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The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2022

7 July 2022: The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2022 provides a global overview of progress on the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, using the latest available data and estimates. It tracks the global and regional progress towards the 17 Goals with in-depth analyses of selected indicators for each Goal.

According to the Report, cascading and interlinked crises are putting the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in grave danger, along with humanity’s very own survival. The Report highlights the severity and magnitude of the challenges before us. The confluence of crises, dominated by COVID-19, climate change, and conflicts, are creating spin-off impacts on food and nutrition, health, education, the environment, and peace and security, and affecting all the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The Report details the reversal of years of progress in eradicating poverty and hunger, improving health and education, providing basic services, and much more. It also points out areas that need urgent action in order to rescue the SDGs and deliver meaningful progress for people and the planet by 2030.

The Global SDG Indicators Database containing global, regional and country data and metadata on the official SDG indicators has been updated and accompanies this report.

About this Report

The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2022 is the only UN official report that monitors global progress on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Using the latest available data and estimates, The SDGs Report 2022 gives the global community a reality check on the devastating impacts of multiple crises affecting people's lives and livelihoods. This annual SDG Report is prepared by UN DESA, in collaboration with the entire UN Statistical System, consisting of more than 50 international and regional agencies, based on data from over 200 countries and territories.

SDG Report 2022 Overview Video

The Sustainable Development Report 2022 video is an animated overview of the main facts and figures found in the Report. Take a look!

Explore the Report

Bringing Data to Life : SDG human impact stories from across the globe

01 August 2022: Bringing Data to Life is a flip book that collects and showcases the faces and stories behind the data found in global figures on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It captures the real-life stories of people who are struggling to get out of poverty, battling the effects of climate change in their daily lives, and dealing with the impacts of COVID-19, among other challenges. This flip book publication is developed by the Statistics Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs from inputs provided by United Nations Information Centres and other United Nations agencies and organizations.

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Previous Reports

Global Sustainable Development Report (GSDR) 2023

Related goals, regional consultations, videos and media, independent group of scientists, gsdr events.

The Global Sustainable Development Report 2023

"Times of Crisis, Times of Change: Science for Accelerating Transformations to Sustainable Development", the  2023 Global Sustainable Development Report (GSDR) , finds that at this critical juncture, midway to 2030, incremental and fragmented change is insufficient to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the remaining seven years. Implementation of the 2030 Agenda requires the active mobilization of political leadership and ambition for science-based transformations. This must be achieved globally - leaving no country, society or person behind. The report is an invitation to embrace transformations with the urgency needed to accelerate progress towards the SDGs.

The GSDR 2023 highlights key transformations needed in different sectors and provides key findings from the literature, practical examples and tools for progress towards the SDGs. It provides a stylized model to help unpack and understand the transformation process over time and outline the roles of different levers in facilitating various stages of transformation through a systematic and structured approach. As history has shown, transformations are inevitable, and this report emphasizes that deliberate and desirable transformations are possible - and, indeed, necessary.

Key Messages

Global Sustainable Development Report (GSDR) 2023 Key Messages

The Global Sustainable Development Report (GSDR) originated in “ The Future We Want ,” the outcome of the Rio+20 conference on sustainable development, when Member States were laying the groundwork for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the 17 associated Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) . The negotiators knew that the 2030 Agenda would be complex, and unprecedented in ambition, and that a siloed approach to development would not be adequate. They recognized the power of science to understand and navigate relationships among social, environmental and economic development objectives, and so they called for a report to strengthen the science-policy interface.

In 2016, Member States decided that the report should be produced once every four years, to inform the quadrennial SDG review deliberations (SDG Summit) at the General Assembly, and that it should be written by an Independent Group of Scientists appointed by the Secretary-General. They mandated that the Group would consist of 15 experts representing a variety of backgrounds, scientific disciplines and institutions, ensuring geographical and gender balance.

The 2019 Global Sustainable Development Report,  The Future is Now: Science for Achieving Sustainable Development , was the first report prepared by an Independent Group of Scientists appointed by the United Nations Secretary-General. The 2023 Global Sustainable Development Report, "Times of Crisis, Times of Change: Science for Accelerating Transformations to Sustainable Development", is the second.

Below please find the link to read the 2023 Global Sustainable Development Report (GSDR):

2023 Global Sustainable Development Report

Announcements

Press briefing

SDG implementation is achieved primarily at the local, national, and regional level. To inform the GSDR as an assessment of assessments, t he Independent Group of Scientists (IGS) is conducting a series of regional consultations with policy makers, experts, and practitioners in different geographic regions to gather insights from a diverse range of local perspectives and experiences. Consultations are conducted both virtually and in-person

The IGS are collecting perspectives from different regions and stakeholders including context specific priorities, challenges, and opportunities as well as scalable, practical tools to accelerate progress. In these consultations, the IGS are seeking perspectives from scientists, government officials in their technical capacities, private sector experts, members of civil society, youth, indigenous people, people with disabilities, and stakeholders at all levels. 

Please see below for further information on each consultation.

Recent & Upcoming Regional Consultations

Latin America and the Caribbean ,   7-9 November, Peru |  Summary Report available here .

Africa , 14-16 November, Senegal |  Summary Report available here .

Asia and the Pacific , 28-30 November, Philippines |  Summary Report available here .

Africa , 30 November - 2 December, Malawi |  Summary Report available here .

Western Asia , 24-25 January 2023, Qatar |  Summary Report available here .

