The speeches and statements of the participants in the 48th Munich Conference on Security Policy held from 3 to 5 February 2012. Themed ‘A World In Disarray -- Shifting Powers -- Lack Of Strategies’, this year’s conference addressed topics ranging from the repositioning of US military power to the ‘Arab Spring’ and to the mounting difficulties in sustaining security under increasing financial pressure.
DI - 6/2/2012
This draft resolution of the UN Security Council –based on a text supporting Arab League’s Proposed Peace Plan- was vetoed by China and Russia as two of the Council’s five permanent members. It is the second draft resolution on Syria vetoed by the same countries since 2011.
DI - 31/1/2011
The HRW World Report documents ongoing human rights practices in the world and summarises key human rights issues in more than 90 countries and territories worldwide. The introductory essay of the 22nd edition examines the Arab Spring and the creation of an opportunity for change in the region.
DI - 30/1/2012
The Green Economy Report –‘Towards a Green Economy: Pathways to Sustainable Development and Poverty Eradication’- is compiled by the Green Economy Initiative of the UN Environment Programme in collaboration with economists and experts worldwide. It shows that greening economies is a new engine of growth, a net generator of decent jobs and a vital strategy for the elimination of persistent poverty.
DI - 26/1/2012
The Obama Administration has responded to ‘We the People’ petitions on SOPA and online piracy (VETO the SOPA bill and any other future bills that threaten to diminish the free flow of information and Stop the E-PARASITE Act). The official response highlights that 'the important task of protecting intellectual property online must not threaten an open and innovative internet'.
DI - 24/1/2012
The Council of the European Union adopted new sanctions on Iran at the 3142th Foreign Affairs Council meeting on 23 January. The document includes a ban on the import, the purchase and the transport of crude oil and petroleum products.
DI - 18/1/2012
This year’s edition of the WESP stresses that global economic growth started to decelerate on a broad front in mid-2011 and this slow growth is expected to continue into 2012 and 2013. The WESP report provides an overview of recent global economic performance and short-term prospects for the world economy.
DI - 26/12/2011
According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), migration is a topic that often has negative and polarizing connotations. This year’s edition of the World Migration Report (WMR) argues for a fundamental shift in the way we communicate about migration and includes a review of migration trends and major policy issues in 2010/2011.
DI - 19/12/2011
‘Women at the frontline of climate change - Gender risks and hopes’ is a new report of the United Nations Environment Programme, which focuses on women, gender issues and climate change.
DI - 12/12/2011
The latest United Nations Climate Change Conference held in Durban (South Africa) ended with an agreement to start negotiations on a new accord that would put the 194 countries under the same legal regime enforcing commitments to control greenhouse gases.
DI - 30/11/2011
The 2011 edition of the International Labour Organization’s World of Work Report highlights that it will not be possible to recover successfully from the Great Recession unless social inequalities are addressed through well-designed policies.
DI - 28/11/2011
The UN Women Executive Director Michelle Bachelet outlines a comprehensive policy agenda of 16 concrete steps to end violence against women globally focusing on three critical pillars: prevention, protection and provision of services.
DI - 28/11/2011
The 2011-2012 Country Brand Index (CBI) documents perceptions around 113 nations. The index is based on interviews, insights and key opinion-makers and consultant’s information collected through social media tools. Canada takes the No.1 spot, followed by Switzerland and New Zealand. Spain is ranked 14.
DI - 24/11/2011
Amnesty International (AI) documents the human rights violations committed by the Egypt’s Supreme Council of Armed Forces (SCAF) which assumed power after the fall of former President Hosni Mubarak in February. The abuses in some cases exceeds Mubarak’s record.
DI 23/11/2011
This report presents the 5th Transparency International Bribe Payers Index, which ranks 28 of the world’s largest economies according to the perceived likelihood of companies from these countries to pay bribes abroad.
DI - 16/11/2011
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) released this safeguards report on Iran’s nuclear programme and allegations of weaponization efforts on 8 November.
