Press Releases
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E-government has a key role to play in achieving the SDGs. Governments in the UNECE region are using tools like ICTs, big data, artificial intelligence and machine learning to improve public services, empower citizens and ultimately provide a better quality of life. The COVID-19 pandemic has only
“Sustainable Development Goal 6 on water and sanitation for all is badly off track. This is hindering progress on the 2030 Agenda, the realization of human rights and the achievement of peace and security around the world. Water and sanitation cut across all three pillars of the United Nations
Taking place from 7-16 July 2020, the High-level Political Forum is the central annual platform of the United Nations for reviewing successes, challenges and lessons learned on achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The theme this year will be "
As the world tackles the spread of COVID-19 and its unprecedented impacts on economies, societies and the environment, we are all stepping into unknown territory. Everybody, from politicians to parents, from newly unemployed workers to nurses, from supermarket cashiers to schoolchildren in front of
The COVID-19 pandemic is the defining global health crisis of our time. It is causing disruption and human suffering around the world. Its far-reaching social, economic and multidimensional impacts will be felt across all corners of the globe for some time to come. The measures to contain the
As governments worldwide declared lockdowns in an attempt to contain the spread of COVID-19, animals and plants started reclaiming spaces previously seen as being reserved for human activities: fish, ducks and dolphins inhabited canals and approached shores, while deer, wild goats and monkeys
How will urban mobility change in the aftermath of COVID-19 lockdowns? In the short term, if passengers avoid public transport due to health fears, passenger car journeys could increase significantly, which would choke cities with traffic and pollution. Many cities have been reallocating space to
During the lockdown, city- and town-dwellers enjoyed clear blue skies and clean bodies of water thanks to reductions in air pollution and began to hear birdsong owing to lower levels of noise pollution. Pollution levels in Barcelona, for instance, dropped by an estimated
Fairtrade International has signed UNECE’s Declaration for Gender Responsive Standards and Standards Development, on the anniversary of its opening. The Declaration, which has 64
Statistics on social and demographic topics are usually produced from surveys of individuals living in private households. But what about older people who are not part of a private household, but who instead live in an institution, such as a care home or assisted living centre? Such people are
With almost half of the world under lockdown, the continued supply of certain critical raw materials needed for an effective response to the COVID-19 pandemic has become a concern.
The Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs) and excipients of several drugs, including antibiotics such as
The world is facing a crisis like no other. Policymakers are pursuing the combined aims of saving lives and minimizing the adverse economic, social and environmental impacts, and to do so they must take hard decisions and bold moves, quickly and transparently. Such decisions depend on solid data
Coronaviruses, including the one responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic, are a large family of viruses that are common in animals, and can occasionally be transmitted to humans – a phenomenon known as “zoonosis”.Ensuring proper controls on the international trade in animals and animal products and
It is clear that the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic cannot simply be a return to business as usual. With the mobility that societies take for granted severely limited in many countries due to emergency measures, one area that calls for a critical re-assessment is how we can shift to more
A variety of products used or produced daily by hospitals need to be handled and transported with special care because they are infectious, hazardous or radioactive substances. The United Nations have developed Recommendations for the Transport of Dangerous Goods to ensure their safe and
Two stark trends are becoming ever-more present in today’s world: rapid urbanization, and a growing number and intensity of hazardous events related to climate change. The combination of these two forces makes for an increasing exposure to risk for people, the economy and the environment. The
International movement and connectivity are facing unprecedented challenges as an increasing number of countries around the world close their borders and impose travel restrictions in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The patchwork of uncoordinated measures taken complicates compliance by
Policy easing will likely support growth in the CIS, but downside risks are highAgainst a backdrop of a challenging external environment, growth in the CIS is projected to pick up, while remaining stable in South-Eastern Europe, according to the United Nations World Economic Situation and
From young gender equality advocates to high-ranking government officials, key stakeholders from North America, Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia called for the urgent realization of women’s and girl’s human rights and for turning the commitments to gender equality into reality at the
Fifty-six member States from Europe, North America and Central Asia have come together to reaffirm their commitment to harnessing UNECE as a key platform for cooperation to advance progress towards the ambitious Sustainable Development Goals in the region.Intergovernmental discussions held this
CIS economies remain commodity-dependent, while South-Eastern Europe must overcome structural problems The global economy will continue to grow at a steady pace of around 3 per cent in 2019 and 2020 amid signs that global growth has peaked. However, a worrisome combination of development
The Government of Azerbaijan and the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) signed today a joint declaration on cooperation for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The document was signed by Ali Ahmadov, Azerbaijan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Chairperson of the National
Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Serbia have agreed to jointly investigate options for formalizing river flow regulation, occurrence of erosion and sedimentation, as well as ways to promote investment into renewable energy in the framework of a new project funded by the Italian Ministry for
The Belt and Road Initiative, which aims to enhance connectivity between countries stretching from Asia to Europe and Africa, has enormous potential to accelerate development, drive trade and boost economic growth. To fully harness the benefits of this ambitious initiative, it will be essential
Policy imperatives include tackling inequality and delinking economic growth from environmental degradationAn upturn in the global economy—now growing by about 3 per cent—paves the way to reorient policy towards longer-term issues such as addressing climate change, tackling existing inequalities