New UN websites & publications
UN in General
English: https://news.un.org/en/story/2022/04/1115592
French: https://unric.org/fr/que-peut-faire-l-onu-reponses-a-cinq-de-vos-questions/
Spanish: https://news.un.org/es/story/2022/04/1506932
Danish: https://unric.org/da/hvad-kan-fn-goere-her-er-5-svar/
German: https://unric.org/de/060422-ukraine-un/
Greek: https://bit.ly/38rEEIE
Icelandic: https://unric.org/is/hvad-sameinudu-thjodirnar-geti-gert-til-ad-binda-enda-a-strid/
Italian: https://unric.org/it/cosa-puo-fare-lonu-la-risposta-a-5-delle-vostre-domande/
Portuguese: https://unric.org/pt/o-que-pode-a-onu-fazer-para-travar-uma-guerra-resposta-a-cinco-questoes/
UN General Assembly mandates meeting in wake of any Security Council veto
The UN General Assembly decided on 26 April 2022 to automatically meet within 10 days, if the veto is used in the Security Council by one of its five permanent members.
UN News Story
• English: https://news.un.org/en/story/2022/04/1116982
• French: https://news.un.org/fr/story/2022/04/1118942
• Spanish: https://news.un.org/es/story/2022/04/1507722
• Portuguese [BR]: https://news.un.org/pt/story/2022/04/1787252
Press Release
• English: https://www.un.org/press/en/2022/ga12417.doc.htm
• French: https://www.un.org/press/fr/2022/ag12417.doc.htm
Resolution A/RES/76/262
• English, French & Spanish: https://undocs.org/A/RES/76/262
• German: https://www.un.org/Depts/gv-76/band3/ar76262.pdf
Global Crisis Response Group on Food, Energy and Finance
https://news.un.org/pages/global-crisis-response-group/
The war in Ukraine, in all its dimensions, is producing alarming cascading effects to a world economy already battered by COVID-19 and climate change, with particularly dramatic impacts on developing countries. The world’s most vulnerable people can not become collateral damage.
Global Impact of war in Ukraine on food, energy and finance systems – Brief No.1
https://news.un.org/pages/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/UN-GCRG-Brief-1.pdf
In March 2022, the United Nations Secretary-General announced the establishment of a Global Crisis Response Group on Food, Energy and Finance facilitated by the UN Secretariat to coordinate the global response to the worldwide impacts of the war in Ukraine on global food, energy and finance systems. This brief is the result of the coordinated work of the Global Crisis Response Task Team, reporting to the Steering Committee of the Global Crisis Response Group.
UNRIC Library Backgrounder: Food Insecurity
https://unric.org/en/unric-library-backgrounder-food-insecurity/
What is “food insecurity”? For information on this topic, take a look at our new backgrounder. Included is also a special section with UN news items about the impacts of the war in Ukraine on food security worldwide.
Youth2030: A Global Progress Report, 2022
https://www.unyouth2030.com/progressreport
This is the second report on the status of implementation of Youth2030, the UN Youth Strategy. The report highlights: how the UN system is advancing global commitments FOR and WITH youth; the impact of UN strategic planning; the availability of funding and coherence; and coordination on youth work. The report describes how global stewardship is strengthening system-wide accountability, ensuring that No Youth is Left Behind.
Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19)
The ACT-Accelerator: Two years of impact (WHO)
https://www.who.int/publications/m/item/the-act-accelerator–two-years-of-impact
The two-year impact report for the Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator details impact, case studies and timelines of key milestones for the Diagnostics, Therapeutics and Vaccines pillars, as well as the Health Systems and Response Connector. Highlights of the partnership’s achievements include: enabling 40 countries to begin their COVID-19 vaccination campaigns, delivering over 1.4 billion vaccine doses to 145 countries through COVAX, helping build the sequencing capacity in Southern Africa that first detected the Omicron variant, and negotiating unprecedented deals with the world’s largest oxygen suppliers to increase access in more than 120 low- and middle-income countries. The report also looks ahead at the partnership’s push to close its urgent financing gap and focus on ensuring access to scarce tools, scaling up delivery and uptake in countries, and informing deliberations on the future global health security architecture. COVID-19 can only be downgraded as a global threat once vaccines and new antivirals are rolled out equitably, with robust systems of testing and sequencing built up, so new variants can be detected early and responses quickly adapted. The report emphasises the need for countries to act in solidarity to end the acute phase of the pandemic and highlights the ACT-Accelerator’s vital work in making this happen.
