Books

This is the official report to the General Assembly of the Committee on Contributions on its eighty-fifth session (2–20 June 2025).

The 2025 UNHCR Refugee Education Report draws on data from more than 70 countries worldwide to provide the most detailed picture yet of the state of refugee education and enrolment. The report highlights slight increases in access to education for refugees as well as moderate improvements towards achieving gender parity. At the same time, the recent cuts to humanitarian and development aid may put this hard-won progress at risk, particularly without greater investment, stronger partnerships and better data collection.

The world is facing a red alert for children’s health: Vaccination coverage dropped sharply during the COVID-19 pandemic, leaving millions more children unprotected against some of childhood’s most serious diseases. In addition, many millions of children from some of the world’s most marginalized communities have long missed out on life-saving vaccination. Catch-up and recovery are needed urgently to vaccinate the children missed and to avoid further backsliding. And greater effort is needed to reach the children historically left behind. The State of the World’s Children 2023 examines what needs to happen to ensure that every child, everywhere is protected against vaccine-preventable diseases.

This is the annual report submitted to the General Assembly by the Committee for Programme and Coordination on its sixty-fifth session during the period 12 May – 13 June 2025.

This is the annual report submitted to the General Assembly by the Economic and Social Council on its 2024 session.

The present annual report covers questions considered by the Security Council and matters brought to its attention as well as the work of the Council’s subsidiary bodies during the reporting period.

The present annual report covers questions considered by the Security Council and matters brought to its attention as well as the work of the Council’s subsidiary bodies during the reporting period.

The Afghanistan Drug Insights 2024 is a set of three reports that provide latest data and in-depth analysis on aspects of the evolving drug situation in Afghanistan. Opium production in Afghanistan remains low for the second consecutive year, with production at 433 tons in 2024, confirmed new estimates from the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). Although this figure represents a 30 per cent increase from 2023, production still remains 93 per cent below 2022 levels, when the de facto authorities began enforcing a country-wide drug ban.

As the principal judicial organ of the United Nations, the Court’s role is to settle, in accordance with international law, legal disputes submitted to it by States and to give advisory options on legal questions referred to it by authorized United Nations organs and specialized agencies. This publication is an annual record of the work of the Court during the period from 1 August of the preceding year to 31 July of the current year. It discusses a wide range of topics and cases before the Court pertaining to subjects such as territorial rights, law of the sea and treaty interpretation.

The bilingual Annuaire-Yearbook 2013-2014 presents the work of the International Court of Justice between 1 August 2013 and 31 July 2014, as well as its organization and functioning.

The Demographic Yearbook 2024 is the seventy-fifth issue in a series published by the United Nations since 1948. It contains tables on a wide range of demographic statistics, including a world summary of selected demographic statistics, statistics on the size, distribution and trends in national populations, fertility, fetal mortality, infant and maternal mortality, general mortality, nuptiality and divorce. Data are shown by urban/rural residence, as available. The volume provides Technical Notes, a synoptic table, a historical index and a listing of the issues of the Demographic Yearbook published to date. This issue of Demographic Yearbook contains data as available including reference year 2024.

La edición 2018 del El Informe Mundial sobre el Desarrollo de los Recursos Hídricos (WWDR) busca informar a los responsables políticos y tomadores de decisiones, dentro y fuera de la comunidad del agua, sobre el potencial de las soluciones basadas en la naturaleza para afrontar los desafíos actuales de la gestión del agua en todos los sectores, particularmente los relacionados con el agua para la agricultura, para las ciudades sostenibles, para la reducción del riesgo de desastres naturales y los de la calidad del agua. La gestión del agua sigue estando fuertemente dominada por la infraestructura tradicional construida por el hombre (es decir, "gris") y el enorme potencial de NBS sigue desaprovechado. Las soluciones basadas en la naturaleza (NBS) incluyen infraestructura verde que puede sustituir, aumentar o trabajar en conjunto con la infraestructura gris de una manera rentable. El objetivo es encontrar la combinación más adecuada de inversiones verdes y grises para maximizar los beneficios y la eficiencia del sistema a la vez que se minimizan los costos y las compensaciones. Las NBS para el agua son fundamentales para alcanzar la Agenda 2030 para el Desarrollo Sostenible porque también generan beneficios colaterales sociales, económicos y ambientales, incluidos la salud humana y los medios de subsistencia, la seguridad alimentaria y energética, el crecimiento económico sostenible, empleos decentes, rehabilitación y mantenimiento de ecosistemas y biodiversidad. Si bien las NBS no son una panacea, jugarán un papel esencial en la economía circular y en la construcción de un futuro más equitativo para todos.

