UN Women [to 1 August 2015]
http://www.unwomen.org/news/stories

.
Selected Press Releases
New Gender Alert highlights need to support women and girls in the humanitarian response in Yemen
Date : July 31, 2015
A new Gender Alert emphasizes how essential it is that any needs assessment in Yemen reflect gender in their scope and analysis and are based on accurate sex and age disaggregated data, so that the needs and vulnerabilities of the women, men, girls and boys of the crisis affected population are adequately identified and addressed.

Reaching out to survivors of violence in post-earthquake Nepal
Date : July 29, 2015
With counsellors dealing with rising cases of domestic and sexual violence, UN Women, the Government of Nepal, and partners have set up a multipurpose women’s centre to address trauma and provide psychosocial support.

World Day Against Trafficking in Persons
Date : July 29, 2015
All forms of violence against women and girls, sexual exploitation and trafficking, are serious human rights violations. Evidence shows, every country across the world is affected by human trafficking—as a country of origin, transit or destination for victims.

UNFPA United Nations Population Fund [to 1 August 2015]
http://www.unfpa.org/press/press-release

.
27 July 2015
Press Release
UNFPA helping Pregnant Women Deliver Safely in Yemen
UNITED NATIONS, New York, 27 July 2015—As the United Nations intensifies its humanitarian efforts to respond to the ongoing crisis in Yemen, UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, is working with partners to ensure safe birth for pregnant women and to prevent and respond to gender-based violence.

Among the more than 21 million people affected by the conflict, an estimated 472,000 women are pregnant, of whom nearly 70,000 might experience complications over the next nine months, requiring emergency obstetric care. Pregnant women are more vulnerable in crisis situations due to factors such as movement restrictions and the closure of health facilities.

To meet the needs of these women, UNFPA has sent equipment for emergency obstetric and newborn care to Sana’a, Lahj and Sa’adah. The Fund was also part of the first UN aid convoy of 19 trucks to enter Aden earlier this month, carrying 356.5 metric tonnes of medical equipment, vaccines, cooking supplies and hygiene items, which will benefit more than half a million people…

UNEP United Nations Environment Programme [to 1 August 2015]
http://www.unep.org/newscentre/?doctypeID=1

.
Selected Press Releases
Experts & Policymakers Re-Imagine African Agriculture in Face of Climate Change
65% of Africa’s Land Affected by Degradation; New Approach Essential
Nairobi, 31 July 2015 – Over 1,200 experts, policy makers and participants today adopted the Nairobi Action Agenda on Ecosystem based Adaptation for food security and formed the Ecosystem Based Adaptation for Food Security Assembly (EBAFOSA), which re-imagines a system of agriculture for the continent that would be beneficial both economically and environmentally…

First UN Resolution on Wildlife Trafficking Historic Step Forward, Chief of UN Environment Programme Says
In calling for wildlife crime to be treated as a serious crime, both nationally and across borders, the resolution sends a clear signal to organized criminal networks involved in this illicit trafficking that their time will soon be up.
31/07/2015

UN Report Warns Borneo’s Orangutans Face Severe Threats from Land Cover and Climate Change
An estimated 55,000 Bornean orangutans remain in the wild, split into three distinct subspecies.
29/07/2015

New Lending and Investment Tool Sets Agricultural Supply Chain on Sustainable Path, Reducing Deforestation Threat
New research by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Natural Capital Declaration highlights the critical need to fundamentally strengthen how financial institutions view, address and manage deforestation and degradations risks.
Nairobi, Oxford, 29 July 2015 – A new lending and investment policy tool for financial institutions, unveiled today, aims to reduce the deforestation risk caused by the unsustainable production, trade, processing and retail of soft commodities, especially soy, palm oil and beef.
New research by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Natural Capital Declaration highlights the critical need to fundamentally strengthen how financial institutions view, address and manage deforestation and degradations risks…

UNEP Head Launches New Resource Center for UNEP Live Data Platform
By integrating big data gathered from sensors embedded in smartphones with satellite data, UNEP Live can support governments to tackle climate change and at the same time help cities reduce premature deaths caused by air pollution.

