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IISD Reporting Services -
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DECEMBER 2009
UN SECRETARY-GENERAL CALLS ON LEADERS TO ATTEND THE MDG SUMMIT On 21 December 2009, following the approval of the UN General Assembly resolution (A/64/L.36) that calls for a summit on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) parallel to the Assembly's annual General Debate, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called on world leaders to attend the summit in order to boost efforts to achieve the development goals. Ban emphasized that evidence shows that the goals can be achieved by 2015 if backed by the right set of policies, adequate resources and political commitment. He noted that in the run-up to 2015, efforts need to be redoubled given the threat of climate change and the effects of the economic and financial crisis. He also noted that the 2010 MDG Summit to be held in September, at UN Headquarters, provides the opportunity to deliver on long-standing development promises to the world's poorest and most vulnerable people, particularly in Africa.
The MDGs include eight time-bound and quantifiable goals on poverty and hunger eradication; achievement of universal primary education; gender equality; reduction of child and maternal mortality; combating HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases; environmental sustainability; and global partnership for development.
Links to further information UN News Centre, 21 December 2009 UN Secretary-General's statement, 21 December 2009 UN GA press release, 21 December 2009
UNDP, IEA AND WHO REPORT UNDERLINES NEED FOR CLIMATE
CHANGE AGREEMENT TO ADDRESS ENERGY POVERTY
At the launch of the publication at UN Headquarters in New York, US, Olav Kjorven, Assistant Administrator and Director of Development Policy at UNDP, highlighted the need to ensure that any new climate agreement adequately addresses energy poverty. Noting that over three billion people rely on highly polluting solid fuels for cooking, he stated that "For a climate deal to work, it also has to be a development deal." IEA Chief Economist Fatih Birol added that improving energy access for the disenfranchised would not have a significant impact on the environment, citing a recent study that found that if everyone in the world got access to electricity, carbon dioxide emissions would rise by only 0.9%.
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information
UNFPA REPORT FOCUSES
ON WOMEN, POPULATION GROWTH AND CLIMATE CHANGE
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further information
NOVEMBER 2009
UNDP AND SPAIN SIGN NEW PARTNERSHIP TO BOOST EFFORTS
TO ADDRESS POVERTY AND CLIMATE CHANGE
The earlier
agreement signed between Spain and UNDP dates back to 2006, when the
Millennium Development Goals (MDG) Achievement Fund was established to
manage 528 million – the largest contribution from a single bilateral
donor into the UN system. Currently, the MDG Achievement Fund has
financed about 130 projects across 50 countries in five regions. The
Fund has six thematic funding windows including gender equality and
women's empowerment; culture and development; economic governance;
youth, employment and migration; conflict prevention and peace building;
and environment and climate change. Under the thematic window for environment and climate change, 16 Joint Programmes have been approved so far, and are being implemented in Afghanistan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, China, Colombia, Ecuador, Egypt, Guatemala, Jordan, Mauritania, Mozambique, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Philippines, Senegal and Turkey, with an estimated total budget of $90 million.
OCTOBER 2009
UN CHIEF HIGHLIGHTS CONTRIBUTIONS OF RURAL WOMEN TO
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
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UN SATELLITE COMMUNICATIONS TO BOOST DISASTER
PREPAREDNESS AND RECOVERY EFFORTS
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UNDP's
HUMAN DEVELOPMENT REPORT EXAMINES MIGRATION
The report notes that although demographic trends will continue to play a significant role in shaping pressures for migration movements, climate change phenomena will also come into play. It estimates that about 200 million to 1 billion people will be forced to migrate as a result of climate change. Nevertheless, the report cautions that this figure does not take into account the effect of adaptation measures that individuals, communities and countries may put into place. The report emphasizes that the effect of environmental factors on migration patterns are directly related to livelihood opportunities and public policy responses combined. The 2009 HDR also calculates the human development index, which combines measures of life expectancy, literacy, school enrollment rates and gross domestic product (GDP) per capita, for 182 countries and territories. Norway, Australia and Iceland are top ranked this year, with Niger, Afghanistan and Sierra Leone at the bottom of the ranking.