This is the annual report submitted to the General Assembly by the Economic and Social Council on its 2024 session.

The Model Rules facilitate the financing and acquisition of railway rolling stock leading to a reduced cost for those wishing to invest in the railways. They are issued under the auspices of SC.2 and implement a key requirement of the Luxembourg Protocol to the Cape Town Convention on International Interests in Mobile Equipment. The rules lay down the methods and responsibilities for affixing the URVIS identifier to an item of railway rolling stock.

This revised edition of the Expanded Pocketbook forms part of OHCHR’s updated “Human Rights and Law Enforcement Guidance and Training Package”. The training package also includes a Manual on Human Rights Training for Law Enforcement Officials and a Training Guide on Human Rights for Law Enforcement Officials, in addition to presentation slides corresponding to each chapter of the Manual. The Expanded Pocketbook is designed to be a readily accessible and portable reference tool for law enforcement officials. It can be further tailored to a particular law enforcement agency’s local context. The international standards can, for example, be complemented with references to national law, internal policies or standard operating procedures. The Expanded Pocketbook contains hundreds of point-form standards and recommendations, organized according to law enforcement duties, functions and topics.

The 2025 Regional Trends Report on Energy for Sustainable Development: Transforming Energy Systems for a Low Carbon Future in Asia and the Pacific offers an extensive analysis of the region’s progress and challenges in moving towards a low carbon energy future. It examines, in detail, the region’s progress in achieving Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy) and in advancing the just energy transition. Despite significant progress in electricity access across nearly all countries in the region and with many national examples of accelerated renewable energy deployment, challenges exist, particularly in achieving universal access to clean cooking and improving energy efficiency. A just, equitable and inclusive transition necessitates accelerated action by governments, substantial investments and enhanced regional collaboration. To support the realization of a low-carbon future, the recommendations of this report are aligned with the outcomes of COP28, where countries committed to tripling renewable energy capacity and doubling energy efficiency improvement rates by 2030. The Asia-Pacific region plays a critical role in achieving these global targets, as it is home to over 4.3 billion people and consumes more than half of the world’s energy.

Le protocole sur l’eau et la santé précise que, dans la poursuite des objectifs d’accès à l’eau potable et d’assainissement pour tous, une attention particulière doit être accordée à l’accès équitable à ces services pour tous les membres de la population. Le tableau de bord de l’accès équitable 2.0 présenté dans cette publication est un outil d’auto-évaluation analytique qui évalue la capacité des cadres et mesures de gouvernance existants à garantir un accès équitable à l’eau et à l’assainissement. Il évalue également les politiques publiques visant à réduire les disparités géographiques, en tenant compte des groupes vulnérables et marginalisés, et examine les problèmes d’accessibilité financière pour garantir un accès équitable à l’eau et à l’assainissement. Le tableau de bord de l’accès équitable 2.0, élaboré en 2024, est une version actualisée de la publication originale qui intègre les enseignements tirés de l’application de l’outil original dans 12 pays au cours des 10 dernières années afin de mieux saisir les variations pertinentes pour garantir un accès sûr à l’eau et à l’assainissement. Outre l’intégration de l’outil, la publication contient des recommandations sur la manière de planifier l’auto-évaluation et fournit des exemples concrets des avantages de l’utilisation de la carte de score dans divers contextes. Les parties au protocole, les pays et les autres parties prenantes sont invités à utiliser le tableau de bord de l’accès équitable pour identifier les limites et définir des actions ciblées afin de combler les lacunes existantes en matière d’accès à l’eau et à l’assainissement et de réaliser ainsi les droits de l’homme à l’eau et à l’assainissement.

Recommendation L provides guidance on how to establish a common regulatory arrangement (CRA) which is a voluntary mechanism that countries can adopt in order to help harmonize product regulations and reduce redundant conformity verifications. Recommendation L was first approved in 2001 and revised in 2015. The current revision clarifies the international model, intended to support conformity of both products and services, and provides additional guidance on the inclusion of services within its scope. The annex contains the international model of a Common Regulatory Arrangement (CRA).

This is the official Record of the Report of the Committee on the Rights of the Child.

