"The Riddle", a video produced by the UN Human Rights Office, asks the question, "What exists in every corner of the world – embraced and celebrated in some countries – but is illegal in 76? What is hidden for fear of public shame, imprisonment, torture or even the death penalty in seven countries?"

The answer: "Being gay, being lesbian, bisexual or transgender."

The video, featuring statements of support from UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and UN Human Rights Commissioner Navi Pillay has been released to coincide with the day, 17 May, celebrated by millions of people globally as the International Day against Homophobia (IDAHO).

In a keynote speech to the IDAHO 2013 Forum in The Hague, the Netherlands, Pillay conceded progress in recent years in overcoming homophobia but said, "many States are still reluctant to acknowledge the extent of violence and discrimination meted out to those who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex."

She highlighted three areas of particular concern that require immediate attention.

The first, she said, relates to "hate crimes, which take place with alarming regularity in all regions of the world". "These range from aggressive, sustained psychological bullying through to physical assault, torture, kidnapping and even murder," Pillay said.

The second concern is "the criminalization of homosexuality". It is nearly 20 years since the UN Human Rights Committee found that people's right to privacy and non-discrimination are violated when same sex relationships are criminalized. Nonetheless, more than 70 countries continue to outlaw same sex relationships, Pillay said.

"The prevalence of discriminatory practices against LGBT individuals" is the third area of concern identified by the High Commissioner. "In some instances, States are not just passively permitting discrimination to take place but actively contributing to it," Pillay said.

In a message delivered on his behalf to the IDAHO Forum, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon described efforts to overcome homophobia as a "fight... a core part of the broader battle for human rights for all."

"We know what needs to be done," the Secretary-General said. "Draconian laws used to criminalize and punish LGBT people must be replaced by new laws that are in harmony with universal human rights conventions... "

The Secretary-General and High Commissioner both called for more public education to overcome homophobia.

"This is primarily the responsibility of Governments, with the active involvement of civil society. But I believe the United Nations can and should do more to encourage this process," Pillay said.

The High Commissioner noted that although the UN has more than 100 official international days, the International Day against Homophobia and Transphobia is not one of them.

"The Riddle", produced in collaboration with the Purpose Foundation was watched by more than 60,000 people within 24 hours of its release on YouTube. Directing its "simple" message to the millions of LGBT around the world, it concludes with "You are not alone. LGBT rights are human rights. Together we will build a world that is free and equal."

Source: OHCHR

Bee Mortality: Should We BEE Concerned?

Brussels – The unusual rate of bee mortality around the world has a significant impact on pollination and the production of fruits and vegetables. While a wide range of opinions and studies have surfaced in recent years to explain this phenomenon, they are often contradictory and some lacking scientific evidence. A good understanding of the issue is therefore needed in order for policy makers to make sound decisions and policies to protect bees.

For this reason, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech (ULg), BeeOdiversity, and the Bees Biodiversity Network (France) are pleased to organise the 2nd European Week of Bees and Pollination through the support of Gaston Franco (Member of European Parliament).

Read more...

Do tobacco control measures reduce tobacco use?
Evidence from research and practice

When: 30 May 2013, 12:30 - 14:30

Where: European Parliament
Room ASP 1 G3, Brussels
Lunch will be served outside the meeting room

Read more...

The health gap between poor and rich countries has narrowed significantly over the past two decades according to a United Nations report released yesterday, which stresses that in spite of this progress, challenges still remain to achieve the health targets of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

"Intensive efforts to achieve the MDGs have clearly improved health for people all over the world," said the Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), Margaret Chan, but with less than 1000 days to go to reach the deadline for achieving the Goals, "it is timely to ask if these efforts have made a difference in reducing the unacceptable inequities between the richest and poorest countries."

Agreed by world leaders at a UN summit in 2000, the eight MDGs set specific targets on poverty alleviation, education, gender equality, child and maternal health, environmental stability, HIV/AIDS reduction, and the creation of a Global Partnership for Development – all by a deadline of 2015.

WHO's World Health Statistics 2013 report, which compares progress made by countries with the best health status and those with least-favourable health status over the past two decades, shows that considerable progress has been made in the areas of reducing child and maternal deaths, improving nutrition, and reducing deaths and illness from HIV infections, tuberculosis and malaria.

The gap in child mortality fell, from 171 deaths per 1,000 live births in 1990 to 107 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2011. Countries that had some of the world's highest child mortality rates in 1990 – including Bangladesh, Bhutan, Laos, Madagascar, Nepal, Rwanda, Senegal and Timor-Leste – have improved child survival to such an extent that they no longer belong to that group.

However, despite 27 countries having already reached the MDG target, the current rates of progress will not be sufficient to reach the global target of a two-thirds reduction in 1990 levels of child mortality by 2015, the report says.

Global statistics on the number of women dying in childbirth also improved, but WHO earned that the global decline rate in maternal deaths – currently at 3 per cent – needs to double to meet the goal of reducing maternal deaths by three-quarters.