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WORLD
HABITAT DAY FOCUSES ON "PLANNING OUR URBAN FUTURE" In her message on World Habitat Day, UN Human Settlements Programme (UNHABITAT) Executive Director Anna Tibaijuka stressed that urbanization and climate change are inseparable, noting that urban planning offers the best solution to reduce emissions through economies of scale and large-scale urban initiatives. Tibaijuka noted that there is a need to integrate the brown agenda, focused on the built environment, and the green agenda, focused on the natural environment. She noted also that climate change mitigation can be accomplished through the selection and improvement of building materials, development of distributive power and water systems, sustainable transport, reducing slums and striving for carbon-neutral cities. As part of the celebration of World Habitat Day, UNHABITAT released the Global Report on Human Settlements 2009, which focuses on the new role for urban planning for the future of sustainable cities.
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UN-HABITAT
ANNOUNCES AWARDS FROM "OPPORTUNITIES FUND FOR URBAN YOUTH-LED
DEVELOPMENT"
Link to further information SEPTEMBER 2009
UN MDG REPORT PUTS PRESSURE ON DONORS AHEAD OF UNGA
AND G20 MEETINGS The report was presented by UN Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro, who was accompanied by Jomo Kwame Sundaram (UN Assistant Secretary-General for Economic Development), Olav Kjorven (UN Assistant Secretary-General and Director of the Bureau for Development Policy at the UN Development Programme), and Rob Vos (Director of Policy Analysis in the UN Department of Social and Economic Affairs. UN Deputy Secretary-General Migiro highlighted that delivering on commitments to fight global poverty are crucial in a world facing economic recession, food shortage and the continuing impact of climate change as factors impeding progress on the realization of the MDGs. The report emphasizes that the implementation of the commitments can advance economic and environmentally sustainable growth that has the potential to mitigate climate change, while addressing the deficits of political, economic and public health areas linked to extreme poverty. The report indicates a gap of US$35 billion per year as part of the pledge made by the G-8 countries at the Gleneagles Summit in 2005, including $20 billion of aid to Africa alone. The report also points out to an ODA coverage gap in distribution, noting that most of the aid increase has gone to countries such as Iraq and Afghanistan. The UN Secretary-General's MDG Gap Task Force, led by the UN Department of Economics and Social Affairs (UN DESA) and the UN Development Programme (UNDP), brings together more than 20 UN agencies, including the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank, the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Set up by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in 2007, the Task Force aims to monitor global commitments on aid, trade and debt and access to technology and basic medicines.
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further information UN AGENCIES TO USE CLIMATE-RELATED DATA TO FIGHT HUNGER The World Food Programme (WFP) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) have partnered to share information on weather patterns and other climate-related data that can help predict the occurrence of the next emergency food shortage and to fight against global hunger. Under the Memorandum of Understanding signed by both agencies, WMO will facilitate WFP's access to data on droughts, lower precipitation, floods, hurricanes, mudslides and other forms of weather events and climate change impacts that can damage crops and peoples' livelihoods. This information will enable WFP to expand its emergency forecasting abilities and analyses for its emergency preparedness, disaster risk reduction and vulnerability assessment efforts to facilitate prompt food assistance.
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information
JUNE 2009
UN SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR ON THE RIGHT TO FOOD
PROPOSES MEASURES TO REGULATE LAND GRABBING
Link to further information MAY 2009
DRAFT OUTCOME TEXT
FOR UN SUMMIT ON GLOBAL FINANCIAL CRISIS ISSUED The high-level event will be held at the UN Headquarters in New York, US, from 1-3 June 2009. The final outcome is expected to detail the role of the United Nations in tackling the crisis, as well as the way forward and the participation of developing countries not directly involved in the Group of 20 major economies.
