New UN websites & publications
TOPIC OF THE MONTH: Migration
https://dtm.ai.iom.int/
This new DTM AI Data agent is a text-based search tool that allows users to ask questions about displacement trends and receive answers sourced directly from IOM’s displacement database.
Ask Seb turns your questions into clear insights on displacement caseloads, rankings, trends, comparisons and averages, with direct access to the DTM IDP Baseline Visualiser for deeper exploration and filtering by displacement driver.
Every answer is grounded in available data and includes a source citation, so users can verify the information and explore the underlying data. When the data isn’t there, Ask Seb doesn’t invent an answer.
While IOM’s displacement data is publicly available, accessing and analysing it has often required specialised data-handling skills. By introducing a simple, conversational interface, the Displacement Tracking Matrix supports a broader, more inclusive use of displacement information.
FLOW – Annual Migration Flow Estimates by Sex between all Countries since 1960 (IOM)
https://www.iom.int/news/new-global-migration-dataset-offers-unprecedented-view-mobility-trends
Policymakers and researchers seeking to understand how migration is changing globally have long faced a fundamental challenge: while data showing where migrants live are available for over half a century, there has been no comprehensive record of how migration movements between countries have evolved year by year over this period.
The challenge is becoming increasingly urgent as countries respond to demographic change, labour shortages, displacement and other forces shaping human mobility. To help address it, the International Organization for Migration (IOM), with support from the German Government and research partners, has published FLOW, the first global dataset providing annual estimates of migration movements between all countries in the world since 1960.
Published in Nature Scientific Data, the open-access resource provides the most comprehensive historical picture to date of international migration patterns across more than six decades.
https://publications.iom.int/books/migration-governance-indicators-benchmark-report-global-compact-safe-orderly-and-regular
Building on the Migration Governance Indicators and Global Compact for Migration Baseline Report released for the International Migration Review Forum in 2022, this benchmark provides a comprehensive analysis of global, regional and thematic trends based on MGI data across the 23 Global Compact for Migration objectives and their associated core indicators.
Grounded in a systematic mapping of Migration Governance Indicators (MGI) against Global Compact for Migration objectives, the analysis draws on aggregated MGI data from 110 countries that voluntarily completed an MGI review at the local and national levels between 2016 and 2026.
The report also features examples of specific policies and concrete actions undertaken by national and local governments, drawing on local-level MGI reviews conducted since 2018. In addition, it highlights trends and levels of progress observed in countries that have completed subsequent follow-up reviews, offering a longitudinal perspective on migration governance.
https://publications.iom.int/books/world-migration-education-toolkit-2026
The World Migration Education Toolkit is an up-to-date set of resources for educators to teach about migration, migrants and human geography. It draws upon the extensive research and analysis in the World Migration Report series to deliver specialized tools and resources. Divided into two parts, part one addresses the foundational questions in migration studies. Part two explores a range of thematic topics in migration across several modules. The modules are tailored to and accessible for a secondary-level human geography course.
Within each module, the educator will find a set of resources which can be applied within the classroom to spur student learning on the topic.
https://missingmigrants.iom.int/child-deaths
Every year, countless children die along perilous migration routes, yet the scale of these tragedies remains uncertain. Since 2014, IOM’s Missing Migrants Project has documented 4,414 child migrant deaths globally—a figure that minimizes the true death toll of child migrants. The many challenges linked to documenting missing migrants in general mean that IOM’s figures underestimate deaths during migration, and the lack of recovery and identification of remains means that age-disaggregated data is unavailable in the vast majority of documented cases. This two-fold challenge underscores the urgent need to improve the documentation of these deaths. Understanding the dimension of the issue is the first step to protecting children on the move.
This paper describes the current landscape of data on child migrant deaths, explains the challenges inherent in capturing accurate figures, and introduces the potential of mortality records as a vital tool for closing the knowledge gap. Addressing these issues lays the groundwork for stronger, evidence-based responses to one of the most pressing humanitarian concerns of our time.
