New UN websites & publications
VERIFIED – United Nations launches Global Initiative to Combat Misinformation
English, French, Spanish, Portuguese: https://www.shareverified.com/
The United Nations is launching “Verified”, an initiative to combat the growing scourge of COVID-19 misinformation by increasing the volume and reach of trusted, accurate information. Verified, led by the Department of Global Communications, will provide information around three themes: science — to save lives; solidarity — to promote local and global cooperation; and solutions — to advocate for support to impacted populations. It will also promote recovery packages that tackle the climate crisis and address the root causes of poverty, inequality and hunger. The initiative is calling on people around the world to sign up to become “information volunteers” to share trusted content to keep their families and communities safe and connected. Described as digital first responders, the volunteers will receive a daily feed of verified content optimized for social sharing with simple, compelling messaging that either directly counters misinformation or fills an information void.
see also:
UN News Centre Story, 21 May 2020
English – https://news.un.org/en/story/2020/05/1064622
French – https://news.un.org/fr/story/2020/05/1069342
Spanish – https://news.un.org/es/story/2020/05/1474802
“Good communication saves lives” / by Antonio Guterres
English – https://www.un.org/en/coronavirus/good-communication-saves-lives
Spanish – https://www.un.org/es/coronavirus/articles/informacion-veraz-salva-vidas
Policy Brief: COVID-19 and People on the Move (June 2020)
https://bit.ly/3cqXxaX
see also: https://www.un.org/en/coronavirus/covid-19-crisis-opportunity-reimagine-human-mobility
https://bit.ly/36fd7oR
This policy brief takes a snapshot of immediate impacts of the pandemic on health, economies, peace, security, human rights and humanitarian assistance in Africa. It outlines response measures currently being taken by African and external stakeholders and provides recommendations to protect gains in the fight against the pandemic and maximise opportunities in the recovery for a more inclusive and sustainable future as countries emerge from this crisis.
see also: https://www.un.org/en/coronavirus/global-solidarity-africa-imperative
Policy Brief: The Impact of COVID-19 on Food Security and Nutrition (June 2020)
https://bit.ly/37fYRwF
see also: https://www.un.org/en/coronavirus/we-need-act-now-avoid-worst-impacts-our-efforts-control-pandemic
2020 Human Development Perspectives: COVID-19 an Human Development, Assessing the impact, envisioning the recovery (UNDP)
Global human development – which can be measured as a combination of the world’s education, health and living standards – could decline this year for the first time since the concept was introduced in 1990, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) warned on 20 May 2020. “The world has seen many crises over the past 30 years, including the Global Financial Crisis of 2007-09. Each has hit human development hard but, overall, development gains accrued globally year-on-year,” said UNDP Administrator Achim Steiner. “COVID-19 – with its triple hit to health, education, and income – may change this trend.” Declines in fundamental areas of human development are being felt across most countries – rich and poor – in every region.
The COVID-19 crisis and the postal sector (UPU)
http://www.upu.int/en/activities/economic-impact-of-covid-19-on-the-postal-sector/about-economic-impact-of-covid-19-on-the-postal-sector.html
Development Policy and Multilateralism after COVID-19 (CDP)
https://bit.ly/2MDALSM
Ensuring Access to Justice in the Context of COVID-19 (UNDP / UNODC)
https://www.undp.org/content/dam/undp/library/km-qap/undp-bpps-rol-Access_to_Justice_and_COVID19.pdf
Guidelines for Tsunami Response during COVID-19 (UNESCO-IOC)
http://www.ioc-tsunami.org/index.php?option=com_oe&task=viewDoclistRecord&doclistID=221
Regional guidelines for tsunami warning services, evacuation and sheltering during the COVID-19 pandemic are now available to ensure the safety of vulnerable coastal communities from ocean hazards while minimizing the risk of viral contagion. Prepared by UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC), in consultation and collaboration with expert working groups within the Intergovernmental Coordination Groups (ICGs), the COVID-19 tsunami response guidelines provide specific instructions for each of the four regions covered by tsunami early warning systems: the Pacific Ocean, the Caribbean, the Indian Ocean, and the North-eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean (and connected seas). These guidelines aid to clarify possible confusion generated by COVID-19 sanitary priorities and regulations in regard to response actions during a tsunami warning such as evacuation and sheltering.
