New UN websites & publications
UN in General
United Nations Podcasts
https://unric.org/en/category/united-nations-digital-engagement-hub/united-nations-podcasts/
As podcasts continue to grow in popularity, you can tune in to United Nations developed podcasts to get the latest UN news, stories and interviews from around the world. In our UN Engagement Hub you can find an overview of these podcasts produced by UN entities and offices.
Dag Hammarskjöld Library – new platform
English: https://www.un.org/en/library and https://www.un.org/library
Arabic: https://www.un.org/ar/library
Chinese: https://www.un.org/zh/library
French: https://www.un.org/fr/library
Russian: https://www.un.org/ru/library
Spanish: https://www.un.org/es/library
The United Nations Dag Hammarskjöld Library has migrated their website to a new platform in line with the most up to date UN standards. Some of the benefits include achieving technical efficiencies and better content integration with the main UN website.
You will notice that the look and feel of the website is different – it has been aligned with the current UN guidelines for web publishing and branding. The content and information provided on our website remain the same and is continuously updated. As before, you can find the following information and features on our website, which is available in the 6 official languages of the UN:
- Library services (reference and research assistance, training courses and resources)
- Library resources (information about various databases and journals we subscribe to)
- Links to useful research tools for UN documentation
- Single search box to discover and access UN materials in the UN Digital Library, as well as books in the library collections, e-books, e-journals, journal articles, and open access papers
- Access to our popular Ask DAG knowledge base and our research guides
- UN Member States on the Record
- UN Depository Library Programme
- Library News blog
ECLAC Digital Repository – new version
https://repositorio.cepal.org
The ECLAC Digital Repository (DSpace 6.3) provides access to over 42,000 digital objects, from the first ECLAC (Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean) publications made in 1948 to the most recent ones – including a growing audiovisual collection. All documents are available in full text and are free to download. The new version offers a new interface as well further improvements. More features will be added in the coming weeks and months.
Starship UNLV: Boolean Basics
https://youtu.be/vlOMeTQObHE
The United Nations Library Vienna is pleased to announce the launch of their latest YouTube video, the first in a new series entitled “Starship UNLV”.
____________________________________________________
https://www.un.org/pga/75/ocean/
This high-level thematic debate, hosted by the President of the General Assembly on 1 June 2021, served as a drumbeat ahead of the second UN Ocean Conference, serving to demonstrate and call for clear progress, with more ambitious and innovative commitments to restoring and conserving our marine environments. There will be a special focus on the need for recovery from COVID-19 to protect oceans and support coastal communities. With trillions of dollars pouring into socio-economic relief and recovery, it is important that economic initiatives support and not exacerbate the existing challenges—both socioeconomic and environmental—facing the ocean and coastal communities.
https://hlm2021aids.unaids.org/
The High-Level Meeting on AIDS took place between 8 and 10 June 2021. The high-level meeting will review the progress made in reducing the impact of HIV since the last United Nations General Assembly high-level meeting on HIV and AIDS in 2016 and the General Assembly expects to adopt a new political declaration to guide the future direction of the response.
see also: New global pledge to end all inequalities faced by communities and people affected by HIV towards ending AIDS (8 June 2021), https://bit.ly/3crbOHA
Special Session of the General Assembly Against Corruption
https://www.un.org/pga/75/special-session-against-corruption/
https://ungass2021.unodc.org/ungass2021/en/index.html
The special session of the General Assembly on challenges and measures to prevent and combat corruption and strengthen international cooperation was held from 2 to 4 June 2021 at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, pursuant to General Assembly resolutions 73/191 and 74/276, as well as decisions 74/568 and 75/562 entitled “Special session of the General Assembly against corruption”.
see also: UNGASS 2021 closes highlighting urgent need to fight corruption to save the environment; spotlights whistleblower protection and role of civil society, https://bit.ly/3ciRxnF
Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19)
English: https://theindependentpanel.org/mainreport/
Press Release in French: https://bit.ly/3w5Y901
Press Release in Spanish: https://bit.ly/3ony5uQ
The Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response (The Independent Panel) was appointed by the World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General in response to a World Health Assembly resolution calling for an independent, impartial, and comprehensive review of experiences gained and lessons to be learned from the current pandemic. The review was also asked to provide recommendations to improve capacity for global pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response. The Panel released its findings and recommendations in its main report on 12 May 2021: COVID-19: Make it the Last Pandemic.
