The UN System will continue to push for acceleration of MDG achievement, as the 2015 target date draws nearer. Throughout 2013, the process of shaping the development agenda beyond 2015, both in terms of addressing poverty and protecting the planet, will also be a major focus for the Organization.

Key dates:

• JANUARY - Launch and promotion of the “MY World” crowd-sourcing survey on post-2015 priorities
• 6-8 FEBRUARY - Meeting of High-level Panel on Post-2015 Development Agenda, in Monrovia, Liberia
• 2nd to 3rd WEEK OF MARCH - Meeting of High-level Panel on Post-2015 Development Agenda, in Bali, Indonesia
• APRIL - Launch of DESA’s Report on the World Social Situation, “Inequality Matters”
• END OF MAY - Meeting of High-level Panel on Post-2015 Development Agenda, in New York, and submission of its report to the Secretary-General
• LATE JUNE/EARLY JULY - Launch of MDG Report 2013
• FIRST WEEK OF JULY - High-level Segment of ECOSOC; theme of Annual Ministerial Review: “Science, technology and innovation, and the potential of culture, for promoting sustainable development and achieving the MDGs”
• JULY- AUGUST - Secretary-General’s report to the General Assembly on MDGs and post-2015 development agenda (in preparation for GA high-level event)
• EARLY SEPTEMBER - Launch of MDG Gap Task Force Report
• WEEK OF 23 SEPTEMBER - General Assembly High-level Event on MDGs & Special events expected on “Every Woman, Every Child”, “Education First”, “Zero Hunger Challenge” and other initiatives of the Secretary-General.
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Follow-up to Rio+20 and the promotion of sustainable development will be a critical priority in 2013. There are a number of processes to monitor and promote, including the development of sustainable development goals (linked to the post-2015 process), a sustainable development agenda for the United Nations, a 10-year programme on sustainable consumption and production, enhanced corporate reporting, and new, sustainable ways of national accounting for growth.

Key dates:

• 22 MARCH - World Water Day
• 22 APRIL - (International Mother) Earth Day
• MAY - Final meeting of Commission on Sustainable Development and expected launch of High-level Forum on Sustainable Development

Related links:

- Sustainable Development, Department of Economic and Social Affairs
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Climate change will continue to be a major priority for the UN System and the Secretary-General. Recent developments have revived media and public interest in the issue in some regions. There will be several key communications opportunities in 2013:

- IPCC Fifth Assessment Report: The Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change will roll out its Fifth Assessment Report in phases, starting with the report of Working Group I, on the physical science, to be issued in late September 2013, and culminating in the launch of a synthesis report in October 2014.

- UNFCCC process: Countries will continue the process of negotiating a legally binding instrument, protocol, or outcome with legal force, as well as strengthening global efforts to address climate change, at the Climate Change Conference in November 2013 in Poland.

Key dates:

• 27 SEPTEMBER - Launch of IPCC Fifth Assessment Report, Working Group I, on climate science (Stockholm, Sweden). This report will provide an update of knowledge on the scientific, technical and socio-economic aspects of climate change.
• 11-22 NOVEMBER - Climate Change Conference– COP 19 (Warsaw, Poland)
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Food security and agriculture continue to be high on the global agenda and the fight against hunger and under-nutrition will remain a UN priority in 2013. At the Rio+20 conference in June, the Secretary-General launched the Zero Hunger Challenge to encourage all partners to turn the vision of ending hunger into a reality. Promoting the Challenge will be the focus of communications work on food and nutrition issues next year. In support of the Zero Hunger Challenge, a campaign on food waste under the Save Food Initiative is being launched by UNEP, FAO and partners, including UNRIC Brussels and UNIC Nairobi.

Key dates:

• 22 JANUARY - Launch of food waste campaign under Save Food Initiative (Geneva)
• 5 JUNE - World Environment Day, focus on food waste and launch of UNEP/FAO report assessing environmental impact of food waste
• 21 JUNE - First anniversary of the Zero Hunger Challenge
• WEEK OF 23 SEPTEMBER - General Assembly High-level Event on the MDGs (New York) and special events on food security and scaling up nutrition (tbc)
• 16 OCTOBER - World Food Day, on theme of food loss and waste reduction
• OCTOBER - Meeting of the Committee on World Food Security (Rome, Italy)
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Disability issues will feature prominently in 2013, as preparations intensify for a General Assembly High-level Meeting on Disability and Development on 23 September, with the overarching theme “The way forward: a disability-inclusive development agenda towards 2015 and beyond” (see GA Res. A/RES/66/124).

Key dates:

• 3 DECEMBER 2012 - Launch of negotiation process for the GA High-level Meeting
• MAY/JUNE (tbc) - Launch of UNICEF’s State of the World’s Children, on children with disabilities
• SEPTEMBER - Conference of States Parties to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
• 23 SEPTEMBER - GA High-level Meeting on Disability and DevelopmentVisit us on Facebook for the latest information.

Economic issues remain major communications opportunities, as the world economy continues to struggle in a protracted process of post-crisis adjustments. The prospects for the next two years are fraught with uncertainty and risks slanted towards the downside.

The global analysis of World Economic Situation and Prospects for 2013 will be launched by DESA on 18 December 2012 in New York, and regional analyses will be launched on 17-18 January in key regional hubs, in cooperation with regional commissions and other partners. A mid-year update will be issued in May or June.