How COVID-19 restrictions and the economic consequences are likely to impact migrant smuggling and cross-border trafficking in persons to Europe and North America (UNODC Research Brief)
https://www.unodc.org/documents/data-and-analysis/covid/Covid-related-impact-on-SoM-TiP-web3.pdf
Executive Summary: “The unprecedented crisis that COVID-19 has suddenly unleashed upon the world is affecting all aspects of society and is likely to have an effect on the routes and characteristics of both regular and irregular migration. Smuggling of migrants and trafficking in persons will also be affected in certain ways by the crisis. Many factors shape the dynamics of these two criminal phenomena, from the international political and security landscape to macro socio-economic dynamics and national law enforcement capacity – all of which have been affected by the global pandemic. The impacts of the COVID-19 crisis, and of the measures adopted by governments to contain it, differ across the globe, and the effects of these measures on smuggling of migrants and trafficking in persons are likely to vary from country to country and from region to region. This Research Brief analyses possible scenarios of how smuggling of migrants and cross-border trafficking in persons are likely to be affected by the COVID-19 crisis along mixed migration routes to two important destination regions: North America and Europe.”
ILO Monitor: COVID-19 and the world of work. 4th edition
https://www.ilo.org/global/topics/coronavirus/impacts-and-responses/WCMS_745963/lang–en/index.htm
More than one in six young people have stopped working since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic while those who remain employed have seen their working hours cut by 23 per cent, says the International Labour Organization (ILO). According to the ILO Monitor: COVID-19 and the world of work. 4th edition, released on 27 May 2020, youth are being disproportionately affected by the pandemic, and the substantial and rapid increase in youth unemployment seen since February is affecting young women more than young men. The pandemic is inflicting a triple shock on young people. Not only is it destroying their employment, but it is also disrupting education and training, and placing major obstacles in the way of those seeking to enter the labour market or to move between jobs. At 13.6 per cent, the youth unemployment rate in 2019 was already higher than for any other group. There were around 267 million young people not in employment, education or training (NEET) worldwide. Those 15-24 year olds who were employed were also more likely to be in forms of work that leave them vulnerable, such as low paid occupations, informal sector work, or as migrant workers.
Justice for women amidst COVID-19 (IDLO / UNDP / UNODC / UN Women / World Bank)
https://bit.ly/2ytwTR4
Mobility Crisis and Response in the Time of COVID-19: The Republic of Korea’s Approach (IOM Issue Brief, 18 May 2020)
https://www.iom.int/sites/default/files/documents/mobility_crisis_and_response_in_the_time_of_coivd19_rok_approach_final_0518.pdf
With the Republic of Korea (ROK), one of the very few countries flattening the COVID-19 curve without imposing nationwide lockdowns or border closures, IOM ROK and the Migration Research and Training Center (MRTC), have released a timely report highlighting the country’s approach to the pandemic. The report focuses on the country’s immigration and border management (IBM) strategies, which although maintaining an open border policy still successfully helped to control the spread of the novel coronavirus. Since the first reported COVID-19 case on 20 January, the country of over 51 million people has 11,050 confirmed cases and 262 deaths as of 17 May. The report outlines the key elements of the Republic of Korea’s overall response against the spread of the virus which are likely to be of great interest to other countries currently grappling with the novel coronavirus and contemplating effective mobility management during the pandemic.
