifyHER, we will hear directly from some of the most exciting and talented women singers in the business, from teenage Thai rapper Milli, to EDM powerhouse Faouzia, and Emel, the voice of the Tunisian revolution. The series is a compelling mix of music, interviews, and natural sound, featuring inspiring women musicians from diverse cultural backgrounds, talking about their challenges as women in a male-dominated industry, how they’ve overcome barriers, and what drives them to continue creating music.

Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19)

Human Rights implications of COVID-19 response measures in the context of climate change (OHCHR)
https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/2022-11/Policy-Brief-Covid19-Climate-change.pdf
The brief presents key initial findings of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) research on human rights and COVID-19 response measures in the context of climate finance, and it makes concrete recommendations for States/policy-makers, development cooperation actors, climate funds, public international financial institutions and civil society. While existing studies have examined the impact of climate finance on human rights or looked at human rights implications of COVID-19 response measures, OHCHR’s brief, based on a forthcoming study, examines the interconnection of COVID-19 response measures, climate finance and human rights, and it takes stock of what can be learned for enhancing coherence in the pursuit of economic, social and environmental objectives.

Managing the Impact of COVID-19 on City Finances (UNU-IAS Policy Brief No. 37, 2022)
https://collections.unu.edu/eserv/UNU:9002/UNU-IAS-PB-No37-2022.pdf
This policy brief provides advice for local policymakers and financial administrators to manage the short- and medium-term impacts of the COVID-19 crisis on city finances by improving fiscal policy effectiveness and building robust financial management systems. Recommendations: (i) conduct fiscal optimisation and crisis budgeting to improve own source revenue; (ii) adapt budgeting formats and link urban planning with investments to facilitate long-term financial planning; (iii) undertake comprehensive finance reviews to inform policy and increase budget transparency and accountability; (iv) introduce e-government tools in city financial management and participatory budgeting; and (v) leverage public–private and civil society partnerships for public service provision.

Economic Growth and Sustainable Development

2022 Global Status Report for Buildings and Construction (UNEP)
https://www.unep.org/resources/publication/2022-global-status-report-buildings-and-construction
Despite an increase in energy efficiency investment and lower energy intensity, the building and construction sector’s energy consumption and CO2 emissions have rebounded from the COVID-19 pandemic to an all-time high, a new report finds. Released at the latest round of climate talks in Egypt, COP27, the report finds that the sector accounted for over 34 per cent of energy demand and around 37 per cent of energy and process-related CO2 emissions in 2021. The sector’s operational energy-related CO2 emissions reached ten gigatonnes of CO2 equivalent – five per cent over 2020 levels and two per cent over the pre-pandemic peak in 2019. In 2021, operational energy demand for heating, cooling, lighting and equipment in buildings increased by around four per cent from 2020 and three per cent from 2019. This, according to the report from the Global Alliance for Buildings and Construction (GlobalABC), means that the gap between the climate performance of the sector and the 2050 decarbonization pathway is widening.

Dangerous Inequalities: World AIDS Day Report 2022 (UNAIDS)
Report in English, Introduction in English, French & Spanish:
https://www.unaids.org/en/resources/documents/2022/dangerous-inequalities
Analysis by the UN ahead of World AIDS Day reveals that inequalities are obstructing the end of AIDS. On current trends the world will not meet agreed global targets on AIDS. But the new UNAIDS report, released on 29 November 2022, shows that urgent action to tackle inequalities can get the AIDS response on track. UNAIDS set out earlier this year that the AIDS response is in danger—with rising new infections and continuing deaths in many parts of the world. Now, a new report from UNAIDS shows that inequalities are the underlying reason why. It shows how world leaders can tackle those inequalities, and calls on them to be courageous to follow what the evidence reveals. “Dangerous Inequalities” unpacks the impact on the AIDS response of gender inequalities, of inequalities faced by key populations, and of inequalities between children and adults. It sets out how worsening financial constraints are making it more difficult to address those inequalities. The report shows how gender inequalities and harmful gender norms are holding back the end of the AIDS pandemic.

Early Warnings For All: Executive Action Plan 2023-2027 (The UN Global Early Warning Initiative for the Implementation of Climate Adaptation
https://library.wmo.int/index.php?lvl=notice_display&id=22154
It will cost the equivalent of just 50 cents per person per year for the next five years to reach everyone on Earth with early warnings against increasingly extreme and dangerous weather, according to a plan unveiled on 7 November 2022 by United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres. The Executive Action Plan for the Early Warnings for All initiative calls for initial new targeted investments between 2023 and 2027 of US$ 3.1 billion – a sum which would be dwarfed by the benefits. This is a small fraction (about 6 percent) of the requested US$ 50 billion in adaptation financing. It would cover disaster risk knowledge, observations and forecasting, preparedness and response, and communication of early warnings. Mr Guterres announced the plan at a meeting of government and UN organization leaders, financing agencies, Big Tech companies and the private sector during the World Leaders Summit at the UN climate change negotiations, COP27. The plan was drawn up by the World Meteorological Organization and partners, and it was supported by a joint statement signed by 50 countries.