DI - 11/11/2011
‘ICTs as an Enabler for Private Sector Development (PSD)’ is the sixth edition in a series of annual reports published by the UN Conference on Trade and Development. It shows that the potential of leveraging information and communication technologies (ICTs) to develop the private sector is far from fully exploited, and makes policy recommendations on how to remedy this situation.
DI - 10/11/2011
The 2011 edition of the State of the World Population –published by the UN Population Fund (UNPFA) and entitled ‘People and Possibilities in a World of 7 Billion’- explains the trends that are defining our world of 7 billion people and documents actions that people in different countries and circumstances are taking in their own communities.
DI - 7/11/2011
The 9th edition -in a series of annual reports published by IFC and the World Bank- compares business regulations in 183 economies and measures regulations affecting eleven areas of everyday business activity.
DI - 7/11/2011
This report is part of the UN Environment Programme’s ‘Global Environmental Outlook-5’ (GEO -5) series, the UN’s most authoritative assessment of the state, trends and outlook of the global environment. It is conceived as a new compilation of statistical data which highlights the environmental changes that have swept the planet over the last twenty years. See more GEO-5 publications.
DI - 4/11/2011
Urgent global challenges of sustainability and equity must be addressed together, according to the HDR 2011 – subtitled ‘Sustainability and Equity: A Better Future for All’. The 2011 Report also includes Human Development Index (HDI) and updated editions of the complementary indices introduced in the 2010 Report (the Inequality-Adjusted HDI, the Gender Inequality Index, and the Multidimensional Poverty Index).
DI - 4/11/2011
The declarations and reports of the Cannes G20 Summit of the Heads of State and government held in France from 3 to 4 November include:
Statement by US President Barack Obama on the declaration of liberation in Libya.
DI - 24/10/2011
In this statement, the US President Barack Obama announces that troops from Iraq will return by the end of the year.
DI - 24/10/2011
The resolution adopted unanimously by the UN Security Council –at its 6634th meeting on 21 October- calls for the end of violence in Yemen and condemns human rights violations and the excessive use of force by the country’s authorities against peaceful protesters as well as violence by other groups.
DI-19/10/2011
Remarks of the US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton with the Libyan Prime Minister Mahmoud Jibril on 18 October at the World Islamic Call Society.
DI - 11/10/2011
This year’s edition of the State of the Food Insecurity in the World –subtitled ‘How does international price volatility affect domestic economies and food security?’- highlights the differential impacts that the world food crisis of 2006-08 had on different countries, with the small and import-dependent countries being most affected and specially vulnerable to poverty and food insecurity. It was produced by the three Rome-based agencies the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the World Food Programme (WFP).
DI - 10/10/2011
The first Global Study on Homicide is a comprehensive cross-national and time series homicide data from 207 countries and territories. It provides an overview of crime as a phenomenon marked by large disparities in distribution, demographics, typologies and mechanisms.
DI - 7/10/2011
This draft resolution of the UN Security Council -which had strongly condemned Syrian authorities for their violent crackdown against protesters this year and called for an immediate end to human rights abuses- was vetoed by China and Russia as two of the Council's five permanent members.
DI - 3/10/2011
According to the September 2011 issue of the GFSR, ‘the risks to global financial stability have increased substantially in recent months, during which heavy public debt burdens and weak growth prospects in many advanced economies combined with a series of shocks to the global financial system’.
DI - 27/9/2011
‘While almost every country has high vulnerability in one major climate impact area, much damage caused by climate change is still readily preventable by a wide range of adaptation techniques’, according to the Climate Vulnerability Monitor developed by DARA and the Climate Vulnerable Forum.
DI - 26/9/2011
In his address to the Assembly’s annual general debate on 23 September, Mahmoud Abbas refers to the Palestinian application for full membership of the United Nations on the basis of the so-called 4 June 1967 borders.
DI - 21/9/2011
According to the World Economic Outlook (WEO) – released in September 2011-, ‘global activity has weakened and become more uneven, confidence has fallen sharply recently, and downside risks are growing’.
DI - 15/9/2011
The report released by the World Economic Forum highlights that Switzerland remains at the top of the ranking while Singapore overtakes Sweden for second position. The US continues its decline for the third year in a row running to fifth place. Spain's ranking goes up six places to 36th position, versus 42nd in the previous edition of the GCR.