Museums around the world in the face of COVID-19 (UNESCO)
English: https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000373530
French: https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000373530_fre
Operational considerations for multisectoral mental health and psychosocial support programmes during the COVID-19 pandemic (IASC)
https://bit.ly/3cqJBOi
A rapid review of economic policy and social protection responses to health and economic crises and their effects on children: Lessons for the COVID-19 pandemic response (UNICEF Innocenti Working Paper)
https://www.unicef-irc.org/publications/pdf/WP2020-02.pdf
This rapid review seeks to inform the initial and long-term public policy responses to the COVID-19 pandemic, by assessing evidence on past economic policy and social protection responses to health and economic crises and their effects on children and families. The review focuses on virus outbreaks/emergencies, economic crises and natural disasters, which, like the COVID-19 pandemic, were ‘rapid’ in onset, had wide-ranging geographical reach, and resulted in disruption of social services and economic sectors, without affecting governance systems. Evidence is also drawn from the HIV/AIDS pandemic, due to its impacts on adult mortality rates and surviving children. The available evidence on the effects of economic policy and social protection responses is uneven across outcomes, regions, and type of policy response as a large body of literature focused on social assistance programmes. Future research on the COVID-19 pandemic can prioritize the voices of children and the marginalized, assess the effects of expansionary and austerity measures, examine the role of design and implementation, social care services, pre-existing macro-level health, demographic and health conditions and the diverse regional health and economic impacts of the pandemic. The paper also provides key lessons for public policy responses to the COVID-19 pandemic.
A safe and healthy return to work during the COVID-19 pandemic (ILO)
This guidance note aims to assist governments and employers’ and workers’ organizations in developing national policy guidance for a phased and safe return to work, and provide guidelines for workplace-level risk assessments and implementation of preventive and protective measures according to a hierarchy of controls.
Strategic Considerations for Mitigating the Impact of COVID-19 on Key- Population-Focused HIV Programs (May 15, 2020)
https://www.unaids.org/en/resources/documents/2020/key-populations-strategic-considerations-covid19
UN/DESA Policy Briefs
https://www.un.org/development/desa/en/covid-19.html
https://www.un.org/development/desa/dpad/publication/
DESA’s COVID-19 Portal features a series of policy briefs on COVID-19, which draw on unique expertise from around the Department. Since 20 May 2020, the following new briefs have been published:
• #77: How can investors move from greenwashing to SDG-enabling?
• #76: COVID-19 poses grievous economic challenge to landlocked developing countries
UNWTO Global Guidelines to Reopen Tourism
https://www.unwto.org/news/unwto-launches-global-guidelines-to-reopen-tourism
The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) has released a set of guidelines on 28 May 2020 to help tourism sector emerge stronger and more sustainably from COVID-19. The guidelines highlight the need to act decisively, to restore confidence and, as UNWTO strengthens its partnership with Google, to embrace innovation and the digital transformation of global tourism. The guidelines were produced in consultation with the Global Tourism Crisis Committee and aim to support governments and private sector to recover from an unparalleled crisis. Depending on when travel restrictions are lifted, the United Nations specialized agency warns that international tourist arrivals could fall by between 60% and 80%. This puts 100-120 million jobs at risk and could lead to US$ 910 billion to US$ 1.2 trillion lost in exports.
Working with the environment to protect people: UNEP’s Covid-19 response
Report & Fact Sheets: https://www.unenvironment.org/resources/working-environment-protect-people-uneps-covid-19-response
The following fact sheets are available: Zoonotic Diseases, Trade and the Environment, Enhancing Nationally Determined Contributions through Nature-
Based Solutions and Resource Efficiency, Global Environmental Governance, Green Jobs, Greening Fiscal Stimulus and Finance Packages to Achieve the SDGs, Waste Management.
Children’s Book on COVID-19
My Hero is You: Storybook for Children on COVID-19
https://interagencystandingcommittee.org/iasc-reference-group-mental-health-and-psychosocial-support-emergency-settings/my-hero-you
From My Window: Children at home during COVID-19
https://issuu.com/unpublications/docs/from-my-window
Lafya, the little girl and the evil Coronavirus (UNICEF Chad)
English: http://online.fliphtml5.com/vqcmz/rvsr/
French: https://online.fliphtml5.com/xyibd/lpma/
A drawn world, made of colours and rounded shapes, to talk to children in Chad and elsewhere. Lafya (meaning “peace” in Ngambaye, one of the local languages) is its protagonist, an 8-year-old girl who learns, discovers and understands by opening the doors of knowledge with the key of a typically infantile curiosity. She is the bearer of messages, contents and actions that should guarantee every child to be born, grow up and develop in a healthy and protective environment, in order to be a useful and active citizen who will contribute to the development of his or her country. In other words, Lafya is a heroine, the new ambassador for UNICEF Chad.