Global report on infection prevention and control (WHO)
https://www.who.int/publications/m/item/global-report-on-infection-prevention-and-control
The COVID-19 pandemic and other recent large disease outbreaks have highlighted the extent to which health care settings can contribute to the spread of infections, harming patients, health workers and visitors, if insufficient attention is paid to infection prevention and control (IPC). But a new report from the World Health Organization (WHO) shows that where good hand hygiene and other cost-effective practices are followed, 70% of those infections can be prevented. Today, out of every 100 patients in acute-care hospitals, seven patients in high-income countries and 15 patients in low- and middle-income countries will acquire at least one health care-associated infection (HAI) during their hospital stay. On average, 1 in every 10 affected patients will die from their HAI. People in intensive care and newborns are particularly at risk. And the report reveals that approximately one in four hospital-treated sepsis cases and almost half of all cases of sepsis with organ dysfunction treated in adult intensive-care units are health care-associated. On the eve of World Hand Hygiene Day, WHO is previewing the first ever Global Report on Infection Prevention and Control which brings together evidence from scientific literature and various reports, and new data from WHO studies.
Economic Growth and Sustainable Development
2022 Financing for Sustainable Development Report: Bridging the Finance Divide
https://developmentfinance.un.org/fsdr2022
The crippling cost of debt financing for many developing countries has hamstrung their recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, forced cutbacks in development spending, and constrained their ability to respond to further shocks, according to a new report launched by the United Nations on 12 April 2022. The report finds that while rich countries were able to support their pandemic recovery with record sums borrowed at ultra-low interest rates, the poorest countries spent billions servicing debt, preventing them from investing in sustainable development. The pandemic shock plunged 77 million more people into extreme poverty in 2021, and by the end of the year many economies remained below pre-2019 levels. The report estimates that in 1 in 5 developing countries’ GDP per capita would not return to 2019 levels by the end of 2023, even before absorbing the impacts of the Ukraine war. The report says on average, the poorest developing countries pay 14 per cent of revenue for interest on their debt, almost 4 times higher than developed countries, at 3.5 per cent. Globally, many developing countries were forced to cut budgets for education, infrastructure and other capital spending as a result of the pandemic. The war in Ukraine will exacerbate these challenges and create new ones, with higher energy and commodity prices, renewed supply chain disruptions, higher inflation coupled with lower growth, and increased volatility in financial markets. For many developing countries, the war will likely lead to further increases in debt distress and increased hunger. Before the war, the pandemic recovery gaps had already widened, with developing countries on average having only enough COVID-19 vaccine doses for 24 per 100 people, versus almost 150 per 100 people for developed countries. Shockingly, in 2021, 70 per cent of 10-year-olds in developing countries were unable to read a basic text, a 17 per cent increase from 2019. With food prices in 2021 already at their highest level in a decade, the UN fears the conflict in Ukraine risks dramatically worsening the economic outlook for many countries.
2022 Global Gas Flaring Tracker Report (World Bank)
https://bit.ly/3Fo6HVZ
Global progress to reduce gas flaring, the wasteful industry practice of burning natural gas during oil production, has stalled over the last decade. Globally, gas flaring resulted in nearly 400 million tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) equivalent emissions in 2021, further underscoring the urgency to accelerate the decarbonization of the world’s economies, says a new report from the World Bank’s Global Gas Flaring Reduction Partnership (GGFR). Satellite data compiled and analyzed for GGFR’s 2022 Global Gas Flaring Tracker Report shows that 144 billion cubic meters (bcm) of gas was flared at upstream oil and gas facilities last year. Ten oil-producing and flaring countries accounted for three-quarters of all gas flaring, seven of which — Russia, Iraq, Iran, the United States, Venezuela, Algeria, and Nigeria — have remained the top seven consistently over the last ten years.
2022 Global Report on Food Crises
https://bit.ly/3kIFG6a
The number of people facing acute food insecurity and requiring urgent life-saving food assistance and livelihood support continues to grow at an alarming rate. This makes it more urgent than ever to tackle the root causes of food crises rather than just responding after they occur. This is a key takeaway from an annual report launched on 4 May 2022 by the Global Network Against Food Crises (GNAFC) – an international alliance of the United Nations, the European Union, governmental and non-governmental agencies working to tackle food crises together. The report focuses on those countries and territories where the magnitude and severity of the food crisis exceed the local resources and capacities. In these situations, the mobilization of the international community is necessary.