DI - 12/9/2011
The 2011 edition of the Trade and Development Report focuses on the post-crisis policy challenges in the world economy, and highlights that the recovery is slowing down and that the “two-speed recovery” is mainly the result of wide differences in domestic demand.
DI - 4/8/2011
Statement by the President of the United Nations Security Council on the situation in Syria. The statement condemns the widespread violation of human rights and the use of force against civilians by the country’s security forces, and calls for an end to violence.
DI - 26/7/2011
This year’s edition of the World Trade Report examines the growing number of preferential trade agreements (PTA’s) and describes its historical development and the current landscape of agreements.
DI – 15/7/2011
According to this Middle East/North Africa Report – published on 13 July by ICG- the Syrian regime seems be digging its own grave in an attempt to survive at all costs, and the situation appears to have reached a dead end although it could get worse, especially given the difficult economic conditions in the country.
DI - 14/7/2011
The Fund for Peace and Foreign Policy magazine presented the seventh annual Failed States Index (FSI). This year’s index draws on some 130,000 publicly available sources to analyze 177 states and rate them using 12 social, economic, political and military indicators of pressure on the state during the year 2010.
DI - 13/7/2011
The Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report is the principal diplomatic tool of the U.S government to engage foreign governments on human trafficking. This year’s edition calls for ‘a Decade of Delivery’ building on the progress of the last 10 years seen through the enactment of anti-trafficking laws and ratification of the UN’s TIP (Palermo) Protocol by most of the countries.
DI - 11/7/2011
The WESS 2011, subtitled The Great Green Technological Transformation, calls for a complete transformation of technology on which human economic activity is based, to meet both the objectives of conquering poverty and protecting the environment.
DI - 8/7/2011
This year’s edition of the Progress on World’s Women: In pursuit of Justice Report –published by UN Women, the United Nations organization dedicated to gender equality and the empowerment of women- is focused on women’s access to justice. The report recognises the progress worldwide but calls on governments to take action to end the injustices that keep women poorer and less powerful than men.
DI - 7/7/2011
The United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs presents the yearly assessment of global progress towards the MDG’s. According to the report ‘significant strides have been made towards the Millennium Development Goals, yet reaching all the goals by the 2015 deadline remains challenging, as the world’s poorest are being left behind’.
DI - 30/6/2010
This year’s edition of the WDR shows that same patterns of 2010 continue in 2011. The production and abuse of prescription opioid drugs and new synthetic drugs rose while the global markets for cocaine, heroin and cannabis declined.
DI - 21/6/2011
The International Labour Organization (ILO) adopted a historic set of international standards aimed at improving the working and living conditions of domestic workers who care for families and households. The standards approved at the 100th annual conference state that the domestic workers must have the same basic labour rights as those available to other worker. See also: Text of the Recommendation Concerning Decent Work for Domestic Workers.
DI - 7/7/2011
This report documents human rights violations in Daraa governorate. Published on 1 June, it is based on more than 50 interviews with victims and witnesses to abuses by Syrian security forces.
DI - 3/6/2011
The fifth edition of the Global Peace Index has expanded to rank 153 independent countries by their peacefulness and updated with the latest-available figures and information.
DI - 1/6/2011
The final documents of the Deauville G-8 summit held in France from 26 to 27 May include: a ‘Renewed commitment for freedom and democracy’ (final declaration), the ‘Declaration of the G8 on the Arab Springs’, the ‘Deauville Partnership’ (helping the Arab countries in their transition to free and democratic societies) and the G8/Africa joint declaration.
DI - 1/6/2011
The fourth report in a series of the UNEP’s International Resource Panel seeks to apply the concept of decoupling economic growth and human wellbeing from negative environmental impacts and escalating resource use to address this challenge.
DI 26/5/2011
In the Joint Communication to the European Parliament, the Council, the EESC and the Committee of the Regions, the European Commission lays out stronger relationships with neighbouring countries.
DI - 20/5/2011
In this statement, the US President Barack Obama lays out his vision for a new chapter in American diplomacy towards the region.