In March 2020, the COVID-19 epidemic crossed the borders of Chad, heralding a period of restrictions, alert and renunciation of a daily life that comforts both adults and children. Closed schools, inaccessible religious places, restaurants, bars and gathering places. In N’Djamena first, and then in the rest of the country, life has changed in a less sociable and more discreet façade, the routine rhythm has become slower and less authoritarian. Lafya doesn’t understand what’s going on around her: her parents don’t go to work anymore and she can’t see her girlfriends on the school benches anymore. What’s wrong? The answers are all given in the comic book “Lafya, the girl and the evil Coronavirus”. As you flip through the pages, the beauty of the drawings is combined with an informative and stimulating read. The words interweave so that the reader learns, in symbiosis with Lafya, how to block the way of the nasty virus that kills indiscriminately and all over the world.
A story, a life lesson, which becomes a pleasure for the eyes thanks to the talent of Blaise Tompte, a 29-year-old Chadian mechanical engineer who has made his true passion – drawing – his profession. “I dream of a better world and this world can only be built by children. That’s why I chose to draw for them. Children have a genie sleeping inside them, and if you can wake it up, they can do things that adults do badly,” says Blaise.
UN in General
About UN Documents – Video Tutorials
The Dag Hammarskjöld Library as launched three short videos to help you understand UN documents:
- Meeting Records: https://youtu.be/GuhWihUB80M
- Security Council Resolutions: https://youtu.be/G7NWQVwsNN4
- Secretary-General Reports: https://youtu.be/pxhg5K81EBU
The G2 at the UN: The United States and the People’s Republic of China at the United Nations (UNU-CPR)
https://cpr.unu.edu/the-g2-at-the-un-the-united-states-and-the-peoples-republic-of-china-at-the-united-nations.html
The paper was written – and the research it is based on was conducted – between November 2019 and January 2020. As such, the analysis in this paper is based on the period before the COVID-19 crisis, although the final section includes some brief tentative reflections for what that crisis may mean for these deeper dynamics.
Economic Growth and Sustainable Development
2019 Annual Report of the Climate Risk & Early Warning Systems
English: https://library.wmo.int/index.php?lvl=notice_display&id=21711
French: https://library.wmo.int/index.php?lvl=notice_display&id=21721
Broadband development and connectivity solutions for rural and remote areas (ITU)
English: https://www.itu.int/dms_pub/itu-d/oth/07/23/D07230000020001PDFE.pdf
French: https://www.itu.int/dms_pub/itu-d/oth/07/23/D07230000020002PDFF.pdf
Spanish: https://www.itu.int/dms_pub/itu-d/oth/07/23/D07230000020003PDFS.pdf
Rural and remote areas of many countries worldwide continue to be sparsely covered in terms of broadband connectivity. Major challenges for rural and remote area connectivity include inadequate supporting infrastructure, difficult terrain, illiteracy, high cost of installation of information and communication technology (ICT) infrastructure and policy issues. For many of these reasons, rural and remote areas are often not considered viable business cases by telecommunication operators. Meanwhile, the recent growth of teledensity in urban areas, fueled by mobile technology, has meant that the already existing digital gap between rural and urban areas has now widened. This new ITU study paper recommends ways that regulators, policymakers and operators can change that.
Digital Skills Assessment Guidebook (ITU)
https://academy.itu.int/digital-skills-assessment-guidebook
The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) launched on 28 May 2020 the Digital Skills Assessment Guidebook, a comprehensive and practical step-by-step tool for national digital skills assessments. It assists Member States to determine the existing national supply of digital skills, to assess skills demand from industry and other sectors to identify skills gaps, and to develop policies to address future digital skills requirements. The Guidebook, which draws on and complements the ITU Digital Skills Toolkit published in 2018, is designed for use by policy-makers and other stakeholders, such as partners in the private sector, non-governmental organizations and academia, who may need to undertake skills assessments at the national level.