The Economics of E-Mobility for Passenger Transportation (World Bank)
https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/38265
Electrification of transport is one of the most talked about instruments to set the world on a net-zero carbon trajectory. Despite the advantages electric vehicles bring, they remain a relative rarity in developing countries. Most of the world’s 6.6 million EV sales in 2021 were concentrated in major global markets such as China, Europe and the United States. The reason? Electric vehicles come at a cost premium, sometimes more than 70% compared to conventional vehicles, creating a financial hurdle for many consumers in developing countries. But according to this report, feasible entry points to an electric mobility transition are emerging in several developing countries. Electric buses, which cover long mileage and high occupancy, and electric two- and three-wheeled vehicles, which provide last-mile connectivity, can be cost-effective starting points that also bring development benefits. In about half the countries studied in this report, there is already a strong economic case for e-mobility adoption that is likely to further improve in the next few years.

The Future of Food and Agriculture: Drivers and triggers for transformation (FAO)
https://www.fao.org/documents/card/en/c/cc0959en
https://www.fao.org/global-perspectives-studies/fofa
The world’s ability to nourish its burgeoning population is under threat and without broader socioeconomic and environmental change, sustainable agrifood systems will be impossible to achieve, according to a new report by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) issued on 2 December 2022. The report analyses current and emerging drivers of agrifood systems and their possible future trends. The report identifies the issues at stake and the threats and problems that have an impact on future food consumption and agrifood production. The report urges decision makers to think beyond short term needs, warning that a lack of vision, piecemeal approaches and ‘quick fixes’ will come at a high cost for everyone. A new mindset that prioritizes long-term objectives, sustainability and resilience is urgently needed, it adds. The report goes onto identify key ‘triggers’ for agrifood systems transformation that can help achieve food security, nutrition, natural resource preservation, ecosystems restoration and climate change mitigation. Trends such as increasing population and urbanization, macroeconomic instability, poverty and inequalities, geopolitical tensions and conflicts, fiercer competition over natural resources, and climate change are reaping havoc in socio-economic systems and damaging environmental systems, the report says.

Global Food and Nutrition Security Dashboard
https://www.gafs.info/
The Global Alliance for Food Security (GAFS), jointly convened by the German Group of Seven (G7) Presidency and the World Bank Group, launched on 9 November 2022 the “Global Food and Nutrition Security Dashboard” as a key tool to fast-track a rapid response to the unfolding global food security crisis. Following a multi-stakeholder consultative process, the Dashboard is designed to consolidate and present up-to-date data on food crisis severity, track global food security financing, and make available global and country-level research and analysis to improve coordination of the policy and financial response to the crisis. It will bring together disparate and vast information on food security into one place, to help reduce transaction costs, improve transparency, and strengthen analysis. It can also help speed up financing by highlighting funding needs and gaps. The goal is to inform a coordinated global food crisis response while also helping to advance medium to long-term food security interventions. A global hunger crisis is being exacerbated largely by violent conflict, increasingly extreme weather events, and record high food prices. Quality data and transparent reporting have the potential to boost food and nutrition security – enhancing global cooperation and enabling the development of sound national policies.

Global Peatlands Assessment – The State of the World’s Peatlands: Evidence for action toward the conservation, restoration, and sustainable management of peatlands (UNEP)
https://www.unep.org/resources/global-peatlands-assessment-2022
Earth loses 500,000 hectares of peatlands a year, while already drained and degraded peatlands contribute around 4% of annual global human-induced emissions. These findings are part of the Global Peatlands Assessment, published on 17 November 2022 by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP). The assessment was undertaken by the Global Peatlands Initiative between 2020 and 2022 as decided by the UNEA-4 resolution on the Conservation and Sustainable Management of Peatlands in March 2019. Building on spatial data and the best available information from 220 contributors from over 50 countries – including scientists, governments, NGOs, Indigenous Peoples, and others – the report is the first comprehensive global assessment of peatlands in almost 15 years. It proposes a definition for peatlands as an ecosystem with a peat soil of any thickness and provides an evidence base on the status of peatlands and their importance in the global carbon cycle.

Global Review of Smart City Governance Practices (UN-Habitat)
https://unhabitat.org/global-review-of-smart-city-governance-practices
Through smart city initiatives, digital technologies are increasingly applied in cities to modernize city operations and transform service delivery. The ongoing digital transformation provides new opportunities but also creates challenges, and it is increasingly apparent that delivering effective urban digital services is a complex task. Nowadays, smart city projects are typically driven by technology and little attention is given to governance dynamics. In addition, the novelty and complexity of many smart city initiatives make it difficult for public sector organizations to fully grasp how to effectively manage digital transformation processes. As many cities and public sector organizations across the world have been experimenting with smart city initiatives, their actions have generated a data-rich environment from which to learn. As such, this report features findings from a systematic literature review and a global online survey completed by approximately 300 respondents, who have reported on the smart city governance practices of more than 250 municipalities in Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, and North America. With the objective to support both urban managers and practitioners, the report highlights several dimensions for effective smart city governance and ways to foster a people-centered approach to smart cities. It serves as a knowledge resource to present best practices, gaps in smart city governance mechanisms, and the various elements to consider when governing the planning and implementation of smart city initiatives. The report is part of UN-Habitat’s strategy to promote a people-centered approach to digital transformation supporting local governments in establishing the right capacities, regulatory frameworks, collaborations and arrangements for using technology to advance human developments and show commitment to human rights, both in online and offline environments.