Australia and the Pacific : Monash Sustainable Development Institute (MSDI) is engaging with stakeholders across Australia and the Pacific to capture the challenges and opportunities presented by the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) framework, with a specific focus on contributing to the Global Sustainable Development Report. Details are here .

Japan:  On 29 March the Japan SDGs Action Promotion Council, in partnership with UNDESA, hosted the Japan SDGs Action Forum with a designated GSDR Sessions. Please see the programme here . Summary Report available here . **

China: On 2-3 December 2021, the Research Institute for Eco-civilization and Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (RIEco) co-hosted the Symposium on Global Sustainable Development Report 2023 (GSDR2023) and China’s SDG Progress and Practices, with support from UNDESA. Summary Report available here .**

Ms. Åsa Persson and Mr. Norichika Kanie presented the GSDR messages in Davos.

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Recent Presentations by the Independent Group of Scientists :

Mr. Jaime Miranda spoke in Townhall Meeting on “Building back better and advancing the SDGs”

Mr. Ambuj Sagar spoke in Townhall Meeting on “Building back better and advancing the SDGs”

Mr. Jiahua Pan spoke in Panel on “Mobilizing and sharing science, technology and innovation for an SDG driven recovery”

Ms. Asa Persson spoke in Fireside Chat on “Working towards the 2023 SDG Summit”

UN DESA Global Policy Dialogue: COP26 Fireside Chat with GSDR Scientists

Advancing equitable livelihoods in food systems: A UN DESA Global Policy Dialogue 

Independent Group of Scientists for 2023 GSDR & Representatives from Local and Regional Governments

A virtual dialogue between IGS and private sector representatives

Ms. Nyovani Madise spoke in the Open Science Conference session on “Policy Makers and Open Science”

The future of population growth: un desa global policy dialogue.

Scientists 

Ms. Imme Scholz (Co-Chair)

Co-President of the Heinrich Böll Foundation

Mr. J. Jaime Miranda (Co-Chair)

Director of the CRONICAS Center of Excellence in Chronic Diseases, at Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia

Mr. Ambuj Sagar

Deputy Director, Strategy & Planning and Vipula and Mahesh Chaturvedi Professor of Policy Studies at the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi

Mr. John Agard

Director of the University of the West Indies, St. Augustine Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship

Ms. Kaltham Al - Ghanim

Professor of sociology at Qatar University

Mr. Sergey N. Bobylev

Head of the Center for Bioeconomy and Eco-Innovation at Moscow State “Lomonosov” University

Ms. Opha Pauline Dube

Associate Professor, University of Botswana

Ms. Shirin Malekpour

Associate Professor at Monash Sustainable Development Institute, Monash University

Mr. Jaime C. Montoya

Professor at the University of the Philippines College of Medicine, Chair of the Health Sciences Division and Secretary, National Academy of Science and Technology

Mr. Jiahua Pan

Director of the Institute of Eco-civilization Studies and Professor of Economics, Beijing University of Technology, Editor-in-Chief of the Chinese Journal of Urban & Environmental Studies.

Ms. Åsa Persson

Research Director and Deputy Director of the Stockholm Environment Institute

​ Ms. Nancy Shackell   ​

Senior research scientist at Bedford Institute of Oceanography in Nova Scotia

Mr. Ibrahima Hathie

Deputy Director of the Feed the Future Senegal Policy Systems Services

Mr. Norichika Kanie

Professor at the Graduate School of Media Governance, Keio University

Ms. Nyovani Janet Madise

Director of Development Policy and also Head of the Malawi office of the African Institute for Development Policy (AFIDEP)

Virtual Dialogue: the Independent Group of Scientists (IGS) for the 2023 Global Sustainable Development Report (GSDR) and representatives from local and regional governments  

Hosted by UNDESA in partnership with the Global Taskforce of Local and Regional Governments (GTF) and facilitated by United Cities and Local Governments, the virtual dialogue provided an opportunity for members of the IGS to share key messages from the GSDR with representatives from local and regional governments and to engage in a dialogue about specific ways that the GSDR recommendations could be nurtured by the perspective of local and regional governments and how they can be implemented at sub-national level. 

[HLPF 2023 Side Event] Youth engagement for systemic transformation at the SDG-Summit: Implementing the Global Sustainable Development Report call to action Shaped by their experiences in a rapidly changing world, young people possess their own distinct perspectives on and ideas to address collective challenges. These perspectives often diverge from those held by previous generations. Integrating them into decision making processes is important and contributes to achieving the goals of the 2030 Agenda and to delivering on the necessary systemic transformation as highlighted in the GSDR 2023. This side event offered a space to discuss key priorities and opportunities by and for youth regarding the recommendations of the 2023 GSDR. It served as a platform for youth to share their perspectives and ideas to achieve the SDGs by 2030.

WEBINAR: What to expect at the HLPF: Building momentum towards the SDG Summit and beyond The SDG Lab, Cepei, and IISD hosted a virtual briefing and question/answer session on the 2023 High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF). What should you expect as the 2023 HLPF approaches, and how is this year’s forum connected to the SDG Summit and setting the scene for the 2024 Summit of the Future? IGS member Norichika Kanie presented the GSDR key findings.

UN DESA Global Policy Dialogues to Turbocharge SDG Implementation

UN DESA hosted two Global Policy Dialogues in June 2023 to discuss ways to strengthen the interlinkages between the Goals under review and present the information in an interactive format for a wide audience.

