Heat, Light and Power for Refugees :: Saving Lives, Reducing Costs
Chatham House Report for the Moving Energy Initiative
Glada Lahn and Owen Grafham
The Royal Institute of International Affairs, November 2015 :: 69 pages
Pdf: http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/hjwiCccQzeCTrGfICidafWBVLwrN

Foreward by Kofi Annan
There are now 60 million forcibly displaced people on our planet – more than the population of Australia and Canada combined. They include refugees, asylum-seekers and internally displaced persons (IDPs).

This numbing figure is likely to increase further unless concerted action is taken to address the root causes of violent conflict. At a time when the humanitarian system is overstretched and underfunded, nothing could be more urgent.

In the meantime, the imperative is to find humane, creative and cost-effective ways to respond to the needs of so many individuals, most of whom are women and children.
Improving access to clean, safe and sustainable energy offers a promising way forward.

Everybody needs energy services for light, heat, cooling, communication and mobility. However, as the MEI highlights, the costs of energy access and provision are unnecessarily high, whether measured in terms of finance, the environment, health or security.

Entrepreneurship and amazing advances in technology are not being used systematically to respond to the needs of uprooted people or the communities that host them.
Getting this right could yield significant benefits for humanitarian organizations, host authorities and governments and above all for the livelihoods and ignity of the forcibly displaced.

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Executive Summary [initial text]
Displacement of people as a result of conflict is not a new phenomenon – but today it represents an unprecedented global challenge. The gap between the needs of growing
numbers of displaced people and the resources and political will to meet their needs is widening. For example, voluntary contributions met less than half the $3.05 billion increase in the UNHCR’s funding requirement between 2009 and 2013.

Energy is one critical area which illustrates this problem but also offers potential for practical redress. Energy services are essential for basic human protection and dignity, two of the core ethical aims of humanitarian assistance. Energy services provide cooking, lighting, heating and clean water, and underpin all but the most rudimentary income-earning activities. Yet millions of displaced people lack access to clean, safe and secure energy services, in part because funding for such services is inadequate. The lack of reliable data on energy use in the humanitarian field shows that it is a neglected area. But the evidence amassed in the course of this project reveals a huge opportunity to provide better and more sustainable energy services.

Drawing on open-source data, interviews and field surveys, this report offers the first global overview of the state of energy use among almost 60 million people forcibly displaced by conflict. It considers the mounting financial and human costs of their current methods of obtaining energy, and assesses the economic, environmental and human case for change…

Google and FAO partner to make remote sensing data more efficient and accessible
Partnership enhances ability to assess changing forest and to estimate greenhouse gas emissions

1 December, Paris – Google Maps and FAO have agreed to work closely together to make geospatial tracking and mapping products more accessible, providing a high-technology assist to countries tackling climate change and much greater capacity to experts developing forest and land-use policies.

Digital technology tapping into satellite imagery is revolutionizing the way countries can assess, monitor and plan the use of their natural resources, including monitoring deforestation and desertification…

…The three-year partnership between Google Maps and FAO is designed to foster innovation and expertise and sharply broaden access to easy-to-use digital tools. It ushers in a major ramping up of existing collaboration between the two organizations and will boost the visibility and implementation of efforts to encourage sustainable environmental practices around the world.

“This partnership is powerful because it unites the complementary strengths of UN FAO and Google,” said Rebecca Moore, Director, Google Earth, Earth Engine & Earth Outreach. “FAO has decades of hard-won experience working on the ground in hundreds of countries on thousands of projects. Meanwhile, Google technology is at the cutting edge of big data, cloud computing, and transformatively-simple mapping tools. The FAO Collect Earth application brilliantly builds on top of Google Earth and Earth Engine to provide a simple but powerful global and national forest carbon monitoring tool, empowering countries as diverse as Chile, Panama, Namibia, Papua New Guinea, Tunisia and Bhutan. We look forward to further strengthening this partnership in support of global climate action and sustainable development.”