Montreal Protocol Parties Move Closer to Managing Hydrofluorocarbons under Most-Successful Environmental Treaty
HFCs are used in the air conditioning, refrigeration, foam and aerosol sectors as replacements for many ozone-depleting substances (ODSs)
28/07/2015

UNEP and Brazil Launch Research Project to Manage Mercury Risks
The Minamata Convention paves the way for greater international cooperation on mercury pollution and global efforts to remove a serious health and environmental threat from the lives of people across the globe
28/07/2015

UNISDR UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction [to 1 August 2015]
http://www.unisdr.org/archive

.
Selected Press Releases
UN backs disaster resilience plans for hotels in Asia and the Pacific
The head of the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR), Margareta Wahlström, today announced a plan to develop and pilot disaster risk management standards for the hotel industry in Asia and the Pacific, home to 80% of the world’s disaster events.
29 Jul 2015

Knowledge for Life’ – UN launches search for communities good at managing the risk of disasters
The UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR) today launched a search for communities that demonstrate excellence in managing disaster risk in order to draw attention to the importance of local knowledge, traditions and customs in the struggle against extreme weather events, climate change and earthquakes.
28 Jul 2015

UNESCO [to 1 August 2015]
http://en.unesco.org/news

.
Selected Press Releases
31.07.15
At Geneva meeting, UNESCO affirms its commitment to Indigenous Peoples Rights
UNESCO is fully committed to engage with indigenous peoples as a genuine wellspring of knowledge and strength, to help meet the challenges of sustainable development in all areas of its mandate. This was the key message of UNESCO’s special event that was organized at the Palais des Nations in Geneva on 22 July 2015, with the participation of Ms. Victoria Tauli-Corpuz, Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, as one of speakers, as well as experts from UNESCO Secretariat.

The objective of this meeting, held on the margins of the 8th session of the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (EMRIP), was to present an update on the on-going work in the elaboration of UNESCO’s policy on engaging with indigenous peoples and to collect comments and inputs from indigenous peoples’ representatives in the process…

UNODC United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime [to 1 August 2015]
http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/press/allpress.html?ref=f

.
30/07/2015 –
On World Day against Trafficking in Persons, far more still needs to be done to help victims and end impunity for criminals

27/07/2015 –
Statement of the Executive Director of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, Yury Fedotov, on World Hepatitis Day

FAO Food & Agriculture Organization [to 1 August 2015]
http://www.fao.org/news/archive/news-by-date/2015/en/

.
Momentum gathers for international agreement to combat rogue fishing
Some 12 countries have now completed ratification of the Agreement on Port State Measures to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing. The agreement comes into force when 25 countries have deposited their instrument of ratification, known as acceptance of accession
30-07-2015

IFAD International Fund for Agricultural Development [to 1 August 2015]
http://www.ifad.org/media/press/index.htm

.
28 July 15: Niger receives IFAD financing to support family farmers in the regions of Maradi, Tahoua and Zinder

28 July 15: Helping farmers and buyers build mutually beneficial partnerships

ILO International Labour Organization [to 1 August 2015]
http://www.ilo.org/global/lang–en/index.htm

.
World Breastfeeding Week
“Breastfeeding and Work – Let’s Make it Work!”
“Ensuring adequate maternity protection and time and space for breastfeeding at work is not only the right thing to do, it also makes economic sense,” says ILO Director-General Guy Ryder.
Statement | 31 July 2015
The theme of this year’s World Breastfeeding Week “Breastfeeding and Work – Let’s Make it Work! ” highlights the importance of supporting working mothers to breastfeed. I am pleased to endorse this workplace initiative and to align the ILO’s support with that of UNICEF and the WHO.