Engaging Communities for Biodiversity Conservation: Education for Sustainable Development Projects from the Global RCE Network (UNU-IAS)
https://collections.unu.edu/eserv/UNU:8736/Engaging_Communities_for_Biodiversity_Conservation_Double.pdf
A new publication highlights innovative biodiversity education projects aimed at engaging local communities in the protection and restoration of ecosystems, species, and habitats. Bridging formal and informal education, the projects involved a variety of stakeholders at the local and regional levels, and focused on SDG 14 (life below water) and SDG 15 (life on land). They were developed by Regional Centres of Expertise on Education for Sustainable Development (RCEs) as part of the Global Action Programme (GAP) on Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) from 2015-2019. The publication, features 12 case studies from around the world, addressing land use change, fragmentation of habitats, habitat rehabilitation, conservation of vascular plant species, and restoration of mangrove ecosystems, among others. It provides recommendations for developing and scaling up activities to protect regional ecosystems and biodiversity based on the experiences of the RCEs, and highlights the transformative role of education to realise sustainable development. The global network of RCEs is dedicated to translating the global agenda of sustainable development into local action. It comprises over 170 RCEs, each of which operates a local multi-stakeholder partnership for ESD. To find out more about the RCE Network, please visit the RCE Portal.
Global Education Monitoring Report 2022
Gender report: Deepening the debate on those still left behind (UNESCO)
https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000381329
In mathematics, the gender gap favouring boys in early grades gradually disappears, according to a new publication by UNESCO’s Global Education Monitoring Report. The report calls for us to think harder about gender inequality and the barriers that still hold girls back from realising their potential. Deepening the debate on those still left behind, an annual UNESCO gender report, analysed data from 120 countries in primary and secondary education to offer a global picture. The findings show that in the early years, boys perform better than girls in mathematics but, this gender gap disappears later. This research confirms that the gender gap in learning has closed even in the poorest countries. And in some countries, the gap is now reversed. For example, by grade 8, the gap is in favour of girls in mathematics by 7 percentage points in Malaysia, by 3 points in Cambodia, by 1.7 points in Congo and by 1.4 points in the Philippines. However, biases and stereotypes are still likely to affect learning outcomes. Even though girls catch up in mathematics in upper primary and secondary education, boys are far more likely to be overrepresented among the highest performers in mathematics in all countries.
Global Land Outlook Second Edition: Land Restoration for Recovery and Resilience (UNCCD)
Report: https://www.unccd.int/resources/global-land-outlook/global-land-outlook-2nd-edition
GLO2 Summary for decision-makers: https://www.unccd.int/resources/global-land-outlook/glo2-summary-decision-makers
The way land resources – soil, water and biodiversity – are currently mismanaged and misused threatens the health and continued survival of many species on Earth, including our own, warns a stark new report from the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD). It also points decision makers to hundreds of practical ways to effect local, national and regional land and ecosystem restoration. UNCCD’s evidence-based flagship Global Land Outlook 2 (GLO2) report, five years in development with 21 partner organizations, and with over 1,000 references, is the most comprehensive consolidation of information on the topic ever assembled. It offers an overview of unprecedented breadth and projects the planetary consequences of three scenarios through 2050: business as usual, restoration of 50 million square km of land, and restoration measures augmented by the conservation of natural areas important for specific ecosystem functions. It also assesses the potential contributions of land restoration investments to climate change mitigation, biodiversity conservation, poverty reduction, human health and other key sustainable development goals.
Global Perspective on Coal Jobs and Managing Labor Transition out of Coal: Key Issues and Policy Responses (World Bank)
https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/37118
To address the increasingly urgent climate crisis, policymakers and experts agree that economies need to transition away from coal, but many economies continue to depend on it. Although the conflict in Ukraine has increased volatility in global energy markets, the urgency of the coal transition remains unchanged. In the past 20 years, coal-based energy production has grown rapidly, driven primarily by rising demand for electricity. The developing world has more than doubled its per capita electricity consumption since 1990, driving up global demand for coal. Because coal remains a major part of economies and communities, transitioning away from it presents many challenges. This new World Bank report, finalized December 2021, reviews these challenges through the lens of five countries. The report explores what impedes coal phase-out in Indonesia, South Africa, and India. It also draws lessons from past transitions in Poland and the United States, which have already experienced extensive mine closures. The report offers recommendations on how governments can prepare for job losses that arise from future mine closure and highlights policies to support workers through the transition period and into alternative employment.