Further information:
- UNRIC Library Backgrounder – Migration
- UNRIC Library Backgrounder – Refugees and Migrants
- UN Library Vienna – Research Guide – Human trafficking and migrant smuggling
- UNOG Library Conference Primer – Humanitarian Affairs, Refugees and Migration
- ILO Research Guide – International labour migration
- World Bank Group LibGuide – Migration and Development
- UNHCR Refworld Special Feature – Asylum and Migration
- Audiovisual Library of International Law – International Migration Law
UN in General
Investigation into the conditions and circumstances resulting in the tragic death of Dag Hammarskjöld and of the members of the party accompanying him (A/80/815, 18 August 2026)
English, French & Spanish: https://docs.un.org/A/80/815
The Secretary-General has transmitted to the President of the General Assembly the report of the Eminent Person, former Chief Justice of Tanzania, Mr. Mohamed Chande Othman, concerning the investigation into the conditions and circumstances resulting in the tragic death of Dag Hammarskjöld and of the members of the party accompanying him.
see also: Note to Correspondents: on the investigation concerning the death of Dag Hammarskjöld (4 November 2026):
https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/sg/notes-correspondents/2026-11-04/note-correspondents-the-investigation-concerning-the-death-of-dag-hammarskjold
https://www.unwomen.org/en/digital-library/publications/2026/10/poster-women-political-leaders-2026
This poster presents a global snapshot of women’s representation in political executive leadership as of 1 January 2026, covering women Heads of State, Heads of Government, and Cabinet ministers heading ministries. It highlights continuing gender gaps in executive decision-making worldwide.
Globally, 28 countries are led by women Heads of State and/or Government. Women account for just 22.4 per cent of Cabinet ministers worldwide, marking a second consecutive year of decline. Significant regional disparities persist, with all regions falling short of reaching parity.
The data also reveal enduring gender stereotypes in the allocation of ministerial portfolios: women remain concentrated in social sector ministries, such as gender equality, family affairs, and social inclusion, while men continue to dominate over influential portfolios including defence, finance, energy, and home affairs.
Report in English, Summary in English, French, Spanish & German: https://desapublications.un.org/publications/world-social-report-2026-new-economics-social-inclusion-making-transformations-work
Economic, digital and energy transformations are reshaping the world at extraordinary speed. Yet, billions of people remain excluded from the jobs, skills, services, infrastructure and protections they need to benefit from this change, according to The World Social Report 2026: The New Economics of Social Inclusion: Making Transformations Work for All.
The report warns that the cost of leaving people behind is rising. It argues that social inclusion is a productive investment for resilient, sustained and broadly shared transformation.
Biodiversity & Climate Change
Report & Executive Summary: https://wedocs.unep.org/handle/20.500.11822/50093
With global warming set to exceed 1.5°C, adaptation finance falls far short of needs, implementation is constrained by institutional barriers, and losses and damages are mounting, according to this new report from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), released on 4 November 2026.
UNEP’s 2026 Adaptation Gap Report: Ready? Not. finds that expanded, effective and well-financed adaptation will be crucial to reduce risks, strengthen resilience and support more inclusive development. However, international public adaptation finance flows from developed to developing countries are far below estimated needs of US$305 billion annually by 2035. Even if the COP30 aspiration to triple international public finance flows to developing countries by 2035 is achieved, this would only cover 20-29 per cent of what they need to deal with intensifying climate impacts.
https://unu.edu/publication/climate-change-competency-framework-educators-framework
The Climate Change Competency Framework for Educators (C³FE) was developed to translate climate change education (CCE) goals into effective teaching and learning, draws on internationally acclaimed frameworks and identifies needed competencies that are globally relevant yet locally adaptable. The C3FE framework addresses the gaps in the global CCE landscape by covering educators across formal, non-formal and lifelong learning contexts. It provides a coherent, educator-focused structure to build the capacity of educators and to support effective teacher training for quality CCE.
https://unepccc.org/publications/climate-technology-progress-report-2026/
The world must strengthen its understanding of the ocean’s carbon system if it is to safeguard one of the planet’s most important climate allies, according to the UN’s 2026 Climate Technology Progress Report released on 28 October 2026.
The report highlights Ocean Carbon Intelligence, a framework that connects ocean science, monitoring technologies, data infrastructure and analytical tools to improve understanding of ocean carbon dynamics and support evidence-based climate action.
According to the report, the ocean absorbs around 30 per cent of human-induced carbon dioxide emissions and approximately 90 per cent of excess heat generated by climate change. But rising temperatures, acidification, deoxygenation, pollution, and ecosystem degradation are disrupting the ocean processes that enable this critical climate-regulating function.
https://wedocs.unep.org/handle/20.500.11822/50038
The 2026 Emissions Gap Report lays out the cuts to emissions needed (by 2030, 2035 and 2040) to get on a return pathway — finding that the cuts needed are far above what current Nationally Determined Contributions deliver. However, the report finds that it is possible to close this emissions gap — pointing to many successful climate policies that have already delivered real-world emissions cuts and could be scaled up globally to accelerate action.
https://www.ifad.org/en/w/publications/food-systems-under-stress-building-resilience-from-the-first-mile
El Niño could ultimately cost the global economy up to US$11 trillion and will have substantial and long-lasting consequences on food security, warns this new analysis released on 9 November 2026 by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and Türkiye Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry.