Global status of black soils (FAO)
https://www.fao.org/documents/card/en/c/cc3124en
This crucial publication presents the state of knowledge on black soils and explains why they are under severe threat. Black soils are well known as the world’s food basket or the “giant panda on arable land”. For decades, these fertile soils have been widely cultivated, and have played a key role in global agricultural production of cereals, tuber crops, oilseed, pastures, and forage systems. In addition, black soils are paramount for climate change mitigation and adaptation. However, this black treasure is under threat. Because of land use change from natural grasslands to cropping systems, unsustainable management practices and excessive use of agrochemicals, most of the black soils have lost half of their SOC stocks and suffer from moderate to severe erosion processes, as well as nutrient imbalances, acidification, compaction and soil biodiversity loss. FAO and its Global Soil Partnership are committed to the conservation and sustainable management of black soils and established the International Network of Black Soils. This report constitutes a fundamental step to guide decision making regarding the future of black soils. The main recommendation of this report is the establishment of a global agreement for the sustainable management of black soils.

Global Wage Report 2022-2023: The Impact of inflation and COVID-19 on wages and purchasing power (ILO)
https://www.ilo.org/digitalguides/en-gb/story/globalwagereport2022-23
The severe inflationary crisis combined with a global slowdown in economic growth – driven in part by the war in Ukraine and the global energy crisis – are causing a striking fall in real monthly wages in many countries. According to a new International Labour Organization (ILO) report, the crisis is reducing the purchasing power of the middle classes and hitting low-income households particularly hard. The report estimates that global monthly wages fell in real terms to minus 0.9 per cent in the first half of 2022 – the first time this century that real global wage growth has been negative. Among advanced G20 countries, real wages in the first half of 2022 are estimated to have declined to minus 2.2 per cent, whereas real wages in emerging G20 countries grew by 0.8 per cent, 2.6 per cent less than in 2019, the year before the COVID-19 pandemic.

Green Technology Book 2022: Solutions for climate change adaptation (WIPO)
https://www.wipo.int/en/green-technology-book/
WIPO launched on 10 November 2022 the first edition of its “Green Technology Book” focusing on climate-change adaptation – placing these measures on equal footing with mitigation measures. This new flagship publication is part of the Organization’s long-standing efforts to ensure that innovation, technology and intellectual property (IP) are at the forefront of the fight against climate change. The Green Technology Book is created in cooperation with the partners Climate Technology Center and Network (CTCN) and the Egyptian Academy of Scientific Research and Technology (ASTR). Released at the 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 27) in Egypt, the publication covers climate-change adaptation technologies that aim to reduce vulnerability and increase resilience to climate impacts, especially in developing countries, where the effects are most heavily borne. This first edition of the Green Technology Book focuses on three areas in which addressing climate impacts are particularly urgent: agriculture and forestry, water and coastal regions, and cities. It is a practical guide that showcases 200 currently available as well as cutting-edge technologies that are still in development. This “living publication” builds on the work of the WIPO GREEN platform, which connects green technology providers from around the world with people seeking environmentally friendly solutions.

Inclusive Infrastructure for Climate Action (UNOPS)
https://content.unops.org/publications/Inclusive-infrastructure_EN.pdf
Global efforts to combat climate change and achieve sustainable development are falling short. The dangerous effects of climate change will continue to have extreme impacts on all people, but especially women and marginalized groups – including indigenous peoples, people living in poverty and persons with disabilities. ‘Inclusive infrastructure for climate action’ paves a path towards responding to the climate crisis and building a sustainable future that leaves no one behind. Featuring expert insights from 10 non-governmental organizations that work directly with marginalized people and communities across the world, the publication offers recommendations to develop infrastructure that is equitable, accessible, affordable, empowering and does no harm. The report finds that inclusive infrastructure influences the achievement of up to 88 per cent of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and calls for an approach to infrastructure that identifies and responds to marginalization, socio-economic inequalities and climate vulnerabilities. According to the research, women and marginalized groups are estimated to make up more than 80 per cent of the global population and are therefore the majority of infrastructure users. Yet current infrastructure solutions, particularly in the context of climate change and climate disasters, fail to meet their specific needs.

Integrity Matters: Net Zero Commitments by Businesses, Financial Institutions, Cities and Regions: Report from the United Nations’ High-Level Expert Group on the Net Zero Emissions Commitments of Non-State Entities
https://www.un.org/sites/un2.un.org/files/high-level_expert_group_n7b.pdf
To avert a climate catastrophe, we need bold, credible net-zero emissions pledges matched by concrete actions. Governments have the biggest responsibility, but businesses, investors, cities, states, and regions must also live up to their emissions cuts promises. A high-level expert group convened by the UN Secretary-General has developed a report with stronger and clearer findings, recommendations, and standards for net-zero emissions pledges by non-State entities. António Guterres stressed on 8 November 2022 that “using bogus ‘net-zero’ pledges to cover up massive fossil fuel expansion is reprehensible.”

