United Nations

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.

This report is part of Sustainable Mobility and Smart Connectivity initiative, aimed at supporting selected countries in Central Asia, Caucasus and the Western Balkans in transitioning towards sustainable transport and better connectivity. It outlines national action plans designed to build the capacity of national stakeholders to implement sustainable mobility and smart connectivity policies. In collaboration with the Ministries, national stakeholders, and a national consultant, UNECE conducted an in-dept analysis to assess the current state of mobility sustainability and connectivity. The analysis identified key areas for improvement and, in agreement with national authorities, established priority areas for action. Based on these findings, the report proposes tailored actions plans and recommendations for Albania to implement the AETR and Smart Tachographs in the country.

На пятом Совещании высокого уровня по транспорту, окружающей среде и охране здоровья (Вена (в гибридном формате), 17 и 18 мая 2021 года) государства члены решили разработать с целью принятия в 2023 году всеобъемлющую обще европейскую стратегию в области транспорта, окружающей среды и охраны здоро вья, включая четкий план ее осуществления, для достижения согласованной кон цепции и организации дальнейшей работы ОПТОСОЗ.

Conceived as a comprehensive introduction to a field central to the work of the United Nations, Disarmament: A Basic Guide aims to provide a useful overview of the nuanced challenges of building a more peaceful world in the twenty-first century. It was written with the general reader in mind and it strives to be accessible without downplaying the complexity of the issues it explores. This fourth edition includes updated figures, tables and treaty statuses; new analysis of the key developments since 2012; discussion of two recently agreed legal instruments, the Arms Trade Treaty and the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons; and a new chapter on emerging threats from cyber weaponry, unmanned combat aerial vehicles and lethal autonomous weapons systems.

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).

The years 2015 to 2022 were the eight warmest in the 173-year instrumental record. Concentrations of the three main greenhouse gases – carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide – reached record highs in 2021, the latest year for which consolidated global values are available (1984–2021). The annual increase in methane concentration from 2020 to 2021 was the highest on record. Real-time data from specific locations show that levels of the three greenhouse gases continued to increase in 2022. This report shows that, once again, greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere continue to reach record levels – contributing to warming of the land and ocean, melting of ice sheets and glaciers, rising sea levels, and warming and acidifying of oceans. There are major gaps in the weather and climate observing networks, especially in the least developed countries (LDCs) and small island developing States (SIDS), which is an obstacle for climate baseline monitoring, especially at regional and national scales, and for the provision of early warning and adequate climate services. The United Nations Early Warnings for All Initiative, spearheaded by WMO, aims to fill the existing capacity gap to ensure that every person on Earth is covered by early warning services. Achieving this ambitious task requires sound observations and regular updates on key climate indicators, as provided in this report.

This publication contains the text and the explanatory note of the UNCITRAL Model Law on the Use and Cross-border Recognition of Identity Management and Trust Services. This is the first model law at the global level that offers guidance on laws that enable identifying persons online and providing assurance of quality of data messages. Online identification and assurance of data quality are building blocks of the digital world and their international use is critical to ensure seamless cross-border dataflows. The explanatory note offers a detailed illustration of the 27 articles of the Model Law, building on the travaux préparatoires.

The multi-stakeholder High-level Advisory Body on Artificial Intelligence, initially proposed in 2020 as part of the United Nations Secretary-General’s Roadmap for Digital Cooperation (A/74/821), was formed in October 2023 to undertake analysis and advance recommendations for the international governance of artificial intelligence. Artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming our world. This suite of technologies offers tremendous potential for good, from opening new areas of scientific inquiry and optimizing energy grids, to improving public health and agriculture and promoting broader progress on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Left ungoverned, however, AI’s opportunities may not manifest or be distributed equitably. Widening digital divides could limit the benefits of AI to a handful of States, companies and individuals. Missed uses – failing to take advantage of and share AI-related benefits because of lack of trust or missing enablers such as capacity gaps and ineffective governance – could limit the opportunity envelope. Accountability requires implementation so that commitments to global AI governance translate to tangible outcomes in practice, including on capacity development and support to small and medium enterprises, so that opportunities are shared. Much of this will take place at the national and regional levels, but more is also needed globally to address risks and harness benefits.