The report identifies El Niño as one of many overlapping climate and economic shocks hitting small-scale food producers and rural economies. In 2026 alone, global energy and fertilizer shocks rippled through entire food systems within a single planting season, raising costs from production and processing to transport and distribution, and hitting especially hard the small-scale farmers who produce a third of the world’s food.
https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240124813
Six proven climate and health measures could save 1.6 million lives a year while delivering trillions of dollars in economic and fiscal gains, according to this new World Health Organization (WHO) report released on 4 November 2026.
Scaling up these measures globally, from heat-health warning systems and climate-resilient water, sanitation and hygiene to clean household energy and efficient fossil fuel pricing policies, could generate US$ 3.9 trillion in economic welfare benefits annually, while also helping to cut carbon emissions. They could deliver a further US$ 5.4 trillion a year in fiscal benefits.
The report is the first comprehensive analysis of the economic and fiscal returns from taking six WHO-recommended actions to scale. Together, the findings point to a triple dividend from these climate actions: healthier people, lower emissions, and stronger economies.
https://www.unido.org/sites/default/files/unido-publications/2026-10/The%20industry%E2%80%93biodiversity%20nexus.pdf
The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) launched this new analytical paper on the links between industrial development and biodiversity at the seventeenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP17), held in Yerevan from 19 to 30 October 2026 under the theme “Taking Action for Nature”. The paper highlights how industry can contribute to biodiversity protection through circular economy approaches, sustainable production methods and innovative technologies.
https://www.unhcr.org/media/no-escape-iii-displaced-voices-frontlines-climate-crisis
UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is calling for urgent action to protect millions of refugees and other forcibly displaced people increasingly exposed to devastating climate impacts, warning ahead of UN Climate Change Conference (COP31) in Antalya, Türkiye, that climate finance is failing to reach many of the communities most at risk.
According to UNHCR’s latest report, nearly 90 million forcibly displaced people – three in four globally – are living in countries facing high to extreme exposure to climate-related hazards, including severe droughts, deadly floods and extreme heat. Many have already fled conflict, violence and persecution, only to find themselves facing another crisis in places where resources and opportunities to adapt are severely limited.
https://doi.org/10.4060/ce2114en
This UN report published on 29 October 2026 finds that 252 million hectares (ha) across 149 countries are being restored, creating more than one million green jobs – the largest documented global restoration effort to date.
To reach 2030 commitments, action must rapidly increase with a particular focus on freshwater, marine and coastal ecosystems, and annual restoration finance must more than quadruple. This investment could generate up to an estimated 32 million new jobs worldwide by 2030.
The report is published midway through the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration (2021–2030). It provides the first-ever comprehensive global assessment of progress against commitments to restore around one billion hectares and the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework target to ensure that by 2030, at least 30 per cent of degraded terrestrial, freshwater, marine, and coastal ecosystems are under effective restoration.
https://www.cbd.int/globalreview/report2026
Countries have made significant progress in establishing national commitments to protect and restore nature bu greater ambition and faster implementation is needed to meet the world’s biodiversity targets, according to this United Nations report.
The State of Biodiversity Action report, formally launched by UN Secretary-General António Guterres just ahead of global biodiversity talks in Yerevan, provides the first global assessment of collective progress under the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, adopted in December 2022 with 23 targets to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030 and four long-term goals for 2050.
https://library.wmo.int/idurl/4/69998
The WMO State of the Climate Update 2026 shows that the past 12 years have individually been the warmest on record, with the past four years being the top four. The global average surface temperature for January–September 2026 was about 1.47 °Celsius above the pre-industrial average. This figure is likely to rise through the end of the year because of the warming effect of El Niño, which has been intensifying since August and is expected to be the strongest on record by December.
Earth’s energy imbalance is rising and the earth system is accumulating heat at an accelerating rate. The imbalance reached its highest level since monitoring began, as greenhouse gases trap unprecedented amounts of heat and upset the equilibrium between incoming energy from the sun and outgoing energy. The ocean absorbs 90% of this excess heat and 2026 is on track to be the tenth successive year of record ocean warmth.