Leaving no one behind: How a global instrument to end plastic pollution can enable a just transition for the people informally collecting and recovering waste (UN-Habitat / NIVA)
https://unhabitat.org/sites/default/files/2022/11/un-habitat_niva_report_leaving_no_one_behind.pdf
The United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) and the Norwegian Institute for Water Research (NIVA) unveiled a new report that highlights the role of more than 15 million people worldwide informally collecting and recovering solid waste to end plastic pollution. The report was launched at the UN complex in Gigiri, Nairobi, Kenya, on 22 November 2022. In some countries, the informal waste and recovery sector contributes to up to 90% of recycling. This means that the informal sector is essential in closing material loops and tackling the estimated 60 million tonnes of plastic annually escaping from municipal solid waste and polluting the environment, including water bodies.

Making good on the Glasgow Climate Pact: a call to action to achieve one gigaton of emissions reductions from forests by 2025
https://www.unep.org/resources/report/making-good-glasgow-climate-pact-call-action-achieve-one-gigaton-emissions
The world is not on track to achieve forest goals of ending and reversing deforestation by 2030, critical for a credible pathway to the 1.5°C Paris Agreement goal, according to a new report released on 7 November 2022 by the UN-REDD Programme, UN Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC) and the Green Gigaton Challenge (GGC). It finds that for the 2030 goals to remain within reach, a one gigaton milestone of emissions reductions from forests must be achieved not later than 2025, and yearly after that. The report finds that current public and private commitments to pay for emissions reductions are only at 24% of the gigaton milestone goal. Only around half of these commitments have been realized through signed emissions reduction purchase agreements and none of the funding for these commitments has yet been disbursed.

Railways at the centre of a post-pandemic recovery: Measures to support international rail carriers (UNECE)
https://unece.org/sites/default/files/2022-11/2214280_E_final_web.pdf
Study on role of the railways during the pandemic and how they can assist in the post-pandemic recovery. The study identifies good practices within member States and provides information on how to facilitate the recovery of the railways in order to encourage passengers back to transport in a more sustainable manner.

Report on the fifth round of data collection, 2018–2020: WHO European Childhood Obesity Surveillance Initiative (‎COSI)‎
https://www.who.int/europe/publications/i/item/WHO-EURO-2022-6594-46360-67071
WHO/Europe has published a new Childhood Obesity Surveillance Initiative (COSI) report, the fifth in a series measuring trends in overweight and obesity among primary school aged children since 2007. The new report’s findings are based on the latest data gathered in 2018–2020 in 33 countries of the WHO European Region. In total, almost 411 000 children aged 6–9 years were measured. For the first time, the report presents data from Armenia, Germany (City of Bremen) and Israel – countries that recently joined the WHO surveillance initiative.

Squaring the Circle: Policies from Europe’s Circular Economy Transition (World Bank)
https://www.worldbank.org/en/region/eca/publication/squaring-circle-europe-circular-economy-transition
The report examines the European Union’s experience in furthering the circular economy agenda to elicit lessons that can benefit countries within and beyond Europe’s borders. This is the World Bank’s first comprehensive report that provides an assessment of the problem, and proposes solutions to decouple growth from material consumption.

State of Finance for Nature 2022 (UNEP)
https://www.unep.org/resources/report/state-finance-nature-2022
The second edition of the State of Finance for Nature report – launched on 1 December 2022 – reveals that nature-based solutions are still significantly under-financed. If the world wants to halt biodiversity loss, limit climate change to below 1.5C and achieve land degradation neutrality by 2030, current finance flows to NbS must urgently double by 2025 and triple by 2030. Delayed action is not an option in the face of the devastating effects of climate change, the extinction crisis, and severe land degradation globally. The first edition of the report indicated that annual investments in nature-based solutions will have to triple by 2030 and increase four-fold by 2050 from the current investments into nature-based solutions of USD 133 billion (using 2020 as the base year).

State of Global Water Resources 2021 (WMO)
https://library.wmo.int/index.php?lvl=notice_display&id=22168
The World Meteorological Organization has published its first State of Global Water Resources report on 29 November 2022 in order to assess the effects of climate, environmental and societal change on the Earth’s water resources. The aim of this annual stocktake is to support monitoring and management of global freshwater resources in an era of growing demand and limited supplies. The report gives an overview of river flow, as well as major floods and droughts. It provides insights into hotspots for changes in freshwater storage and highlights the crucial role and vulnerability of the cryosphere (snow and ice). The report shows how large areas of the globe recorded drier than normal conditions in 2021 – a year in which precipitation patterns were influenced by climate change and a La Niña event. The area with below-average streamflow was approximately two times larger than the above-average area, in comparison to the 30-year hydrological average.

