The volumes included in The Collected Documents of The Group of 77 at the United Nations provide a chronological record of events and documents of the Group of 77 since its creation in 1963. The Fourth Volume brings together for the first time a selection of policy statements, common position papers and other major documents by the Group of 77 relating to environment and sustainable development.
The context in which the United Nations operates is one of change and reorientation: change in the political climate, resulting in changes in the tasks the organisation is called upon to undertake; reorientation of the organisation's internal structures and procedures in response to these changes. The principal goals and objectives of the United Nations have recently been reassessed. This reassessment - highlighted in the Reform Agenda of Secretary-General Kofi Annan and during the Millennium Summit - has led to a reaffirmation by the 189 Member States of their belief in the organisation. New forms of consensus and co-operation are developing regarding what the United Nations should be striving to achieve and how best it should be organised to improve its operations. The UN and Kofi Annan ""were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for their" "role in reforming the 56-year-old institution ..."" (Herald Tribune, Honor Awarded to Annan and UN, October 13-14, 2001, p. 1). "The Quiet" "Revolution" is essentially about the reform efforts of Kofi Annan. The book therefore describes a major part of his activities leading to the award. Dr. Joachim Muller presents a detailed review of the reform initiatives undertaken during the period from 1996 to 2000, which was of such importance for the evolution of the United Nations. A wealth of information from primary sources is provided, together with an informative analysis of the history of reform within the United Nations since its creation.' From the foreword by "Jean-Pierre Halbwachs," Assistant Secretary-General, Controller, United Nations Also by Joachim Muller: "Reforming the United Nations: New" "Initiatives and Past Efforts," a three-volume setcontaining 50 key reform proposals originating inside and outside the United Nations.
Displacement in the twenty-first century is urbanized. The United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), the world’s largest humanitarian organization and the main body charged with assisting displaced people globally, estimates that over 60 per cent of refugees now live in urban areas, a proportion that only increases in the case of internally displaced people and asylum seekers. Though cities and local authorities have become essential participants in the protection of refugees, only three decades ago they were considered to sit firmly beyond UNHCR’s remit, with urban refugees typically characterized as aberrations. In The Urbanization of Forced Displacement Neil James Wilson Crawford examines the organization’s response to the growing number of refugees migrating to urban areas. Introducing a broader study of policy-making in international organizations, Crawford addresses how and why UNHCR changed its policy and practice in response to shifting trends in displacement. Citing over 400 primary UN documents, Crawford provides an in-depth study of the internal and external pressures faced by UNHCR – pressures from above, below, and within – that explain why it has radically transformed its position from the 1990s onward. UNHCR and global refugee policies have come to play an increasingly important role in the governance of global displacement. The Urbanization of Forced Displacement sheds new light on how the organization works and how it conceives its role in global politics today.
The 1996 edition of the Yearbook of the United Nations is the single most comprehensive and authoritative reference book about the work of the United Nations and related international organizations and bodies. Fully indexed and reproducing all major General Assembly, Security Council and Economic and Social Council resolutions, the volume is not only useful for diplomats, government officials and scholars, but also for researchers, writers, journalists, teachers, students and others with a serious interest in international and UN affairs. This volume of the Yearbook details the many activities of the Organization and its organs, programmes and bodies, as they are carried out in all corners of the globe. It gives an account of their endeavours to create better and more peaceful conditions for all mankind and records their efforts to deal with matters of pressing concern in a variety of areas, including peacekeeping and peacemaking, disarmament, human rights, trade and development, control of drug abuse and illicit trafficking, crime prevention, assistance to refugees and other vulnerable populations. Building on the experience of its first 50 years, the United Nations continued in 1996 to confront major global challenges. The observance of the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty can be seen as a benchmark for action to address a plethora of global ills that beset the majority of Earth's nearly 6 billion inhabitants - hunger, inadequate housing, disease, the deterioration of the environment, unemployment. During the year, the United Nations convened two major conferences - the `City Summit' in Istanbul, centering on the two themes of adequate shelter for all, and sustainable human settlement development in an urbanizing world, and the World Food Summit in Rome, whose main goal was food security for all. The Yearbook chronicles these events and many other milestones reached, making it an invaluable tool for anyone seeking in-depth information about the United Nations family. Also available from the UN, Sales No. E.97.I.1 As of volume 51 (1997) the Yearbook of the United Nations will no longer be published by Kluwer Law International. Please contact the United Nations Bookshops in New York or Geneva for future volumes at: UN Bookshop; Room GA-32; United Nations; New York; NY 10017; USA Tel. 1-212-963-7680; Fax 1-212-963-4910 or UN Bookshop; Door 40; Palais des Nations; 1211 Geneva 10; Switzerland Tel. 41-22-917-2606; Fax 41-22-917-0027
The United Nations General Assembly and the Human Rights Council recognised the human right to water in 2010. This formal recognition has put the issue high on the international agenda, but by itself leaves many questions unanswered. This book addresses this gap and clarifies the legal status and meaning of the right to water through a detailed analysis of its legal foundations, legal nature, normative content and corresponding State obligations. The human right to water has wide-ranging implications for the distribution of water. Examining these implications requires putting the right to water into the broader context of different water uses and analysing the linkages and competition with other human rights that depend on water for their realisation. Water allocation is a highly political issue reflecting societal power relations, with current priorities often benefitting the well-off and powerful. Human rights, in contrast, require prioritising the most basic needs of all people. The human right to water has the potential to address these underlying structural causes of the lack of access to water rooted in inequalities and poverty by empowering people to hold the State accountable to live up to its human rights obligations and to demand that their basic needs are met with priority.
For decades, the livestock debate has focused on how to increase production in a sustainable manner. However, the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development has shifted the emphasis from fostering sustainable production per se, to enhancing the contribution of the sector to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This publication examines the sector’s interaction with each of these Goals, as well as the potential synergies, trade-offs, and complex interlinkages. This global report is intended to serve as a reference framework that Member States and stakeholders can use as they engage in the transformation process of the livestock sector towards sustainability. It calls for an integrated approach towards livestock sustainable development, highlights the effective adaptation of the SDGs into specific and targeted national policy action as the major challenge ahead, and flags the steps in the implementation road map.
The concept of urban rehabilitation encompasses sustainable economic and social aspects of regeneration strategies, as well as highlighting heritage issues and cultural diversity. This publication sets out guidelines to assist local, regional and national authorities in devising strategies for local development and action plans for successful rehabilitation policies. This book is based on Council of Europe reference texts relating to the integrated conservation of heritage, social cohesion and human rights, and draws on the experiences and best practice in local development strategies and urban conservation.