Concretely, Google Maps will provide 1,200 trusted tester credentials on Google Earth Engine to FAO staff and partners, while also providing training and receiving feedback on users’ needs and experiences.

FAO will train its own staff and technical experts in member countries, upon their requests,, to use free and open source software tools developed within its Open Foris Initiative and using Google technology, for example Earth Engine.

The partnership foresees sharing knowledge and identifying needs that will broaden the kind of satellite data collected, broadening the focus to monitoring drylands and agricultural crop productivity…

Commitment to Development Index 2015
Center for Global Development
Petra Krylováa and Owen Barder
12/4/15
The Commitment to Development Index ranks 27 of the world’s richest countries on policies that affect the more than five billion people living in poorer nations. Those policies extend well beyond giving foreign aid, which is just one of seven components on the CDI: Aid; Finance; Technology; Environment; Trade; Security; Migration

The Index gives credit for generous and high-quality aid, financial transparency and incentives for foreign direct investment, robust support for technological research and development, policies that protect the environment, open and fair trade policies, contributions to global security, and open immigration policies. Scores are reduced for barriers to imports from developing countries, selling arms to poor and undemocratic nations, barriers to sharing technology, and policies that harm shared environmental resources.

Visit cgdev.org/cdi to explore the Commitment to Development Index, view additional publications and background papers, and dive deeper into the CDI methodology, data, and code.

United Nations – Secretary General, Security Council, General Assembly  [to 5 December 2015]
http://www.un.org/en/unpress/
Selected Press Releases/Meetings Coverage

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4 December 2015
SG/SM/17387-HR/5279-OBV/1564
Secretary-General, in Message for Human Rights Day, Urges Concerted Global Action to Protect, Promote Fundamental Freedoms, Birthright of All Peoples

4 December 2015
SG/SM/17388-ENV/DEV/1609
Secretary-General Calls New Report of Climate Finance Leadership Alliance ‘Launch Pad’ for Future Cities’ ‘True Transformation’
Following are UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s opening remarks, as prepared for delivery, at the launch of the Cities Climate Finance Leadership Alliance report on “State of City Climate Finance”, in Paris.

3 December 2015
SG/SM/17385-HR/5278-OBV/1563
Secretary-General Stresses Need to Account for ‘Unconsidered and Unheard’ Needs of Persons with ‘Invisible’ Disabilities, at International Day Observance
Following are UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s remarks at the opening ceremony of the observance of the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, in New York.

3 December 2015
SG/A/1616*-BIO/4794*-ENV/DEV/1607
Secretary-General Appoints David Nabarro of United Kingdom Special Adviser on 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today announced the appointment of David Nabarro of the United Kingdom as Special Adviser on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The Special Adviser will work with Member States and other relevant stakeholders to galvanize action on implementation of the Agenda, while also overseeing the Secretary-General’s special initiatives, for example, “Every Woman Every Child”.

3 December 2015
GA/11734
General Assembly Adopts without Vote Two Resolutions Calling for Concerted Global Efforts to Advance Culture of Peace, Non-Violence, Tolerance
Confronting an increasingly polarized world where religious intolerance, discrimination, xenophobia, conflict and the emergence of new extremist ideologies abounded, the General Assembly today adopted, without a vote, two resolutions that stressed the advancement of a culture of peace and non-violence based on education, tolerance, dialogue and cooperation.

1 December 2015
SG/A/1614*-BIO/4792*-HR/5277
Secretary-General Appoints Kate Gilmore of Australia As Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today announced the appointment of Kate Gilmore of Australia as Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights. She will succeed Flavia Pansieri of Italy, to whom the Secretary-General and the High Commissioner for Human Rights are grateful for her dedicated service to the United Nations human rights programme during the past three years, following a long and distinguished career in the United Nations system around the world.