STOCKHOLM+50: A Global Synthesis Report of National Consultations (UNDP)
https://www.undp.org/publications/stockholm50-global-synthesis-report-national-consultations
The Stockholm+50 national consultations engaged over 50,000 people across 56 countries through in-person, hybrid, and virtual events. This synthesis report analyses the insights and contributions that emerged from these mass consultations. Key findings, recommendations, data, media coverage, and links to national policy frameworks such as NDCs, NAPs, NBSAPS, green recovery, and sector strategies, are included. The report is both a comprehensive and insightful source of bold messages, new ideas and opportunities shared by countries and by people representing a diversity of stakeholders. The topics covered include increasing ambition and accelerated implementation of NDCs by all members states, promoting integrated Nature-based Solutions needed for a green recovery and accelerating SDG progress, and tackling pollution crisis. To explore all the data received from over 50 individual country reports visit the Stockholm+50 National Consultations Dashboard. This rich repository can be explored by region, topic, audience and more.

Sustainable Food Cold Chains: Opportunities, Challenges and the Way Forward (UNEP / FAO)
https://www.unep.org/resources/report/sustainable-food-cold-chains-opportunities-challenges-and-way-forward
An estimated 14 percent of the total food produced for human consumption is lost, while 17 per cent is wasted. This is enough to feed around 1 billion people in a world where currently 811 million people are hungry and 3 billion cannot afford a healthy diet. The lack of effective refrigeration is a leading contributor to this challenge, resulting in the loss of 12 percent of total food production, in 2017. Moreover, the food cold chain is responsible for 4 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, including from cold chain technologies and food loss and waste due to lack of refrigeration. This report explores how food cold chain development can become more sustainable and makes a series of important recommendations. These include governments and other cold chain stakeholders collaborating to adopt a systems approach and develop National Cooling Action Plans, backing plans with financing and targets, implementing and enforcing ambitious minimum efficiency standards.

UNICEF Game Plan to Reach Safely Managed Sanitation 2022 – 2030: Executive Summary
https://www.unicef.org/documents/sanitation-game-plan
Progress towards universal sanitation is alarmingly off track, unevenly distributed between countries, and inadequate to eliminate the inequalities to ensure that the most vulnerable are reached. In 2020, the JMP estimated that 3.6 billion people globally lacked safely managed services, and that the rate at which sanitation coverage was increasing would need to quadruple to achieve universal access to safely managed services by 2030. UN-Water has developed an SDG 6 Global Acceleration Framework— a unifying initiative designed to deliver fast results. UNICEF’s Sanitation Game Plan is aligned with this framework; the vision is to work alongside UNICEF’s partners to achieve the shared ambition of safely managed sanitation for all. The Game Plan to Reach Safely Managed Sanitation will cover the eight years between 2022 and 2030. The Game Plan aims to help governments achieve safely managed sanitation for their populations and meet the sanitation target of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Through the Game Plan, UNICEF will support 1 billion people gain access to safely managed sanitation, through direct and indirect support, in collaboration with partners.

World Trade Report 2022: Climate Change and International Trade (WTO)
https://www.wto.org/english/res_e/booksp_e/wtr22_e/wtr22_e.pdf
The 2022 edition of the WTO’s World Trade Report presents new analysis and recommendations on how international trade and greater cooperation can amplify global efforts to address climate change and put the planet on a sustainable trajectory. The WTO’s flagship publication, released on 7 November at the 27th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27) in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, also examines the consequences of climate change on trading patterns and future prosperity.

International Peace and Security

Concept note for the Security Council high-level debate on the subject “Counter-terrorism in Africa: an imperative for peace, security and development”
English, French & Spanish: https://undocs.org/S/2022/822
The President of the Security Council for the month of November 2022, Ghana, convened a high-level debate with Heads of State and Government entitled “Counter-terrorism in Africa: an imperative for peace, security and development”, under the agenda item “Threats to international peace and security” on 10 November 2022. This concept note was prepared to guide the discussions during the debate.

Concept note for the open debate of the Security Council to be held on the theme “New orientation for reformed multilateralism” under the item entitled “Maintenance of international peace and security”
English, French & Spanish: https://undocs.org/S/2022/880
The President of the Security Council for the month of December 2022, India, plans to hold a ministerial-level open debate on the theme “New orientation for reformed multilateralism” under the item entitled “Maintenance of international peace and security” on 14 December 2022. This concept note intended to guide the discussions on the topic was prepared.

Weathering Two Storms: Gender and Climate in Peace and Security – DPPA Practice Note
https://bit.ly/3ENI3ht
“Introduction: The world is facing unprecedented risks from climate change. Droughts, erratic rainfall, and extreme weather events affect people, livelihoods, and economies across the world. Populations in fragile contexts, where past or current conflicts have undermined the capacity of institutions and communities to adapt to the changing environment, are particularly affected. In many places, climate impacts are compounding existing grievances and exacerbating pre-existing vulnerabilities, including those linked to gender and social inequity. … The questions discussed in this practice note are meant as a food for thought for peace and security practitioners. The analysis draws on emerging work on the linkages between insecurity, gender inequality and climate vulnerability, as well as a series of interviews with practitioners and researchers in this field. This work is part of a broader effort by DPPA and the Climate Security Mechanism (CSM) – composed of DPPA, UNEP, UNDP, and the Department of Peace Operations (DPO) – to advance policy and practice on the interlinkages between climate change and peace and security.”