Guidebook on scientific writing with a focus on the water sector (UNESCO / ISC)
https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000380980
Empowerment of youth and young professionals underpins UNESCO Operational Strategy on Youth 2014-2021 which reemphasizes the need to build the capacity of youth through mechanisms such as training, facilitating youth in policy processes and actions as agents of change. One way of doing so is by capacitating young professionals to be actively involved in research; development; innovation; enterprise and partnerships that address water security issues. It is in this context that UNESCO collaborated with the Africa Regional Office of the International Science Council (ISC) to develop a Guidebook on Scientific Writing to empower young water professionals with the art and techniques of writing for peer-reviewed journals. The overarching objective is to help the youth (especially females) to contribute more to the creation and dissemination of knowledge and innovation to support sustainable development most specifically in the domain of water security. The Guidebook captures several topics on scientific writing such as elements of research and scholarship, water security research publication outlets and processes, authorship and submission of water security research manuscripts, guide to scripting various sections of a manuscript and language, formatting and visualization tools, and many others. This Guidebook is timely. Young professionals would find it useful in their quest to becoming researchers and knowledge disseminators on water-related subject areas.
ILO Live – International Labour Organization’s new 24/7 video streaming platform
https://live.ilo.org/
ILO Live hosts broadcast events and on demand video on the world of work and launches with a new live World of Work Show. The Show features a mix of interviews and videos on key work related issues.
Implications of the War in Ukraine for the Global Economy (World Bank)
https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/37372
The war in Ukraine is causing an enormous humanitarian crisis. More than 12 million people are estimated to have been displaced and more than 13 million need urgent humanitarian assistance. Ukraine’s economy is being devastated. Trauma suffered by the population will have enduring consequences. The war is triggering global ripple effects through multiple channels, including commodity markets, trade, financial flows, displaced people, and market confidence. In the surrounding region, a large wave of refugees will put pressure on basic services. The damage to Russia’s economy will weigh on remittance flows to many neighboring countries. Disruptions to regional supply chains and financial networks, as well as heightened investor risk perceptions, will weaken regional growth.
The Impact of the War in Ukraine on Global Trade and Investment (World Bank)
https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/37359
The war in Ukraine is a human tragedy for the people of Ukraine, but its economic implications are global. This instant report focuses on the direct impact of the war on world trade and investment. It identifies five trade and investment channels through which countries will be affected by the war in Ukraine. These encompass disruptions to: (i) commodity markets (especially food and energy), (ii) logistic networks, (iii) supply chains, (iv) foreign direct investment, (v) specific sectors. The report finds that world trade will drop by 1 percent, lowering global GDP by 0.7 percent and GDP of low-income countries by 1 percent. Beyond these direct effects, the war’s long-term implications for global trade and investment will largely depend on how governments respond to the changing geopolitical environment.
Land Use Finance Impact Hub (UNEP)
https://landuseimpacthub.com/en
Positive Impact Indicators Directory (UNEP)
https://landuseimpacthub.com/en/kpis
Financial institutions around the world can now measure the positive impact of their investments into biodiversity conversation, adaptation, mitigation, forest protection and sustainable livelihoods with the help of a new indicator directory and resources platform, launched on 6 April 2022. The hub has been developed with and for impact funds and sustainably focused financial institutions, and aims to support the rollout of effective industry frameworks to track the environmental and social impacts of land-use investments. To successfully tackle the triple planetary crisis of climate change, nature loss and pollution, leaders are calling for the world to become not only net zero, but also nature positive, for the benefit of both people and planet. This represents a real paradigm shift with the economic imperative to not only minimize impact, but also restore ecosystems. Banks and investors are waking up to this urgent need, and are looking for guidance and practical solutions to help drive nature positive land-use investments. The new tool will enable implementation of the policy efforts across the finance industry and encourage capital flows into nature positive assets and activities. Strong impact-measurement frameworks are key to driving public and private investor confidence, attracting diverse sources of concessional finance and mainstreaming private capital across biodiversity conservation, climate adaptation, climate mitigation, forest protection, and sustainable livelihoods. They align with a global focus on nature-based solutions, based on the newly adopted resolution at the 5th UN Environment Assembly.
Leave no child behind: Global report on boys’ disengagement from education (UNESCO)
Report in English: https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000381105
Executive Summary in English, French & Spanish: https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000381106
Globally only 88 men are enrolled in tertiary education for every 100 women. In 73 countries, fewer boys than girls are enrolled in upper-secondary education, while the opposite is the case in 48 countries. These UNESCO data highlight a global phenomenon: child labour and poverty, among other factors, prevent boys from engaging fully with learning and contribute to repetition and dropout. In some countries, the signs that boys are falling behind in education already appear at the end of the first level. In 57 countries with data, boys aged 10 performed worse than girls in mastering reading skills and adolescent boys continued to lag behind girls in reading skills at the secondary level. This trend is seen across East Asia and the Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean, and the Arab States, which show some of the highest risk of boys dropping out of school. The UNESCO report also reveals that only a few programmes and initiatives address the phenomenon of boys’ disengagement from education. It provides a set of concrete recommendations to prevent boys’ dropout, make learning safe and inclusive, invest in better data and evidence, build and finance equitable education systems, and promote integrated and coordinated approaches to improve education for all learners.
