United Nations

This guide is a road map for navigating the waters that have been charted over years of accumulated expertise in trade financing. It is intended as a practical work of reference that draws on and adapts traditional and new techniques, mechanisms, instruments and in situations with the intent to stimulate trade finance practices through changes, especially in the private sector and with particular reference to the needs and concerns of small and medium-sized enterprises in developing countries and transition economies.

By sharing experiences, good practices and practical tools in the areas of research, development of national plans of action and the piloting of the East Asia and the Pacific Regional Commitment and Action Plan against Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children Info, the present Toolkit can serve as a user to friendly and functional reference for key actors seeking to learn from past practice and adapt such lessons to fit local and national contexts. The promotion of this knowledge and these experiences during this critical juncture in the region, as new forms of sexual exploitation and abuse of children emerge, will ideally help equip countries in taking sound and practical steps to work toward the elimination of the phenomenon.

The United Nations has long recognized that young people in all countries are a vital human resource for development and key agents for social change, economic growth and technological innovation. The World Progrogramme of Action for Youth to the Year 2000 and Beyond provides a policy framework and practical guidelines for national action and international support to improve the lives of young people worldwide.

In accordance with Article 102 of the Charter and the relevant General Assembly Resolutions, every treaty and international agreement registered or filed and recorded with the Secretariat since 1946 is published in the United Nations Treaty Series. At present, the collection includes about 30,000 treaties reproduced in their authentic languages, together with translations into English and French, as necessary. The Treaty Series, where treaties are published in the chronological order of registration, also provides details about their subsequent history (i.e., participation in a treaty, reservations, amendments, termination, etc.). Comprehensive Indices covering 50 to volume-lots are published separately. A Standing Order service is available for the Series and out to of to print volumes are available on microfiche.

Now in its thirtieth anniversary edition, the United Nations Disarmament Yearbook serves as an authoritative chronicle of international efforts to control or eliminate the world’s most deadly weapons, over the course of the previous calendar year. It is designed as a handy reference tool for diplomats, researchers, educators and the interested public. It comprises succinct accounts of the year’s developments, explanations of the voting in the First (Disarmament and International Security) Committee, an index and extensive appendices.

The main objectives of this study were: to analyse the gender dimension of Dominican migration to Spain, the impact of gender in the sending, receipt and utilization of remittances, and the changes in gender roles brought about by the sending, receipt, utilization and management of remittances. An additional objective was to explore the sending and receipt of collective remittances and analyse the extent to which these support local development initiatives.

This rich source of judicial precedent on environmental issues is presented as a consolidated volume containing summaries of over two hundred judgements from some Twenty-eight countries around the world and three international courts and tribunals, with an improved index to facilitate easy reference. The cases reveal the important work being done by environmentalists, scientists, scholars and experts who provide the reports and pertinent evidence upon which the judgements are based.

Access to water has been recognized as a human right and yet, 1.1 billion people, one sixth of the world’s population, remain without a reliable water supply. In this book, written in the universal language of the imagery, the author guides the reader through a discovery of the innumerable facets that fresh water presents.

Landlocked countries are among the most disadvantaged and underachieving countries in the world. This publication attempts to analyse the impact of geographical handicaps on external trade and economic development of landlocked developing countries and identify practical solutions to address them.

Gender inequality is generally recognized as one of the main obstacles to development in the Arab Region. This volume of the Report focuses on the history and contemporary dynamics of Arab women's economic, political and social empowerment. It details the processes in which gender impacts on Arab development while suggesting means of overcoming some of the challenges and building more equitable societies.

This paper analyses the main features of trade agreements covering services concluded between Latin American countries and developed country partners. By means of a very detailed comparison across agreements, a typology is established for classifying specific elements with relation to whether they simply mirror, go beyond or fall short of the General Agreement on Trade in Services provisions. The paper concludes with ten lessons regarding trade in services agreements between Latin American countries and developed trading partners.

Countries emerging from conflict often suffer weak or non-existent rule of law, inadequate law enforcement and justice administration capacity, and increased instances of human rights violations. This situation is often exacerbated by a lack of public confidence in State authorities and a shortage of resources. These rule-of-law tools will provide practical guidance to field missions and transitional administrations in critical transitional justice and rule of law to related areas. This publication specifically addresses the issue of mapping the justice sector and some key related institutions and is intended to assist United Nations field staff in understanding how the justice sector actually worked in the State prior to and during the conflict, and how it should function if the rule of law is to take root.

Countries emerging from conflict often suffer weak or non-existent rule of law, inadequate law enforcement and justice administration capacity, and increased instances of human rights violations. This situation is often exacerbated by a lack of public confidence in state authorities and a shortage of resources. These rule-of-law tools will provide practical guidance to field missions and transitional administrations in critical transitional justice and rule of law to related areas. This publication specifically addresses human rights monitoring of the justice system through the creation of a methodology.

The operational guidelines provide a methodology to develop context to specific vetting and personnel reform programmes. Not every point of these guidelines will, however, be relevant in each situation, specific types of institutions raise particular challenges that are not all elaborated, and the political and practical realities of a country emerging from conflict or authoritarian rule might place considerable constraints on the reform process. While it is advisable to follow the three basic steps of the proposed methodology—assess the situation, define the objectives and design the process—these guidelines should be used as a toolbox rather than an operating manual.

The World Economic and Social Survey provides objective analysis of pressing long-term social and economic development issues, and discusses the positive and negative impact of corresponding policies. The analyses are supported by analytical research and data included in the annex. According to the 2006 edition of the Survey, in the industrialised world, the income level over the last five decades has grown steadily while it has failed to do so in many developing countries, thereby causing a rise in already high world inequality.

Deterioration of the Earths environment increasingly threatens the natural resource base and processes upon which all life on Earth depends. Humans are rapidly exceeding the carrying capacity of the environment and coming generations will suffer deprivation and hardship unless current patterns of production, consumption and waste management are dramatically altered. This handbook is intended to enable national judges in all types of tribunals in both civil law and common law jurisdictions to identify environmental issues coming before them and to be aware of the range of options available to them in interpreting and applying the law.

The world’s deserts represent unique ecosystems which support significant plant and animal biodiversity. Various human societies have also been established in deserts throughout history, and today deserts are an important part of the world’s natural and cultural heritage. Deserts are also diverse landscapes, contrary to the common notion of vast swathes of endless sand. This report provides a balanced picture of deserts. It shows that they are more than landscapes which are the end result of the process of desertification. The report urges policy to makers to consider the development potential of deserts, and their conservation needs.

Although true deserts can grow and shrink naturally, dry lands can also “desertify” because of the way people use land and water. This children’s book tells the story of Trishna, a young girl who shares her knowledge with the people from her village to put an end to desertification.

This report assesses the achievements and challenges for microfinance service delivery in Malawi, with particular attention to rural and agricultural markets. It identifies key elements that influence the development of Malawi’s financial system, and provides some recommendations and opportunities for investors, donors, government and private sector entities to support the development of an inclusive financial system.

This volume contains the summary records of the meetings of the International Law Commission on its fifty-second session (1 May – 9 June and 10 July – 18 August 2000). The issues discussed at that session included: unilateral acts of states, diplomatic protection, state responsibility, reservations to treaties and international liability for injurious consequences arising out of acts not prohibited by international law.