Human Rights

Advancing a rights-based approach to climate change resilience and migration in the Sahel (OHCHR)
https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/2022-11/Climate-Change-migration-Sahel-report.pdf
In the Sahel region of Africa, as in many other places around the world, climate change is adversely affecting the enjoyment of a broad range of human rights. Individuals and communities in the region are confronted with threats to their livelihoods from degraded lands and declining agricultural production, to their homes and health from ever more frequent floods and other impacts, and to their lives and security from growing conflicts, including over natural resources. These climate change-related threats combine with other factors to drive or compel migration, often in situations that are unplanned and precarious. Communities and individuals that already face situations of vulnerability or multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination face even greater human rights risks. This report demonstrates the connection between climate change, human rights and migration, and the important guidance international human rights law offers in addressing it. This report builds on that past research and analysis, incorporating the results of visits throughout 2021 and 2022 to three selected communities in Mauritania, Niger and Nigeria that have been affected by climate change-related migration, as well as consultations with relevant stakeholders throughout the Sahel region.

Children of African descent: Report of the Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent (A/HRC/51/54, 18 August 2022)
English, French & Spanish: https://undocs.org/A/HRC/51/54
The unresolved legacies of trade and trafficking of enslaved Africans and colonialism, post-colonial apartheid and segregation, continues to harm children of African descent in all areas of life, UN experts said. In a report presented to the General Assembly by the Working Group on people of African descent, they highlighted discrimination against children of African descent in areas including the administration of justice, law enforcement, education and health. The report details how false racial stereotypes of criminality, culpability and dangerousness influence decision-making in relation to children and youth of African descent, including by legal system personnel, such as police officers, prosecutors, lawyers and judges globally.

Experiences of Violence and Harassment at Work: A global first survey
https://www.ilo.org/global/publications/WCMS_863095/lang–en/index.htm
More than one in five people (almost 23 per cent) in employment have experienced violence and harassment at work, whether physical, psychological or sexual, according to a new joint analysis, the first of its kind, by the International Labour Organization (ILO), Lloyd’s Register Foundation (LRF) and Gallup. The publication, released on 5 December 2022, provides a sense of the extent of the problem and its different forms. It also looks at the factors that may prevent people from talking about their experiences, including shame, guiltor a lack of trust in institutions, or because such unacceptable behaviours are seen as “normal”. Violence and harassment at work is difficult to measure. The report found that only half of victims worldwide had disclosed their experiences to someone else, and often only after they had suffered more than one form of violence and harassment. The most common reasons given for non-disclosure were “waste of time” and “fear for their reputation”. Women were more likely to share their experiences than men (60.7 per cent compared to 50.1 per cent).

Gender-related killings of women and girls: Improving data to improve responses to femicide/feminicide (UN Women / UNODC)
https://www.unwomen.org/en/digital-library/publications/2022/11/gender-related-killings-of-women-and-girls-improving-data-to-improve-responses-to-femicide-feminicide
A new study by UNODC and UN Women shows that, on average, more than five women or girls were killed every hour by someone in their own family in 2021. The report comes ahead of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women on November 25 and is a horrific reminder that violence against women and girls is one of the most pervasive human rights violations worldwide. Of all the women and girls intentionally killed last year, some 56 percent were killed by intimate partners or other family members (45,000 out of 81,000), showing that home is not a safe place for many women and girls. Meanwhile, 11 percent of all male homicides are perpetrated in the private sphere.

Protecting Minority Rights – A Practical Guide to Developing Comprehensive Anti-Discrimination Legislation
https://www.ohchr.org/en/publications/policy-and-methodological-publications/protecting-minority-rights-practical-guide
This Practical Guide, jointly published by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and the Equal Rights Trust (ERT), sets out in detail the content of comprehensive anti-discrimination law. It provides legislators and advocates with the tools to develop anti-discrimination legislation consistent with international legal standards on the rights to equality and non-discrimination. It aims to assist States in meeting their core international law obligations to respect, protect and fulfil the rights to equality and non-discrimination. The publication includes practical examples to assist law- and policy-makers. It also provides specific guidance on the link between anti-discrimination law on the one hand, and minority rights on the other.

Rights denied: The impact of discrimination on children (UNICEF)
English, French & Spanish: https://www.unicef.org/reports/rights-denied-discrimination-children
Racism and discrimination against children based on their ethnicity, language, and religion are rife in countries across the world, according to a new UNICEF report published on 18 November 2022 ahead of World Children’s Day. The report shows the extent to which racism and discrimination impact children’s education, health, access to a registered birth, and to a fair and equal justice system, and highlights widespread disparities among minority and ethnic groups. Among the new findings, the report shows that children from marginalized ethnic, language, and religious groups in an analysis of 22 low- and middle-income countries lag far behind their peers in reading skills. On average, students aged 7-14 from the most advantaged group are more than twice as likely to have foundational reading skills than those from the least advantaged group.