1 December 2015
SG/SM/17379-HR/5276-OBV/1560
Use 2030 Agenda as Road Map to Free World’s Enslaved People, Secretary-General Says, in Message Marking International Day for Abolition of Slavery

SRSG/CAAC Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict [to 5 December 2015]
https://childrenandarmedconflict.un.org/virtual-library/press-release-archive/

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02 Dec 2015
Iraq: Report Describes Conflict with Dramatic Consequences for Children
New York – Iraq has been engulfed in a wave of violence with dramatic consequences for children, states the second report of the Secretary-General on children and armed conflict in Iraq, covering the period from 1 January 2011 to 30 June 2015.

Killing and maiming, acts of extreme violence, the abduction of close to 1,400 boys and girls, recurrent attacks on schools and hospitals, the recruitment and use of children and sexual violence used as a tactic of war by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), are a few examples of the grim reality faced by the children of Iraq.

“The lives of boys and girls have been deeply affected by the deteriorating security situation in Iraq. The Government of Iraq faces tremendous challenges to protect the country’s children, who urgently need to be shielded from this brutal conflict,” said Leila Zerrougui, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict.

High number of child casualties
Despite limited access for monitoring and reporting due to the volatile security situation, the United Nations documented more than 3,000 child casualties, making killing and maiming the violation that affected children the most.

Attacks using tactics of extreme violence, allegedly perpetrated by Al-Qaeda in Iraq, Islamic State in Iraq, ISIL, account for more than half of all documented child casualties. From 2011 to 2013, most child casualties were the result of improvised explosive devices…

UN OCHA [to 5 December 2015]
http://www.unocha.org/media-resources/press-releases
[We generally do not include OCHA Flash Updates on humanitarian crises in this digest]

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04 Dec 2015
Central African Republic: Statement by the Humanitarian Coordinator in the Central African Republic, Mr. Aurélien A. Agbénonci, 4 December 2015
Source: UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs Country: Central African Republic (Bangui, 4 December 2015): The Humanitarian Coordinator in the Central African Republic, Mr. Aurélien A. Agbénonci strongly condemns attack on internally displaced site in Ngakobo, which resulted in the death of 8 civilians. One of the U.N. peacekeepers defending the site was wounded. Armed men attacked the IDP site, 60 km south of Bambari on 3 December…

30 Nov 2015
Iraq: Deputy UN Relief Chief Kyung-Wha Kang Says Iraqi Humanitarian Crisis Deserves Much More Attention
Source: UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs Country: Iraq (Baghdad/Erbil, 30 November 2015): Kyung-wha Kang, the United Nations Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs visited Baghdad and Erbil to discuss the humanitarian crisis. “The human cost of the crisis is devastating. We are extremely worried that all indicators point to a dramatically worsening situation in the months ahead,” Ms. Kang said. “I spoke with women who had lost virtually everything…

UNICEF [to 5 December 2015]
http://www.unicef.org/media/media_78364.html
Selected press releases

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Closing the gaps in Bulgaria: UNICEF urges greater investment in the youngest and most vulnerable children
SOFIA, Bulgaria, 4 December 2015 –At the conclusion of a three-day visit to Bulgaria, UNICEF Executive Director Anthony Lake commended the government’s commitment to children. He also discussed with the government the importance of prioritizing investments in early childhood development and in reaching the most disadvantaged and marginalized children.

Statement by UNICEF Iraq Representative, Peter Hawkins and UN Special Representative of the Secretary General for Iraq, Ján Kubiš
BAGHDAD, Iraq, 3 December 2015 – The ongoing conflict in Iraq is taking a heavy toll on the country’s most vulnerable citizens – its children.

Germany’s €250 million contribution will reach children in the world’s most volatile conflicts – UNICEF
NEW YORK, 1 December, 2015 – The German Government’s contribution of €250 million this year will reach millions of children caught in conflict, UNICEF said today.

Harsh weather, border restrictions – New blow to children on the move, says UNICEF
GENEVA, 1 December 2015 – Unpredictable border restrictions and harsh weather are compounding the hardships and challenges for refugee and migrant children and women who now account for more than half of all arrivals by sea.