The Panel, co-chaired by the Rt Hon. Helen Clark, former Prime Minister of New Zealand, and Her Excellency Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, former President of Liberia, has spent the past eight months rigorously reviewing the evidence on how a disease outbreak became a pandemic, and on global and national responses. The report demonstrates that the current system—at both national and international levels— was not adequate to protect people from COVID-19. The time it took from the reporting of a cluster of cases of pneumonia of unknown origin in mid-late December 2019 to a Public Health Emergency of International Concern being declared was too long. February 2020 was also a lost month when many more countries could have taken steps to contain the spread of SARS-CoV-2 and forestall the global health, social, and economic catastrophe that continues its grip. The Panel finds that the system as it stands now is clearly unfit to prevent another novel and highly infectious pathogen, which could emerge at any time, from developing into a pandemic.
https://www.undp.org/publications/covid-19-and-need-dynamic-state-capabilities-international-comparison
Early lessons from countries’ responses to COVID-19 show the importance of investing in a combination of both long-term capacities and dynamic capabilities in the public sector, including the ability to meaningfully interact with other value creators in society such as the private sector and citizen innovators. Drawing on examples from across emerging markets, this paper identifies a number of such capabilities, and argues that they will be critical for governments in the aftermath of the crisis and in rebuilding economies and societies.
Independent Review and Investigation Mechanisms to Prevent Future Pandemics (UNU-IIGH)
http://collections.unu.edu/view/UNU:8032
The COVID-19 pandemic has created enormous challenges for national economies, livelihoods, and public services, including health systems. In January 2021, the World Health Organization proposed an international treaty on pandemics to strengthen the political commitment towards global pandemic preparedness, control, and response. The plan is to present a draft treaty to the World Health Assembly in May 2021. To inform the design of a support system for this treaty, we explored existing mechanisms for periodic reviews conducted either by peers or an external group as well as mechanisms for in-country investigations, conducted with or without country consent. Based on our review, we summarized key design principles requisite for review and investigation mechanisms and explain how these could be applied to pandemics preparedness, control, and response in global health. While there is no single global mechanism that could serve as a model in its own right, there is potential to combine aspects of existing mechanisms. A Universal Periodic Review design based on the model of human rights treaties with independent experts as the authorized monitoring body, if made obligatory, could support compliance with a new pandemic treaty. In terms of on-site investigations, the model by the Committee on Prevention of Torture could lend itself to treaty monitoring and outbreak investigations on short notice or unannounced. These mechanisms need to be put in place in accordance with several core interlinked design principles: compliance; accountability; independence; transparency and data sharing; speed; emphasis on capabilities; and incentives. The World Health Organization can incentivize and complement these efforts. It has an essential role in providing countries with technical support and tools to strengthen emergency preparedness and response capacities, including technical support for creating surveillance structures, integrating non-traditional data sources, creating data governance and data sharing standards, and conducting regular monitoring and assessment of preparedness and response capacities.
UN/DESA Policy Brief Series
UN DESA experts are working to help decision makers around the world navigate tough choices and to find ways to recover better from the COVID-19 crisis. Watch this space for the latest research, analysis and policy advice from UN DESA, an effort to support and complement the United Nations Secretary-General’s initiatives in response to the COVID-19 crisis and the Decade of Action to deliver the Sustainable Development Goals.