Sea level is the highest on record, and sea-surface temperatures hit monthly records during 2026. The long-term retreat of glaciers continues – the annual mass loss of ice in 2025 would have filled five Olympic pools every second of the year. Freshwater storage has been dwindling since 2014.
https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000399795
Launched during the 17th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP17), taking place in Yerevan, Armenia, from 19 to 30 October 2026, the Spanish-language comic book combines illustration, storytelling and scientific research to raise awareness of mangrove conservation, linked to one of UNESCO projects.
How can a story inspire people to protect nature? In Las Visiones del Manglar (available in Spanish), we follow Valentina on a journey of discovery through mangrove ecosystems and the communities that depend on these remarkable coastal forests, highlighting their vital role in sustaining life and the importance of conserving them for future generations.
Economic Growth and Sustainable Development
https://unpartnerships.un.org/publications/2026/ai-and-human-development-convenings-purpose
Reporting on four convenings in Cairo, Mexico City, Xi’an and Rome, held between June and September 2026, this report captures how more than 130 leaders and thinkers from government, science, faith, business, the arts, Indigenous communities and universities, with young people present throughout, answered one question: what does it mean to be human in the age of AI?
AI Ethics and the ILO’s international labour standards system: exploring synergies
https://www.ilo.org/publications/ai-ethics-and-ilo%E2%80%99s-international-labour-standards-system-exploring
This working paper explores the relationship between AI ethics principles and the ILO’s international labour standards, identifying areas of convergence and divergence. It examines how both frameworks can complement and reinforce each other to support the responsible governance of AI in the world of work.
The EU’s Energy Transition and Fuel Price Shocks (IMF Working Paper No. 2026/226)
https://doi.org/10.5089/9798229065108.001
This paper analyzes how achieving Europe’s medium-term greenhouse gas mitigation targets enhances energy security, defined as the cushioning of the adverse macroeconomic impact of oil and gas price shocks. It uses the IMF’s Global Macroeconomic Model of the Energy Transition, which combines a rich set of New-Keynesian features with a detailed representation of fossil fuel use, including granular modelling of the transport and heating sectors. Future oil and gas price shocks are simulated in a scenario where Europe’s mitigation policy agenda has been fully implemented (and mitigation targets are met), and in a hypothetical scenario where mitigation policy has remained constant at the current level of ambition. A comparison shows that the policy agenda substantially dampens future shock transmission. The inflationary impact of both shocks is close to 40 percent larger under constant policies than under the mitigation agenda, and for oil shocks, the output decline is about twice as large. These energy security co-benefits materialize gradually as the economy adjusts to the mitigation agenda, and are shown to depend on ETS2, the new emissions trading system covering transportation and buildings. An additional exercise proxies for merit-order electricity pricing. In these simulations, the mitigation agenda further reduces pass-through from gas price shocks to electricity prices, thereby enhancing the macroeconomic stabilizing effects.
https://www.unwomen.org/en/digital-library/publications/2026/10/from-parenthood-leave-to-childcare-services-building-care-systems-that-work-for-women-families-and-economies
Rising care needs, persistent gender inequalities, and growing labour market pressures make investing in the care economy an urgent policy priority. Drawing on evidence from the World Bank Group’s Women, Business and the Law 2026 report, this joint UN Women and World Bank Group policy paper examines the state of parenthood policies and childcare systems across 190 economies.
It shows that although many countries have strengthened legal frameworks for parenthood policies and childcare services, progress remains uneven and substantial implementation gaps persist. It further shows that limited access to affordable and quality childcare alongside inadequate support for fathers’ caregiving, weak supportive legal frameworks, and insufficient enforcement continue to constrain women’s labour market participation and reinforce unequal caregiving.
https://hdr.undp.org/content/2026-global-multidimensional-poverty-index
The number of people living in multidimensional poverty has risen for the first time since the index was launched in 2010, reaching 1.2 billion, according to the 2026 update of the global Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) published by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI) at the University of Oxford. That is 51.5 million more than in the previous update.
The update reveals that more than half of the 1.2 billion, 617 million, are children, and 83 percent live in rural areas. Yet it also shows that many countries continue to make progress, with some reducing poverty rapidly and at scale. Together, these findings point to both the urgency of renewed action and the possibility of success.
https://unu.edu/publication/governing-critical-minerals-histories-gaps-actions-and-innovative-models
Critical minerals such as lithium, cobalt, nickel, copper, graphite and rare earths are increasingly central to the global economy, underpinning the energy transition, artificial intelligence, digital infrastructure and advanced manufacturing. Yet their governance remains fragmented. As major powers compete to secure access to minerals and processing capacity, emerging rules risk being shaped by geopolitical competition rather than inclusive multilateral cooperation.