The Guide offers an overview of the uniform law instruments in the area of international commercial contracts. Chapters I and II provide information on the origin and purpose, scope and approach, and intended readership of the Guide. Chapter III deals with issues of private international law, namely the determination of the law applicable to international commercial contracts, whether chosen or not by the parties. Reference is made to the texts prepared by the Hague Conference on Private International Law, specifically the HCCH Principles on Choice of Law in International Commercial Contracts. Chapter IV deals with the uniform law of international sales, discussing in particular the provisions of the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods, the Convention on the Limitation Period in the International Sale of Goods and the UNIDROIT Principles of International Commercial Contracts, and their interaction. Chapter IV also contains a reference to regional uniform texts and to model contracts based on uniform texts. Chapter V contains a summary of recurring legal issues that arise frequently in connection with sales contracts and how they are addressed in uniform law instruments.

The year 2022 marks the 30th anniversary of the Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes (Water Convention), which was adopted in Helsinki in 1992. Showcasing concrete success stories of the Water Convention’s impact on the ground, this publication serves as an important resource to exemplify the benefits of transboundary water cooperation. Readers will better understand the Water Convention’s social, economic and environmental impact as well as its benefits for peace and security in different regional settings over the past three decades.

A war on Lebanon began on 8 October 2023. This report presents a comprehensive analysis of its immediate impact and far-reaching consequences. It provides a solid analysis to inform the country’s immediate recovery plan and guide longer-term reform efforts to address the structural challenges facing Lebanon. To this end, the report explores the impact of the war on various sectors, from the physical damage incurred to infrastructure and economic systems to the profound human and social costs. It also assesses the broader macroeconomic effects of the conflict, highlighting how existing challenges have been exacerbated, resulting in deepened vulnerabilities across multiple dimensions of society and the economy. The report provides short-, medium- and long-term policy recommendations to serve as foundations for recovery efforts.

يقدم هذا التقرير ويحلل الإحصاءات المتعلقة بالخصائص الديموغرافية والأوضاع الاجتماعية والاقتصادية للأشخاص ذوي الإعاقة في البلدان العربية. ويستند إلى بيانات من التعدادات السكانية والدراسات الاستقصائية الوطنية الحديثة التي تم تنسيقها والتحقق منها من قبل الإسكوا وفقا للمعايير الدولية. يتراوح معدل انتشار الإعاقة في البلدان العربية بين 0.2 في المائة في قطر و5.1 في المائة في المغرب. وعلى الرغم من الالتزام المتزايد من قبل البلدان العربية بحقوق الأشخاص ذوي الإعاقة، فإن التقدم نحو تحقيق هذا الهدف يبقى بطيئاً. ويبين التقرير أنه فيما يتعلق بالإلمام بالكتابة والقراءة والتعليم والعمل، يظل الأشخاص ذوو الإعاقة محرومين. كما ان النساء من ذوات الإعاقة في المناطق الريفية مهمشات بشكل خاص.

A variety of controls imposed under occupation constrain economic development in Areas A and B of the West Bank. These include the ban on the importation of certain technology and inputs under the dual-use list system and a myriad of mobility and other restrictions that inflate the cost of production and undermine the competitiveness of Palestinian producers in domestic and foreign markets. While special economic zones in China and other countries have contributed significantly to their economies and are thought to be positive, the classification of portions of the West Bank as part of Area C exerts the opposite effect: instead of openness, it entails restrictions, and instead of contributing to the economy it hampers and suppresses its potential. Area C thus plays a role kin to an “adverse economic zone” that thwarts investment instead of promoting greater economic activity. This study quantifies the impact of the relative share of Area C in Palestinian localities on household welfare, measured by expenditure. The estimation exercise uses two cross-sectional data sets on 457 localities in 10 governorates. The exercise reveals that the greater the share of Area C in a locality, the stronger the negative impact on total household expenditure. The extent of this negative effect, however, is heterogeneous and varies across West Bank governorates. The study complements previous studies and concludes that reducing restrictions in Area C to levels similar to Areas A and B, as a necessary, but not sufficient, step towards ending the occupation, in line with relevant United Nations resolutions, and could boost total Palestinian household expenditure substantially, by up to 200 per cent in some localities, and help to reduce poverty substantially across much of the Occupied Palestinian Territory.