Local Government Finance is Development Finance (UNCDF)
https://www.uncdf.org/article/7589/local-government-finance-is-development-finance
This book highlights the partnership, policy and investment agenda of UNCDF in sub – national finance. The book expands on, and provides context to, the approved 2022 – 2025 UNCDF Strategic Framework and its vision for the flagship area of Local Transformative Finance. The publication draws from years of debate and research and your own input is highly valued. The book highlights our common endeavour to build a financial ecosystem that works for cities and local communities in the shared belief that this is the investment agenda to accelerate the transition to planetary health and a liveable planet. The book argues that the current arrangements are not fit for purpose given the triple challenges of productive livelihoods, urbanisation, and climate change and proposes reforms to the financial architecture and investment agenda. It is presented as a contribution to the debate and represents the views of the authors and not the United Nations.
Present and future of work in the LDCs (ILO)
English: https://www.ilo.org/global/topics/ldc/publications/WCMS_844023/lang–en/index.htm
French: https://www.ilo.org/global/topics/ldc/publications/WCMS_844024/lang–fr/index.htm
Economic and social progress in Least Developed Countries (LDCs) have been slowed by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change and the continuing energy and food crises. According to this report by the International Labour Organization (ILO), most LDCs responded rapidly to the pandemic by implementing a wide range of support packages, despite widening financial gaps and limited fiscal space. However, structural weaknesses have rendered them more vulnerable to the current multiple shocks and will be further exacerbated if the LDCs do not fully participate in the global recovery. The report presents an overview of the progress and the structural challenges faced by LDCs in terms of structural transformation, a just transition to greener economies and the creation of full and productive employment and decent work. It covers current trends in production, productivity, employment and decent work, as well as the role of social protection and institutions of work.
Sand and Sustainability: 10 strategic recommendations to avert a crisis (UNEP)
https://www.unep.org/resources/report/sand-and-sustainability-10-strategic-recommendations-avert-crisis
50 billion tons: enough to build a wall 27 metres wide and 27 metres high around planet Earth. This is the volume of sand and gravel used each year, making it the second most used resource worldwide after water. Given our dependency on it, sand must be recognised as a strategic resource and its extraction and use needs to be rethought, finds a new report by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). The report, released on 26 April 2022 by UNEP’s GRID-Geneva team, provides the necessary guidance gathered from world experts to switch to improved practices for the resource’s extraction and management. Extracting sand where it plays an active role, such as rivers, and coastal or marine ecosystems, can lead to erosion, salination of aquifers, loss of protection against storm surges and impacts on biodiversity, which pose a threat to livelihoods through, among other things, water supply, food production, fisheries, or to the tourism industry. According to the report’s authors, sand must be recognised as a strategic resource, not only as a material for construction, but also for its multiple roles in the environment. They stress that governments, industries and consumers should price sand in a way that recognises its true social and environmental value. For example, keeping sand on coasts may be the most cost-effective strategy for adapting to climate change due to how it protects against storm surges and impacts from sea level rise – such services should be factored into its value. An international standard on how sand is extracted from the marine environment should also be developed, the report proposes. This could bring about dramatic improvements as most marine dredging is done through public tenders open to international companies. Meanwhile, the report recommends that the extraction of sand from beaches be banned due to its importance for coastal resilience, the environment and the economy.
A Scientific Assessment of the Third Pole (UNEP)
https://www.unep.org/resources/report/scientific-assessment-third-pole-environment
The glacier-capped mountains of South Asia, which provide billions of people with drinking water, are warming at an alarming rate, finds a new report from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). The region, known as the Third Pole for the massive amount of ice it contains, has been warming at almost twice the global mean. While the area is getting wetter for now, experts fear that in the decades to come, the retreat of glaciers may lead to water shortages across South and East Asia. The Third Pole covers over 5 million square kilometres and stretches from Afghanistan in the west to China in the east. It includes the Pamir-Hindu Kush, the Himalayan, the Hengduan, the Tienshan and Qilian mountain ranges. The Third Pole has around 100,000 square kilometres of glaciers and feeds more than ten river systems and 12,000 lakes. It is named The Third Pole as it is the largest store of frozen water after the North and South poles. It is also known as the ‘Asian Water Tower’ as it provides water to over 2 billion people or 30 per cent of the world’s population.