Both events featured speakers from UN leadership, Member States, the UN High-level Advisory Board on Economic and Social Affairs, and the Independent Group of Scientists (IGS) preparing the GSDR 2023. Each discussion included ways to build and scale partnerships to reach our targets.

• Session 1: Accelerating Clean Water and Energy for All: Exploring SDGs 6 and 7  
• Session 2: Innovations for Sustainable Cities and Communities: Exploring SDGs 9 and 11

Presentation of the GSDR 2023 at the 8th Multi-stakeholder Forum on Science, Technology and Innovation for the Sustainable Development Goals (STI Forum)

This short presentation provided an opportunity for the Independent Group of Scientists to engage with policymakers in a discussion on key findings of the GSDR 2023 as part of the 8th Multi-stakeholder Forum on Science, Technology and Innovation for the Sustainable Development Goals (STI Forum).

Meeting report

Symposium on Global Sustainable Development Report 2023 (GSDR2023) and China’s SDG Progress and Practices: Meeting Agenda

Japan SDGs Action Forum: Summary Report

Symposium on Global Sustainable Development Report 2023 (GSDR2023) and China’s SDG Progress and Practices: Summary Report

Presentations

GSDR: Independent Group of Scientists' update to Member States at HLPF, 7 July 2022

GSDR 2023 Process & Key Elements: Informal IGS Briefing at the HLPF, 9 July 2021

Additional Resources

GSDR 2023 Key Messages

The 2023 Global Sustainable Development Report

Press releases

GSDR 2023 press release

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Climate Report Card Says Countries Are Trying, but Urgently Need Improvement

The global assessment, two years in the making, is the first official gauge of progress under the 2015 Paris Agreement.

By Brad Plumer

Eight years after world leaders approved a landmark agreement in Paris to fight climate change, countries have made only limited progress in staving off the most dangerous effects of global warming, according to the first official report card on the global climate treaty.

Many of the worst-case climate change scenarios that were much feared in the early 2010s look far less likely today, the report said. The authors partly credit the 2015 Paris Agreement, under which, for the first time, almost every country agreed to submit a voluntary plan to curb its own planet-warming emissions. Since then, the rise in global greenhouse gases has notably slowed .

Yet those efforts still aren’t enough to avoid calamity, according to the report, which was written by representatives from the United States and South Africa and based on contributions from hundreds of governments, scientists and civil society groups from around the world.

Under the Paris Agreement, countries vowed to limit the rise in average global temperatures to “well below” 2 degrees Celsius, or 3.6 Fahrenheit, above preindustrial levels and make a good-faith effort to stay at 1.5 degrees Celsius. Past that level, the dangers from intense flooding, wildfires, drought, heat waves and species extinction could become unmanageable , scientists have said. Earth has already heated up roughly 1.2 degrees Celsius since preindustrial times.

Countries are far from meeting those goals. Current climate pledges would put the world on track for a significantly more hazardous 2.5 degrees Celsius or so of warming by 2100, assuming nations followed through on their plans. In order to keep global warming at safer levels, global emissions would need to plunge roughly 60 percent by 2035, which would most likely require a much faster expansion of energy sources like wind, solar or nuclear power and a sharp decrease in pollution from fossil fuels like oil, coal and natural gas.

The window for keeping warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, the report said, is “rapidly narrowing.”

The new report is part of what’s known as the global stocktake . When countries approved the Paris Agreement, they agreed to meet every five years, starting in 2023, to officially assess how the fight against climate change was going and see whether they should ratchet up their efforts.

The report, nearly two years in the making, is meant to serve as the foundation for the next round of United Nations climate negotiations, known as COP28, that will start in late November in Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates. There, countries will discuss how to respond to the global stocktake and what more they can do.

“I urge governments to carefully study the findings of the report and ultimately understand what it means for them and the ambitious action they must take next,” said Simon Stiell, the United Nations climate head. “The global stocktake is a critical moment for greater ambition and accelerating action.”

The report avoids singling out any individual countries for success or failure, underscoring one of the thorniest dynamics in global climate talks. Everyone agrees that the world as a whole should cut emissions faster, but nations sharply disagree over who, exactly, should do more. Developing countries like India say that wealthy emitters like the United States and Europe should curtail their fossil fuel use more rapidly. U.S. officials, in turn, often point out that China needs to do much more now that it has become the world’s largest emitter by far.

The man overseeing this year’s negotiations, Sultan al-Jaber, is the head of both the Emirates’ biggest renewable energy company and its national oil company, a dual role that has provoked criticism from many environmentalists, who say he is unlikely to be an impartial mediator.

Mr. al-Jaber has said he wants countries to triple renewable energy capacity by 2030. He also wants nations to agree, for the first time, on a long-term goal of phasing out “unabated” fossil fuels. That phrasing would allow for the continued use of oil, coal or gas if companies can capture and bury the emissions those fuels produce — a technology that has struggled to gain traction because of high costs.

The new global stocktake report says those measures, and many others, are “urgently” needed.

“The United Nations’ polite prose glosses over what is a truly damning report card for global climate efforts,” said Ani Dasgupta, president of the World Resources Institute. “Carbon emissions? Still climbing. Rich countries’ finance commitments? Delinquent. Adaptation support? Lagging woefully behind.”

One perennial sticking point in global climate talks is that developing nations say they can’t afford to shift rapidly away from fossil fuels and adapt to fiercer heat waves and storms without outside help.