DI - 19/5/2011
The latest edition of the International Labour Organization (ILO) –entitled Equality at work: The continuing challenge- notes that new forms of discrimination at work arise while the old challenges remain at best only partially answered.
DI - 10/05/2011
The latest edition of the GIT report highlights –subtitled Transformations 2.0- collects the insights of practitioners, academics and industry experts and explores the new wave of transformations caused by ICT developments.
DI - 9/5/2011
The European Economic and Social Committee adopted this resolution by 149 votes to 11 with 10 abstentions at its plenary session on 15 and 16 March 2011.
DI - 4/5/2011
This document contains the text of speeches delivered in English and of the translations of speeches delivered in the other languages at the special session on Syria of the United Nations Security Council held on 27 April. No resolution was adopted.
DI - 3/5/2011
The 2010 revision of World Population Prospects, the official United Nations population projections prepared by the Population Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs, states that the current world population of close to 7 billion is projected to reach 10.1 billion in the next 90 years, reaching 9.3 billion by the middle of this century.
DI - 29/4/2011
According to the survey by the Pew Global Attitudes Project, ‘Egyptians are optimistic about the changes that have transformed their country’s politics’. The military, the Muslim Brotherhood and April 6 Movement have a positive opinion, as well as political leaders Amr Moussa and Mohamed ElBaradei. The US, however, continues to receive negative ratings.
DI 28/4/2011
The resolution adopted by the Security Council –at its 6523rd meeting on 27 April- extends the mandate of the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) until 30 April 2012.
DI - 13/4/2011
Published by the World Bank, the WDR 2011: Conflict, Security and Development aims to provide insights on the political, security and economic dimensions of conflict resolution. It draws on the analysis of researchers and the experience of policy-makers in the development community, the UN system and the regional institutions.
DI - 11/4/2011
The Council of the European Union Decision 2011/210/CFSP on EU military operation in support of humanitarian assistance operations in response to the crisis situation in Libya (EUFOR Libya), issued on 1 April 2011.
DI - 6/4/2011
Published by the World Trade Organization (WTO), the ITS 2010 offers a comprehensive overview of the latest developments in world trade, covering the details of merchandise trade by product and trade in commercial services by category.
DI - 24/3/2011
Released in March 2011, the SOFA 2010-2011 highlights the significant contributions of women to the rural economy in all developing country regions. According to this, ‘increasing women’s access to land, livestock, education, financial services, extension, technology and rural employment would boost their productivity and generate gains in terms of agricultural production, food security, economic growth and social welfare’. Also available: executive summary.
DI - 22/3/2011
Published in March 2011, the second edition of the Strategic Trends series contains a global overview of the main strategic trends identified by the CSS, such as emerging markets and fractures geopolitics, the changing regional dynamics in the Middle East, terrorism and counterterrorism ten years after 9/11 and narcotics as a growing security concern.
DI - 21/3/2011
Published by the Population Reference Bureau (PRB) in March 2011, this data sheet has the latest data on a wide variety of indicators on the socioeconomic status of women and girls in more than 180 countries. It also includes a special section on overcoming barriers to gender equality.
DI - 18/3/2011
The resolution adopted by the Security Council -at its 6498th meeting on 17 March- imposes a ban on all flights in Libya’s airspace - a no-fly zone - and tightened sanctions on the Qadhafi regime and its supporters.
DI - 18/03/2011
The Advisory Committee of the Regionalization of the Kingdom of Morocco sets out the reforms foreseen to encourage citizen participation and decentralization in order to promote economic, social and cultural development.
DI - 11/3/2011
The 8th edition -in a series of annual reports published by IFC and the World Bank- provides this year’s data and economy rankings for all 183 economies covered. It highlights that more than half the regulatory changes recorded in the past year eased business start-up, trade and the payment of taxes. New technologies are involved in many of this improvements.
DI - 1/3/2011
The World Economic Situation and Prospects report (WESP) provides an overview of recent global economic performance and short-term prospects for the world economy. According to this year’s edition, ‘weaker global growth is expected in 2011 and 2012 as multiple risks to the recovery remain’.