Silver Hues: Building Age-Ready Cities (World Bank)
https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/37259
The world is aging and becoming increasingly urban. For the first time, there are more older persons than children under five, and unprecedented challenges, from extreme weather events to continued conflict and violence are driving more people to cities for livelihoods, to be closer to family, have access to essential services and simply to enjoy their golden years. How can we ensure cities welcome and nurture a diverse population – older and younger persons alike – in ways that are sustainable, inclusive, and equitable for all? This report suggests that proactively thinking about and investing intentionally in planning and designing cities can aid their transformation toward age-readiness, and that a good starting point for cities and towns to make progress toward age-readiness is to focus on the following areas: Universal design, Housing solutions, Creating multigenerational spaces, Better transportation, Technology, Efficient spatial forms, Inclusion and progress toward age-readiness. Planning for an aging city makes both economic and social sense. It underscores that older persons are a diverse, growing demographic, whose members are active and productive members of their social and political environments. They are essential for the social fabric of society and have the power to pass on cultural and social history and heritage to younger generations. The report acknowledges the unique role older persons play in society and underscores the need for policymakers to intentionally invest in the availability, affordability, and accessibility of infrastructure and services to make their cities age-ready. Aging is a predictable reality. It should also be an enjoyable, healthy, and inclusive one. The World Bank aims to work with cities and countries to make age-readiness possible for all.
The State of the World’s Forests 2022: Forest pathways for green recovery and building inclusive, resilient and sustainable economies (FAO)
Digital report in English: https://www.fao.org/3/cb9360en/online/cb9360en.html
Full report in English: https://www.fao.org/documents/card/en/c/cb9360en
Brief in English, French & Spanish: https://www.fao.org/documents/card/en/c/cb9363en
Against the backdrop of the Glasgow Leaders’ Declaration on Forests and Land Use and the pledge of 140 countries to eliminate forest loss by 2030 and to support restoration and sustainable forestry, the 2022 edition of The State of the World’s Forests (SOFO) explores the potential of three forest pathways for achieving green recovery and tackling multidimensional planetary crises, including climate change and biodiversity loss. The three interrelated pathways are halting deforestation and maintaining forests; restoring degraded lands and expanding agroforestry; and sustainably using forests and building green value chains. The balanced, simultaneous pursuit of these pathways can generate sustainable economic and social benefits for countries and their rural communities, help sustainably meet increasing global demand for materials, and address environmental challenges. The State of the World’s Forests 2022 presents evidence on the feasibility and value of these pathways and outlines initial steps that could be taken to further pursue them. There is no time to lose – action is needed now to keep the global temperature increase below 1.5 °C, reduce the risk of future pandemics, ensure food security and nutrition for all, eliminate poverty, conserve the planet’s biodiversity and offer young people hope of a better world and a better future for all.
Trade in Knowledge: Intellectual Property, Trade and Development in a Transformed Global Economy (WTO)
https://www.wto.org/english/res_e/publications_e/tradeinknowledgepub22_e.htm
Technological change has transformed the ways knowledge is developed and shared internationally. Accordingly, in the quarter-century since the WTO was established, and since its Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights came into force, both the knowledge dimension of trade and the functioning of the IP system have been radically transformed. This publication offers a fresh understanding of what it means to trade in knowledge in today’s technological and commercial environment.
Wildcheck: Assessing the risks and opportunities of trade in wild plant ingredients (FAO)
https://www.fao.org/publications/card/en/c/CB9267EN
You may not realize it, but numerous products made with vulnerable wild plants are probably scattered around your home. A wander through the kitchen may reveal Brazil nuts in your cupboard, gum arabic in your soda and liquorice in your herbal tea. Your bathroom may have lotions containing shea butter or skincare products made with baobab or argan oil. Frankincense or jatamansi may be found on the bedroom’s table, as an ingredient in your perfume. A new report published on 22 April 2022 by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) sheds light on twelve flagship species – the so-called “wild dozen” – that are hidden in our everyday products. Developed in collaboration with TRAFFIC, a non-governmental organisation working globally on trade in wild animals and plants, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature, it aims to raise awareness about the sustainable use of wild-harvested plants. Launched to coincide with this year’s celebration of Earth Day, it comes amid a surge in global demand for wild plant ingredients (an increase of more than 75 percent in value over the past two decades). Thousands of species are at risk primarily due to habitat loss, as well as other factors such as climate change and over-exploitation. Of the 21 percent of medicinal and aromatic plant species whose vulnerability status has been assessed, nine percent are considered threatened with extinction. About 1 billion of the world’s most vulnerable people are thought to depend on them for their livelihoods.
