Every month, the editorial content focuses on one of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, highlighting its role and how it is intrinsic to advancing the entire 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
IN FOCUS: PEACE, JUSTICE, AND STRONG INSTITUTIONS
Strong, effective and accountable institutions, including a free and democratic press, can help to promote non-discriminatory laws and policies, combat corruption, bribery and organised crime, and prevent violence and terrorism, bringing peace and justice to society at large.
Yet, in 2017, the world spent more than $1.7 trillion on arms and armies – the highest level since the fall of the Berlin Wall. An eighth of that amount could eliminate extreme poverty and hunger. Less than 1 per cent funds 14 UN Peacekeeping operations.
As we highlight SDG 16, the editorial content explores 71 years of peacekeeping and its commitment to protect and serve hundreds of millions of civilians. It looks at the International Criminal Court’s efforts to end crimes against humanity as well as the United Nations’ work to protect children from the atrocities of war.
We also feature exclusive interviews with Nobel Peace Prize winners, Nadia Murad and Dr. Denis Mukwege, who have dedicated their lives to end the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war.
For further information on the UN’s work on Goal 16, including facts and figures, click here.
I wanted to contribute to protecting the world’s most vulnerable.
Last year, Superintendent of Police Phyllis Osei from Ghana — serving with the United Nations Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM) — was awarded the United Nations Female Police Peacekeeper of the Year Award. Her contributions enhancing the protection of women and girls, as well as her initiatives to promote women rights in the host state police, embody the spirit of the Award and embrace the values of international policing. Here is an interview conducted by the United Nations.
UN Peacekeeping was created 71 years ago with the deployment of UN military observers to the Middle East. Since then, more than 70 peacekeeping operations have been established. Fourteen remain across the world from Haiti, Mali, Lebanon to India and Pakistan, performing essential post-conflict activities – disarming ex-combatants, reforming judicial systems, training police forces, providing electoral assistance to helping displaced communities return home after the war.
Ahead of International Day of UN Peacekeepers on 29 May, UN News looks at how Peacekeeping missions support mobile courts, to ensure communities can settle disputes, and see criminals lawfully punished.
In May, the International Criminal Court (ICC) rolls out a year-long campaign to unite “Humanity against Crimes.” The ICC will share content throughout the year, starting with exclusive interviews with its President, Prosecutor and Registrar, survivor stories and testimonies, stories from the field and a photo exhibit created in partnership with National Geographic photographers on people’s journey to justice.
The campaign website and assets will be available on 8 May. For more information, please email ICC’s Public Affairs Unit.
Protecting Children Everywhere
Every five minutes, a child is killed by violence. We look at initiatives to strengthen the protection of children, and ultimately end and prevent the gravest violations against children.
ACT to Protect Campaign
“Imagine war as the only reality you have ever known. This is life for millions of children,” says actor and UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador, Forest Whitaker. Check out the new ACT to Protect Children Affected by Conflict campaign that he recently launched with the UN Office of the Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict.
#SafetoLearn Campaign
The Global Partnership to End Violence against Children estimates that nearly a quarter of a million children are affected by school-related violence each year. Find out more about their latest campaign called #SafetoLearn.
The latest study on homicide by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime says that every hour about six women are killed by people they know – this makes the home the most dangerous place for women. An estimated 87,000 women were killed around the world in 2017 – more than half of them by intimate partners or family members.
Read more about the organization’s work to strengthen evidence-based policies and criminal justice responses needed to prevent and end violence against women and gender-related killings.
“A free press is essential for peace, justice, sustainable development and human rights,” says UN Secretary-General António Guterres in his message for World Press Freedom Day (3 May).
“No democracy is complete without access to transparent and reliable information. It is the cornerstone for building fair and impartial institutions, holding leaders accountable and speaking truth to power.”
Visit the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s website for the Day, as the organization focuses on the significant role of media in elections and democracy.
In 2018, Dr. Denis Mukwege and Nadia Murad received the Nobel Peace Prize for their efforts to end the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war and armed conflict. According to the Nobel Committee, each of them in their own way has helped to give greater visibility to war-time sexual violence, so that the perpetrators can be held accountable for their actions.
We spoke to the Nobel Laureates when they visited to the United Nations on 23 April to address the Security Council meeting on women and peace and security, with a focus on sexual violence in conflict.