The report examines what this changing landscape means for resource-rich producer countries. Drawing on historical experience and models from other areas of global governance, the report examines how rising demand presents both an opportunity and a risk: producer countries could use their resources to support industrialization, economic diversification and greater value creation, or remain concentrated in extraction while higher-value activities take place elsewhere.
https://www.undp.org/publications/no-time-recover-compounding-crises-depleted-fiscal-buffers-and-what-it-means-developing-economies
Higher energy prices, an unprecedented El Niño, and higher borrowing costs could leave millions more in poverty as developing countries struggle to sustain support for households, warned the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in this report published on 11 October 2026.
UNDP’s latest analysis of the global economic impact of the Middle East conflict finds that efforts to protect vulnerable populations in developing countries are weakening as the high cost of cushioning prices for consumers becomes increasingly unsustainable.
https://unu.edu/publication/operationalizing-institutional-vitality-framework-analysis
International organizations are frequently described as being in crisis, obsolete or in need of reform. But such assessments can obscure important differences between institutions – and lead policymakers to prescribe the wrong solutions.
In this policy brief for UNU-CPR’s Global Governance Innovation Platform, Julia Gray, Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Pennsylvania, presents a practical framework for assessing the “institutional vitality” of international organizations. Rather than relying on broad perceptions of institutional success or decline, the framework uses observable indicators of organizational behaviour over time.
Case studies of the World Bank, the transformation of the Organisation for European Economic Co-operation into the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, and Caribbean regional organizations demonstrate how institutions can move between different vitality states. They show that organizations operating under similar constraints can follow markedly different trajectories, and that adaptation may involve changing the nature of institutional outputs rather than simply increasing their volume.
https://doi.org/10.53328/INP26MAG001
Beginning the global COVID-19 vaccine roll-out 100 days after the virus was sequenced could have saved more than 8 million lives by the end of 2021, most of them in lower-middle-income countries, according to modelling evidence brought together in this new Policy Brief from the United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health (UNU-INWEH). The authors argue that fair vaccine-sharing rules should be established before the next pandemic, rather than negotiated during the crisis itself.
Rethinking Zombie Firms: From Volatility to Viability (IMF Working Paper No. 2026/227)
https://doi.org/10.5089/9798229063470.001
The literature characterizes zombie firms as economically unviable companies that continue to operate. This paper proposes that the majority of zombie firms can be viable, with positive continuation value, and arise endogenously from productivity shocks. Drawing on firm-level data covering the universe of Canadian firms and seven European countries (Belgium, France, Greece, Italy, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom), we document five stylized facts: zombie firms are widespread, unprofitable, unproductive, micro-sized, and transitory. We rationalize these findings by building a general equilibrium model of heterogeneous firms that abstracts from the conventional distortions thought to explain zombie firms. We show that standard productivity shocks are sufficient to explain the empirical patterns, and that the volatility of these shocks can be a key determinant of viable zombie firms, generating shares up to 35%. Since this volatility can also raise aggregate productivity and household utility, the presence of zombie firms is not a sufficient condition for lower welfare. Using a model-based definition to distinguish viability, we find limited evidence—around 0.25%—of unviable zombie firms in the data. Our results challenge the prevailing view that persistently weak firms are unviable and suggest that existing zombie firm measures likely capture viable firms.
https://www.undp.org/publications/strengthening-south-south-and-triangular-cooperation-people-and-planet-volume-ii
There is an outsized opportunity to inspire, scale up, and accelerate new South-South and triangular cooperation initiatives for a sustainable and resilient future.
In this second volume of new case studies and solutions, UNDP Nature Hub presents inspiring and pragmatic applications of South-South and triangular cooperation approaches. All examples are being supported by UNDP Nature Pledge, contributing to global transformational shifts supporting the targets and goals of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and aligned to the Sustainable Development Goals.
Each of the examples includes analysis of the thematic focus, countries engaged, cooperation activities, outcomes, and relevant UNDP Moonshots and Nature Pledge shifts. Each example also includes project information, tools and methodologies, and links to further resources.
It has been written for government policymakers and stakeholders from civil society and the private sector at all levels, UN agencies, funding partners, and other international organizations.
Volume 1 is available here: https://www.undp.org/publications/strengthening-south-south-and-triangular-cooperation-people-and-planet
https://u4ssc.itu.int/publications/
The new United for Smart Sustainable Cities (U4SSC) Toolbox for People-Centred Smart Cities in the AI Era, issued by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and UN Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat), gives mayors, city managers and policymakers real-world guidance for deciding how AI can improve public serices, what safeguards are needed, and when the technology should not be used.