Food Systems Dashboard
http://www.foodsystemsdashboard.org/
Global Economic Prospects: June 2020 (World Bank)
Report, Data & Charts: https://www.worldbank.org/en/publication/global-economic-prospects
Europe & Central Asia: https://www.worldbank.org/en/region/eca/brief/global-economic-prospects-europe-and-central-asia
The swift and massive shock of the coronavirus pandemic and shutdown measures to contain it have plunged the global economy into a severe contraction. According to World Bank forecasts, the global economy will shrink by 5.2% this year. That would represent the deepest recession since the Second World War, with the largest fraction of economies experiencing declines in per capita output since 1870, the World Bank says in its June 2020 Global Economic Prospects. Economic activity among advanced economies is anticipated to shrink 7% in 2020 as domestic demand and supply, trade, and finance have been severely disrupted. Emerging market and developing economies (EMDEs) are expected to shrink by 2.5% this year, their first contraction as a group in at least sixty years. Per capita incomes are expected to decline by 3.6%, which will tip millions of people into extreme poverty this year. The blow is hitting hardest in countries where the pandemic has been the most severe and where there is heavy reliance on global trade, tourism, commodity exports, and external financing. While the magnitude of disruption will vary from region to region, all EMDEs have vulnerabilities that are magnified by external shocks. Moreover, interruptions in schooling and primary healthcare access are likely to have lasting impacts on human capital development.
Integrating Health in Urban and Territorial Planning (WHO / UN-Habitat)
https://www.who.int/publications-detail/integrating-health-in-urban-and-territorial-planning
Jobs in Green and Healthy Transport: Making the Green Shift (ILO / UNECE)
https://thepep.unece.org/node/808
Marketing of Breast‐milk Substitutes: National Implementation of the International Code – Status report 2020
https://www.who.int/publications-detail/9789240006010
Research on natural disasters and trade (WTO)
https://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/devel_e/a4t_e/researchnaturdisaster_e.htm
The WTO has published a new webpage on trade and natural disasters to provide access to research papers and WTO-organized symposia dealing with this topic. The webpage collates research on the impact of natural disasters on countries’ trading capacity and how the multilateral trading system can help countries respond to and recover from these disasters.
SDG Good Practices data visualization tool
https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/partnerships/goodpractices
DESA-DSDG, with the geographic information systems supplier ESRI, has developed a new, interactive visualization of the SDG Good Practices database. This online tool offers an easy way to search and navigate the current database of more than 500 SDG Good Practices by country and sector.
Special Purpose Trust Fund – new online portal
https://unsdg.un.org/SPTF
The United Nations development system repositioning aims to equip the United Nations development system with a stronger, better-defined collective identity. It aims to be a trusted, reliable, responsive, transparent and accountable partner to countries in the implementation of Agenda 2030.
Spotlight on adolescent health and well-being (WHO Europe)
https://bit.ly/2XfG4Nm
The State of the World’s Forests 2020: Forests, Biodiversity and People (FAO / UNEP)
http://www.fao.org/state-of-forests/2020/en/
The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2020
Interactive Story: http://www.fao.org/state-of-fisheries-aquaculture/en/
Report, Brief & Summary: http://www.fao.org/documents/card/en/c/ca9229en
Worldwide per capita fish consumption has reached a new record of 20.5 kilograms per year and is poised to increase further in the decade ahead, underscoring its critical role in global food and nutrition security. Sustainable aquaculture development and effective fisheries management are critical to maintain these trends, according to a new report from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Total fish production is set to increase to 204 million tonnes in 2030, up 15 percent from 2018, with aquaculture’s share growing from its current 46 percent according to The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture (SOFIA). That growth is around half the increase recorded in the previous decade, and translates into an annual per capita fish food consumption is forecast to reach 21.5 kilograms by 2030.
