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UNRIC Library Newsletter - January 2011
New information material
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New Websites within the UN System

UN in General

2011: International Year of Forests  
http://www.un.org/en/events/iyof2011/
The United Nations General Assembly declared 2011 as the International Year of Forests to raise awareness on sustainable management, conservation and sustainable development of all types of forests.

2011: International Year of Chemistry
http://www.chemistry2011.org/
The International Year of Chemistry 2011 (IYC 2011) is a worldwide celebration of the achievements of chemistry and its contributions to the well-being of humankind. Under the unifying theme “Chemistry—our life, our future,” IYC 2011 will offer a range of interactive, entertaining, and educational activities for all ages. The Year of Chemistry is intended to reach across the globe, with opportunities for public participation at the local, regional, and national level.

2011: International Year for People of African Descent
English: http://portal.unesco.org/culture/en/ev.php-URL_ID=41031&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html
French: http://portal.unesco.org/culture/fr/ev.php-URL_ID=41031&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html
Spanish: http://portal.unesco.org/culture/es/ev.php-URL_ID=41031&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html
The Year aims at strengthening national actions and regional and international cooperation for the benefit of people of African descent in relation to their full enjoyment of economic, cultural, social, civil and political rights, their participation and integration in all political, economic, social and cultural aspects of society, and the promotion of a greater knowledge of and respect for their diverse heritage and culture.

2011-2012: Year of the Bat (UNEP/CMS)
http://www.yearofthebat.org/
The UNEP Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) and The Agreement on the Conservation of Populations of European Bats (EUROBATS) have joined together to celebrate the Year of the Bat.

2011-2020: Decade of Action for Road Safety
http://www.who.int/roadsafety/decade_of_action/en/index.html
Officially proclaimed by the UN General Assembly in March 2010, the Decade provides a framework to countries and communities to increase action to save lives on the world's roads.

Campañas de las Naciones Unidas
http://www.un.org/es/aboutun/campaigns/
Las Naciones Unidas, a través de su Departamento de Información Pública, preparan y lanzan campañas de comunicación sobre temas fundamentales relacionados con la misión de la Organización.

News Focus:  Côte d'Ivoire - the latest news on the situation in Côte d’Ivoire
English: http://www.un.org/apps/news/infocusRel.asp?infocusID=138&Body=Ivoire&Body1=
French: http://www.un.org/apps/newsFr/infocusRelF.asp?infocusID=96&Body=Ivoire&Body1=
On 20 December 2010, the UN Security Council adopted resolution 1962 (2010) which stated:  "The Security Council...Urges all the Ivorian parties and stakeholders to respect the will of the people and the outcome of the election in view of ECOWAS and African Union’s recognition of Alassane Dramane Ouattara as President-elect of Côte d’Ivoire and representative of the freely expressed voice of the Ivorian people as proclaimed by the Independent Electoral Commission."

UN Women - United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women
http://www.unwomen.org/
UN Women is the new UN organization dedicated to advancing gender equality and the empowerment of women. A global champion for women and girls, UN Women’s establishment, applauded around the globe, offers a historic opportunity to unleash progress for women and for societies.

Year in Review 2010 - Video
English: http://www.unmultimedia.org/tv/yearinreview/
French: http://www.un.org/fr/multimedia/yearinreview/2010/
Spanish: http://www.un.org/es/aboutun/yearreview/2010/
2010 was a year when the earth shook in Haiti - and millions around the world struggled to survive. The UN mobilized relief – and was called on to provide long-term solutions for the planet – for peace, nuclear disarmament, climate change – and universal human rights. This video takes a look at some of the major events of 2010 and how the United Nations responded to them.

Peace and Security

Monitoring Peace Consolidation: United Nations Practitioners’ Guide to Benchmarking
http://www.un.org/peace/peacebuilding/pdf/Monitoring_Peace_Consolidation.pdf
This recently released handbook, aims to assist UN field practitioners in measuring progress towards peace consolidation. Produced under the direction of a Steering Committee chaired by Peacebuilding Support Office with funding provided by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs the handbook identifies principles and methodologies that can be used in establishing benchmarking systems adapted to their respective contexts.

Southern Sudan Referendum Coverage (UNMIS)
http://unmis.unmissions.org/Default.aspx?tabid=4540
From 9 to 15 January 2011, registered voters in Sudan and eight out-of-country voting (OCV) and registration countries had the opportunity to cast their ballots in a referendum in favour of unity or secession from Sudan.