U4SSC is releasing 17 publications covering urban AI governance, measurement of people-centred digital transformation, security for digital public infrastructure, city data platforms, anticipatory governance and data-enabled destination management.
https://doi.org/10.54394/00034560
Earnings vary widely across music, film and live performance, while time spent on essential activities such as rehearsals, travel, preparation and post-production is not always consistently recorded or remunerated, according to this new report by the International Labour Organization (ILO). The study also examines how employment arrangements, production economics and technological change interact.
The study looks at recorded music, film, television, live concerts, theatre and festivals. It draws on research, labour market data and consultations with employers’ and workers’ organizations, and highlights how authors, performers, technicians and production teams may spend days preparing before an audience even hears the first note of a concert or sees the first frame of a film.
https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240123397
WHO guidelines on the integrated management of obesity in adolescents
https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240123878
The World Health Organization (WHO) on 7 October 2026 released its first guidelines addressing the sharp rise in obesity among children and adolescents, setting out how health systems and health workers can deliver timely, evidence-based and people-centred care.
The guidelines stress that obesity management should go beyond weight loss and aim to improve health, functioning and well-being. Care should be person-centred, age-appropriate and responsive to the needs of each child and family, ensuring long-term follow-up and continuity.
https://library.wmo.int/idurl/4/69924
The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) have issued a joint report on Weather and Climate Services for Ski Resorts to support the winter sports and tourism industry at a time of rising temperatures and more uncertain snow conditions.
It was produced as part of an ongoing partnership between WMO and FIS to raise awareness of the current and future effects of our changing climate on ecosystems, communities and outdoor activities, based on the latest observations, projections and research. In addition to the full report, there is also a shorter, practical resource guide explaining what types of information are useful and where they can be obtained.
English: https://www.ilo.org/publications/major-publications/women-business-and-management-scaling-success
French: https://www.ilo.org/fr/publications/major-publications/femmes-daffaires-et-femmes-cadres-amplifier-les-reussites
Spanish: https://www.ilo.org/es/publications/major-publications/las-mujeres-en-la-gestion-empresarial-ampliar-los-buenos-resultados
Women are increasingly reaching the highest levels of business leadership, and enterprises report growing benefits from gender equality and diversity. Yet gaps in the management pipeline and a decline in the implementation of enterprise initiatives could make these gains harder to sustain, according to this new report by the International Labour Organization (ILO).
The report finds that women’s representation at the top of enterprises has improved over the past decade. The share of enterprises with a woman board chair rose from 13.1 per cent in 2013 to 30.9 per cent in 2025, while the share with a woman CEO increased from 23.4 per cent to 28.2 per cent over the same period.
https://wedocs.unep.org/items/03eccff8-bc1f-4798-95e5-5224e4a5277a
Young people can play a powerful role in driving change. The “Youth for food, not waste: A facilitation guide for a youth-led month of action on food waste”, developed by UNEP and partners, provides teachers, educators, youth leaders and community facilitators with a practical, ready-to-use resource to help young people understand the value of food and take action to prevent waste. The Guide follows a progressive learning pathway, moving from awareness and reflection to practical action and community advocacy. Through adaptable, hands-on activities, young people can explore the connections between food, culture and identity; measure food waste; develop practical food skills; experiment with creative cooking; explore food systems through citizen science and systems thinking; and inspire change in their homes and communities. Designed for different ages, cultures and learning environments, the Guide can be used in schools, youth programmes, community initiatives and at home, helping facilitators turn food waste awareness into meaningful, practical action.
International Peace and Security
https://peacekeeping.un.org/en/peacekeeping-factsheet
Finding the latest verified peacekeeping figures just got easier. New Peacekeeping factsheets now automatically draw from the UN’s authoritative Peace and Security Data Hub, ensuring that personnel, fatalities, gender and other key mission data published online are updated from the same source once figures are cleared and made available centrally.
The factsheet pages are designed for a broad range of users, including UN staff, field missions, Member States, partners, journalists, researchers, and the public.
This new resource provides access to up-to-date and reliable data drawn from the Peace and Security Data Hub resulting in greater transparency and clearer communication.
https://unpartnerships.un.org/publications/2026/democracy-beyond-elections-handbook-citizens
This updated edition on Citizens’ Assemblies documents emerging approaches and experiences related to deliberative forms of public participation. The first edition of the handbook was developed as part of a project supported by the United Nations Democracy Fund (UNDEF) that examined innovative models of citizen engagement.