Key dates:

• 18 DECEMBER 2012 - Launch of global analysis of World Economic Situation and Prospects (WESP) Report 2013 (New York)
• 17-18 JANUARY - Regional launches of WESP 2013 (multi-site)
• 19-21 APRIL - World Bank/IMF Spring Meetings (Washington, DC)
• MAY/JUNE - WESP Mid-Year Update Report

Related links:

- World Economic Situation and Prospects (WESP) - All Issues Since 1999: http://www.un.org/en/development/desa/policy/wesp/archive.shtml
- Publications used in the preparation of the World Economic Situation and Prospects (WESP): http://www.un.org/en/development/desa/policy/wesp/wesp_bg_papers.shtml
- World Economic and Social Survey (WESS) archive - All Issues Since 1999: http://www.un.org/esa/analysis/publications/papers.htm
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Highlighting young people as drivers of political and social change has been identified by the Secretary-General as a priority for his second term and will remain high on the UN agenda in 2013. Work with and for young people will focus on the issues of employment, entrepreneurship, political inclusion, citizenship and protection of rights, and education, including on sexual and reproductive health.

The Secretary-General is expected to appoint an envoy on youth, who will be undertaking a number of substantive and advocacy activities, in close cooperation with DPI, DESA and other partners.

Key dates:

• MID-2013 - Launch of World Youth Report, on Youth and Migration
• 12 AUGUST - International Youth Day
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Information campaigns on African issues will be undertaken in collaboration with the Office of the Special Adviser on Africa (OSAA), the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and NEPAD.

Several broad themes have been identified for 2013: the post-2015 development agenda in which the African Union plans to take an active role; NEPAD Agency’s priorities on economic development, including its annual Africa Week during the GA’s special debate on Africa; progress towards attainment of the MDGs, with focus on gender, trade, aid, HIV/AIDS, and maternal health; sustainable development and climate change mitigation in Africa; peacekeeping, peacebuilding and human rights.

Key dates:

• 24-31 JANUARY - African Union Summit, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Theme “Pan-Africanism and African Renaissance”
• 7 APRIL - Commemoration of the 18th Anniversary of the Rwanda Genocide
• 8-10 MAY - World Economic Forum on Africa 2013, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
• 19-26 MAY - African Union Summit, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
• 25 MAY - Africa Day
• 18 JULY - Nelson Mandela International Day
• MID-OCTOBER - NEPAD Africa Week at UNHQ (New York)Visit us on Facebook for the latest information.

1) GENDER EQUALITY AND WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENT
Working with and for women has been identified by the Secretary-General as a major priority for the Organization during his second term. The theme of the 57th session of the Commission on the Status of Women and of International Women’s Day 2013 will be ending and preventing violence against women and girls. Progress on achieving gender equality – MDG 3 – will be a focus of the September 2013 General Assembly High-level Event on the MDGs. The second International Day of the Girl Child in October will provide an opportunity to build on the momentum and success achieved by the inaugural observance of the Day in 2012.

Key dates:

• 4-15 MARCH - 57th session of the Commission on the Status of Women, focused on the elimination and prevention of all forms of violence against women and girls
• 8 MARCH- International Women’s Day, focused on ending violence against women and girls
• 30 SEPTEMBER - Fourth anniversary of Security Council resolution 1888 on women and peace and security (addressing sexual violence in conflict)
• LATE OCTOBER - 13th anniversary of Security Council resolution 1325 on women and peace and security
• 25 NOVEMBER - International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women
• 25 NOVEMBER - 10 DECEMBER - 16 Days of Activism against Gender Violence

2) RACIAL DISCRIMINATION/PEOPLE OF AFRICAN DESCENT
With racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance still widespread, the General Assembly is calling on OHCHR and DPI to intensify efforts to raise awareness for the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action. In resolution 66/144, the General Assembly also encouraged the Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent to develop a programme of action for adoption by the Human Rights Council, with a view to proclaiming the decade starting in 2013 the Decade for People of African Descent. The Decade should build on the International Year for People of African Descent (2011).

Key dates:

• 27 JANUARY - International Day of Commemoration to Honour the Victims of the Holocaust
• 21 MARCH - International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
• 7 APRIL - Commemoration of the 19th Anniversary of the Rwanda Genocide
• (Date To Be Determined) - Launch of the Decade for People of African Descent (2013-2022) Recognition, Justice, and Development

3) 20TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE OFFICE OF THE HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) – created by the adoption of the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action in June 1993 – spearheads the UN’s work on human rights and represents the world’s commitment to promoting and protecting equal rights and human dignity for all. The 20th anniversary of OHCHR offers an opportunity to highlight the UN’s work on human rights, explore responses to today’s human rights challenges, and showcase human rights research, education, public information and advocacy activities by the United Nations system.

Key dates:

• 25 JUNE - 20th anniversary of the adoption of the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action
• 10 DECEMBER - Human Rights Day

Related links:

- Research guide on Human Rights: http://www.un.org/depts/dhl/resguide/spechr.htm
- UN website: http://www.un.org/en/rights/
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The Organization’s conferences, meeting, events and observances. The final United Nations Conference on the Arms Trade Treaty and a proposed conference on the Middle East nuclear-weapon-free zone will be a focus.

Key dates:

• 21 JANUARY - 2013 session of Conference on Disarmament begins in Geneva
• 18-28 MARCH - Final UN Conference on the Arms Trade Treaty (New York)
• 1-19 APRIL- United Nations Disarmament Commission (New York)
• 22 APRIL- 3 MAY - Second NPT Preparatory Committee (in preparation for the 2015 NPT Review Conference), (Geneva)
• 26 SEPTEMBER - High-level General Assembly plenary meeting on Nuclear Disarmament (New York)
• 24-30 OCTOBER - Disarmament Week
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