Asia-Pacific region facing a ‘hidden epidemic’ of HIV among adolescents, new report finds
BANGKOK, 30 November – The Asia-Pacific region is facing a ‘hidden epidemic’ of HIV among adolescents. There were an estimated 50,000 new HIV infections among adolescents aged 15-19 in 2014, accounting for 15 per cent of new infections.

Nepal: Serious shortage of essential supplies threatens millions of children this winter – UNICEF
KATHMANDU, Nepal, 30 November 2015 – More than 3 million children under the age of 5 in Nepal are at risk of death or disease during the harsh winter months due to a severe shortage of fuel, food, medicines and vaccines – warns UNICEF

UNHCR Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees [to 5 December 2015]
http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/search?page=&comid=4a0950336&cid=49aea93a7d&scid=49aea93a40

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UNHCR: Bay of Bengal boat movements manageable with regional cooperation
4 December 2015

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UNHCR welcomes the Conclusions of the EU Justice and Home Affairs Council on Statelessness
4 December 2015
The UNHCR Director of the Bureau for Europe, Vincent Cochetel, welcomed the adoption of the first EU Council Conclusions on statelessness, on 4 December 2015, which acknowledge the importance of identifying stateless persons and strengthening their protection.

“By adopting the Conclusions, the Council took a significant step forward towards a comprehensive approach to statelessness in the European Union” said Cochetel “Adopting new statelessness determination procedures and improving the existing ones is instrumental to identify and reduce the number of stateless people, strengthen their protection and eliminate the risk of discrimination against them.”

Among other provisions, the Conclusions invite the European Commission to launch exchanges of good practises among Member States and encourage the active coordination of national contact points, through the European Migration Network. In addition, the Council welcomes the UNHCR 10-year #IBELONG campaign to end statelessness by 2024.
UNHCR estimates that there are more than 600,000 stateless people living in Europe, over 400,000 in the European Union. “In particular, conflict and displacement are placing children at greater risk of statelessness.” added Cochetel “This is due to a combination of factors, including difficulties in acquiring birth certificates, increased family separation, gaps and gender discrimination in nationality laws and inadequate civil registration in countries of birth, including in Europe.”

UNHCR calls on Member States to actively identify and protect stateless persons and those at risk of statelessness, and welcomes the active role of the Luxembourg Presidency of the Council of the European Union in putting statelessness on the EU’s agenda. UNHCR looks forward to continuing working with European institutions in this respect.

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UNHCR concerned by violence at Greek border, calls for improved security
3 December 2015

IOM / International Organization for Migration [to 5 December 2015]
http://www.iom.int/press-room/press-releases
Selected Press Releases

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IOM Begins Canadian Refugee Resettlement Operations in Lebanon
12/04/15
Lebanon – IOM, in collaboration with the Canadian government, UNHCR and partners, today began refugee resettlement operations in Lebanon.

IOM Monitors Greece-FYRoM Border Amid Security Concerns
12/04/15
Greece – The situation at Greece’s border with the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYRoM) is extremely tense.

Better Policies Needed to Help Migrants, IOM Tells Special Meeting in Bangkok
12/04/15
Thailand – “Bad policies are unintentionally subsidizing the smugglers,” says IOM’s Director General William Lacy Swing.

IOM Highlights Needs of Deported Afghan Minors
12/04/15
Afghanistan – Unaccompanied minors make up the largest group of vulnerable Afghans returning from Iran, yet the needs of the children who make this dangerous cross-border journey are often overlooked.

IOM Aids Cyclone-Hit Communities in Socotra, Yemen
12/04/15
Yemen – In the first two weeks of November 2015, two cyclones, Chapala and Megh, made landfall across the southern coast of Yemen. As part of ongoing support to the affected population, IOM provided humanitarian assistance to over 2,000 vulnerable internal displaced families on the island of Socotra.