"Our statistics show that overall the gaps are closing between the most-advantaged and least-advantaged countries of the world," said Ties Boerma, Director of the Department of Health Statistics and Information Systems at WHO. "However, the situation is far from satisfactory as progress is uneven and large gaps persist between and within countries."

The report noted several key areas to focus on before the MDG deadline including reducing tuberculosis in the countries with the highest rates, addressing increasing rates of diabetes, and ensuring low and middle-income countries have access to affordable medicines.

The report contains data from 194 countries on a range of mortality, disease and health system indicators including life expectancy, illnesses and deaths from key diseases, health services and treatments, financial investment in health, as well as risk factors and behaviours that affect health.

Source: UN News Centre

Brussels - International partners yesterday pledged to support Mali's political transition and development process, at a conference organized jointly by the Governments of Mali and France with the European Union.

Participants at the High-level Conference on Support and Development of Mali included the Malian President Dioncounda Traoré, Heads of State and Ministers from African and European countries, as well as representatives from multilateral institutions.

International partners pledged a total of €3.25 billion in support of Mali development plan. The funds will contribute to Mali's sustainable recovery plan, which aims to restore the country's territorial integrity and promote peace, security and reconciliation, paving the way for inclusive growth and long-term development. The overall cost of the Recovery Plan is €4.3 billion.

"Addressing the crisis in Mali goes beyond addressing security threats. It will require tackling deep-rooted political, social and development challenges," said United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Associate Administrator Rebeca Grynspan, who represented the Secretary-General of the United Nations at the event.

Ms. Grynspan added that "we count on our Malian partners to use this opportunity to promote a sustainable and inclusive political process that will lead to improved governance". Mali is expected to organize presidential elections in July which are considered as a key step in the transition process.

The UN has adopted a joint framework, aligned with the country's recovery plan, which aims to support the country in the areas of good governance, sustainable peace and access to basic social services. It has established a Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) to provide support for Malian authorities as they extend state control and work to strengthen good governance.

UNDP is providing technical support to Mali's electoral institutions and to the dialogue and reconciliation process. In addition, it has been helping to build the capacities of the organizations involved in the political transition, including the recently established Commission for Dialogue and Reconciliation.

Capacity-building will also be provided to the National Assembly, aiming to enhance procedures and political participation, with a focus on the inclusion of women parliamentarians.

In addition, UNDP has developed an electoral cycle project to support the forthcoming elections in Mali, with a basket fund mechanism in place.

The European Union and UNDP signed a financing agreement for €14.8 million in support of the electoral process, in the presence of the President of the European Commission José Manuel Barroso, President of France François Hollande and President Traoré.

Warning that long-term development should not overshadow Mali's immediate needs, Ms. Grynspan urged countries to step up their support to tackle the current humanitarian situation in the North of the country. The precarious security situation in Mali is being further exacerbated by pervasive food insecurity and extreme poverty throughout Africa's Sahel region, with some 10 million people at risk of starvation this year.

Source: UNDP Brussels

The International Day of Families is observed on the 15th of May every year. The International Day provides an opportunity to promote awareness of issues relating to families and to increase knowledge of the social, economic and demographic processes affecting families.

In the resolution, the General Assembly also noted that the family-related provisions of the outcomes of the major United Nations conferences and summits of the 1990s and their follow-up processes continue to provide policy guidance on ways to strengthen family-centred components of policies and programmes as part of an integrated comprehensive approach to development.

The International Day of Families has inspired a series of awareness-raising events, including national family days. In many countries, that day provides an opportunity to highlight different areas of interest and importance to families. Activities include workshops and conferences, radio and television programmes, newspaper articles and cultural programmes highlighting relevant themes.

• Scretary-General's message on the International Day of Families...

Source: UN Observance

ITU, the Kofi Annan Foundation and One Young World are working together on a new series of youth-oriented online discussions designed to stimulate debate among young people around the world on challenges central to their lives and prospects, such as unemployment and democratic governance.

Former UN Secretary-General Annan will launch the Kofi Annan Dialogues: LIVE series on Wednesday, 15 May, with the first online discussion to take place over the Google Hangout platform from 11:00 - 12:30 CET.

With the topic of ‘Young People and Leadership’, this first session gives six aspiring young leaders the opportunity to share their views with Mr Annan, watched by a global audience who will be able join the conversation and pose their questions via social media.

The outreach to young audiences will form a key element of a direct youth engagement process building up to ITU’s BEYOND 2015 Youth Summit in Costa Rica and the One Young World Summit in South Africa, to be held in September and October respectively.

ITU will host the first Dialogue from its Geneva studios on the occasion of the WSIS Forum 13 event taking place this week (13-17 May) at the Geneva International Conference Centre. The world’s largest annual gathering of the ‘ICT for development’ community, WSIS Forum is focused on defining strategies to help countries and organizations more effectively harness the power of information and communication technologies (ICTs) to accelerate progress towards the Millennium Development Goals, now less than two years away.