Under the Paris deal, wealthy emitters like the United States and Europe vowed to provide $100 billion per year from public and private sources by 2020 for this purpose. But they have yet to fulfill that promise. In 2020, industrialized countries provided $83.3 billion in climate finance. And only a small fraction of that money goes toward adaptation, such as building sea walls or helping farmers cope with drought, which is often the most pressing need.

The report notes that developing countries will ultimately need trillions of dollars to prepare for climate change and calls for wider systemic reforms, such as reforming lending practices at multilateral banks or aiding countries that are saddled with large debt burdens.

“There’s been so much focus on holding developed countries accountable for their $100 billion promise, which is absolutely important,” said Charlene Watson, a senior research associate at the Overseas Development Institute. “But the reality is we’ll need so much more.”

Countries have made some progress in adapting to climate threats by, for instance, building flood barriers or installing early-warning systems for tropical cyclones. But those efforts are often “incremental” and unequally distributed, the report warned. Preparing for future threats, like dwindling freshwater supplies or irreversible ecosystem damage, will require “transformational” changes in climate adaptation.

One obstacle, the report noted, is that many adaptation efforts “are failing to keep pace with increasing climate impacts and risks.”

“It’s a lot harder to track progress on adaptation than it is to track progress on finance or cutting emissions,” said Richard Klein of the Stockholm Environment Institute, who added that coming up with measurable global goals for adaptation would be a key challenge for future climate talks.

Some experts faulted the report for being too vague in many of its recommendations. “The opportunity was missed to make clear proposals on what countries could concretely implement, how much financial support should be provided and on what it should be spent,” said Niklas Höhne, a German climate scientist and founding partner of NewClimate Institute. “On these issues, the report often remains on the surface.”

The big question now is how countries will respond to the global stocktake.

“We’ve had lots of reports about lack of progress over the years, but what’s different about this one is that it isn’t a group of scientists or a single U.N. agency saying this,” said Rachel Kyte, a veteran climate diplomat and former dean of the Fletcher School at Tufts University. “This is something that all the countries have had a say in.”

“This is like sitting down with your doctor and agreeing that your liver could be better, you really need to be in better shape,” Ms. Kyte added. “Now are you going to get off the couch and do something about it, or just sit there and ignore it?”

Brad Plumer is a climate reporter specializing in policy and technology efforts to cut carbon dioxide emissions. At The Times, he has also covered international climate talks and the changing energy landscape in the United States. More about Brad Plumer

Learn More About Climate Change

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The United States has already had a record number of billion-dollar disasters  in 2023. And there are three months of the year to go.

How much progress is being made on the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals?

A slowdown in progress on key areas is putting the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals 'in peril'. Image:  Unsplash/Markus Spiske

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UN World Water Development Report 2021

Valuing Water

The current status of water resources highlights the need for improved water resources management. Recognizing, measuring and expressing water’s worth, and incorporating it into decision-making, are fundamental to achieving sustainable and equitable water resources management and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Those who control how water is valued control how it is used. Values are a central aspect of power and equity in water resources governance. The failure to fully value water in all its different uses is considered a root cause, or a symptom, of the political neglect of water and its mismanagement. All too often, the value of water, or its full suite of multiple values, is not prominent in decision-making at all.

Whilst the term ‘value’ and the process of ‘valuation’ are well defined, there are several different views and perspectives of what ‘value’ specifically means to various user groups and stakeholders. There are also different methods for calculating value and different metrics to express it.

Differences in the way water is valued occur not only between stakeholder groups but are widespread within them. These divergent perspectives on water value and the best ways to calculate and express it, coupled with limited knowledge of the actual resource, present a challenging landscape for rapid improvements in valuing water. It is, for example, futile to attempt to quantitatively compare the value of water for domestic use, the human right to water, customary or religious beliefs, and the value of maintaining flows to preserve biodiversity. None of these should be sacrificed for the sake of achieving consistent valuation methodologies.

Traditional economic accounting, often a key means of informing policy decisions, tends to limit water values to the way that most other products are valued – using the recorded price or costs of water when economic transactions occur. However, in the case of water, there is no clear relationship between its price and its value. Where water is priced, meaning consumers are charged for using it, the price often reflects attempts for cost recovery and not value delivered. Yet, regarding valuation, economics remains a highly relevant, powerful and influential science, even though its application needs to be made more comprehensive.

Nevertheless, the different values of water need to be reconciled, and the trade-offs between them resolved and incorporated into systematic and inclusive planning and decision-making processes. The way forward, therefore, will be to further develop common approaches to valuation where feasible, but also to prioritize improved approaches to compare, contrast and merge different values, and to incorporate fair and equitable conclusions into improved policy and planning.

The  2021 edition of the United Nations World Water Development Report (UN WWDR 2021) entitled ‘Valuing Water ’ groups current methodologies and approaches to the valuation of water into five interrelated perspectives: valuing water sources, in situ water resources and ecosystems; valuing water infrastructure for water storage, use, reuse or supply augmentation; valuing water services, mainly drinking water, sanitation and related human health aspects; valuing water as an input to production and socio-economic activity, such as food and agriculture, energy and industry, business and employment; and other sociocultural values of water, including recreational, cultural and spiritual attributes. These are complemented with experiences from different global regions; opportunities to reconcile multiple values of water through more integrated and holistic approaches to governance; approaches to financing; and methods to address knowledge, research and capacity needs.