IOM Helps Stranded Malian Migrants to Leave Libya, Return Home
12/04/15
Mali – On Tuesday (1/12) IOM, in collaboration with the Libyan and Malian authorities, helped 170 stranded Malian migrants, including 20 women and 150 men, to return home from the Libyan capital, Tripoli.

IOM Tanzania Targets Health, Mobility and HIV Prevention on World Aids Day
12/04/15
Tanzania – HIV / AIDS remains a major public health issue around the world and has been responsible for over 35 million deaths to date. Migrants and mobile populations are recognised as being at a high risk of HIV infection as they frequently face marginalisation, exclusion and various barriers to accessing health promotion and care.

IOM Cote d’Ivoire Assesses Counter Trafficking Project on Liberian Border
12/04/15
Côte d’Ivoire – IOM Cote d’Ivoire has led a two-day evaluation mission to the town of San Pedro on the Liberian border as a part of its Akoma counter trafficking project.

IOM, Canada Open Processing Center in Amman, Jordan for Canada-bound Refugees
12/01/15
Jordan – IOM, together with its partners, began the process of registering Syrian refugees slated for resettlement in Canada from Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey.

Children Account for 20% of Maritime Arrivals to Europe in 2015: IOM and UNICEF
12/01/15
Germany – IOM’s Global Migration Data Analysis Centre and UNICEF shows that children make up at least one in five of the 870,000 arrivals to Europe in 2015.

Migrants Should Not be Left Behind in Fight to Eradicate AIDS
12/01/15
Switzerland – With 15 million people already accessing life-saving HIV treatment, UNAIDS estimates that the world is on the fast track to end AIDS.

UK Backs Lifesaving IOM Operations in South Sudan
12/01/15
South Sudan – The United Kingdom has increased its support of IOM’s lifesaving operations for vulnerable populations across South Sudan. Needs remain immense two years into the crisis, with an estimated 1.7 million people internally displaced and millions more in urgent need of assistance.

Cameroon Internal Displacement Tops 158,000
12/01/15
Cameroon – According to the first round of IOM’s Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM), 158,316 people or 27,919 households are now internally displaced in the Far North region of Cameroon.

IOM Senegal, Spain Launch Youth Centre for Entrepreneurship Training
12/01/15
Senegal – A Centre for Training and Assistance to Entrepreneurship was officially launched on Friday 27th November in Guédiawaye, on the outskirts of Dakar, by Senegal’s Director of the National Agency for the Promotion of Youth Employment (ANPEJ).

IOM, Partners Host Workshop to Address Irregular Migration in Southern Africa
12/01/15
South Africa – Following the Migration Dialogue for Southern Africa (MIDSA) Conference held in Zimbabwe in July 2015, IOM, UNHCR, UNODC, UNICEF and Save the Children International yesterday (30/11) jointly launched a regional stakeholder workshop to facilitate technical discussions for the implementation of priority actions identified at the 2015 Ministerial MIDSA.

Singaporean Students Pilot Interactive Counter Trafficking App
12/01/15
Thailand – IOM’s IOM X Campaign, along with its partners USAID, the U.S. Embassy Singapore and Microsoft, yesterday presented the findings from IOM X Connect Singapore – its pilot outreach project aimed at raising public awareness for the issue of human trafficking in Singapore.

UN Women [to 5 December 2015]
http://www.unwomen.org/news/stories
Selected Press Releases

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“Women and girls are essential climate actors” —Lakshmi Puri in Paris
Date: 04 December 2015
Remarks by UN Women Deputy Executive Director Lakshmi Puri at GLOBE International’s annual legislators’ summit dubbed “Towards Coherence and Impact” at the Assemblé Nationale of Paris, 4 December 2015.