Safe consultations with survivors of violence against women and girls
https://www.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/2022-12/Safe-consultations-with-survivors-of-violence-against-women-and-girls-en.pdf
One of the principles underpinning the delivery of all essential services and coordination of those services is the “survivor-centered approach”, which places the human rights, needs, and wishes of women and girl survivors at the centre of service delivery. A key challenge faced by many entities working to end violence against women is ensuring that survivors’ voices and inputs are incorporated into policies, practices, and procedures on response. Survivors have diverse needs and face different risks. Not all women and girls experience violence in the same way. An effective intervention takes into account the realities of their unique circumstances, addresses individual needs, and reduces the risk for further harm and suffering. UN Women, together with Global Rights for Women, have developed “Safe consultations with survivors of violence against women and girls”, which is designed to provide practical steps, safety measures, and actions that government agencies, civil society and survivor organizations, and United Nations’ entities can take to incorporate survivors’ voices into systemic reform efforts, through safe and meaningful consultations. This guidance is intended to help policymakers develop survivor-centered programming on ending violence against women and girls that meets the needs of diverse groups of women and girls, including those who are at higher risk of experiencing violence and discrimination. It is applicable to programming across the health, justice and policing, and social services sectors, as well as coordination of these sectors, and will help improve the standard and delivery of essential services for women and girls who have experienced violence.

What works to prevent violence against children online? (WHO)
https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240062061
The report ways to address the growing worldwide concern of keeping children safe online, with a specific focus on two forms of online violence: child sexual abuse including grooming and sexual image abuse; and cyber aggression and harassment in the form of cyberbullying, cyberstalking, hacking and identity theft. The report recommends implementing school-based educational programmes that have multiple sessions, promote interaction among youth and engage parents.

Humanitarian Affairs

Data and Digital Maturity for Disaster Risk Reduction: Informing the Next Generation of Disaster Loss and Damage Databases (UNDP / UNDRR)
https://www.undrr.org/publication/data-and-digital-maturity-disaster-risk-reduction-informing-next-generation-disaster
A new report launched by UNDP and UNDRR is intended to boost the development of a new state-of-the-art disaster losses and damages tracking system. ‘Data and digital maturity for disaster risk reduction: Informing the next generation of disaster loss and damage databases’ provides a detailed assessment of national disaster loss databases in a representative sample of 13 countries and is a collaboration between UNDP and UNDRR. The report’s findings have been further confirmed by over 100 experts from some 40 UN Member States and international organisations meeting over two days in November 2022 in a Technical Forum in Bonn to address challenges in ‘Tracking of hazardous events and disaster losses and damage.’

Global Humanitarian Overview 2022, October Update (Snapshot as of 31 October 2022)
https://reliefweb.int/report/world/global-humanitarian-overview-2022-october-update-snapshot-31-october-2022
The 2022 Global Humanitarian Overview (GHO) has increased considerably since its launch in December 2021 due to the Ukraine crisis and the combined effects of conflict, climate change and natural disasters, the cost-of-living crisis and public health emergencies. Financial requirements have increased by almost US$10 billion or close to 25 per cent this year – from $41 billion to the current $50.8 billion. The number of people in need of humanitarian assistance in 63 countries has also increased by 18 percent, reaching 324 million this month.

Turning The Tide on Internal Displacement: A Development Approach to Solutions
(UNDP)
https://www.undp.org/sites/g/files/zskgke326/files/2022-11/UNDP-Turning-The-Tide-on-Internal-Displacement.pdf
Internal displacement is a major challenge to sustainable development. By the end of the 2021, more than 59 million people remained displaced in their own countries – the highest ever global figure and more than double the number recorded 10 years ago. Many affected countries will not be able to reach critical goals on poverty, education, peaceful societies and gender equality – without fully addressing internal displacement. This new report, produced by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) with the collaboration of IDMC recommends ways governments and development partners can address forced displacement and build resilience. The report highlights that overcoming internal displacement depends on governments implementing key development solutions, including ensuring equal access to rights and basic services, promoting socio-economic integration, restoring security, building social cohesion, and better data and research.

A World in Crisis: Global Humanitarian Crises and Conflicts Increase Human Trafficking Concerns – Call to Action
https://icat.un.org/publications/icat-calls-stronger-action-and-cooperation-counter-human-trafficking-humanitarian
Recent and ongoing humanitarian crises and conflicts, resulting from war, terrorism, climate change and the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as increased economic and food insecurity, are exacerbating existing vulnerabilities to and creating new risks of trafficking in persons. Globally, millions of people have been forced to flee their homes, making them an easy target for human traffickers who take advantage of crises to exploit men, women and children. On 2 December 2022, the 31 member organisations of the Inter-Agency Coordination Group Against Trafficking in Persons (ICAT), the United Nations’ (UN) leading policy forum on human trafficking, have issued a 13-point “Call to Action” urging countries, in the context of increasing crises, to put in place effective responses and increase cooperation to combat this internationally-recognised crime.

