21 August 2019 - New York, USA – The United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) and Columbia Law School organized a Mediation briefing for students and faculty members from the University of Fortaleza - UNIFOR (Fundação Edson Queiroz - Universidade de Fortaleza), Brazil at the United Nations Headquarters in New York.

28 July 2019, Geneva, Switzerland – The Global Plan of Action Coordination Unit, hosted by UNITAR, has embarked on its first field project, together with colleagues from UNHCR Djibouti, the World Food Programme (WFP) and the German Foreign Ministry. To kick off the project, the team has developed a set of common objectives with major humanitarian and host government partners in Djibouti. They also assessed the current state of energy provision in two of the three refugee camps in the country, as well as in other premises used for humanitarian operations that support displaced people, such as food and medicine storage centres.

Launch: UNITAR’s E-Learning Course Achieving Peace, Preventive Diplomacy, Multilateral Negotiation and Mediation. “A Road to a Call for Peace – E-Learning Course”.

In the summer of 2019, the United Nations Institute for Training and Research New York Office (UNITAR NYO), International Action Network on Small Arms (IANSA), and United Nations Trust Facility Supporting Cooperation on Arms Regulation (UNSCAR) collaboratively published a “Quick Guide” to understanding the United Nations Secretary-General’s agenda for disarmament. In May 2018, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres published an 87-page disarmament agenda called “Securing Our Common Future: An Agenda for Disarmament,” in which he calls for a new method of disarmament to bring about global peace and security.

17-19 June 2019, Geneva, Switzerland - UNITAR successfully hosted a training workshop on “Parliamentary Monitoring and Oversight of Sustainable Development Goals” that promoted good governance practices among 16 Speakers of the County Assemblies of Kenya in their oversight and monitoring roles.

7 April 2019, New York, United States - Following the Report of the Secretary-General (E.2019/81), the United Nations Institute of Training and Research (UNITAR) Headquarters and the New York office started preparations for delivering the report to the United Nations Member States, and consultations in order to produce the legislative response from the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) of the United Nations Member States.

22-23 April in Kabul, Afghanistan - Afghanistan is full of opportunities for dedicated young professionals looking to help their country. In particular, women know that it’s time for them to take the lead and ensure that development initiatives extend to every single member of their communities.

It is with deep sadness that we learnt yesterday of the loss of Ambassador Abiodun Oluremi Bashua of Nigeria, a longstanding friend of UNITAR. Ambassador Bashua was traveling on behalf of UNITAR on board the Ethiopian Airlines flight that crashed tragically after taking off in Addis Ababa and took lives of 157 people, including about 20 UN staff as well as other experts, consultants, partners and travellers.

We are trying our best to fulfill our responsibility as an actor in the field of disarmament,” said Mosammat Shahahara Monica, Director (United Nations and Human Rights), Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bangladesh. “We will continue this effort and our leading role in the future, for the total elimination of nuclear weapons

Adopted in December 2015, UNSC Resolution 2250 on Youth, Peace and Security recognizes the importance of the positive contributions which young people are making for the maintenance and promotion of international peace and security. Maintaining and supporting peace can seem like an overwhelming task, especially for young changemakers. Prospective changemakers may be wondering, ‘How can I put the Resolution 2250 in practice?’, ‘Where do I start?’, and ‘How can I personally promote lasting peace in the world?’ Being aware of these challenges and dedicated to effectively address them, UNITAR has developed a free e-learning course on Youth and Peacebuilding (English, French) to provide answers to these and other questions, and to support participants in their efforts to make the world more peaceful, sustainable and prosperous.