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UN in General
The Future We Want: Outcome document adopted at
Rio+20
DPI-NGO Relations Section- new website
The new site
is more user-friendly and aims to attract a more globally diverse clientele. NGOs
are encouraged to explore the new website and to take advantage of all the
opportunities for networking and supporting partnerships it will offer as well
as information on NGO weekly Thursday Briefings, its association and disassociation
processes, communication workshops and orientation programmes, as well as the
premier NGO event, the annual UNDPI/NGO Conference.
Peace and Security
Fukushima Daiichi Status Report - 28 June 2012
(IAEA)
Previously
TEPCO established the "Fukushima Nuclear Accidents Investigation
Committee" and "Nuclear Safety and Quality Assurance Meeting Accident
Investigation Verification Committee". In December 2011 they released an
interim report on the accident. On 20 June 2012 TEPCO announced the release of
the “Fukushima Nuclear Accidents Investigation Report”.
Security Council established pursuant to Security
Council resolution 2048 (2012) concerning Guinea-Bissau
The Security
Council Committee concerning Guinea-Bissau was established on 18 May 2012,
pursuant to resolution 2048 (2012), to oversee the relevant sanctions measures
and to undertake the tasks set out by the Security Council in paragraph 9 of
the same resolution.
UN Conference on the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT), New
York, 2 to 27 July 2012
The first-ever
UN Conference on the Arms Trade Treaty, starting on July 2, aims to agree on
standards to regulate the international arms trade, making it harder for
weapons to be diverted to conflict zones, illegal market and into the hands of
terrorists, warlords, drug traffickers and criminal cartels. It is seen as the
most important initiative ever regarding conventional arms regulation within
the United Nations. A robust arms trade treaty can make a difference for
millions of people confronted with insecurity, deprivation and fear.
Economic & Social
Development
Assessing Progress in Africa towards the Millennium
Development Goals: MDG Report 2012 (AUC / UNECA / AfDB / UNDP-RBA)
Saharan Africa must provide universal access to decent jobs and
social services if it is to achieve decisive development progress, according to
a newly released report on the continent’s progress on global anti-poverty
goals. The report is published annually by the African Union Commission, the
African Development Bank, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and
the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA). This year the report
shows that progress has been made in primary school enrolment, gender parity in
primary school enrolment, the proportion of seats held by women in national
parliament and HIV and AIDS prevalence rates. In spite of this progress, Africa
still faces the challenges of addressing pervasive income inequalities,
creating decent jobs, access to health and sanitation services.
Big Data for Development: Challenges & Opportunities
Since the turn of the century, innovations in technology
and greater affordability of digital devices have presided over the “Industrial
Revolution of Data,” characterised by an explosion in the quantity and
diversity of real-time digital data resulting from the ever-increasing role of
technology in our lives. This paper outlines the opportunities and challenges,
which have guided the UN Global Pulse initiative since its inception in 2009.
Climate change vulnerability and the identification of
least developed countries (CDP
Background Paper No. 15)
This paper reviews the role of climate change
vulnerability in identifying least developed countries (LDCs), and proposes
some refinements in the LDC criteria to better capture vulnerabilities from
natural disasters and in coastal areas.
Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) - new
ly
revamped bilingual website
The launch of
the new website, which offers quick and easy access to essential information on
UNECA and its programmes, is part of the organization’s ongoing efforts to
enhance the quality and availability of information to audience worldwide. The
website harbours over 10,000 pages divided into seven sections: Home; About
ECA; Programmes; Sub-regional Offices; Publications; Meetings and Events; and
Press Releases. Each page provides detailed information on all seven aspects of
the organization’s functioning. New enhancements to the website include: an
improved navigation, cleaner user interface, integration of RSS feeds, email
alerts, social networking page with links to online presence, and integration
of advanced multimedia features.
DESA: Office for ECOSOC Support and Coordination (OESC) – redesigned website
The new and improved site includes news, events and
exciting features, through which both existing users and new visitors can gain
a greater understanding of the Division’s activities and achievements.
Global Economic Prospects: Managing growth in a volatile
world (World Bank)
Economic developments of the past year have been volatile,
punctuated by natural disasters, large swings in investor sentiment, and
periods of relative calm and improving prospects. Output in the second half of
2011, was particularly weak, buffeted by flooding in Thailand, the delayed
impact of earlier policy tightening and a resurgence of financial market and
investor jitters.
The Millennium Development Goals Report 2012
This year’s report highlights several milestones. The
target of reducing extreme poverty by half has been reached five years ahead of
the 2015 deadline, as has the target of halving the proportion of people who
lack dependable access to improved sources of drinking water. Conditions for
more than 200 million people living in slums have been ameliorated—double the
2020 target. Primary school enrolment of girls equaled that of boys, and we
have seen accelerating progress in reducing child and maternal mortality.
