In its continued efforts towards the realisation of the goals outlined in the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) Agenda, UNITAR has joined forces with The Office of the Special Envoy of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission on Women, Peace and Security (OSE) through the secondment of a Gender Monitoring Specialist.

Did you know that when women participate in peace processes, the resulting agreement is 35% more likely to last 15 years? But did you also know that between 1992 and 2019, women represented only 13% of negotiators, 3% of mediators, and 4% of signatories in major peace processes? To combat the disconnect between these statistics, UNITAR has codeveloped with FemWise-Africa the Custodians for Peace project which empowers women with the skills and confidence to directly participate in peace processes.

Recognizing that women continue to face significant barriers to equitable and meaningful participation in peace operations, in November / December 2021, UNITAR and the UN DPO Justice and Corrections Service (JCS) jointly held an Assessment and outreach exercise for women corrections officers in Dakar, Senegal.

11 March 2022, Geneva, Switzerland - The Fischer Family Scholarship is an award of €5,000 granted to one student which has been admitted in the selection procedure pertaining to the Master in Electoral Policy and Administration (MEPA) program at the Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna. This scholarship is attributed to cover half of the tuition costs of the Master for the 2022 April Intake.

10 March 2022, New York, United States (Virtual) – The United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) New York office, in partnership with the Columbia Law School Mediation Clinic, kickstarted the three-event Spring 2022 presentations of the Columbia Law School Series with the first session titled, “Women and Negotiation: How to Be Your Own Ultimate Self-Advocate”. Garnering over 120 participants from around the world, the event successfully highlighted the struggles faced by women in the workplace, and how best to combat gender inequality in social settings and the workspace. The goal of this first session in the 2022 Columbia Law School Series was to underscore the tangible benefits in advocating for one’s self, highlight the gendered differences that can arise in the workplace, and show how to ask for more.

“Would be beneficial to repeat such training programs before every deployment and non-medical members should be included.”

15 December 2021, Geneva, Switzerland – The United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) and the Arab Gulf Program for Development (AGFUND) signed two agreements today to scale up action on financial inclusion and women empowerment in Sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East and to strengthen public health systems in Afghanistan.

Greenhouse gas emissions directly contribute to global warming and climate change. The technology and fuel used for electricity generation are often responsible for high greenhouse gas emissions. Recently, UNITAR conducted a survey among energy experts in the humanitarian system to estimate the number of diesel and petrol generators that are used to produce electricity in humanitarian operations, with a view to establishing the opportunities to transition to solar solutions.

8-15 November 2021, New York, USA - The UNITAR New York office organized a six day private online workshop, "Practical Preparation for Membership of the United Nations Security Council," for the Brazilian delegation of 25 diplomats to the Permanent Mission in New York and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. With vast experience of working with the Council, Brazil secured 181 out of 190 votes cast during the election of the five non-permanent members to the Security Council (SC), and will serve a two-year term from January 2022 to December 2023. Brazil is a founding member of the United Nations and was present at the San Francisco Conference in 1945. With this new election, it will have served the Council eleven times since 1946.

“People are used to training in which one arrives with a notebook and a pencil, sits down and takes notes, but the training offered by UNITAR was quite experiential. The facilitators shared their experiences with us and helped us build trust. This inspired us to share our own story and experiences without fear of judgment.”