Books

This gender alert analyses how food insecurity and conflict in Sudan are deepening gender inequalities. The report draws on field testimonies, rapid gender analysis, and data from humanitarian partners to highlight how women and girls are disproportionately affected by one of the world’s worst food crises. Female-headed households are three times more likely than male-headed ones to face extreme hunger, and 74 per cent of girls are out of school. The collapse of livelihoods, markets, and health systems has exposed women and girls to intersecting risks of malnutrition, displacement, and gender-based violence (GBV). Despite these conditions, women-led organizations are delivering frontline relief operating community kitchens, safe spaces, and health services, yet they receive less than three per cent of humanitarian funding. This publication calls for urgent, gender-responsive action, prioritizing women and girls in aid delivery, resourcing women-led organizations, scaling up protection and GBV prevention, and integrating gender equality across humanitarian and recovery efforts to save lives and restore dignity.

The Yearbook series is a result of collaborative efforts by major African regional organizations to set up a joint data collection mechanism of socioeconomic data on African countries, as well as the development of a harmonized database. It seeks to promote wider use of country data, reduce costs, significantly improve the availability and quality of the data, and lead to better monitoring of development initiatives on the continent. The data in this issue of the Yearbook are arranged generally for the years 2005-2013, or for the last eight years for which data are available. It is published in a single volume consisting of two parts: a set of summary tables followed by country profiles.

The document aims to support experts working in national statistical offices and other agencies producing official statistics in using data from administrative sources for measuring hard-to-reach groups, namely the homeless, undocumented migrants, immigrants and emigrants. The document also helps data users understand the potential and limitations of administrative sources for producing official statistics on these groups. The document was endorsed by the Conference of European Statisticians at its 2025 plenary session in June 2025.

This study argues that the international trading community should take stock of the positive developments occurring on rules of origin based on a “de facto” analysis carried out in this study. Using an innovative approach the analysis shows that major FTAs have convergent product specific rules of origin (PSRO) on the majority of PSRO at HS six-digit level as high as 60.3%, equivalent to 54% of dutiable intra-FTA trade. In addition, a recent study has found that similar trend is taking place on proof of origin, another fundamental part of rules of origin. This study advocates that the results of this analysis should be used to hold a series of informed session among WTO members to further discuss the respective areas of convergence and later share it with the wider community as a useful toolbox or compendium of PSROs and proof or origin to facilitate compliance and reduce costs.

Understanding how inclusive trade is has become increasingly relevant as countries aim to promote equitable economic outcomes. This note proposes a method to evaluate how inclusive a country’s exports are by considering key economic dimensions. The proposed indicators allow for comparisons across countries and overtime, providing insights into how a country’s trade composition relates to broader economic outcomes, including income growth and social equity.

This publication offers a strategic guide for integrating sustainable urban and peri-urban forestry into national policies and international environmental frameworks. It provides actionable recommendations, guidance, and tools to help governments mainstream urban forestry across sectors and levels of government. Drawing on global case studies and the San Marino Regional Urban Forestry Action Plan, it highlights how urban forestry contributes to climate resilience, biodiversity, land restoration and the SDGs. The publication also outlines practical mechanisms for embedding urban forestry into national plans and reports under the Rio Conventions, enhancing coherence, visibility, and access to finance. By aligning urban forestry with global goals, it supports greener, healthier, and more resilient cities while advancing national and international commitments.

International trade in services is crucial for economic growth, supporting income, productivity, and resilience. Strengthening service linkages boosts development, with services trade playing a key role in achieving the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. However, there remain considerable data gaps in trade in services statistics. Enterprise and establishment surveys are among the most important sources of trade in services statistics and offer the potential to fill data gaps relating to breakdowns by partner and mode of supply. The Trade in Services Statistics Information System (TiSSTAT), developed at United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), leverages the potential of online surveys and helps to overcome the challenges related to them. This technical paper presents an information system with three main elements: a questionnaire, a set of methodologies that go together with the questionnaire, and a multi-user application that helps reduce response burden and the cost of surveying, while supporting statistical authorities in the compilation of reliable, transparent and detailed trade in services statistics.

The United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR) established by the General Assembly in 1955 assesses the levels and effects of exposure to ionizing radiation on human health and the environment. This is the first of two volumes of scientific annexes that summarizes the current state of knowledge regarding the risks of second primary cancer following radiotherapy and future research needs. It is important for establishing the basis for long-term medical care and preventive interventions that will benefit the growing population of cancer survivors.

The present publication contains the third EPR of Kyrgyzstan. It takes stock of progress made by Kyrgyzstan in the management of its environment since it was reviewed for the second time in 2010. It covers legal and policy frameworks and environmental compliance assurance mechanisms and addresses the topics of greening the economy, environmental monitoring, public participation and education. Furthermore, it addresses issues of specific importance to the country related to air protection, biodiversity and protected areas, as well as water, waste and chemicals management. It also examines the efforts of the country to integrate environmental considerations into its policies in the agriculture, energy, industry, transport, land and natural and technological or anthropogenic hazards sectors. It includes a substantive analysis of the country’s participation in and commitments to international environmental agreements, as well as its climate change adaptation and mitigation measures. It includes an assessment of relevant targets of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and provides recommendations related to the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals.

Cette publication propose une feuille de route pratique et concrète à l’intention des autorités publiques, des organismes de réglementation et des structures d’infrastructure qualité souhaitant intégrer les considérations de genre dans leurs structures organisationnelles et leurs résultats. Élaborée dans le cadre d’un projet du sous-programme Commerce de la CEE-ONU sur l'intégration du genre dans l'infrastructure qualité, le Modèle de plan d’action sur le genre est la première du genre dans le système des Nations Unies à cibler directement l’intersection entre l’égalité des sexes et les systèmes réglementaires dans les domaines du commerce, de la normalisation, de la métrologie, de l’accréditation et de l’évaluation de la conformité. L’égalité des sexes reste un pilier central de l’Agenda 2030 pour le développement durable et de la Déclaration et du Programme d’action de Beijing. Pourtant, les progrès vers l’ODD 5 sont au point mort à l’échelle mondiale – et les cadres de gouvernance existants négligent souvent le rôle que peuvent jouer les institutions techniques dans la promotion de résultats sensibles au genre. Cette publication comble cette lacune critique en fournissant aux institutions des étapes concrètes pour :• élaborer des politiques internes visant à favoriser l'équilibre entre les sexes. intégrer des approches sensibles au genre dans les travaux techniques .collecter et utiliser des données ventilées par sexe promouvoir la diversité dans les postes de direction et les processus décisionnels.Structurée autour d’un modèle modulaire et personnalisable, la boîte à outils offre aux institutions un cadre pour entamer ou approfondir leurs efforts d’intégration du genre, en cohérence avec les engagements nationaux et les normes internationales. Elle comprend également une matrice d’évaluation et des exemples de bonnes pratiques issus de la région de la CEE-ONU et d’ailleurs. Bien que conçue à l’origine pour les organismes d’infrastructure qualité, le Modèle de plan d’action sur le genre peut être facilement adaptée à d’autres organisations du secteur public, en particulier celles actives dans les domaines techniques, réglementaires ou des politiques économiques. Cette publication s’appuie sur les travaux de longue date de la CEE-ONU en matière de normes tenant compte des questions de genre, ainsi que sur les efforts de son Groupe de travail des politiques de coopération en matière de réglementation et de normalisation et de son Équipe de spécialistes des normes tenant compte des questions de genre. Elle constitue une contribution concrète et opportune aux efforts internationaux visant à rendre les institutions plus inclusives, efficaces et équitables.