UNOG Library Resource Guide: Disarmament
http://www.netvibes.com/unoglibrary-disarmament
The resource guide on disarmament in general is designed to save you time by creating a central access gateway to relevant resources. Click on the tabs above to find links to treaties in full text and links to UN documents and organs, negotiations forums, confidence building measures, verification institutions, and export control regimes. This guide also highlights the collections of the UNOG Library on the topic of disarmament - both print and online resources (books and articles, journals, and databases).

United Nations Peacekeeping Operations – Background Note: 30 November 2010 (DPI/1634/Rev.115, January 2011)
English: http://www.un.org/en/peacekeeping/bnote.htm
French: http://www.un.org/fr/peacekeeping/bnote.htm

United Nations Political and Peacebuilding Missions - Background Note: 30 November 2010 (DPI/2166/Rev.90, January 2010)
English: http://www.un.org/en/peacekeeping/documents//ppbm.pdf
French: http://www.un.org/french/peace/peace/pdf/ppbmf.pdf

Economic & Social Development

Accountability Commission for health of women and children (WHO)
http://www.who.int/topics/millennium_development_goals/accountability_commission/en/
A Commission on Information and Accountability for Women’s and Children’s Health will propose a framework for global reporting, oversight and accountability on women's and children’s health. It will create a system to track whether donations for women's and children's health are made on time, resources are spent wisely and transparently, and whether the desired results are achieved.

Africa Water Atlas (UNEP)
http://www.unep.org/pdf/africa_water_atlas.pdf
This Atlas is a visual account of Africa’s endowment and use of water resources, revealed through 224 maps and 104 satellite images, 500 graphics and photos.

FAO at work 2009-2010: Growing food for nine billion
English: http://www.fao.org/docrep/013/am023e/am023e00.pdf
French: http://www.fao.org/docrep/013/am023f/am023f00.pdf
Italian: http://www.fao.org/docrep/013/am023it/am023it00.pdf
Spanish: http://www.fao.org/docrep/013/am023s/am023s00.pdf
The report analyses the challenges humanity faces as it tries to increase food production without destroying the environment, reviews FAO's emergency work, worth over US$1 billion, and highlights key achievements during the time period.

ILO Global Wage Report 2010/11: Wage policies in times of crisis
Report in English, French & Spanish: http://www.ilo.org/global/publications/ilo-bookstore/order-online/books/WCMS_145265/lang--en/index.htm
Executive Summary available in English, French, German, Portuguese & Spanish: http://www.ilo.org/global/publications/books/WCMS_149622/lang--en/index.htm
The second in a series of ILO reports focusing on wage developments, this volume reviews the global and regional wage trends during the years of the economic and financial crisis of 2008 and 2009.

Strengthening Migration Governance: Implementation of OSCE Commitments related to migration by OSCE participating States (ILO / OSCE)
http://www.ilo.org/public/english/protection/migrant/download/osce_ilo_2010.pdf
The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the International Labour Office (ILO) have launched a new study on “Strengthening Migration Governance” for International Migrants Day on 18 December 2010. Based on the stated commitments of the 56 participating OSCE countries, the report examines what has been done to establish and strengthen governance of migration across the region, what remains to be done and ways of strengthening migration governance through international cooperation.

Technology Needs Assessment for Climate Change Handbook (UNDP/UNFCCC)
English, French, Spanish: http://content.undp.org/go/newsroom/publications/environment-energy/www-ee-library/sustainable-energy/technology-needs-assessment-for-climate-change-handbook.en
This updated handbook provides hands-on guidance for identifying the most effective technology options for poverty reduction and climate change mitigation and adaptation. By drawing on decades of experience and inputs from leading experts and practitioners, it brings novel insights for carrying out needs assessments and creating actionable plans as part of national climate change strategies.

 

Humanitarian Affairs

Report of the UN on Haiti 2010: Situation, Challenges and Outlook
English & French: http://www.onu-haiti.org
The report of the United Nations in Haiti 2010 summarizes the efforts undertaken by the United Nations system and its partners, in support to the Haitian people and their government, to answer the multiple humanitarian crises, to accompany the electoral calendar and to advance on the road to recovery.

International Law

Security Council sets up new body to finish work of UN war crimes tribunals
English, French & Spanish: http://www.un.org/Docs/journal/asp/ws.asp?m=S/RES/1966(2010)
On 22 December the Security Council set up a new body to finish the remaining tasks of the United Nations war crimes tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda, while calling on the courts to conclude their work by the end of 2014. By a vote of 14 in favour, with one abstention (Russia), the Council established the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals with two branches. The Mechanism’s branch for the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) will begin functioning on 1 July 2012, while the branch for the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) will commence on 1 July 2013. To ensure a smooth transition to the Mechanism, the Council requested both tribunals to take “all possible measures” to expeditiously complete all their remaining work no later than 31 December 2014.