Empowering and including women and girls with disabilities
Date: 02 December 2015
Women and girls with disabilities remain at the margins of decision-making and work on gender equality. For too long, the specific needs of women with disabilities have been invisible, both to the advocates of women’s rights and those of disability rights

Statement by UN Women Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka for World AIDS Day
Date: 01 December 2015
In her statement for World AIDS day, UN Women Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka highlights the importance of breaking down barriers that stop women and girls demanding health care services and realizing their rights

UN launches regional programme to eradicate child marriage
Date: 30 November 2015
In Panama City on 24 November, on occasion of the beginning of the 16 days of activism and the commemoration of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, the regional offices of UN Women, UNFPA, UNAIDS, UNICEF and the Pan American Health Organization, presented a new joint programme for the eradication of child marriage.

WHO & Regionals [to 5 December 2015]

Improving the quality of care at birth
4 December 2015 — Worldwide, the majority of maternal and newborn deaths occur around the time of birth, typically within the first 24 hours after childbirth. Most of these deaths are preventable. WHO’s new “Safe Childbirth Checklist and Implementation Guide” targets the major causes of maternal and newborn complications and deaths, including post-partum haemorrhage, infection, obstructed labour, preeclampsia and birth asphyxia.

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First ever global estimates of foodborne diseases
3 December 2015 — Almost one third (30%) of all deaths from foodborne diseases are in children under the age of 5 years, despite the fact that they make up only 9% of the global population. This is among the findings of WHO’s “Estimates of the global burden of foodborne diseases” – the most comprehensive report to date on the impact of contaminated food on health and wellbeing. The report estimates the burden of foodborne diseases caused by 31 agents – bacteria, viruses, parasites, toxins and chemicals.
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Global Alert and Response (GAR) – Disease Outbreak News (DONs)
:: 4 December 2015 Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) – Saudi Arabia
:: 3 December 2015 Zika virus infection – Venezuela
:: 3 December 2015 Zika virus infection – Mexico
:: 3 December 2015 Zika virus infection – Paraguay
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30 November 2015
:: WHO Regional Offices
WHO African Region AFRO
No new digest content identified.

WHO Region of the Americas PAHO
:: The health challenges posed by urbanization must be addressed through cross-sector policies, experts say (12/03/2015)
:: PAHO/WHO and Foreign Medical Teams Examine How to Strengthen Emergency Response to Outbreaks and Disasters (12/01/2015)
:: Data from 17 countries and territories in the Americas point to elimination of mother-to-child transmission of HIV and syphilis (11/30/2015)

WHO South-East Asia Region SEARO
No new digest content identified.

WHO European Region EURO
:: More than 23 million people in the WHO European Region fall ill from unsafe food every year 03-12-2015
:: Papers invited for Public Health Panorama 30-11-2015

WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region EMRO
No new digest content identified.

WHO Western Pacific Region
No new digest content identified.

UNAIDS [to 5 December 2015]
http://www.unaids.org/en/resources/presscentre/

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The Executive Director of UNAIDS commends the President of South Africa for his bold leadership on HIV
02 December 2015 |

UNAIDS Executive Director appoints Tobeka Madiba Zuma, First Lady of South Africa, as UNAIDS Special Advocate
02 December 2015 |

On World AIDS Day 2015, Executive Director of UNAIDS calls on countries to quicken the pace of action
01 December 2015 |

Three new agreements announced with the potential to expand access to innovative HIV treatment in low- and middle-income countries
HARARE/GENEVA, 30 November 2015—The Clinton Health Access Initiative, Inc. (CHAI), UNAIDS, and UNITAID announce today three new agreements that could increase access to more sustainable HIV drug regimens at reduced prices, pending stringent regulatory approval and/or World Health Organization (WHO) pre-qualification.
These agreements have the potential to increase access to state-of-the-art HIV treatment regimens for people living with HIV in low- and middle- income countries. The regimens are expected to be more durable and produce fewer side effects than existing drugs and are included in the revised 2015 WHO consolidated guidelines on the use of antiretroviral drugs for treating and preventing HIV infection…

UNAIDS welcomes release of new guidelines from the World Health Organization on the use of antiretroviral medicines
30 November 2015 |