This second edition reflects developments in the field since the publication of the original handbook and includes updated information and additional examples from a range of countries and contexts. It seeks to capture evolving practices and lessons emerging from the experience of practitioners and organizations working in this area.
https://www.undp.org/publications/global-landscape-analysis-artificial-intelligence-electoral-administration
Artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly becoming part of electoral administration, creating new opportunities to improve efficiency, accessibility and voter engagement, while raising important questions about governance, institutional readiness and electoral integrity.
This Global Landscape Analysis examines how electoral management bodies (EMBs) are using, preparing for and governing AI. Drawing on a 2026 UNDP survey of 53 EMBs across six regions, alongside experiences and insights shared at the Global Conference on Responsible AI and Elections and desk research, the report provides a global overview of emerging practices, opportunities and challenges.
The publication explores AI applications across electoral functions, institutional readiness, governance, procurement, inclusion, information integrity and cybersecurity. It also features country experiences and considerations for electoral authorities, international partners and technology providers to support the responsible adoption of AI in electoral administration.
https://doi.org/10.37559/SECTEC/2026/AI/08
UNIDIR launched a programme of work in 2024 to establish guidelines for developing, adopting, implementing and reviewing national strategies on AI in security and defence, along with a draft of such guidelines. Based on direct feedback from government representatives and civil society organizations, a literature review and insights collected through UNIDIR’s engagements on AI in security and defence, the project team has reviewed and revised the draft guidelines into the present version.
The revised guidelines, developed by UNIDIR’s Centre of Excellence on AI, Peace and Security, aim to anticipate, capture and dissect the key issues, considerations and needs that each State must address when developing, adopting, implementing and reviewing a national strategy on AI in security and defence.
https://unidir.org/publication/non-state-armed-groups-operating-in-the-climate-environment-conflict-nexus-recent-research-findings-and-policy-responses/
A decade after adelphi’s 2016 report first mapped the links between climate change and non-state armed groups, this discussion paper, co-developed by adelphi and UNIDIR, revisits that analysis in light of a substantially expanded evidence base.
Drawing on recent research, the paper distils how climate change can drive the risks of violent conflict and interact with specific conflict dynamics and armed group decisions. It also documents how poorly designed, siloed interventions can inadvertently deepen grievances and vulnerabilities, and sets out priorities for cross-sectoral, climate- and conflict-sensitive, evidence-based policy responses.
The paper concludes with a proposed joint action agenda to strengthen the evidence base, build more integrated and inclusive responses, and establish the institutional conditions necessary for effective integrated action.
https://www.unwomen.org/en/digital-library/publications/2026/10/recognizing-reproductive-violence-within-the-women-peace-and-security-agenda
The Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda has strengthened international efforts to prevent and respond to conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV). This research paper examines why it must also recognize reproductive violence as a distinct form of gender-based violence and address it across all four WPS pillars: prevention, protection, participation, and relief and recovery.
Drawing on developments in international law and examples from conflict and post-conflict settings, the brief shows how a reproductive violence lens can strengthen prevention and early warning, protection and humanitarian response, women’s participation, and survivor-centred recovery. It calls on Member States, the United Nations, and other actors to name and define reproductive violence in WPS policy and practice, improve documentation and accountability, protect access to reproductive healthcare, address barriers to participation, and provide long-term healthcare and reparations.
https://www.undp.org/asia-pacific/publications/redefining-security-development-circuit-breakers-more-secure-future
Global military expenditure has reached a staggering $2.9 trillion, yet some of the gravest threats facing Asia and the Pacific today cannot be addressed through military deterrence alone. From transnational cyber-scam economies and climate and health-driven shocks to endemic economic insecurity and the erosion of trust in public institutions, the region is grappling with a new era of compounding, multidimensional risks.
The Report suggests that security strategies at global, regional and national levels are largely misaligned with the risks facing the region and need to be revised to address current conditions. It argues that the most significant security threats in the region are development challenges and that investment in human development is one of the most urgent security responses of our time.
https://www.un.org/peacebuilding/en/content/portal-women-justice-and-security
On 29 October2026, the Gender Unit of the Peacebuilding and Peace Support Office (PBPSO), with support from Germany, launched the UN Portal on Women in Justice and Security in collaboration with the Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance (DCAF).
This portal brings together data and practices shared by Member States on women’s participation in police, justice, corrections, military justice and mine action. It shows how women are recruited, retained and promoted in these institutions, and which measures help remove the barriers they face. By sharing experience, countries can learn from one another and turn commitments on women and peace and security into practical results.
https://www.unicef.org/reports/water-under-fire/volume-4
Attacks that cause harm to water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) systems, services and to the people who operate, repair and use them are expanding in type, location and frequency in situations of armed conflict and violence globally.