Newly published:
- #104: In situ urbanization key to leaving no one behind: https://www.un.org/development/desa/dpad/publication/un-desa-policy-brief-104-in-situ-urbanization-key-to-leaving-no-one-behind/
- #105: Circular agriculture for sustainable rural development: https://www.un.org/development/desa/dpad/publication/un-desa-policy-brief-105-circular-agriculture-for-sustainable-rural-development/
- #106: Reducing poverty and inequality in rural areas: key to inclusive development: https://www.un.org/development/desa/dpad/publication/un-desa-policy-brief-106-reducing-poverty-and-inequality-in-rural-areas-key-to-inclusive-development/
- #107: Social protection in rural areas: achieving universal access for all: https://www.un.org/development/desa/dpad/publication/un-desa-policy-brief-107-social-protection-in-rural-areas-achieving-universal-access-for-all/
Economic Growth & Sustainable Development
Becoming #GenerationRestoration: Ecosystem Restoration for People, Nature and Climate
Report in English, Key messages in English, French, Spanish & Portuguese: https://www.unep.org/resources/ecosystem-restoration-people-nature-climate
An area of land roughly the size of China needs restoring if the planet’s biodiversity and the communities who rely on it are to be protected, UN agencies said on 3 June 2021. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and UN Environment Programme’s (UNEP) call to reinstate at least one billion degraded hectares of land by 2030 must also be matched by a similar commitment to the oceans, or else risk a growing threat to global food security, they added. In a new report marking the start of a Decade of Ecosystem Restoration, the agencies warned that humans are already using 1.6 times the resources that nature can provide sustainably.
Cities, Culture, Creativity: Leveraging Culture & Creativity for Sustainable Urban Development & Inclusive Growth (UNESCO / World Bank)
https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/35621
What would Mumbai be without Bollywood? Bangkok without its temples? How would we know Beirut without its za’atar, hummus and kibbe? Or Kingston without reggae? Cities, where nearly 7 out of 10 people will live by 2050, have the power to stimulate creativity, create wealth, enhance social development and harness human and technological resources to bring people from varied backgrounds together and pave the way for economic and social gains—although COVID-19 has, for now, weakened these impacts. As countries contend with the climate crisis, COVID-19 and a sustainable and resilient recovery from it, understanding the power of culture and creative industries to address the social needs of city dwellers—and empowering them to unlock opportunities for local economic development—is key. A new World Bank–UNESCO report explores how cities across Asia, Africa, Latin America, Eastern Europe, the Middle East and elsewhere have benefited from and enabled culture and creativity. According to the report, the revenues of cultural and creative industries were estimated at $2.25 trillion in 2013 – or 3 percent of global GDP. The ways urban centers prepare to become cultural and creative ecosystems and destinations are fundamental to their success. This report suggests a framework for embracing cities’ possibilities as cultural and creative hubs and includes six considerations that can help cities tackle the challenges in becoming creative centers.
Collective Intelligence for Sustainable Development
https://acceleratorlabs.undp.org/content/acceleratorlabs/en/home/UNDP-AcceleratorLabs-Nesta-CollectiveIntelligence-Design-Innovation-Data-Technology-SustainableDevelopment-SmarterTogether-Report-Event-Launch.html
The first report Getting Smarter Together analyses and compares the methods and tools used by over 200 global organizations from both the private and public sector sharing examples cutting across all aspects of Agenda 2030. The study discovered 15 methods that are being used most frequently, and often in combination, from crowdsourcing to web scraping and remote sensing. The study also found that Artificial Intelligence is also increasingly being used in parallel, mainly to increase the speed and efficiency of data processing at scale.
The second report 13 Stories from the UNDP Accelerator Labs offers a deeper dive on the details of some of those groundbreaking approaches deployed by the UNDP Accelerator Labs – from using participatory sensing to understand the informal economy around waste in Viet Nam, to combining multiple datasets to tackle gender-based violence in Mexico and understand the impact of COVID-19 on the food supply chains in Zimbabwe.