Together we will end AIDS (UNAIDS)
Ahead of the 19th International AIDS Conference that will
take place in Washington D.C. from 22-27 July 2012, UNAIDS launched a new
report containing the latest data on numbers of new HIV infections, numbers of
people receiving antiretroviral treatment, AIDS-related deaths and HIV among
children. The report also gives an overview of international and domestic HIV
investments and the need for greater value for money and sustainability.
United Nations Social Development Network (UNSDN)
This new web portal was launched by the Division for
Social Policy and Development (DSPD) of the Department of Economic and Social
Affairs (DSPD/DESA) as a pilot project, aiming to share knowledge and good
practices among social development professionals worldwide on ageing, civil
society, cooperatives, disability, employment, family, indigenous peoples,
poverty, social integration, technology and youth.
World Drug Report 2012 (UNODC)
Illicit drug markets have global dimensions and require
coordinated responses on a comparable scale. In this context, the World Drug
Report aims to improve understanding of the illicit drug problem and contribute
to more international cooperation for countering it. This year's edition begins
with an overview of recent trends and the current situation in terms of
production, trafficking and consumption and the consequences of illicit drug
use in terms of treatment, drug-related diseases and drug-related deaths. The
second chapter presents a long-term perspective: it looks at the main
characteristics of the contemporary drug problem, the ways it has changed over
the last few decades, the driving factors that shaped this evolution, and the
directions it is likely to take in the future.
World Economic and Social Survey 2012: In Search of New Development Finance (DESA)
In its annual report on global development the UN says
that in the midst of difficult financial times many donor countries have cut
back on development assistance. In 2011, for the first time in many years, aid
flows declined in real terms. The United Nations is proposing an international
tax, combined with other innovative financing mechanisms, to raise more than
$400 billion annually for development and global challenges such as fighting
climate change.
Human Rights
Advance report on the global thematic study on
human rights education and training of legal professionals (Report of the Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and
lawyers, Gabriela Knaul - A/HRC/20/20, 20 June 2012)
In the report,
the Special Rapporteur assesses the information received on the structural
elements of current training initiatives on international human rights law. She
considers that the knowledge of judges, magistrates, prosecutors, public
defenders and lawyers and the application of international human rights law at
the domestic level have a direct impact on combating impunity for human rights
violations, enforcing the rule of law, strengthening democracy and ensuring
human rights-based development. The report concludes with a series of initial
recommendations in order to encourage the development and improve the quality
of training activities, as well as their effectiveness. Capacity-building
activities in the sphere of international human
rights law are an important instrument to clear away prejudices against human
rights, and to promote and protect them more effectively.
Strengthening the United Nations human rights treaty body
system: A report by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights -
Navanethem Pillay, June 2012 (OHCHR)
The UN human
rights treaty body system is one of the greatest achievements in the history of
the global struggle for human rights. Using a growing set of tools, this system
provides authoritative guidance on human rights standards, advises on how
treaties apply in specific cases, and informs States parties of what they must
do to ensure that all people enjoy their human rights.
Human Rights (including Office of the United
Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights - OHCHR)
The Corporate Responsibility to Respect Human
Rights: An Interpretive Guide.
(HR/PUB/12/2)
International Law
Mechanism for International Criminal Tribunals (MICT)
A ceremony held in the Tanzanian town of Arusha first week
of July marked the opening of the newest UN entity: the Mechanism for
International Criminal Tribunals (MICT). The Mechanism was established by
Security Council resolution 1966 and will act as a successor institution to the
International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and the
International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) following the completion of
their respective mandates.
Treaty Event: "Strengthening the Rule of Law “ (24-26
September & 1-2 October)
This year's Treaty Event, on the theme of
"Strengthening the Rule of Law," provides an opportunity for Member
States to sign, ratify or accede to multilateral treaties deposited with the UN
Secretary-General. Since 2000, the annual event has proven to be an effective
means for promoting wider participation of States in the multilateral treaty
framework and thereby fostering the rule of law at the international level.
Yearbook
of the International Law Commission 2005, Volume II:
Report of the
Commission to the General Assembly on the work of its fifty-seventh session.
Bulletins, magazines, posters
Nelson Mandela International Day
Take action & inspire change in honour of Nelson Mandela
International Day, 18 July
UN Chronicle. Volume
XLIX, Number 1 & 2, 2012.
“The future we want?”
United Nations Peacekeeping Operations – Fact
Sheet: 30 June 2012 (DPI/1634/Rev.134, July 2012)
United Nations Political and Peacebuilding
Missions – Fact Sheet: 30 June 2012 (DPI/2166/Rev.108,
July 2012)
UNRIC Library Backgrounder: Disarmament
UNRIC Library Backgrounder: Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs) - Selected Online Resources (updated
version)
UN Commemorations
– August 2012
International Day of the World's
Indigenous Peoples (9 August)
International
Youth Day 2012 (12 August)
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