Following on from Volume 3 of the Water Under Fire series, this report examines where and how such attacks have occurred over the past five years. Drawing on a mixed-methods review of globally available documented information, it identifies and categorizes seven types of attack recorded across 23 countries and territories.
https://doi.org/10.37559/MEAC/26/05
This Managing Exits from Armed Conflict Research into Action report draws on a recent scoping review of mental health and psychosocial support interventions for populations affected by ongoing armed conflict.
The authors reflect on what the available evidence reveals, the challenges of assessing intervention impact in conflict settings, and the extent to which existing approaches respond to different cultural and contextual realities.
The report highlights the potential of local lay leaders and community-based settings to expand access to support amid dwindling resources. It recommends broadening how success is measured beyond clinical symptoms.
The authors emphasize the importance of making interventions more locally grounded, culturally relevant and accessible during ongoing conflict.
Humanitarian Affairs
https://reliefweb.int/report/world/rise-armed-drones-roadmap-and-action-framework-coordinated-action-protect-humanitarian-operations
The Roadmap and Action Framework is a practical mapping of current and emerging activities across the humanitarian, diplomatic, security, civil-military, technical, and policy spheres. It identifies gaps and overlaps and provide a shared reference point for collaboration and action areas. Effective mitigation of dronerelated risks cannot sit with any single actor or constituency and requires broad, sustained input from NGOs, UN agencies, international organisations, governments, militaries, donors, researchers, and the private sector, each bringing different tools, authorities, and perspectives. This roadmap is intended to support that collective effort by making visible what is already underway and signalling where additional leadership, investment, resourcing, or coordination is needed.
Nuclear, Chemical and Conventional Weapons Disarmament
https://unidir.org/publication/electronic-warfare-and-innovations-in-uncrewed-aerial-systems-arms-control-and-disarmament-implications/
The electromagnetic spectrum has become a key enabler of modern military operations. With the increase in the number and types of capabilities that rely on it for communications, navigation, sensing and guidance, the contest to control this domain has become a central and growing aspect of military operations. While not new, “electronic warfare” is now a persistent, distributed and increasingly accessible feature of modern conflicts. It has accelerated a dynamic between measures and countermeasures, whereby developments to disrupt the electromagnetic spectrum are matched by developments that seek to overcome these disruptions.
This publication examines how two core electronic warfare techniques – jamming and spoofing – are driving innovations in the design and use of uncrewed aerial systems, and also considers the implications of this dynamic for disarmament, arms control and international security. As electronic warfare continues to shape the design, deployment and operational use of uncrewed aerial systems, the disarmament and arms control community would benefit from closer and more systematic engagement with this dynamic.
https://doi.org/10.37559/CWP/26/ERC/10
Information disorders – disinformation, misinformation and malinformation – affecting the integrity of information on conventional arms are an underexamined but consequential challenge for arms control, conflict prevention and international security. False or misleading claims about arms and ammunition flows, acquisitions and build-ups could distort perceptions of military capabilities, undermine confidence between States, affect decisions on arms transfers, intensify existing tensions and result in an arms build-up.
The analysis of 146 incidents from 2015–2025 shows that three quarters of the incidents concerned arms flows, while fewer related to acquisitions or military build-ups. The most common incidents involved misrepresented weapons sales, false allegations of arms supplies and incorrect claims about weapons ownership. Small arms, ammunition and missile systems featured most frequently.
Drug Control, Crime Prevention and Counter-terrorism
https://www.unodc.org/documents/human-trafficking/2026/Publications/UNODC_SoM_ResearchBrief.pdf
People may pay anything from USD 20 to USD 25,000 to be smuggled across borders. They often pay the price in hopes of achieving a safer future and a better life, but smuggling can also expose migrants to dangerous journeys, extortion and abuse.
What is less visible is the journey that the money takes. Every payment made to a smuggler sets in motion a complex financial chain involving brokers, suppliers, facilitators, service providers, corrupt officials and, in some cases, money launderers. Understanding how these funds move is key to identifying, disrupting and prosecuting migrant smuggling networks.
This new research brief developed by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) sheds light on the financial mechanisms that sustain migrant smuggling operations and highlights opportunities for law enforcement authorities to follow the money and dismantle criminal networks.
Newsletter Archive: https://unric.org/en/unric-info-point-library-newsletter-archive