Data Hub on Human Trafficking
The International Organization for Migration’s Counter-Trafficking Data Collaborative is the first global data hub on human trafficking, publishing harmonized data from counter-trafficking organizations around the world.
Find out more about the platform which leverages modern technology to allow unprecedented public access to the world’s largest datasets on human trafficking.
Videos
Nadia Murad (Nobel Peace Prize Laureate) on Sexual Violence in Conflict – Security Council
The Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice in Vienna is organized by UNODC
The #ChooseSport movement advocates for the power of sport to uplift lives and communities, and to build a more peaceful world.
The Struggle against Corruption, film by United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC)
2 to 4 May | Global Festival of Action, Bonn, Germany
Activists, development experts, change makers and creatives gather from 2 to 4 May in Bonn, Germany, to attend the Global Festival of Action. The event aims to catalyze action on the SDGs, test and accelerate new ideas, while deepening the coalition for action.
20 to 24 May | 28th Session of the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice
The UN Office on Drugs and Crime will convene the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice in Vienna to discuss ways to ensure effective, fair and humane criminal justice systems worldwide, improve equal access to justice and legal aid, and implement prison reform and alternatives to imprisonment to ensure justice for all. Digital assets can be found here.
21 May | Launch of the World Economic Situation and Prospects (mid-2019 report)
Join Assistant-Secretary-General for Economic Development Elliott Harris and the Chief of the Global Economic Monitoring Branch Dawn Holland, at the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs as they present the global and regional economic update live on 21 May at 11 a.m. EST, via UN Web TV.
29 to 31 May | Open Government Partnership Global Summit 2019
Co-hosted by Open Government Partnership and the Government of Canada, the Summit will bring together the 79 member countries and 20 local governments of the OGP along with other participants from local and regional governments, civil society groups, United Nations agencies, and academia, to share knowledge and create solutions for more open and transparent governments around the globe. Visit the Summit website for more information.
3 to 6 June | Women Deliver 2019 Conference
The world’s largest conference on gender equality and the health, rights, and well-being of girls and women will take place in Vancouver, Canada. Visit the Conference website to learn more.
July | Launch of UN Legal Identity Agenda
A staggering one billion people in the world do not legally exist, the vast majority are children who never had their birth registered. Without legal identity, individuals — particularly children and women— risk being denied access to justice and legal protection, and are at risk of trafficking and exploitation.
In July 2019, the United Nations will launch its call to action in support of the Legal Identity Agenda 2020-2030 and commitments to the UN LIA Multi-Partner Trust Fund to accelerate progress towards reaching SDG target 16.9 (legal identity for all, including birth registration). Backed by Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed, the Legal Identity Agenda and Multi-Partner Trust Fund will support countries’ efforts to reduce the global identity gap by 300 million people by 2025.
PLURAL+ Youth Video Festival
The PLURAL+ Youth Video Festival, a joint initiative of the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM), invites the world’s youth to submit original and creative videos focusing on pressing social issues – including on migration, diversity, social inclusion and the prevention of xenophobia. For more information, visit https://pluralplus.unaoc.org/
Every year, the UN Global Compact honours business leaders who are doing an exceptional job to advance the SDGs. Leaders like Alice Laugher, the CEO of Committed to Good, and Emmanuel Lulin, the Senior Vice President of L’Oreal, who become SDG Pioneers in 2018, are mobilizing businesses to drive progress across all aspects of corporate sustainability.
Learn more about the Compact’s initiatives to scale up business action and investment in high-risk areas, and promote human rights and anti-corruption practices.
Building Peace and Prosperity: What Business Can Do
Linking Human Rights and Anti-Corruption Compliance
Promoting Anti-Corruption Collective Action through Global Compact Local Networks
Goal of the Month – June Edition
If the world reaches its projected population of nearly 10 billion by 2050, scientists fear that the equivalent of almost three planets will be required to sustain our current lifestyles. In June, the SDG editorial content will focus on Goal 12: Responsible Consumption and Production, looking at what we need to do and are doing to change our consumption and production patterns and habits to prevent more irreversible damage to our one and only planet.
SDG Media Compact
Launched by the United Nations in September 2018 by more than 30 founding media organizations – encompassing more than 100 media and entertainment outlets – the SDG Media Compact seeks to inspire media and entertainment companies around the world to leverage their resources and creative talent to advance the Sustainable Development Goals. Find all our Media Compact Members here.