• UN World Water Development Report 2021: Valuing Water English |  Français
• Executive Summary Arabic | Chinese | English | Français | Hindi | Italian | Korean | Portuguese | Russian | Spanish
• Facts and Figures English  |  Français  |  Español  |  Italian  |  Portuguese
• Audiobook of the Executive Summary English  |  Français  |  Español  |  Italian 

UN-Water Publications

UN-Water’s publications can be divided into two main groups: the publications that represent all Members and Partners of UN-Water – the collective products – and the publications that are under the UN-Water umbrella but produced by groups or individual UN-Water Members and/or Partners – the related products.

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Download selected key UN reports on a variety of peacekeeping-related issues, produced by the Secretary-General, or by his specially-designated panels for the consideration of the General Assembly and/or the Security Council.

You can find reports related to individual operations on the mission factsheets .

On 1 October 2020, a virtual High-Level Ministerial Meeting on the Central African Republic was held in the margins of the 75th ordinary session of the General Assembly of the United Nations. The meeting was co-chaired by the President of the Central African Republic, His Excellency Mr. Faustin Archange Touadéra, the Chairperson of the African Union (AU) Commission, His Excellency Mr. Moussa Faki Mahamat, and the President of the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) Commission, His Excellency Mr. Gilberto Da Piedade Veríssimo, in the presence of the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Mr. António Guterres.

Building on the first version of the Action Plan released in January 2018, this version incorporates inputs following a workshop held in March with representatives from our missions in the Central African Republic, Mali, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Darfur and South Sudan. The revised Action Plan provides additional detail in several areas, including efforts to establish accountability for attacks against peacekeepers, peacekeeping intelligence and gender dimensions of improving security of peacekeepers. The Action Plan remains a rolling document which is open to input from all constituencies with a stake in the security of peacekeepers.

The Action Plan details how the Secretariat and peacekeeping missions (MONUSCO, MINUSCA, MINUSMA, UNMISS and UNAMID) intend to respond to the recommendations of Lt. Gen. Santos Cruz and outlines the actions they will take to improve the security of our peacekeepers.

ABSTRACT Since 1948, more than 3,500 personnel have lost their lives serving in United Nations peace operations with 943 due to acts of violence. During the past four years (2013 – 2017) a consistent increase in peacekeeper fatalities due to violent acts resulted in 195 deaths. This report, directed by the Secretary-General of the United Nations, uses internal United Nations data and reporting to analyze the causes of fatalities due to violent acts. Based upon over 160 personal interviews and the professional experience of the authors, the report provides no-nonsense, practical, short and long-term actions to reduce fatalities. The report’s focus is to change the way the United Nations does business in high-security risk peacekeeping operations.

Special report on the review of the mandate of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan:The present report is submitted pursuant to paragraph 13 of Security Council resolution 2241 (2015) [S/2015/899] of 23 November 2015

Report on the situation in Abyei : The present report is submitted pursuant to paragraph 27 of Security Council resolution 2230 (2015) [S/2015/870] of 13 November 2015

Implementation of the recommendations of the High-level Independent Panel on Peace Operations.

• July 2015 Report of the Independent Panel of Experts dealing with the death of Dag Hammarskjöld  

The Independent High-level Panel on Peace Operations was convened by former Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to undertake a thorough review of the current United Nations peace operations and the emerging needs of the future.

Moving towards partnership peacekeeping, providing assessment and recommendations on the progress of the partnerships between the United Nations and relevant regional organizations in peacekeeping operations focusing primarily on the partnerships with the African Union and the European Union.

Recommendations of an independent expert panel on how technology and innovation can be leveraged to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of peacekeeping.

• January 2015 Transitions from African Union peace operations to United Nations peacekeeping operations in Mali and in the Central African Republic  

The global field support strategy, launched in 2010, provided a five-year strategic agenda to reshape and strengthen support to United Nations field missions.

• December 2014 Report of the Secretary-General on the Implementation of the recommendations of the Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations.(A/68/652)  
• February 2014 Report of the Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations  
• January 2014 Report of the Secretary-General on civilian capacity in the aftermath of conflict  
• December 2013 Fourth annual progress report of the Secretary-General on the implementation of the global field support strategy  
• September 2013 Report of the Secretary-General on the Implementation of the recommendations of the Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations  
• December 2012 Third annual progress report of the Secretary-General on the implementation of the global field support strategy  
• August 2012 Report of the Secretary-General: Civilian capacity in the aftermath of conflict [A/67/312-S/2012/645]  
• December 2011 United Nations police: report of the Secretary-General  
• August 2011 Report of the Secretary-General: Civilian capacity in the aftermath of conflict [A/66/311–S/2011/527]  
• February 2011 Civilian capacity in the aftermath of conflict: Independent report of the Senior Advisory Group [A/65/747 - S/2011/85]  
• January 2011 Prosecution of crimes against deployed peacekeepers: report of the Secretary-General  

Strengthening the capacity of the United Nations to manage and sustain peacekeeping operations through the restructuring of DPKO and the establishment of DFS.