Breastfeeding is a cornerstone of children’s survival, health, growth and development. Ensuring adequate maternity protection and time and space for breastfeeding at work is not only the right thing to do, it also makes economic sense. Women who have adequate maternity benefits value their employers, leading to job satisfaction and loyalty. Likewise, breastfed children fall sick less often, resulting in fewer days that care givers are absent from work.

Workplace action has a key role in increasing breastfeeding rates.
The International Labour Organization has adopted three maternity protection Conventions that stipulate protective measures for pregnant women and for women who have recently given birth. One hundred countries worldwide now provide at least 14 weeks maternity leave in accordance with the ILO Maternity Protection Convention, 2000 (No. 183) . Additionally, provisions are made in at least 121 countries for breaks, mostly paid, or reductions in daily working hours for nursing mothers…

IMO International Maritime Organization [to 1 August 2015]
http://www.imo.org/en/MediaCentre/PressBriefings/Pages/Home.aspx

.
Funding agreed for Global Maritime Energy Efficiency Partnerships Project (GloMEEP)
27/07/2015
IMO, the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) have signed an agreement to allocate US$2.0 million to a two-year global maritime energy efficiency partnership project, which aims to support increased uptake and implementation of energy-efficiency measures for shipping.

The so-called GloMEEP project, formally designated “Transforming the Global Maritime Transport Industry towards a Low Carbon Future through Improved Energy Efficiency”, will focus in particular on building capacity to implement technical and operational measures in developing countries, where shipping is increasingly concentrated. The aim is to promote a low-carbon maritime sector, in order to minimize the adverse impacts of shipping emissions on climate change, ocean acidification and local air quality…

WIPO World Intellectual Property Organization [to 1 August 2015]
http://www.wipo.int/pressroom/en/

.
WIPO Re:Search Continues Expansion
July 28, 2015
In the first half of 2015, WIPO Re:Search partner BIO Ventures for Global Health (BVGH) brokered 12 new agreements spanning four diseases and involving 17 members from nine countries.

Out of the 89 collaborations established to date, 44 are currently active and four have advanced to the next stage of product development.

Four new “User Members” and one new “Supporter” joined the Consortium in the first six months of the year. Four of these members are located in developing countries, home to most of the people living with neglected tropical diseases, tuberculosis and malaria.

A full round up of activities are found in “Catalyzing Partnerships for Global Health” – the 2015 Partnership Hub Mid-Year Report from BVGH, based in Seattle, Washington, USA…

USAID [to 1 August 2015]
http://www.usaid.gov/news-information/press-releases

.
USAID Provides Additional $65 million for Critical Food Assistance to Syrians
July 31, 2015
The United States Agency for International Development announced today a $65 million contribution through the UN World Food Program (WFP) to allow the organization to continue to reach an estimated 4 million Syrians inside the country and approximately 1.6 million refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey, and Egypt. This contribution will help keep WFP programs operating through November and avert an imminent shutdown.

Large Shipment of Life-Saving Food Assistance Arrives in Yemen
July 31, 2015
USAID food will feed more than one million people
The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) announced the arrival of enough wheat to feed more than one million people for two months in Yemen this morning. The wheat shipment from USAID totals 35,800 tons and is valued at approximately $21 million. It will support the emergency food assistance efforts of the UN World Food Program (WFP).

President Obama Announces Major Progress Through Feed the Future Initiative
July 28, 2015
President Obama today announced that Feed the Future, his signature global hunger and food security initiative, is delivering on his promise to reduce hunger and malnutrition through agricultural development. New data demonstrate that, thanks in part to Feed the Future and other U.S. Government efforts, stunting rates have declined in Ethiopia, Ghana, and parts of Kenya by between 9 and 33 percent in recent years, while areas in Uganda have seen a 16 percent drop in poverty.