Gender & Creativity: Progress on the Precipice (UNESCO)
English, French & Spanish: https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000375706
Global assessment of soil pollution: Report (FAO / UNEP)
http://www.fao.org/documents/card/en/c/cb4894en
Global commitments, local action (UNAIDS)
https://www.unaids.org/en/resources/documents/2021/global-commitments-local-action
The Helping Adolescents Thrive Toolkit (WHO / UNICEF)
Toolkit in English, Executive Summary in English, French & Spanish: https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240025554
As part of the Helping Adolescents Thrive initiative, WHO and UNICEF are also releasing on 18 May 2021 a Comic Book and accompanying Teacher’s Guide for use by school-based professionals who work with adolescents aged 10-14 years, including teachers, school counsellors, and mental health professionals. These tools can be used for planning and facilitation of classroom activities focused on socio-emotional learning. The Comic Book is the first in a series and refers specifically to adolescents’ experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Learn for our planet: a global review of how environmental issues are integrated in education (UNESCO)
https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000377362
see also: UNESCO declares environmental education must be a core curriculum component by 2025, https://bit.ly/3v7ofzz
Measuring Progress: Environment and the SDGs (UNEP)
https://www.unep.org/resources/publication/measuring-progress-environment-and-sdgs
https://bit.ly/3u5vG92
Urbanization, land use, global trade and industrialization have led to profound and negative impacts on nature, biodiversity and ecosystems across the world. The ongoing depletion of natural resources not only affects environmental conditions but also has an enormous impact on the health, well-being and security of societies. Exploring this complex relationship and the vital role that nature plays for promoting and protecting human health, and in recognition of the International Day for Biological Diversity on 22 May, WHO/Europe has published its first report on nature, biodiversity and health together with the WHO Collaborating Centre on Natural Environments and Health at the University of Exeter in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
https://wedocs.unep.org/handle/20.500.11822/35417
Vulnerable communities disproportionately bear the brunt of environmental degradation caused by plastics pollution, and action is urgently needed to address the issue and restore access to human rights, health and well-being, according to a new UN report published on 30 March 2021. The report was produced by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) together with the grassroots environmental group, Azul. The findings aim to empower communities affected by plastic waste and advocate for their inclusion in local decision making.
Out of the Blue: The Value of Seagrasses to the Environment and to People (UNEP)
https://www.unep.org/resources/report/out-blue-value-seagrasses-environment-and-people
Pancakes to Pyramids : City Form to Promote Sustainable Growth
http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/554671622446381555/City-Form-to-Promote-Sustainable-Growth
A first-of-its-kind World Bank analysis, of the shape and growth of nearly 10,000 cities between 1990 and 2015, finds that the most successful urban areas are those that connect their growth to economic demand and then support this with comprehensive plans, policies and investments that help avoid uncontrolled sprawl. The new report analyzes the dynamic, two-way relationship between a city’s economic growth and the floor space available to residents and businesses. It finds that a city is most likely to be its best version when its shape is driven by economic fundamentals and a conducive policy environment – namely, a robust job market, flexible building regulations, dependable public transit and access to essential services, public spaces, and cultural amenities. Ultimately, getting livable space right, hinges on how a city manages its growth as populations and incomes increase, factoring in three dimensions of expansion – horizontal, vertical or within existing spaces (known as infill), the report finds. This will be key as cities, on the frontlines of the COVID-19 crisis, begin planning for a long-term, resilient, and inclusive recovery.
Protected Planet Report 2020
https://www.unep.org/resources/protected-planet-report-2020
The international community has made major progress towards the global target on protected and conserved area coverage, but has fallen far short on its commitments on the quality of these areas, according to a new report from the UN Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC) and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), produced with support from the National Geographic Society. The latest edition of the Protected Planet Report is the final report card on Aichi Target 11 – the global 10-year target on protected and conserved areas which aimed to bring important benefits to both biodiversity and people by 2020. Aichi Target 11 included the aim of protecting at least 17% of land and inland waters and 10% of the marine environment. Today, 22.5 million km2 (16.64%) of land and inland water ecosystems and 28.1 million km2 (7.74%) of coastal waters and the ocean are within documented protected and conserved areas, an increase of over 21 million km2 (42% of the current coverage) since 2010, the new report reveals. It is clear that coverage on land will considerably exceed the 17% target when data for all areas are made available, as many protected and conserved areas remain unreported.