DI - 24/2/2011
The 8th edition of the UNEP report examines global emerging issues and provides the latest environmental science. It also highlights major environmental events and developments over the past year, and presents the most recent data and key indicator trends.
DI - 11/2/2011
This Human Rights Watch’s report documents the torture under the Mubarak regime. Published on 30 January, it highlights how the government implicitly condoned police abuse by failing to ensure that law enforcement officials accused of torture were investigated and criminally prosecuted, leaving victims without a remedy.
DI - 27/1/2011
The 21st annual HRW World Report documents ongoing human rights practices in the world and summarises key human rights issues in more than 90 countries and territories worldwide. According to the report, many governments are ‘replacing pressure to respect human rights with softer approaches such as private «dialogue» and «cooperation»’.
DI - 25/1/2011
The World Economic Forum (WEF) has issued the latest edition of the Global Risks Report. The sixth edition identifies economic disparity and global governance failures as central risks in the global risks landscape. It also highlights three clusters of concern: the relationship between illicit trade, crime, corruption and state fragility; a set of interconnected risks tied to water, food and energy; and risks related to global macroeconomic imbalances. See also the Executive Summary.
DI - 24/1/2011
This year’s edition of the UNESCO Science Report shows that emerging economies are clearly gaining strength in science and technology while investment in R&D is growing globally. China, India and the Republic of Korea are leading the Asia’s share of gross domestic expenditure on R&D.
DI - 18/1/2011
The International Labour Organization (ILO) published the second in a series of ILO reports focusing on wage developments. Subtitled Wage policies in times of crisis, this year’s edition reviews the global and regional wage trends during the economic and financial crisis of 2008 and 2009.
17/1/2011
‘Led by developing countries, the world economy is moving on from a post-crisis bounce-back phase of recovery to slower but still solid growth this year and next’, according to the recent Global Economic Prospects issued by the World Bank on 12 January 2011.
DI - 27/12/2010
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) issued its World Migration Report (WMR) 2010 on 18 December 2010 during the commemoration of the International Migrants Day. The report identifies key migration dynamics and trends.
DI - 21/12/2010
Published on 15 December, this report presents an updated perspective of the United Nations on the new development paradigm that links the economy and culture. It recognises creativity, knowledge and access to information as powerful engines driving economic growth and promoting development in a globalising world.
DI - 1/12/2010
The 2010 Report on the global AIDS epidemic includes new country by country scorecards on key issues facing the AIDS response. The report also provides comprehensive analysis on the AIDS epidemic and response based on the latest data from 182 countries, including trend data on incidence from more than 60 countries.
DI - 19/11/2010
According to the 2010 CPI, Denmark, New Zealand and Singapore are tied at the top of the list, followed closely by Finland and Sweden. Somalia, Myanmar, Afghanistan and Iraq continue to have the highest levels of perceived corruption.
DI - 17/11/2010
Ireland, Switzerland, Spain, Germany and the UK are among the European countries dominating the top 20. Luxembourg and Greece made the biggest improvements in closing their gender gaps, climbing 37 and 27 spots respectively, owing to gains in political and economic participation. Released in October 2010, the GGG Report’s index assesses 134 countries on how well they divide resources and opportunities amongst male and female populations, regardless of the overall levels of these resources. See also the Global Gender Gap Index 2010 rankings.
DI - 5/11/2010
The 20th anniversary edition of the HDR examines decades of Human Development data trends, refines the original Human Development Index with new databases and methodologies, and introduces new measures adjusting the index to reflect gender disparities and other internal national inequalities. It also features the Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI), which was developed by the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI) with UNDP support.
DI - 26/10/2010
The 2010 edition of the State of the World Population –published by the UN Population Fund (UNPFA) and entitled From Conflict and Crisis to Renewal: Generations of Change- links Peace, Security and Development to Women’s Rights and Empowerment. According to this report, ‘discrimination against women not only exposes them to the worst effects of disaster and war, including rape, but also deprives their countries of a prime engine for recovery’.
DI - 22/10/2010
The fifth issue of The World’s Women highlights that the progress towards gender equality has been made in some areas, such as school enrolment, health and economic participation but much more needs to be done to close the gender gap in critical areas such as power and decision-making and violence against women.