Este informe presenta las principales conclusiones de la Evaluación del transporte sostenible de mercancías (TSM) en Angola, que evalúa el sistema de transporte de mercancías del país en función de los tres pilares de la sostenibilidad. La metodología TSM permite flexibilidad, adaptando diagnósticos estandarizados a las necesidades específicas de los países y las partes interesadas. Mediante esta herramienta, se analiza el desempeño del transporte de mercancías de Angola para evaluar su capacidad para cumplir los objetivos de sostenibilidad. La evaluación identifica los desafíos que socavan la sostenibilidad del sector de mercancías de Angola y explora el papel del transporte de mercancías en el apoyo a la agroindustria, las cadenas de valor y el desarrollo de corredores. La Evaluación TSM combina enfoques cuantitativos y cualitativos. La parte cuantitativa utiliza puntuaciones comparables internacionalmente de fuentes de datos para medir el desempeño en los tres pilares de sostenibilidad, a la vez que incorpora puntuaciones basadas en encuestas a las partes interesadas. Estas puntuaciones proporcionan información sobre el desempeño del transporte de mercancías en diferentes modos, según la perspectiva de las partes interesadas. La parte cualitativa se basa en preguntas abiertas de la encuesta y entrevistas con las partes interesadas. El informe concluye con una serie de recomendaciones y áreas de acción para mejorar la sostenibilidad del sistema de transporte de mercancías de Angola. Las conclusiones de la evaluación TSM servirán de base para la toma de decisiones y contribuirán al desarrollo de una estrategia de transporte de mercancías sostenible, tal como se describe en el Marco TSM de la UNCTAD.

The report outlines the vision of UNCTAD’s Secretary-General with respect to the world and how the organization must change to support Member States it their pursuit for shared prosperity. The report assess the state of trade and development in the last four years, which have been characterized by a set of economic shocks, from the Covid-19 Pandemic to the war in Ukraine. The report acknowledges that progress has been slow. The SDGs are off track, inequality remains high, and ongoing crises continue to undermine development. The report outlines four transformations that most be undertaken to propel achievement of the SDGs: 1) More diversified economies. 2) more resilient and inclusive economies, 3) More abundant and stable finance for development and 4) More multilateralism in a multipolar world. The reports concludes by outlining a series of priorities for the UNCTAD to better respond to the challenges of today and to better serve its member States.

This publication provides a practical and actionable roadmap for public authorities, regulators, and quality infrastructure bodies seeking to integrate gender considerations into their organizational structures and outputs. Developed under the UNECE Trade subprogramme project on Mainstreaming Gender throughout Quality Infrastructure, the GAP Model Blueprint is the first of its kind in the UN system to directly target the intersection of gender equality and regulatory systems in trade, standards, metrology, accreditation, and conformity assessment. Gender equality remains a central pillar of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. The publication builds on UNECE’s longstanding work on gender-responsive standards and the efforts of its Working Party on Regulatory Cooperation and Standardization Policies and its Team of Specialists on Gender-Responsive Standards. It represents a timely, concrete contribution to international efforts to make institutions more inclusive, effective, and equitable.

The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (ECE) Environmental Performance Review Programme assesses progress made by individual countries in reconciling their economic and social development with environmental protection, as well as in meeting international commitments on environment and sustainable development. The Environmental Performance Review Programme assists countries to improve their environmental policies by making concrete recommendations for better policy design and implementation. Environmental Performance Reviews help to integrate environmental policies into sector-specific policies such as those in agriculture, energy, transport and health. Through the peer review process, the reviews promote dialogue among Governments about the effectiveness of environmental policies as well as the exchange of practical experience in implementing sustainable development and green economy initiatives. They also promote greater Government accountability to the public. The present publication contains the fourth EPR of Montenegro. It takes stock of progress made in the governance and management of the environment since 2013. The review covers legal and policy frameworks and compliance assurance mechanisms. It focuses on greening the economy, addressing climate change issues and analysing the country’s participation in and commitments to international agreements. It also examines Montenegro’s efforts to integrate environmental considerations into its policies in the tourism, forestry and industry sectors. The publication is aimed at officials and experts working for public authorities responsible for environmental policy, representatives of civil society, the business community, academia and the media.

La publication propose une méthode de classification de l’hydrogène nécessaire pour relancer la production et le commerce international de l’hydrogène. Il présente également plusieurs idées de projets dans certains États membres de la CEE qui permettraient d'accélérer le déploiement de l'hydrogène.

This is the annual report submitted to the General Assembly by the Disarmament Commission for 2022.