Justice and International Law

Towards a More Just World: Every Day: Annual Report of the Office of the Prosecutor – 2022 (ICC)
https://www.icc-cpi.int/sites/default/files/2022-12/2022-12-05-annual-report-of-the-office-of-the-prosecutor.pdf
“Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) Karim A.A. Khan KC presents the Annual Report of the Office of the Prosecutor: Today (5 December 2022) my Office has launched its first Annual Report, “Towards a More Just World: Every Day”. The publication of this Report underlines my commitment to increase the transparency of the work of my Office and deepen engagement with all stakeholders who may read it, whether impacted communities, State authorities, civil society, international organisations, or our international and regional partners. Through the Annual Report we aim to share our progress, the challenges we have faced, and our strategy moving forward in delivering on our priorities. As part of this reflective exercise, we have considered the initiatives and events that took place from the beginning of my mandate up to the end of November 2022. …”

Nuclear, Chemical and Conventional Weapons Disarmament

Disarmament Education Strategy (UNODA)
https://www.un.org/disarmament/disarmament-education-strategy
The Disarmament Education Strategy of the UN Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA) provides a common framework for the Office’s disarmament education efforts. It aims at enhancing coordination and coherence across various UNODA educational activities, diversifying partnerships and audiences reached, and fostering more sustainable and impactful initiatives.

Drug Control, Crime Prevention and Counter-terrorism

Afghan Women and the Opiate Trade (UNODC)
https://www.unodc.org/documents/data-and-analysis/AOTP/Afghan_Women_Opiate_Trade.pdf
A research study on Afghan Women and the Opiate Trade was launched by the Afghan Opiate Trade Project (AOTP) at CRIMJUST, Border Management Branch, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). The report provides a unique insight into the role of Afghan women in the opiate trade in Afghanistan. According to the research study, Afghan women are involved in a wide range of roles within the illicit opiate trade, including trafficking outside Afghanistan and selling heroin to users. Having entered the drug trade for a combination of social and economic motives, the women remained involved mostly for financial reasons. They directly managed the income earned from the opiate trade and used it primarily on family expenses and savings. Often working within family-based drug trafficking organisations, the women remained at the periphery of the wider organization due to social restrictions and cultural norms. Some women had left the opiate trade following the return to power by the Taliban – conversely, some women reported that trafficking had become easier. This is the first study to understand opiate trafficking from the perspective of Afghan women. Their testimonies provide novel insight into an otherwise hidden population. Not only does this report contribute to wider research on the topic of women’s involvement in drug trafficking, it also provides an evidence base upon which targeted interventions to help women leave the opiate trade can be developed.

Crime, Corruption and Wrongdoing in the Transfer of Football Players and Other Athletes (UNODC)
https://www.unodc.org/documents/Safeguardingsport/Publications/Advocacy_Paper_Crime_Athlete_Corruption_Transfers_Football_NOV22.pdf
Recent decades have brought comprehensive changes to sport. Globalization, a huge influx of money at the top level of professional sport, rapid growth of legal and illegal sports betting and marked technological advances have transformed the way sport is performed and consumed. In tandem with this, associated corruption risks have greatly affected the systems used for the transfer of athletes, putting minors and vulnerable adults at risk, according to a new advocacy paper on crime, corruption and wrongdoing in the transfer of football players and other athletes released on 17 November 2022 by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). Building on the findings of the 2021 UNODC Global Report on Corruption in Sport, , the advocacy paper sheds light on crime and corruption issues in the transfer of athletes. These issues include associated illicit financial flows and money laundering, the hiding and disguising of beneficial ownership through transfer transactions of athletes, trafficking in persons, migration and labour-related issues, among others.

Gaming and the Metaverse: The Alarming Rise of Online Sexual Exploitation and Abuse of Children Within the New Digital Frontier (UNICRI)
https://unicri.it/sites/default/files/2022-11/Gaming%20and%20the%20Metaverse.pdf
The United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI) dives in the virtual world together with partners from the Bracket Foundation and Value for Good in this new report. The metaverse is an emerging digital environment offering users with new, immersive social experiences, all within a growing digital economic ecosystem. The metaverse stands apart from more ‘traditional’ closed-platform gaming experiences, enabling a wider array of social interactions, encompassing making friends, connecting with other players and consuming content. However, the growing community of users on such social gaming platforms also includes many children, who may be exposed to sexual exploitation and abuse, if proper safeguard measures are not in place. This new report by UNICRI, the Bracket Foundation and Value for Good GmbH seeks to contribute to building understanding of the new and unique risks facing children who use these virtual spaces and what measures the various stakeholders must take to ensure their safety and security. As the use of these virtual platforms increases, so too will the scale and complexity of the potential harm to children. The immersion of these spaces offers new psychological risks to children and the gamification elements, such as platform currencies, and new avenues for abuse. As these platforms have to a degree been considered fringe or in their infancy, the focus held by developers appears to have been on rapid user growth, which can come at the cost of effective community moderation and management. A lack of engagement from policy makers on the risks posed by the metaverse exacerbates the scale of the challenges, leaving a lack of clarity in terms of a comprehensive regulatory approach to prevent vulnerabilities and abuses. As these platforms increase in prominence, this report serves as an advisory warning on the current state of social gaming platforms and the risks that children may face in such environments. It further provides recommendations in terms of how government and industry can work together to implement platform features and legislation that protects children and their rights, while maintaining platform harmony.

Newsletter Archive: https://unric.org/en/unric-info-point-library-newsletter-archive