WTO Research Database on Trade and Gender
https://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/womenandtrade_e/research_database_women_trade_e.htm
The new WTO Research Database on Trade and Gender, launched on 29 April 2022, brings together more than 100 studies on how to make trade work for women, providing support for WTO members’ efforts to integrate gender issues into trade policies and agreements. The global database will be regularly updated as researchers submit more published papers. It is an initiative of the WTO Gender Research Hub, led by the WTO Trade and Gender Unit. The database can be filtered by gender equality issue and by region. It gathers research work by the WTO, other international and regional organizations, institutions in the WTO Chairs Programme, and other members of academia.
International Peace and Security
Concept note for the Security Council open debate on the theme “Conflict-related sexual violence: accountability as prevention – ending cycles of sexual violence in conflict”
English, French & Spanish: http://undocs.org/S/2022/293
The Security Council held a high-level open debate on the theme “Conflict-related sexual violence: accountability as prevention – ending cycles of sexual violence in conflict”, on 13 April 2022. In order to guide the discussions on this topic, the United Kingdom – Security Council President in April 2022 – has prepared this concept note.
Concept note for the Arria-formula meeting on “Conflict and hunger”
English, French & Spanish: https://undocs.org/S/2022/338
The Security Council held an Arria-formula meeting on conflict and hunger, on 21 April 2022. In order to guide the discussions on this topic, Ireland has prepared this concept note.
Concept note for the Arria-formula meeting on “Ensuring accountability for atrocities committed in Ukraine”
English, French & Spanish: https://undocs.org/S/2022/352
Albania and France, in cooperation with Ukraine, organized an Arria-formula meeting of the Security Council on the theme “Ensuring accountability for atrocities committed in Ukraine”, on 27 April 2022. In order to guide the discussions on this topic, Albania and France have prepared this concept note.
The Gender Dimensions of Grave Violations against Children in Armed Conflict (Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict)
https://bit.ly/3MRFSvS
Children living amidst hostilities are facing different risks based on identity factors and this new analysis sheds light on the importance of better understanding the gender dimensions of child rights violations during armed conflict to inform prevention and response strategies. The paper, launched on 5 May 2022 during a high-level event co-sponsored by Malta and the United Kingdom, further stresses the importance of supporting the United Nations and partners on the ground so they have appropriate resources and capacities to analyze grave violations against children through a gender lens. The information gathered in the emphasizes the significance of understanding the interlinked nature of grave violations against children for holistic, age-appropriate and gender-responsive prevention and response. It provides tangible evidence on how children are affected differently by conflict based on their gender and other identity-based characteristics including ethnicity, race, religion, caste, ability, economic status, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression.
Governance and Peacebuilding Framework for Africa 2022-2025 (UNDP)
https://www.africa.undp.org/content/rba/en/home/library/outreach-material/governance-and-peacebuilding-framework-2022-2025.html
The overall goal of the Framework is to achieve transformative change characterized by peoplecentred, human rights based inclusive and participatory governance and peacebuilding systems and strengthened trust and social contract between state and citizens that will contribute to change Africa’s narrative to one of promise, and to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SGDs) and Agenda 2063.
Secretary-General’s Peacebuilding Dashboard
https://bit.ly/3ETCRbq
DPPA’s Peacebuilding Support Office (PBSO) launched on 13 April 2022 its Peacebuilding Funding Dashboard, which was initially proposed in the Secretary-General’s report on Peacebuilding and Sustaining Peace (A/72/707-S/2018/43). The dashboard available through PBSO’s website, contains data from over 900 projects, representing more than $1 billion of investments in peacebuilding since 2015. The Dashboard is an important tool to increase transparency in investments in building and sustaining peace. It is interactive, allowing users to sort, filter and visualize peacebuilding investment data as per their specific needs. Through the dashboard, users can easily access detailed data on peacebuilding investments sorted by country or countries; years (2015-2021); peacebuilding priorities; source of funding; contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals; recipient entities, including UN agencies, funds and programmes; or gender marker.
Read more here: https://www.un.org/peacebuilding/content/secretary-general-peacebuilding-funding-dashboard
Human Rights
Addressing the health challenges in immigration detention, and alternatives to detention: a country implementation guide (WHO/Europe)
https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/353569/9789289057929-eng.pdf
This country implementation guide outlines current evidence, knowledge and best practices relating to the health and health challenges of refugees and migrants in immigration detention, as well as alternatives to detention. It highlights key principles and international commitments, summarizes the current status and health challenges and provides practical considerations for addressing the health challenges of refugees and migrants in immigration detention, as well as the implementation of alternatives to detention. Specific areas for intervention include providing comprehensive training for staff, ensuring safeguards, providing psychological support and providing tools to prevent the spread of communicable diseases. The guide also promotes engagement-based alternatives to detention. While the main intended audience is policy-makers across sectors at local, national and regional levels, the guide is also of value for health planners, relevant ministries, international organizations, management of immigration detention facilities and their staff, and researchers.