• February 2010 Report of the Secretary-General: Progress in the implementation of the global field support strategy [A/65/643]  
• January 2010 Report of the Secretary-General: Global field support strategy [A/64/633]  
• December 2009 Report of the Secretary General: Implementation of the recommendations of the Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations [A/64/573]  
• September 2009 Report of the Secretary-General on women and peace and security [S/2009/465]  
• September 2009 Report of the Secretary-General on the support to African Union peacekeeping operations authorized by the United Nations [A/64/359]  
• May 2009 Report of the Secretary-General on the protection of civilians in armed conflict [S/2009/277]  
• January 2008 Report of the Secretary-General on Securing peace and development: the role of the United Nations in supporting security sector reform [A/62/659]  
• December 2007 Report of the Secretary-General on Peacekeeping Best Practices [A/62/593]  
• April 2007 Report of the Secretary-General: Comprehensive report on strengthening the capacity of the United Nations to manage and sustain peace operations: Report of the Secretary-General [A/61/858]  
• December 2006 Report of the Secretary-General on Uniting our strengths: Enhancing United Nations support for the rule of law [A/61/636]  
• February 2006 Peace operations 2010: Excerpts from the report of the Secretary-General, outlining reform strategy [A/60/696]  
• March 2005 Report of the Secretary-General on In larger freedom: towards development, security and human rights for all [A/59/2005]  
• March 2005 Report of the Secretary-General's Special Advisor, Prince Zeid Ra'ad Zeid al-Hussein, on a comprehensive strategy to eliminate future sexual exploitation and abuse in United Nations peacekeeping operations [A/59/710]  
• February 2005 Report of the Secretary-General on Children and armed conflict [A/59/695]  
• February 2005 "Peace Operations 2010" reform strategy  
• December 2004 Report of the High-level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change on a more secure world: our shared responsibility [A/59/565]  
• November 2004 Report of the Secretary-General on Enhancement of African peacekeeping capacity [A/59/591]  
• October 2004 Joint report of the United Nations Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the United Nations Operation in Burundi and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights into the Gatumba massacre [S/2004/821]  
• October 2004 Report of the Secretary-General on women and peace and security [S/2004/814]  
• August 2004 Report of the Secretary-General on the rule of law and transitional justice in conflict and post-conflict societies [S/2004/616]  
• May 2004 Report of the Secretary-General to the Security Council on the protection of civilians in armed conflict [S/2004/431]  
• March 2004 Report of the Secretary-General on ways to combat subregional and cross-border problems in West Africa [S/2004/200]  
• April 2001 Report of the Secretary-General on No exit without strategy: Security Council decision-making and the closure or transition of United Nations peacekeeping operations [S/2001/394]  
• August 2000 Report of the Panel on United Nations Peace Operations (Brahimi report) [A/55/305]  
• December 1999 Statement by the Secretary-General on Report of the Independent Inquiry into the actions of the United Nations during the 1994 genocide in Rwanda [SG/SM/7263]  
• December 1999 Report of the Independent Inquiry into the actions of the United Nations during the 1994 genocide in Rwanda [S/1999/1257]

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United Nations

Office on drugs and crime,   press release, unodc global report on trafficking in persons: crises shift trafficking patterns and hinder victim identification,   vienna (austria), 24 january 2023.

Fewer victims of trafficking in persons are being identified even as the COVID-19 pandemic and other crises are increasing vulnerabilities to exploitation, according to the latest Global Report on Trafficking in Persons launched today by UNODC.

The number of victims detected globally fell by 11 per cent in 2020 from the previous year, driven by fewer detections in low- and medium-income countries. The pandemic, in addition to reducing opportunities for traffickers to operate, may have weakened law enforcement capacities to detect victims. 

“This latest report shows how the pandemic has increased vulnerabilities to trafficking in persons, further undercutting capacities to rescue victims and bring criminals to justice,” said UNODC Executive Director Ghada Waly. “We cannot allow crises to compound exploitation. The UN and the donor community need to support national authorities, most of all in developing countries, to respond to trafficking threats, and to identify and protect victims especially in states of emergency.”

The seventh UNODC Global Report on Trafficking in Persons covers 141 countries and provides an overview of patterns and flows of trafficking in persons at global, regional and national levels, based on trafficking cases detected between 2017 and 2021. The findings are further informed by analysis of 800 court case summaries and accompanied by detailed suggestions to policy makers to help formulate effective responses.

Fewer cases of trafficking for sexual exploitation were detected during the pandemic as public spaces were closed and related restrictions may have pushed this form of trafficking into more concealed and less safe locations, making it harder to identify victims.  

Globally, the number of convictions for trafficking offences also fell by 27 per cent in 2020 from the previous year – with sharper decreases registered in South Asia (56 per cent), Central America and the Caribbean (54 per cent) and South America (46 per cent) – accelerating a longer-term trend registered by UNODC since 2017.  

Court case analysis featured in the report further shows that trafficking victims, when they are identified, escape from traffickers on their own and are in effect ‘self-rescued’ – there are more cases of victims escaping and reporting to authorities of their own initiative (41 per cent) than cases where victims were located by law enforcement (28 per cent), members of the community and civil society (11 per cent). This is especially alarming considering many victims of trafficking may not identify themselves as victims or may be too afraid of their exploiters to attempt escaping.

The report also details how war and conflict offer opportunities for traffickers to exploit. It shows that the war in Ukraine is elevating trafficking risks for the displaced population. Most victims resulting from conflicts originate in and are trafficked to countries in Africa and the Middle East.

Breaking down trafficking in persons statistics by region, the report shows higher levels of impunity in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. Countries in these regions convict fewer traffickers and detect fewer victims than the rest of the world. At the same time, victims from these regions are identified in a wider range of destination countries than victims from other regions.