Rangelands Atlas (UNEP)
https://www.unep.org/resources/publication/rangelands-atlas
State of Finance for Nature
Report in English, Executive Summary in English, French & Spanish: https://www.unep.org/resources/state-finance-nature
Stronger collaboration for an equitable and resilient recovery towards the health-related sustainable development goals: 2021 progress report on the global action plan for healthy lives and well-being for all
https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240026209
Tackling Climate Action at the Local Level: Education for Sustainable Development Projects from the Global RCE Network (UNU-IAS)
https://www.rcenetwork.org/portal/rce-projects-tackle-climate-action-new-publication-unu-ias
A new publication from the Education for Sustainable Development Project at UNU-IAS has been launched on 27 April 2021, featuring a number of outstanding climate education projects from Regional Centres of Expertise on Education for Sustainable Development (RCEs). It highlights the contributions that RCEs have made – with a focus on climate action – to implement the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through education at local and regional levels, during the period of the Global Action Programme (GAP) on Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) from 2015-2019.
https://trackingsdg7.esmap.org/
During the last decade, a greater share of the global population gained access to electricity than ever before, but the number of people without electricity in Sub-Saharan Africa actually increased. Unless efforts are scaled up significantly in countries with the largest deficits the world will still fall short of ensuring universal access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy by 2030, according to Tracking SDG 7: The Energy Progress Report released on 7 June 2021 by the International Energy Agency (IEA) the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA), the World Bank, and the World Health Organization (WHO). According to the report, significant progress has been made since 2010 on various aspects of the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 7, but progress has been unequal across regions. While more than one billion people gained access to electricity globally over the last decade, COVID’s financial impact has made basic electricity services unaffordable for 30 million more people, the majority located in Africa. Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Ethiopia had the biggest electricity access deficits, with Ethiopia replacing India in the Top 3.
Water Under Fire Volume 3: Attacks on water and sanitation services in armed conflict and the impacts on children (UNICEF)
https://www.unicef.org/reports/water-under-fire-volume3
World Economic Situation and Prospects as of mid-2021 (UN/DESA)
English & French: http://bit.ly/wespmidyear
While the global growth outlook has improved, led by robust rebound in China and the United States, surging COVID-19 infections and inadequate vaccination progress in many countries threaten a broad-based recovery of the world economy, says the latest United Nations forecast released on 11 May 2021. According to the World Economic Situation and Prospects (WESP) mid-2021 report, following a sharp contraction of 3.6 per cent in 2020, the global economy is now projected to expand by 5.4 per cent in 2021, reflecting an upward revision from the UN forecasts released in January. Amid rapid vaccinations and continued fiscal and monetary support measures, China and the United States – the two largest economies – are on the path to recovery. In contrast, the growth outlook in several countries in South Asia, sub-Saharan Africa, and Latin America and the Caribbean, remains fragile and uncertain. For many countries, economic output is only projected to return to pre-pandemic levels in 2022 or 2023.
see also: 5 things you should know about the state of the global economy (11 May 2021), https://news.un.org/en/story/2021/05/1091672
World Employment and Social Outlook: Trends 2021 (ILO)
Report in English, Summary in English, French & Spanish: https://www.ilo.org/global/research/global-reports/weso/2021/WCMS_795453/lang–en/index.htm
World Social Report 2021: Reconsidering Rural Development (UN/DESA)
https://www.un.org/development/desa/dspd/world-social-report/2021-2.html
An urgent reconsideration of rural development is needed for achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The current strategies and patterns of rural development are failing to meet either the socioeconomic or the environmental Goals of this Agenda. Four out of every five people who face extreme poverty around the world live in rural areas. Many rural areas are witnessing severe depletion and degradation of natural resources, contributing to climate change and the recurrence of zoonotic diseases, such as COVID-19. The World Social Report 2021 points to the ways in which rural development can be reset to achieve sustainable development. It calls for moving rural development to the centre of attention, instead of relegating it as an appendage of urban development; for ending the rural-urban divide through the adoption of the in situ urbanization model; for ending within-rural inequality; and for achieving rural development while preserving the environment. World Social Report 2021 shows that new digital and frontier technologies are creating opportunities for achieving these goals. What is needed is to seize these opportunities and to convert into reality the long-standing goal of eradicating the rural-urban disparity.