Cooperation over transboundary rivers, lakes and aquifers is critical to ensuring that water resources are managed in an equitable and sustainable manner, and the achievement of SDG6 (water). Transboundary waters also create social, economic, environmental and political inter-dependencies that make cooperation a precondition to sustainable development, peace and security. As the only target in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development that makes explicit reference to transboundary cooperation, target 6.5 can play a catalytic role across multiple SDGs and targets. It can generate multiple benefits for the protection of human health, renewable energy provision, sustainable agriculture, climate adaptation, ecosystem protection, and peace and security. This publication presents the results of the third reporting exercise on SDG indicator 6.5.2 carried out in 2023-2024. It offers valuable insights into the progress achieved in establishing operational arrangements for transboundary waters, and the gaps that remain; and highlights that an acceleration in strengthening transboundary water cooperation is urgently needed to be able to face growing water challenges and prevent conflicts on water use. The report places special emphasis on the relationship between transboundary water cooperation and particularly SDG indicator 6.5.2 and climate change.

As the impacts of climate change on the Arab region intensify and socioeconomic and political challenges – including conflict – persist, efforts to secure access to safe and reliable water supplies are of primary importance. In this context, this document serves as the third progress report on Sustainable Development Goal indicator 6.5.1 on the implementation of integrated water resources management (IWRM) in the Arab region, highlighting challenges and opportunities to advance implementation. While the average IWRM implementation level for the Arab region is on par with global progress, it is marked by great disparity between the high-income countries and the least developed and conflict- and crisis-affected countries of the region. Overall, Arab countries have scored a slight increase in IWRM implementation compared to the 2020 scores, but progress is decelerating. Closing the achievement gap between high- and low-income and crisis-impacted countries in the region is crucial to IWRM implementation, as well to the achievement of the goals laid out in the International Decade for Action, “Water for Sustainable Development”, 2018–2028.

This publication provides support to country representatives and other relevant stakeholders for the design and drafting of transboundary water cooperation agreements and other arrangements, including guidance on content and drafting options. It reflects existing practice and serves as an “agreement/arrangement builder," enabling countries to develop a legal framework tailored to their basin and other relevant national/regional circumstances and highlighting elements that are recommended for the effectiveness, adaptability and longevity of the agreement/arrangement. The publication is built around six main areas, grouping different provisions/issues typically included in agreements or other arrangements that can help structure legal frameworks for transboundary waters.

In recent decades, multilateral and regional trade negotiations and unilateral liberalization have substantially reduced tariff rates. Non-tariff measures (NTMs), however, represent a growing challenge for exporters and policy makers. The ability to gain and to benefit from market access depends increasingly on compliance with trade regulatory measures such as sanitary requirements and goods standards. The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) has been actively involved in research and activities on issues related to non-tariff measures. The purpose of this publication is to provide guidelines to enable data collectors to harmonize the data collection process and to minimize uncertainty during the process of categorization and classification.

The 3rd edition of the Annual Digest of the Social Protection Reforms in the Arab Region documents 135 policy reforms through various means and sources, including automatic news monitoring and direct inputs from policymakers of ESCWA member States. These reforms indicate significant efforts by Governments to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of national social protection systems. The relative decrease in the number of observed reforms compared to previous years does not imply that Governments’ commitment to social protection has diminished. On the contrary, it signals a transition from temporary, shock-responsive measures to generally more long-term, systemic overhauls of systems and/or adaptation of programmes aimed at providing sustainable protection against life-cycle risks. The changing social protection landscape in the Arab region reflects an increasing commitment among many Arab countries to invest in the welfare of their citizens. Governments are continuously adapting their social protection policies and programmes to evolving societal needs and economic conditions.

The report reviews the situation of Palestinian women and girls in the Occupied Palestinian Territory from 1 July 2022 to 30 June 2024, focusing on their political, social, economic and human rights. The security and political context are assessed, which deteriorated at an alarming rate during the reporting period, with devastating consequences for women’s rights to life, security and protection. The report describes the unprecedented Israeli war on Gaza since 7 October 2023, which has resulted in an escalation of humanitarian and protection crises, with further ramifications for the West Bank, including far-reaching impacts on women and girls. The analysis also focuses on life under occupation in the West Bank, emphasizing the severe consequences for women and girls of movement restrictions, increased arrests and raids. Positive achievements in the advancement of the rights of Palestinian women and girls during the reporting period are also highlighted. Lastly, recommendations are proposed for decision makers, encompassing a broad range of gender-sensitive legal and institutional reforms along with economic and social policy reforms targeting Palestinian women and girls. The report calls for urgent action for a permanent ceasefire and an end to the occupation in line with international law.

New data from UNAIDS on the global HIV response reveals that during the last two years of COVID-19 and other global crises, progress against the HIV pandemic has faltered, resources have shrunk, and millions of lives are at risk as a result. The new report, In Danger, is being launched ahead of the International AIDS Conference in Montreal, Canada.