Press Releases
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More than 3 billion people depend on water that crosses national borders. As climate impacts – from drought to flooding – are felt more and more acutely worldwide, and with rising demands, pollution and tensions threatening increasingly scarce water resources, cooperation on shared waters offers a
The Meeting of the Parties to the UNECE Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-Making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters (Aarhus Convention) has elected, by consensus, Mr. Michel Forst as the world’s first Special Rapporteur on environmental defenders.
A new milestone in mobility has been reached with the adoption of a proposal to extend automated driving in certain traffic environments from the current limit of 60 km/h to up to 130 km/h.
The amendment to UN Regulation No. 157 adopted today by the World Forum for Harmonization of Vehicle
Desertification, water scarcity, droughts, and the shrinkage of the Aral Sea are some of the challenges that Uzbekistan faces due to climate change. Given their vital role in regulating ecosystems, protecting biodiversity and landscapes, and supporting livelihoods, trees and forests are at the
Chief Statisticians from across and beyond the UNECE region, taking part in this week’s 70th plenary session of the Conference of European Statisticians, have today adopted a Position statement on access to data held by the private sector for purposes of official statistics, publicly affirming
A reverse warning sound is widely used to ensure safety of people around medium- and heavy-duty vehicles above 3.5 tonnes. However, until now, there has been no worldwide harmonized regulation for audible reverse warning. To reduce the risk of accidents with reversing vehicles, on the one hand, and
Thirty years after UNECE’s adoption of the Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics, formulated by the Conference of European Statisticians (CES), the same body gathers this week in Geneva to continue its essential and ever-evolving work. Chief statisticians and national statistical offices
The 5th UNECE Ministerial Conference on Ageing in Rome closed today with the adoption of the 2022 Rome Ministerial Declaration on Ageing “a Sustainable Society for All Ages: Joining Forces for Solidarity and Equal Opportunities throughout life”.
The declaration reconfirms countries’ commitment to
Population ageing is transforming the demographic structure of countries in the UNECE region. Over the past 20 years, the number of older persons has risen by 70.3 million, and their proportion increased from 13.4 to 17.5 per cent in 2022, according to United Nations population estimates. Rising
“It is a responsibility to happen to be alive at this very moment, when scientists are telling us that we are facing an existential threat. Every person, every business, every government – especially those with the privilege of choice and power – needs to play a part in the transformation towards
From insufficient drinking water supply to contamination by sewage overflow and disease outbreaks from improper wastewater treatment, existing risks from climate change to water, sanitation and hygiene in the pan-European region are set to increase significantly, UNECE and the WHO Regional Office
16 May 2022, Geneva – participants from around the globe representing governments, National Trade Facilitation Bodies (NTFB) experts and private sector joined the online roundtable organized by the UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) and the UN Conference for Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in
A new publication released today by UNECE, Approaches to Measuring Social Exclusion, examines the many and varied ways in which statistics can assess progress towards the policy goal of leaving no-one behind.
Social exclusion, or being left out of societal processes and structures, often goes hand
Representatives from the water, energy, and environment sectors of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, and Serbia - the three riparians of the Drina River Basin - met on 4 May 2022 to discuss ways forward on sustainable development and transboundary cooperation.
The meeting of the Steering
The war has already caused the destruction of infrastructure in many urban areas of Ukraine and will require enormous efforts by the government and international partners to reconstruct following the cessation of hostilities.
In April 2022, the Ministry for Communities and Territories Development
Celerity is the essence of any disaster response. Swift distribution of equipment, relief goods and services to those that need them can minimize the destruction and alleviate the suffering inflicted by a disaster, restoring populations to safety, to health and to dignity sooner. But velocity of
A seminar and a high-level roundtable focusing on “Trade Facilitation in the Digital Economy” concluded years of collaboration between UNECE and the Kyrgyz Economic University (KEU). Aimed at building the capacity of local exerts, the UNECE project titled “Strengthening the capacity of the
How to build back better from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) while advancing the full implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in the UNECE Region? Around 1000 key stakeholders including governments, UN agencies, intergovernmental organisations, business representatives and
Almost all countries in the UNECE region, covering US, Canada, Eastern and Western Europe, the Balkans, the Caucasus, and Central Asia, have adopted national policies which are directly or indirectly related to the sustainable management of natural resources and the circular economy.
Multiple
UNECE and the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the aim of showing how football and hosting UEFA events can support cities to become more sustainable.
To celebrate the agreement, a side event entitled ‘Football as accelerator of change’
As we approach the halfway mark between the adoption and finish line of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the region is on track to achieve only 26 of 169 SDG targets, according to the UNECE 2022 SDG progress report released today. For all other measurable targets, the region must
To support Bishkek in moving towards more sustainable, inclusive and resilient urban growth, the UNECE is advancing several smart sustainable city projects in partnership with the capital of Kyrgyzstan.
Bishkek faces multiple challenges, ranging from rapid population growth, continued expansion of
UNECE notes with concern the attacks on industrial facilities in Ukraine since the beginning of the war and calls for a prompt end of the hostilities and the prevention of technological disasters, which could affect the population and environment of Ukraine and neighbouring countries.
Since the
The centrality of transboundary water cooperation for peace and sustainable development has been stressed in recent years at the global and regional levels, notably in the Sustainable Development Goals, at the United Nations Security Council, and at the African Ministers’ Council on Water.
However
A pilot project in Georgia was kicked off as part of UNECE’s longstanding support to enhancing the country’s strategic environmental assessment (SEA) and transboundary environmental impact assessment systems in accordance with the UNECE Protocol on SEA and the Convention on Environmental Impact