International Peace and Security
Concept note for the Security Council open high-level videoconference on the theme “Protection of civilians in armed conflict”
English, French & Spanish: https://undocs.org/S/2020/402
Estonia, in its capacity as President of the Security Council for the month of May 2020, intends to hold an open high-level videoconference on the theme “Protection of civilians in armed conflict” on 27 May 2020. In order to help to guide the debate, Estonia has prepared this concept note and guidelines.
Gender, Climate & Security: Sustaining Inclusive Peace on the Frontlines of Climate Change
Report & Summary: https://www.unenvironment.org/resources/report/gender-climate-security-sustaining-inclusive-peace-frontlines-climate-change
Summary of the high-level open Arria formula meeting of the Security Council on the theme “Seventy-five years from the end of the Second World War on European soil –lessons learned for preventing future atrocities, responsibility of the Security Council”
English, French & Spanish: https://undocs.org/S/2020/458
The Republic of Estonia hosted an Arria formula meeting on the theme “Seventy-five years from the end of the Second World War on European soil – lessons learned for preventing future atrocities, responsibility of the Security Council”, that was held on 8 May 2020. The meeting took place via videoconference. It was public and livestreamed on several platforms to increase the transparency of the work of the Security Council.
United Nations Integrated Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS)
https://dppa.un.org/en/mission/unitams
On 4 June 2020, the United Nations Security Council adopted resolution 2524 mandating the establishment of the United Nations Integrated Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS), for an initial period of twelve months. Headquartered in Khartoum and with all-of-Sudan responsibilities, UNITAMS will complement the ongoing work of the United Nations Agencies, Funds and Programmes on the ground and work closely with the Sudanese Transitional Government and people of Sudan in support of the transition.
Human Rights
Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on the situation of human rights in the Philippines (A/HRC/44/22, 4 June 2020)
https://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Countries/PH/Philippines-HRC44-AEV.pdf
A heavy-handed focus on countering national security threats and illegal drugs has resulted in serious human rights violations in the Philippines, including killings and arbitrary detentions, as well as the vilification of dissent, a new report by the UN Human Rights Office said on 4 June 2020. Persistent impunity and formidable barriers to accessing justice need to be urgently addressed, the report said. The report, which was mandated by a UN Human Rights Council resolution, noted that many of the human rights concerns it has documented are long-standing, but have become more acute in recent years. This has been manifested particularly starkly in the widespread and systematic killing of thousands of alleged drug suspects. Numerous human rights defenders have also been killed over the past five years.
Humanitarian Affairs
Data Innovation Directory
https://migrationdataportal.org/data-innovation
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) has launched a new data platform to better understand migration and human mobility in times of crisis through new data sources and methodologies such as satellite imagery, artificial intelligence and machine learning, social media and mobile phone data. The Data Innovation Directory (DID), which is part of IOM’s Global Migration Data Portal, features more than 50 projects and initiatives that use these data sources to shed light on the implications for mobility during global crises, such as the current COVID-19 pandemic.
European Cities on the Front Line: New and Emerging Governance Models for Migrant Inclusion (IOM / MPI)
https://admin4all.eu/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/European-Cities-on-the-Front-Line.pdf
Guidelines on Statelessness No. 5: Loss and Deprivation of Nationality under Articles 5-9 of the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness (UNHCR)
https://www.refworld.org/docid/5ec5640c4.html
UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, issued new guidelines on 21 May 2020 on the loss and deprivation of nationality. The guidance is intended to assist governments and policy makers in interpreting relevant international law. The guidelines contain interpretive guidance on the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness, one of two key statelessness treaties which together with the 1954 Convention on the Status of Stateless Persons, provide the legal framework to prevent statelessness from occurring and to protect people who are already stateless. They also contain guidance on complementary international human rights law relevant to deprivation of nationality.
The Montreal Recommendations on Recruitment: A Roadmap towards Better Regulation (IOM)
https://publications.iom.int/system/files/pdf/the-montreal-recommendation.pdf
Newsletter Archive: https://unric.org/en/unric-info-point-library-newsletter-archive