DI - 8/10/2010
According to the World Economic Outlook (WEO) – released in October 2010-, the ‘global recovery remains fragile, because strong policies to foster internal rebalancing of demand from public to private sources and external rebalancing from deficit to surplus economies are not yet in place’.
DI 5/10/2010
The 2010 edition of the UNESCO’s World Social Science Report focuses on the Knowledge Divide. Though the social science from Western countries continues to have the greatest global influence, the field is also expanding rapidly in Asia and Latin America, particularly in China and Brazil.
DI - 28/9/2010
The 2010 edition of the Trade and Development Report, subtitled “Employment, globalization and development”, focuses on the need to make employment creation a priority in economic policy, and also makes recommendations for a reorientation of macroeconomic policies and institution building aimed at strengthening domestic demand
DI - 20/9/2010
The report released by the World Economic Forum highlights that Switzerland tops the overall ranking, while the U.S ranking falls two places to fourth position, overtaken by Sweden (2nd) and Singapore (3rd). The Spain ranking drops nine places to 42nd position versus 33rd in the previous edition of the GCR.
DI - 1/9/2010
President Barack Obama announced the end of the United States’s combat mission in Iraq on 31 August 2010.
DI - 3/8/2010
Released by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the report explores the challenges and constraints of the 21st century posed by the livestock sector cannot be solved by a single string of actions or by individual actors alone. The livestock sector requires appropriate institutions, research, development interventions and governance that reflect the diversity within the sector and the multiple demands placed upon it.
DI - 29/7/2010
Released by the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), the report focuses on two key elements of the strategy: implementation of the UN Trust Fund Strategy and the UN Trust Fund contributions to advancing the agenda on ending violence against women at country levels.
DI - 22/7/2010
Published on 23 June 2010, the report presents the yearly assessment of global progress towards the Millennium Development Goals. The world continues to make advances towards the MDGs, despite the global economic downturn, but the rate of improvement remains too slow and countries must step up their efforts if the MDGs are to be achieved by their target date of 2015.
DI - 15/7/2010
A joint publication by the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), the United Nations Department of Peacekeeping Operations, and the UN Action against Sexual Violence in Conflict, the report highlights best practices and emerging elements for a more effective response by peacekeepers to women’s security concerns.
DI - 14/7/2010
According to the latest Global Economic Prospects, ‘the global economic recovery continues to advance, but Europe’s debt crisis has created new hurdles on the road to sustainable medium term growth’.
DI - 7/7/2010
A joint UNRWA, UNICEF and WFP household survey, this study summarises the first statistics available on food security and nutrition conditions among herder communities in Area C.
DI - 12/7/2010
The fifth edition of the Yearbook on Peace Processes analyses the negotiation processes that have taken place worldwide throughout 2009. It is published by the Escola de Cultura per la Pau (School for a Culture of Peace) from the Barcelona Autonomous University.
DI - 5/7/2010
The fourth edition of the Global Peace Index has expanded to rank 149 countries by their peacefulness. Its results suggest that the world has become slightly less peaceful in the past year.
DI - 30/6/2010
The WESS 2010, subtitled Retooling Global Development, identifies the major global development challenges for the 21st century and suggest ways in which the mechanisms for global economic governance should adjust in order to face up to these.
DI - 29/6/2010
The latest edition of Measuring the Information Society highlights key trends at the global, regional and national level, examines the evolution of the digital divide between 2002 and 2008 and discusses price developments over the last year. It also features the ICT Development Index (IDI) and the ICT Price Basket - two new tools to measure the Information Society.
DI - 25/6/2010
The recent report of the World Tourism Organization is focused on tourism as one of the world’s top job creators and lead export sector, especially for the developing countries, and its significant role in the achievement of the MDGs 1 (eradication of poverty), 3 (gender equality), 7 (environmental sustainability) and 8 (global partnership for development).
DI - 15/6/2010
Prepared by Freedom House as a companion to the Freedom in the World report, this annual report highlights the world’s worst human-rights abusers and seeks to focus the attention of the UNHRC on states and territories that deserve investigation and condemnation for their widespread violations.