UNAIDS urges countries across Africa to Fast-Track their response to HIV
30 November 2015 |

UNFPA United Nations Population Fund [to 5 December 2015]
http://www.unfpa.org/press/press-release

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December 2015
Press Release
Essential Health Needs of Women Often Neglected in Assistance after Natural Disasters, Conflicts
UNITED NATIONS, New York, 3 December 2015 –The health needs of women and adolescents are too often neglected in humanitarian response to natural disasters and conflicts around the world…

UNDP United Nations Development Programme [to 5 December 2015]
http://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/presscenter.html
Selected Press Releases

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Nations Unite for Oceans: New GEF Publication Captures 20 Years of Ocean Sustainability Impacts
Dec 4, 2015
This publication highlights how GEF grant funding has been very effective in helping to transform key ocean sectors such as shipping, fisheries and coastal wastewater management, at global, regional and national scales, on a path towards sustainability.

World AIDS Day: record drop in cost of HIV treatment
Nov 30, 2015
Through the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)-Global Fund partnership, the cost of the HIV medicines has dropped to an unprecedented US$100 per person per year in Equatorial Guinea, Haiti, Mali, South Sudan, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

UNDP Administrator Helen Clark: Development gains need to be spread more evenly to leave no one behind in Lao PDR
Nov 29, 2015
The occasion of UNDP Administrator Helen Clark’s official visit to Lao PDR was the 12th High Level Round Table Meeting. Helen Clark made a keynote speech to the plenary session, emphasising Lao PDR’s commitment to the new Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in its 8th National Socio-Economic Development Plan.

UN Division for Sustainable Development [to 5 December 2015]
http://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/
SDGs: https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/topics

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Join the SDGs natural language processing and data visualization challenge!
4 Dec 2015 – An open challenge to identify and visualize the relations among the recently adopted sustainable development goals (SDGs) has been launched by the Division for Sustainable Development and Unite Ideas. The challenge consists of building an automated tool that extracts from a set of UN publications all the messages that relate to the relationships between urban development (SDG 11) and all the other SDG areas, and then visualizes the results.

The winning solution will be announced on 15 February 2016. The best solution or solutions will be showcased on the UN Sustainable Development Knowledge Platform and on the Unite Ideas website, and may be featured in the Global Sustainable Development Report. More information

UN Statistical Commission :: UN Statistics Division [to 5 December 2015]
http://unstats.un.org/unsd/default.htm
http://unstats.un.org/unsd/statcom/commission.htm
http://unstats.un.org/sdgs/

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Open consultation on proposed global SDG indicators coded as ‘grey’ to be launched on 9 December 2015
An open consultation will take place on the proposed SDG Indicators that currently coded as ‘grey’, indicating that further discussion on them is still needed. The consultation will be open from Wednesday, 9 December to Tuesday, 15 December to both observers (non-IAEG Member States and representatives of regional commissions and regional and international agencies) and other stakeholders (civil society, academia and private sector) for technical comments.

UNEP United Nations Environment Programme [to 5 December 2015]
http://www.unep.org/newscentre/?doctypeID=1
Selected Press Releases

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Commitments Made to Reduce Black Carbon, Methane and Hydrofluorocarbons
Cutting Short-Lived Climate Pollutants Critical to Success of Global Climate Response
05/12/2015

Significant Efforts to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions Across UN – New Report
The report details the emissions from 65 United Nations organizations, covering over 250,000 personnel around the world.
04/12/2015

UNEP Releases Full Version of Emissions Gap Report
The full Emissions Gap Report can be downloaded from UNEP Live.
04/12/2015

‘Whole System’ Approach Needed to Cut Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Experts Say at Climate Meeting
Appropriate Management of Natural Resources at Centre of Solutions to Climate Change, Says International Resource Panel
30/11/2015

RSPO Commits to Orangutan Crisis via GRASP
An estimated 70,000 orangutans remain in the wild, but the majority are found on Borneo. The fires shattered already fragmented populations and left orangutan rehabilitation centers overwhelmed by rescued apes.
30/11/2015

UNISDR UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction [to 5 December 2015]
http://www.unisdr.org/archive
Selected Press Releases

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Lawmakers link global development agenda
4 Dec 2015
Hundreds of legislators from around the world have gathered on the sidelines of the COP21 climate summit to focus on harnessing low carbon development to eradicate poverty and better protect people against disasters.