WTO’s General Council ePortal (GCeP)
https://www.wto.org/gcep
The General Council ePortal (GCeP) contains all matters that have been taken up in General Council meetings since its inception in 1995, by calendar year. In particular, the portal gives access to a database of issues raised and discussed in the General Council and, where applicable, associated documents and decisions, either issued as separate documents or recorded in the minutes of the General Council. An additional search tool and filters have also been created to facilitate the retrieval of relevant matters and documents. For example, this tool will allow users to filter only for matters where a relevant General Council decision was taken.
The General Council is entrusted with carrying out the functions of the WTO, and taking action necessary to this effect, in the intervals between meetings of the Ministerial Conference, in addition to carrying out the specific tasks assigned to it by the Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization.
YouthForesight: Collective Knowledge that works for Youth
https://www.youthforesight.org/
It is a one-stop shop providing curated tools, publications, databases and resources to support evidence-based action for supporting young people’s education and skilling, employment, entrepreneurship, and engagement. GenU and DJY will continually expand the platform with high-quality content. The platform is divided into three parts: Learn, Engage, and Contribute.
International Peace and Security
Concept note for the Security Council open debate on the theme “United Nations peacekeeping operations: improving safety and security of peacekeepers”
English, French & Spanish: http://undocs.org/S/2021/432
The Security Council will organize an open debate on the theme “Protection of civilians in armed conflict” on 25 May 2021. In order to guide the discussions on this topic, the Security Council President for May 2021, China, has prepared this concept note.
Concept note for the Security Council open debate on the theme “Protection of civilians in armed conflict”
English, French & Spanish: http://undocs.org/S/2021/468
The Security Council will organize an open debate on the theme “United Nations peacekeeping operations: improving safety and security of peacekeepers” on 24 May 2021. In order to guide the discussions on this topic, the Security Council President for May 2021, China, has prepared this concept note.
Explainer: Investigative mechanisms, fact-finding missions, and boards of inquiry (In: DPPA Politically Speaking, May 2021)
https://dppa.medium.com/explainer-investigative-mechanisms-fact-finding-missions-and-boards-of-inquiry-1981467beec
Governing Uncertainty (UNU-CPR)
http://collections.unu.edu/eserv/UNU:8031/UNU_GoverningUncertainty_FINAL.pdf
Social media in peace mediation: a practical framework (June 2021)
https://bit.ly/3v4NwcX
A new paper by UN DPPA Mediation Support Unit and Swiss Peace explores the role of social media in armed conflict. It includes practical examples and suggestions on how to prevent, manage and resolve conflict in an environment transformed by technology.
Human Rights
The UN Human Rights Office now has a Tiktok account
https://www.tiktok.com/@unitednationshumanrights
Don’t Look Away: No place for exclusion of LGBTI students (UNESCO)
https://en.unesco.org/gem-report/LGBTIdontlookaway
On 17 May 2021, International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, Transphobia, the International LGBTQI Youth and Student Organisation (IGLYO) and UNESCO’s Global Education Monitoring Report released findings from research and surveys on the situation of LGBTQI students. According to the study, over eight in ten people surveyed reported having heard negative remarks addressed to someone else because of being perceived as LGBTQI. Fifty-four percent of LGBTQI people have experienced bullying in school at least once based on their sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression or variations of sex characteristics, according to a survey of more than 17,000 children and young people aged 13 to 24. The survey also showed that 83% of students had at least sometimes heard negative comments towards LGBTQI students, and 67% had been the target of negative comments at least once. Interventions by teachers and other school staff upon hearing negative remarks and bullying are vital to an inclusive education system. But many teachers lack the confidence and knowledge to support LGBTQI learners. The majority of students (58%) never reported bullying incidents to any school staff and fewer than 15% of respondents systematically reported their experiences of bullying to any school staff.