“I congratulate Kofi Annan on an excellent and much-needed initiative to reach out to youth. These online Dialogues are an excellent example of using the power of ICTs to connect people to influence change,” said ITU Secretary-General Dr Hamadoun I. Touré. “Our young new generation of ‘digital natives’ feel completely at home communicating online – and harnessing today’s social media channels allows us to create a truly global platform that cuts across geographical boundaries and brings in voices from right around the world.”

Participate in the first live Dialogue:

When: 15 May, 11h00 - 12h30 CET

Where: http://dialogueslive.kofiannanfoundation.org/

How: Send your questions via Twitter

#kofiannanlive | #BYND15 | #OYW | #WSIS

Follow the Kofi Annan Dialogues: LIVE on Twitter and Facebook at: https://twitter.com/KofiAnnan #kofiannanlive

https://en-gb.facebook.com/pages/Kofi-Annan/228449696042

Learn more about ITU’s forthcoming BEYOND 2015 Youth Summit here.

Source: ITU News

While insects can be slimy, cringe-inducing creatures, often squashed on sight by humans, a new book released yesterday by the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) says beetles, wasps and caterpillars are also an unexplored nutrition source that can help address global food insecurity.

The book, Edible Insects: future prospects for food and feed security, stresses not just the nutritional value of insects, but also the benefits that insect farming could potentially have on the environment and on addressing the rapidly increasing demand for food worldwide.

While the idea of eating a worm, grasshopper or cicada at every meal may seem strange, FAO says this has many health benefits. Insects are high in protein, fat and mineral contents. They can be eaten whole or ground into a powder or paste, and incorporated into other foods.

"Insects are not harmful to eat, quite the contrary. They are nutritious, they have a lot of protein and are considered a delicacy in many countries," said Eva Muller, the Director of FAO's Forest Economics, Policy and Products Division.

Although they are not staples of Western cuisine, insects currently supplement the diets of some 2 billion people and have always been part of human diets in Asia, Africa and Latin America. Of the 1 million known insect species, 1900 are consumed by humans. Some of the most consumed insects include beetles, caterpillars, bees, wasps, ants, grasshoppers, locusts and crickets.

"If we think about edible insects, there's a huge potential that has essentially not been tapped yet," Ms. Muller said. "Most [insects] are just collected and there's very little experience in insect farming, for example, which is something that could be explored in view of a growing population."

By 2030, over 9 billion people will need to be fed, along with the billions of animals raised annually for food and as pets.

The food industry, including industry professionals and chefs, must also help raise awareness about insects' potential as food to increase the level of acceptance among consumers.

"Although it is unrealistic to see families in the West eating insects for their Sunday lunch within the next decade, the potential of insects is huge and we hope that slowly but surely this potential will be realized," Ms. Halloran, a consultant for the FAO Edible Insects Program.

Source: UN News Centre / FAO

Save the date!

The UN Secretary General's Envoy on Youth, Ahmad Alhendawi, will be hosting the first of a series of Google+ Hangouts on 17 May 2013 at 16h CET.

The Google+ Hangout will focus on his role as the Youth Envoy, and some of the key initiatives of the United Nations on youth and how it plans to engage youth at the international, regional and national levels.

The UNV Executive Co-ordinator and the Co-chair of the Inter-Agency Network on Youth Development will also be present to speak about some of the initiatives undertaken by the UN to work with and for Youth. In addition, 3 youth leaders will be participating in the discussion!

You too will have a chance to participate in this event, by sending your questions:

E-mail: unyouthenvoy@gmail.com

 UN Secretary General’s Envoy on Youth-Ahmad Alhendawi
 @AhmadAlhendawi and using #UNYouth

World Migratory Bird Day 2013 Highlights Importance of Ecological Networks for Migratory Birds, Need for a Greater International Response.

The annual migration of an estimated 50 billion birds - around 19 per cent of the world's 10,000 bird species - is one of the world's great natural wonders, yet the critical staging areas migratory birds need to complete these journeys are being degraded or are disappearing completely.

These increasingly vulnerable sites, which act as stepping stones on migration routes, serve as a place for the birds to rest, feed and breed during their annual migration cycles. As a result of the degradation, some species may be extinct within a decade, while others are facing population losses of up to nine per cent each year.
Celebrated in over 65 countries on 11-12 May, World Migratory Bird Day 2013 highlights the importance of ecological networks for the survival of migratory birds, the important human networks dedicated to their conservation, the threats migratory birds face, and the need for more international cooperation to conserve them.

Events to mark World Migratory Bird Day include bird festivals, education programmes, presentations, film screenings and birdwatching trips.

"I fully support the global campaign to raise awareness about the threats to migratory birds from habitat destruction, overexploitation, pollution and climate change," said United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. "I call for greater international efforts to restore and preserve migratory birds and the network of sites they need to survive as an important part of the environment on which we all depend."

Launched in Kenya in 2006, World Migratory Bird Day is organized by the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) and the African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbird Agreement (AEWA). Two intergovernmental wildlife treaties administered by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). - Read more...

Additional links:

• World Migratory Bird Day Website
• Convention on Migratory Species Website
• African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbird Agreement Website

Full press release...