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UN AGENCIES LAUNCH GLOBAL EFFORT TO ERADICATE MALARIA
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further information MARCH 2009
UNESCAP TO SUPPORT DISASTER RISK EFFORTS IN ASIA AND PACIFIC
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information
UN
ANNOUNCES US $1 TRILLION NEEDED TO HELP DEVELOPING COUNTRIES OVERCOME
THE FINANCIAL CRISIS
A UN expert panel on the financial crisis, chaired by Prof. Joseph Stiglitz, gathered from 26 to 28 March at the UN Secretariat to provide concrete recommendations ahead of the G20 meeting taking place in London, UK, on 2 April. The panel recommended for the establishment of an elected Global Economic Coordination Council under the UN, which would meet annually and would serve as a democratic alternative to the G-20. The panel also recommended the establishment of a financial regulatory board and competition authority and a new international credit facility to be managed by the World Bank. An International Conference on the Global Economic and Financial Crisis and its Impact on Development, to be held in New York, US, in June, will further consider the recommendations.
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information UN-HABITAT AND INTERNATIONAL WATER ASSOCIATION TO STRENGTHEN COOPERATION TOWARDS THE MDGs The UN Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT) and the International Water Association have signed an agreement to strengthen their cooperation in a renewed effort to attain the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), in particular target 10, which calls on governments to "reduce by half the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water" by 2015. The agreement was signed at the Fifth World Water Forum, which took place in Istanbul, Turkey, from 16-22 March 2009, and recognizes the importance of promoting partnerships among water operators at all levels, especially in Africa, Asia and Latin America.
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UN
RELEASES NEW GLOBAL POPULATION GROWTH ESTIMATES
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information
UNGA PRESIDENT HIGHLIGHTS RIGHT TO WATER AT HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL Speaking at the 10th session of the UN Human Rights Council, taking place in Geneva, Switzerland, from 2-27 March 2009, Miguel D'Escoto, UN General Assembly President, warned that the economic and financial crises threaten poorer nations' ability to attain basic human rights, such as the right to food and access to water and sanitation. He underlined the linkages between access to safe drinking water and sanitation and the enjoyment of the right to life or health, adding that "access to water is indispensable for a life in dignity and a prerequisite for the enjoyment of other human rights."
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further information
FEBRUARY 2009
UN PEACEKEEPERS BOOST FOOD
SECURITY WITH 'IDEAL VILLAGE' PROJECT
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information
WORLD BANK
SAYS 2009 WILL ADD 53 MILLION MORE PEOPLE TO POVERTY
World Bank President Robert B. Zoellick noted, on the eve of the Group of Seven (G7) finance ministers' meeting in Rome, that while much of the response to the financial crisis has been devoted to rescuing banks and creating stimulus packages, the needs of the poor in developing countries should be on the agenda. The World Bank issued a policy note, entitled "The Global Economic Crisis: Assessing Vulnerability with a Poverty Lens," reporting that almost 40% of 107 developing countries are highly exposed to the effects of the crisis and the remainder are moderately exposed. The note urges financial support in the form of grants and low or zero interest loans for developing countries, which are critical to job creation, delivery of basic services and infrastructure, and creation of safety net programmes for the vulnerable. The establishment of a Vulnerability Fund, in which each developed country would devote 0.7% of its stimulus package to aid poorer countries, is expected to be discussed during the next G-20 meeting in April, to be hosted by the UK.
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WFP USES FOOD
VOUCHERS TO COMBAT HUNGER
Link to further information JANUARY 2009
UPDATE ON THE UN HIGH-LEVEL TASK FORCE ON THE GLOBAL FOOD SECURITY CRISIS In a press briefing at UN Headquarters in NY, US, on 16 January 2009, the coordinator of the Secretary-General's High-Level Task Force on the Global Food Security Crisis, David Nabarro, updated journalists on measures implemented by the UN system to address global hunger. He highlighted that two approaches have been used. The first is food distribution, which is led by the World Food Programme (WFP). The second is addressing structural problems in the food sector, including improving agricultural development and access to markets for the poor. He noted that the 26-27 January 2009 Food Security for All meeting in Madrid, Spain, will be co-chaired by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the Prime Minister of Spain, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero. The meeting will gather governments, private entities and civil society groups. He said the meeting will review progress made on food security since the High-Level Conference on World Food Security in Rome in June 2008.
Links to further information UN Secretary-General's High Level Task Force on the Global Food Security Crisis UN News Centre, 16 January 2009
IFAD ANNOUNCES FINANCING FOR RURAL,
LAND DEGRADATION PROJECTS
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