Freedom of Expression in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (UNAMI / OHCHR)
https://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Countries/IQ/Freedom-of-Expression-in-the-Kurdistan-Region_En.pdf
“Lethal Disregard”: Search and rescue and the protection of migrants in the central Mediterranean Sea (OHCHR)
https://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/Migration/OHCHR-thematic-report-SAR-protection-at-sea.pdf
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet has called on the Libyan Government of National Unity and the European Union and its Member States to urgently reform their current search and rescue policies and practices in the central Mediterranean Sea that too often rob migrants of their lives, dignity and fundamental human rights. According to the report, evidence suggests that the lack of human rights protection for migrants at sea “is not a tragic anomaly, but rather a consequence of concrete policy decisions and practices by the Libyan authorities, the European Union (EU) Member States and institutions, and other actors that have combined to create an environment where the dignity and human rights of migrants are at risk.” The report, which covers the period from January 2019 to December 2020, notes with concern that the EU and its Member States have cut back significantly on their maritime search and rescue operations, while humanitarian NGOs have been obstructed from carrying out their life-saving rescue operations. In addition, private commercial vessels increasingly avoid going to the aid of migrants in distress because of delays and stand-offs over their eventual disembarkation in a port of safety.
UNITAD launches multimedia video demonstrating evidence of crimes against Yazidi community
https://www.unitad.un.org/news/unitad-launches-multimedia-video-demonstrating-evidence-crimes-against-yazidi-community
The Investigative Team to Promote Accountability for Crimes Committed by Da’esh/ISIL (UNITAD) launched on 13 May 2021 the full-length video outlining the range of evidence collected in its investigations into crimes committed against the Yazidi community in Sinjar. This follows the briefing by Special Adviser Karim Asad Ahmad Khan, Head of UNITAD to the Security Council on Monday in which he confirmed the Team had clear and convincing evidence that crimes committed against the Yazidi community constituted genocide. Developed in collaboration with SITU Research, a visual investigations practice, the video synthesizes the testimonial, documentary, digital and forensic evidence collected by the Team in this investigation.
Humanitarian Affairs
Progress on Early Warning in a Pandemic
https://bit.ly/2QnpZph
A Region on the Move: 2020 Mobility Overview in the East and Horn of Africa and the Arabian Peninsula (IOM)
https://bit.ly/3bUkt4Z
https://rohingyaculturalmemorycentre.iom.int/
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the Rohingya community have jointly launched the Rohingya Cultural Memory Centre (RCMC), a multidisciplinary initiative which provides an online community space, interactive gallery, digital archive, and web-based exhibition, and one of the first significant attempts to comprehensively document and preserve the heritage of the Rohingya people.
There are currently nearly 1 million Rohingya refugees living in Cox’s Bazar camps, inhabiting challenging settlements with limited avenues for expression. The RCMC offers psychosocial support through art therapy, protection and skills development activities led by IOM practitioners and mental health officers.
WFP in Cox’s Bazar | Information Booklet: Overview of Programmes, Innovations, Partnerships, Sectors, Cross-Cutting Themes (April 2021)
https://bit.ly/33z6Io0
Non-UN Sources
Humanitarian Encyclopedia (Geneva Centre of Humanitarian Studies)
https://humanitarianencyclopedia.org
Justice and International Law
Global Insolvency Law Database (World Bank)
https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/financialsector/brief/global-insolvency-law-database
The Global Insolvency Legislation Resource provides links to many of the world’s insolvency and related legislation.
Drug Control, Crime Prevention and Counter-terrorism
Global Operational Network of Anti-Corruption Law Enforcement Authorities
http://globenetwork.unodc.org/globenetwork/en/index.html
Illicit Financial Flows and Asset Recovery in the State of Libya (UNICRI)
http://unicri.it/News/Illicit-Financial-Flows-and-Asset-Recovery-in-Libya
Observatory on Smuggling of Migrants
https://www.unodc.org/res/som/index.html
The COVID-19 pandemic has not halted smuggling operations; for example, two and a half times as many people arrived irregularly by sea to Europe in 2020 as in 2019. By its very nature, migrant smuggling is a cross-border crime. It demands the attention of the international community, as it all too often has negative implications for the human rights of the people who are smuggled.
Newsletter Archive: https://unric.org/en/unric-info-point-library-newsletter-archive