Flyer: Independent Expert on the effects of foreign debt and other related international financial obligations on human rights
English, French & Spanish: https://www.ohchr.org/en/documents/publications/flyers-independent-expert-effects-foreign-debt-and-other-related
A brief summary of the scope, essential reports, and country visits of the mandate and the means of communication. This flyer has been developed to disseminate the mandate’s content activities and achievements.
Lila.help: new global directory offers a lifeline of support for women and girls who experience violence
https://lila.help/
Launching in April 2022, the Lila.help website directory lists accurate, vetted and safe helplines and local emergency service information for more than 90 countries, and aims to expand to every country and territory. The website was developed by the Global Network of Women’s Shelters (GNWS) with financial and technical support from Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) and UN Women. Lila.help is easily accessible for everyone – a survivor, family or friends, service providers, embassy or tourism staff or anyone looking to find support. Since 20209, GNWS and UN Women have used their global networks to identify qualified and respected national helplines, local shelters, and crisis centres for women experiencing, or at risk of experiencing, violence worldwide.
Humanitarian Affairs
Economic Shocks and Human Trafficking Risks: Evidence from IOM’s Victims of Human Trafficking Database (World Bank)
https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/37261
The report focuses on risk factors that are expected to increase the vulnerability to human trafficking from and within origin countries such as economic shocks, measured by large, discrete changes to export commodity prices and to GDP. It also explores the role that institutions play through enforcing the rule of law, providing access to justice, and implementing anti-trafficking policies, as protective factors that could weaken the link between economic shocks and an increase in human trafficking. The analysis verifies that economic shocks are significant risk factors that increase vulnerability to human trafficking. In origin countries, economic vulnerabilities, especially those caused by global commodity price shocks, are strongly positively correlated with observed cases of trafficking. For instance, the economic shock produced by a typical decrease in export commodity prices is associated with an increase in the number of detected victims of trafficking of around 12 percent. The analysis suggests that good governance institutions and particularly a commitment to the rule of law and access to justice as well as stricter anti-trafficking policies and social assistance can have a limiting effect on the number of observed cases of trafficking following economic shocks.
Global Assessment Report on Disaster Risk Reduction: Our World at Risk – Transforming Governance for a Resilient Future (UNDRR)
https://www.undrr.org/gar2022-our-world-risk
Human activity and behaviour is contributing to an increasing number of disasters across the world, putting millions of lives and every social and economic gain in danger, warns a new UN report. The Global Assessment Report (GAR2022), released by the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) ahead of the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction in May, reveals that between 350 and 500 medium- to large-scale disasters took place every year over the past two decades. The number of disaster events is projected to reach 560 a year – or 1.5 disasters a day – by 2030. The GAR2022 blames these disasters on a broken perception of risk based on “optimism, underestimation and invincibility,” which leads to policy, finance and development decisions that exacerbate existing vulnerabilities and put people in danger. The report found that the implementation of disaster risk reduction strategies, as called for in the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030, had reduced both the number of people impacted and killed by disasters in the last decade. However, the scale and intensity of disasters are increasing, with more people killed or affected by disasters in the last five years than in the previous five.
Nuclear, Chemical and Conventional Weapons Disarmament
Clear Writing Campaign (UNODA)
https://front.un-arm.org/documents/clear-writing-campaign-ebook.pdf
The United Nations supports peace around the world by helping Governments coordinate their efforts to regulate, control, or eliminate various kinds of weapons. That work is crucial to reducing harm from armed violence and finding peaceful solutions to conflict. But it often involves finding common ground on technical and politically contested issues, making effective public communications a challenge. That is why the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (ODA) launched the “ODA Clear Writing Campaign”, a capacity-building initiative to make disarmament issues easier to read and write about. ODA staff kicked off the campaign on 21 February, by releasing a colourful e-guidebook at a virtual event timed to mark International Mother Language Day. The ODA Clear Writing Campaign sprang directly from a March 2021 presentation by the European Commission about its own clear writing programme, launched in 2010. Commission staff shared their experiences with the Secretariat thanks to outreach by the Department for General Assembly and Conference Management.
Newsletter Archive: https://unric.org/en/unric-info-point-library-newsletter-archive