Central Java acts on forest fires
3 Dec 2015
Thirty-five cities and districts in one of the world’s most disaster-exposed countries, Indonesia, have come together to declare their commitment to reduce disaster risk following months of devastating forest fires which have released huge quantities of greenhouse gases into the

Vulnerable States call for zero emissions
1 Dec 2015
Leaders of the world’s most climate fragile states have issued a call for full decarbonisation of the world economy, 100% renewable energy by 2050, and zero emissions by 2050 to keep the world on track for below 1.5°C warming and to reduce disaster risk.

UNESCO [to 5 December 2015]
http://en.unesco.org/news
Selected Press Releases

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International Expert Meeting on the Responsibility to Protect as applied to the Protection of Cultural Heritage
04 December 2015
UNESCO organized an International Expert Meeting on the Responsibility to Protect as applied to the Protection of Cultural Heritage from 26 to 27 November 2015. The primary purpose of the meeting was to discuss the concept of Responsibility to Protect and its possible application to the protection of cultural heritage.

Participants included 22 distinguished specialists and practitioners representing various international governmental and non-governmental organizations in this field, including Mr Adama Dieng, UN Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide as well as the Secretariat of the 1954, 1970 and 1972 Conventions.
The meeting was opened by Francesco Bandarin, Assistant Director-General for Culture a.i. and continued with an exchange of views on relevant aspects of the topic with a focus to operationalize this concept on a bilateral and multilateral level. Mechtild Rössler, Director of the Division for Heritage, closed the meeting, by highlighting the need for broad cooperation and complementaries among organizations.

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UNESCO and The Nippon Foundation join forces to promote the human rights of persons with disabilities through ICTs
03 December 2015

President of UN General Assembly welcomes UNESCO’s leadership in 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda
02 December 2015

Participants of UNESCO symposium call to protect and promote the diversity of cultural expressions in Iraq
01 December 2015

UNODC United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime [to 5 December 2015]
http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/press/allpress.html?ref=fp

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Statement on the International Day for the Abolition of Slavery
Vienna 2 December 2015 –

Today is the International Day for the Abolition of Slavery, an important day to reflect on the suffering of human trafficking victims who may be enslaved by this pitiless crime.
Human trafficking directly effects fragile societies and communities and has the reach to undermine attempts at promoting sustainable development. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted by the UN General Assembly this year, specifically recognises the challenge of human trafficking.

Goal 5 of the Sustainable Development Goals on gender equality seeks the elimination of trafficking and sexual and other forms of exploitation, while Goal 8 stresses the need to take measures to eradicate human trafficking.

Our efforts must protect vulnerable young people, especially women and girls, from human trafficking and assist the victims, so they can become survivors.

The platform for our resistance is the UN Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime and its protocol on human trafficking, as well as the UN Convention against Corruption.

Using the convention and the protocol, information can be shared, joint operations undertaken, and victims protected and supported.

Sufficient funding is a priority particularly through the UN Trust Fund for trafficking victims. Data is essential for action and we must chase down criminals’ profits wherever they flow.

Goal 16 of the Sustainable Development Goals underscores the importance of ending trafficking and all forms of violence and torture of children.

We must work collectively to ensure this outcome. Otherwise, we risk a lost generation of girls and boys whose lives have been utterly destroyed by human trafficking.

A generation separated from their loved ones and cruelly exploited by criminals. Children traumatised and living without education, without healthcare and often without hope.

On this day, I call on every country and person to do their utmost to rid the world of human trafficking.

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Statement on World AIDS Day
01/12/2015