UNRIC Library Newsletter – July 2006

NEW WEBSITES WITHIN THE UN SYSTEM

UN in General

DESA News
http://www.un.org/esa/desa/desaNews/
DESA News is an insider's look at the United Nations in the area of economic and social development policy. It is produced by the Department of Economic and Social Affairs' Communications and Information Management Service with feature articles written by DESA staff. This is an electronic publication - no printed edition is generated.

In Focus: IAEA and Democratic People’s Republic of Korea
http://www.iaea.org/NewsCenter/Focus/IaeaDprk/index.shtml

New UN Archives and Records Management website (UN records and archives collections and services, tools to support records and archives management and to train staff)
English: http://archives.un.org/unarms/
French: http://archives.un.org/unarms/fr/index.html

“Politically speaking”: Bulletin of the United Nations Department of Political Affairs http://www.un.org/Depts/dpa/newsletters/DPA%20Bulletin%20I.pdf
The Department of Political Affairs launched a new flagship publication, “Politically Speaking”, which aims to better inform the U.N. community about the work of the Department in critical areas such as political analysis, peacemaking and preventive diplomacy, electoral assistance and the substantive servicing of the U.N. Security Council and other bodies. There is also important staff news, including new appointments, travel and public events. It will appear twice a year, and is produced with graphic design support from the Department of Public Information.

UN News Focus: Democratic Republic of the Congo
English: http://www.un.org/apps/news/infocusRel.asp?infocusID=120&Body=democratic
&Body1=congo
French: http://www.un.org/apps/newsFr/infocusRelF.asp?infocusID=82&Body=RDC&Body1=  

UN News Focus: The Middle East
English: http://www.un.org/apps/news/infocusRel.asp?infocusID=70&Body=Palestin&Body1=
French: http://www.un.org/apps/newsFr/infocusRelF.asp?infocusID=22&Body=moyen&Body1
=pales

UNRIC Library Backgrounders
English: http://www.unric.org/UNRIC_Library/4.html
French: http://www.unric.org/UNRIC_Library/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id
=15&Itemid=30&limit=1&limitstart=4&lang=fr
The library issues backgrounders on various subjects that list relevant URLs within in the UN system. Included are links to various UN organizations working on the specific subject, relevant UN documents, treaties, declarations, Secretary-General reports, a selection of speeches and statements by UN officials, articles in UN journals, etc. Backgrounders on the following subjects are currently available in English and French as .pdf files: Genocide, Human Rights Council, Migration, Peacebuilding Commission, Terrorism.

Peace & Security

Gender, Peace and Security Directory
http://www.un-instraw.org/en/index.php?option=com_wrapper&wrap=orgdir&Itemid=230
The UN International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women (INSTRAW), has launched the first-ever online directory focused on institutions that are actively engaged in gender, peace and security issues. The directory contains up-to-date information on over 100 research institutions from around the globe, encompassing universities, colleges, independent research organizations, NGOs and UN bodies. Various issues pertaining to gender, peace and security are included in the directory such as human rights, refugees and internally displaced persons, peacekeeping, violence against women, disarmament, and women’s political participation.

United Nations Peacekeeping Operations (Background Note: 31 May 2006)
English: http://www.un.org/Depts/dpko/dpko/bnote010101.pdf
French: http://www.un.org/french/peace/peace/bnotepkf.pdf

United Nations Political and Peacebuilding Missions (Background Note: 31 May 2006)
English: http://www.un.org/peace/ppbm.pdf
French: http://www.un.org/french/peace/peace/ppbmf.pdf

Economic & Social Development

2006 World Drug Report (UNODC report)
http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/world_drug_report.html
Some 200 million people, or 5 percent of the global population age 15-64, have used illicit drugs at least once in the last 12 months. Among this population are people from almost every country on earth.

Africa Environment Outlook (UNEP report)
http://www.unep.org/DEWA/Africa/AEO2_Launch/index.asp
Poverty in Africa can be made history if the region’s wealth of natural resources is effectively, fairly and sustainably harnessed according the second Africa Environment Outlook report (full text) issued by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). The report states that outstanding issues like rapid rates of deforestation, high levels of land degradation, wasteful water use in agriculture and climate change remain and need to be urgently addressed and that other challenges, like genetically modified organisms and the costs of alien invasive species up to a switch of chemical manufacturing from the developed to the developing world, are emerging. Also newly available are fact sheets and other multimedia materials.

Building Inclusive Financial Sectors for Development /
La création de secteurs financiers accessibles à tous
English & French: http://bluebook.uncdf.org/
A joint publication of the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) and the UN Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) analyses the obstacles to financial inclusion and reports on efforts to overcome those obstacles in a variety of countries. The publication also known as The Blue Book "offers a vision of what inclusive finance could be. It does not dictate policy prescriptions to realize that vision." The Blue Book is intended to be a guide and companion to national dialogues among relevant stakeholders that individual countries may wish to convoke to develop their own national strategies.

Ecosystems and Biodiversity in Deep Waters and High Seas (UNEP & IUCN report)
http://www.unep.org/pdf/IUCN_Report_16June06.pdf
The report underlines the value of the deep seas and open oceans and highlights how science is only now just getting to grips with the wealth of life, natural resources and ecosystems existing in the marine world. Less than 10 per cent of the oceans have been explored.

Millennium Development Goals Report 2006 (DESA report)
http://mdgs.un.org/unsd/mdg/Resources/Static/Products/
Progress2006/MDGReport2006.pdf
The report is based on a master set of data that has been compiled by an Inter-Agency and Expert Group on Millennium Development Goal (MDG) Indicators led by the UN Secretariat's Department of Economic and Social Affairs. The Group comprises representatives of the international organizations whose activities include the preparation of one or more of the series of statistical indicators that were identified as appropriate for monitoring progress towards the MDGs. A number of national statisticians and outside expert advisers also contributed. The report presents the latest assessment on how far Member States have come, and how far they have to go in reaching the MDGs, in each of the world’s regions.

World Economic and Social Survey 2006: Diverging Growth and Development
http://www.un.org/esa/policy/wess/wess2006files/wess2006.pdf
Diverging growth and development is the theme of this year's report, which shows that in the industrialized world the income level over the last five decades has grown steadily. This has not occurred in many developing countries, thereby causing a rise in already high world inequality.

World Economic Situation and Prospects as of mid-2006
English: http://www.un.org/esa/policy/wess/wesp2006files/wesp06update_eng.pdf
French: http://www.un.org/esa/policy/wess/wesp2006files/wesp06update_fr.pdf

Human Rights

Fact sheet: Independent Special Commission of Inquiry for Timor-Leste http://www.ohchr.org/english/countries/tp/docs/timor_leste_fs.pdf

Human Rights and Iraq
http://www.uniraq.org/documents/HR%20Report%20May%20Jun%202006%20EN.pdf
A new report on the human rights situation in Iraq paints a grave picture of abuses in the war-ravaged country while pointing to the possibility for positive change with the establishment of a Government there. In its bimonthly human rights report for May – June 2006, the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) expressed the hope that there are “unique opportunities with a new Government of national unity announced on 22 May and its firm commitment to address forcefully urgent human rights concerns so as to establish the rule of law in the country.” At the same time, the report notes a grave situation of human rights in Iraq that the new Government must address.

OHCHR Rule of Law Tools for Post-Conflict States http://www.ohchr.org/english/about/publications/
The United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights is publishing a set of guidelines designed to help UN field missions and transitional administrations effectively advise countries emerging from conflict on the development of transitional justice mechanisms.