The 2022 Global Report on Trafficking in Persons also examines court cases showing that female victims are subject to physical or extreme violence at hands of traffickers at a rate three times higher than males, and children are subjected almost twice as often as adults.

At the same time, women investigated for trafficking in persons are also significantly more likely to be convicted than men. This suggests that the justice system may discriminate against women, and/or that the role of women in trafficking networks may increase the likelihood that they are convicted for the crime.

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Determined - Report of the Secretary-General on the Work of the Organization - 2023

"The past year was marked by increasingly complex crises for our world.

Crises such as poverty, inequality, hunger and rising unemployment; an uneven and uncertain global economic outlook; the escalating climate emergency; and conflicts, in particular the invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation. In every case, the poorest and most vulnerable people and communities are hit hardest.

Meanwhile, human rights are under assault, worsened by widening economic and social gaps and the lingering effects of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. Women and young people continue to be shut out of economic, civic and social spaces, denying entire societies their contributions and ideas. Shrinking civic space, the rapid spread of mis- and disinformation and rising hate speech and misogyny are pushing people apart at a time when we need unity and solidarity more than ever."

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. 

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Invasive species cost the world $423 billion every year and are causing environmental chaos, un report finds.

Invasive species cost the world at least $423 billion every year as they drive plant and animal extinctions, threaten food security and exacerbate environmental catastrophes across the globe, a major new United Nations-backed report has found.

Human activity – often through travel or global trade – is spreading these animals, plants and other organisms in new regions at an “unprecedented rate,” with 200 new alien species being recorded every year, leading scientists said.

Of 37,000 alien species known to have been introduced around the world, 3,500 are considered harmful and pose a “severe global threat” by destroying crops, wiping out native species , polluting waterways, spreading disease and laying the groundwork for devastating natural disasters.

The global economic cost is tremendous, scientists say, having at least quadrupled every decade since 1970.

That figure is “a huge, huge underestimate… it’s the tip of the iceberg,” said ecologist Helen Roy, co-author of the UN Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) report .

Without intervention to prevent their spread and impact, the total number of invasive species globally will be one-third higher in 2050 than it was in 2005, the scientists say.

“We know that things aren’t remaining unchanged. We know climate change is worsening, we know that land and sea-use change is worsening and therefore we anticipate that the threat posed by invasive alien species will also worsen,” Roy said.

‘Global roots but very local impacts’

Alien species are plants, animals or other organisms that have been moved through human activities to a new region or area.

An alien species becomes invasive when it establishes itself in that new area and creates a negative impact on the local biodiversity and ecosystems, including on people’s way of life.

Numerous examples include water hyacinths clogging up lakes and rivers in Africa, lion fish impacting local fisheries in the Caribbean and the Giant African land snail taking over villages on Christmas Island in the Indian Ocean.

Meanwhile, brown tree snakes have eliminated entire bird populations on the Pacific island of Guam and the rapidly spreading zebra mussel has colonized the Great Lakes of North America.

The mosquito era: As the world warms, these insects are thriving -- and bringing disease

And elsewhere, mosquitoes are spreading diseases like dengue, Zika, malaria and West Nile Virus to new regions.

“We shouldn’t overlook the magnitude of the impact of some alien invasive species,” said Peter Stoett, co-author of the report and dean of the faculty of social sciences and humanities at Ontario Tech University.

The spread of invasive species across countries and continents is a major driver of biodiversity loss – deteriorating the complex web of ecosystems “upon which humanity depends,” according to the report, which linked invasive species to 60% of recorded global extinctions.

Once an invasive species takes hold, the impacts can be disastrous.

The dried-out non-native grasses and shrubs in Hawaii helped fuel last month’s devastating Maui wildfire, one of the deadliest in modern US history.

“It would be an extremely costly mistake to regard biological invasions only as someone else’s problem,” said Anibal Pauchard, co-author of the report and professor at Chile’s Institute of Ecology and Biodiversity.

“Although the specific species that inflict damages vary from place to place, these are risks and challenges with global roots but very local impacts, facing people in every country, from all backgrounds and in every community – even Antarctica is being affected.”

In pictures: Invasive species around the world

‘prevention, prevention, prevention’.

Along with invasive species, other key drivers of biodiversity loss include destruction of land and sea habitats, exploitation of organisms, climate change and pollution.

The climate crisis will only amplify the threat of invasive species, becoming a major cause of these species spreading and establishing themselves in new regions, the report said.

As well as flammable invasive plants sparking and spreading wildfires, climate change is enabling invasive species to move north – even to remote areas such as high mountains, deserts and frozen tundra.

But there is hope. The scientists are optimistic that humanity can stop the march of invasive species. What’s needed first and foremost is: “prevention, prevention, prevention, especially when it comes to marine systems,” Stoett said.

Preventing the arrival of new species into new regions is the best way to manage threats from invasive species, according to the report. This includes strict import controls and early warning systems to detect and respond to species before they are able to establish.

Can Italy eat its way out of a blue crab infestation?

For invasive species that have already taken hold, eradication has been a useful tool, especially on islands, according to the report.

“One of the most important messages from the report is that ambitious progress in tackling invasive alien species is achievable,” Stoett said.

“What is needed is a context-specific integrated approach, across and within countries and the various sectors involved in providing biosecurity, including trade and transportation; human and plant health; economic development and more. This will have far-reaching benefits for nature and people.”

Last year, governments around the world agreed to the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework to reduce the introduction and establishment of invasive alien species by at least 50% by 2030.