DFID [to 1 August 2015]
https://www.gov.uk/government/latest?departments%5B%5D=department-for-international-development

.
UK-IRAQ: CONFLICT, STABILITY AND SECURITY FUND
Updated 30 July 2015 Guidance DFID, FCO, Home Office and MOD

Rapid evidence assessments
Published 28 July 2015 Collection DFID
:: Free trade agreements: rapid evidence assessment
:: Urban finance: rapid evidence assessment
:: Trade facilitation: rapid evidence assessment

ECHO [to 1 August 2015]
http://ec.europa.eu/echo/en/news

.
EU increases humanitarian aid for Burundi refugees
30/07/2015
The European Commission is releasing €4.5 million in humanitarian assistance to help the increasing number of refugees from Burundi that have fled to neighbouring countries. More than 175 000 people, the majority of them women and children…

African Union [to 1 August 2015]
http://www.au.int/en/
[We generally limit coverage to regional and global level initiatives, recognizing that a number of country-level announcements are added each week]

.
Jul.28.2015 – Jul.31.2015 Regional Consultative Meeting for Eastern Africa for the Development and Consolidation of the Common African Position on the World Humanitarian Summit, Istanbul, Turkey 2016

Jul.28.2015  President Obama hails Africa’s development in a historic visit to the African Union Headquarters

Jul.28.2015  U.S. President on historic visit to the African Union

Jul.24.2015 – Sep.15.2015  The African Union is pleased to announce the call for the submission of project proposals under Theme No. 4 of the African Women’s Decade, namely « Education, Science and Technology ».

The African Development Bank Group [to 1 August 2015]
http://www.afdb.org/en/news-and-events/press-releases/
[We generally limit coverage to regional and global level initiatives, recognizing that a number of country-level announcements are added each week]

.
Infrastructure : Africa50, a step change for infrastructure financing and development in Africa
30/07/2015 – Casablanca, Morocco, 29 July 2015 – Africa50, the new and innovative infrastructure investment platform promoted by the African Develop-ment Bank (AfDB) held its Constitutive General Assembly on the 29th of July 2015 in Casablanca, Morocco. Twenty (20) African countries and the AfDB have subscribed for an initial aggregate amount of USD 830 million in share capital.

ASEAN Association of Southeast Asian Nations [to 1 August 2015]
http://www.asean.org/news
[We generally limit coverage to regional and global level initiatives, recognizing that a number of country-level announcements are added each week]

.
ASEAN Prepares Future Leaders in Disaster Management
KUALA LUMPUR, 31 July 2015 –The ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance on disaster management (the AHA Centre) has officially concluded the second batch of its signature programme – the AHA Centre Executive Programme (ACE Programme) today in Kuala Lumpur. Sixteen disaster management officers from ASEAN Member States’ National Disaster Management Offices (NDMOs) from Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Thailand and Viet Nam have successfully completed the six-month training with satisfactory performance.

European Union [to 1 August 2015]
http://europa.eu/newsroom/index_en.htm
[We generally limit coverage to regional and global level initiatives]

.
EIGE launches Gender Equality Index 2015: Marginal improvements in gender equality
Justice and citizens rights | 01/08/2015 14:50 | European Institute for Gender Equality

Spring 2015 Standard Eurobarometer : Citizens see immigration as top challenge for EU to tackle
31/07/2015 12:00 | European Commission

EU increases humanitarian aid for Burundi refugees
30/07/2015 12:00 | European Commission

Organization of American States (OAS) [to 1 August 2015]
http://www.oas.org/en/media_center/press_releases.asp
.
S-031/15
July 30, 2015
Human Trafficking, the Slavery of the 21st Century [op-ed]

E-212
July 29, 2015
OAS Proposes Mechanisms for Dominican Republic-Haiti Dialogue and Support for Displaced Persons

S-030/15
July 29, 2015
REPORT OF THE TECHNICAL FACT-FINDING MISSION ON THE SITUATION IN THE BORDER REGION BETWEEN THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC AND HAITI