The scientists hope their findings – developed over four years by a team of 86 experts – will contribute to achieving these international targets.

“Governments around the world really need this assessment to get action going to reduce this tremendous threat to biodiversity and people,” Pauchard said.

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About goaml, reporting workflow.

Financial Intelligence Units (FIUs) receive data from financial institutions and other reporting entities. goAML acts as a central repository to establish a database of reports on suspicious financial transactions including those from financial institutions (banks, casinos, real estate brokers, and so forth) that are required to report such information.

Suspicious Transactions

A transaction is deemed suspicious if it shows any of the following attributes:

• reasonable grounds of suspicion it may involve the proceeds of crime
• appears to be made in circumstances of unusual or unjustified complexity
• appears to have no economic rationale or bona fide purpose
• reasonable suspicion it may involve financing of activities relating to terrorism

Primary data report types

The primary data report types are:

• Cash Transaction Reports (CTR): CTR refers to all reports of cash transactions.
• Suspicious Transaction Reports (STR): STRs can be uploaded or created manually.
• Unusual Transaction Reports (UTR): UTR relates to all unusual (cash) transactions that might be suspicious. After examination, a UTR can be dismissed as unsuspicious or raised to an STR. The reporting institutions may add one or more file attachments or report a collection of one or more unusual transactions at the same time. The system treats a file with multiple unusual transactions as separate reports.
• International Funds Transfer (IFT): IFTs are transactions in which money is sent to from one country to another.
• Cross-Border Report: Transactions that involve sending or receiving money across borders.
• Additional Information File (AIF): AIFs are replies to requests for information when the analysts require more details on transactions, involved persons, accounts, or entities.
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Climate inaction puts lives on the line: WMO

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Insufficient progress towards climate goals is slowing down the global fight against poverty, hunger and deadly diseases, according to a  report released on Thursday by the UN World Meteorological Organization ( WMO ).

UN Secretary-General António Guterres echoed that message, warning that record temperatures and extreme weather were “causing havoc” around the world.

The global response has fallen “far short”, Mr. Guterres insisted, just as latest UN data indicates that the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are only 15 per cent on track at the midway point of the 2030 Agenda .

‘Supercharge progress’ on SDGs

According to WMO , current policies will lead to global warming of at least 2.8 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels over the course of this century – well above the Paris Agreement target of 1.5°C.

This year’s northern hemisphere summer has been the hottest on record, prompting the UN chief last week to reiterate his call for a “surge in action”.

In his foreword to the report, Mr. Guterres underscored that weather, climate, and water-related sciences can “supercharge progress on the SDGs across the board”. 

Lives in the balance

The United in Science report, which combines expertise from 18 UN organizations and partners, shows how climate science and early warnings can save lives and livelihoods, advance food and water security, clean energy and better health.

After recent flooding in Libya that has claimed thousands of lives, WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas stressed that a lack of adequate forecasting capacity can have deadly consequences for a country when faced with extreme weather events. 

He highlighted the risky situation developing in Sudan, where conflict has crippled the agency’s capacity to forecast hazards. 

The head of the country’s met service told him that most of her staff members escaped Khartoum and were unable to “run their business in a normal way”, he said.

“They are not able to forecast this kind of high-impact weather events anymore,” he warned.

Extreme weather events are also a key factor in the spread of global hunger and the new report seeks to inform urgent action on this front as the UN estimates that nearly 670 million people may be food insecure in 2030.

The report’s authors explore the link between life-saving food production and nutrition, and investments in weather sciences and services which enable farmers to make decisions on crops and planting.

Early warnings are also crucial to “helping identify potential areas of crop failure that may lead to emergencies”.

Anticipate deadly outbreaks

“United in Science” includes analysis from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change ( IPCC ), which warned that climate change and extreme events such as heatwaves are set to “significantly increase ill health and premature deaths”. 

The report’s findings show that integrating epidemiology and climate information makes it possible to forecast and prepare for outbreaks of climate-sensitive diseases, such as malaria and dengue.

Limit losses from disasters

Early-warning systems can also help to reduce poverty by giving people the chance to anticipate and “limit the economic impact” of disasters.

The WMO-led report shows that between 1970 and 2021, there were nearly 12,000 reported disasters from weather, climate and water extremes, causing $4.3 trillion in economic losses – the majority of them in developing countries.

Every fraction matters

WMO deplored the fact that so far, there has been “very limited progress” in reducing the gap between promises that countries made to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and the level of emissions cuts really needed to achieve the temperature goal of the Paris Agreement . 

To limit global warming to 1.5°C, global greenhouse gas emissions must be reduced by 45 per cent by 2030, with carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions falling close to net zero by 2050.

The report’s authors wrote that while some future changes in climate are unavoidable, “every fraction of a degree and ton of CO2 matters to limit global warming and achieve the SDGs”.

Early warnings for all

WMO has also underscored the importance of the UN’s " Early Warnings for All " initiative aiming to ensure that “everyone on Earth is protected from hazardous weather, water, or climate events through life-saving early warning systems by the end of 2027”. 

Currently, only half of the countries worldwide report having adequate multi-hazard early warning systems. 

The United in Science report was issued ahead of the  SDG Summit and  Climate Ambition Summit which take place at the UN General Assembly next week.

These meetings will “shine a spotlight on how to rescue the SDGs at the half-way mark to 2030” and “boost ambition to tackle the climate crisis”, the UN chief  told reporters in New York on Wednesday. 

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