“Reduce the fear of migration by 50% until 2015”. Could this be a migration related Millennium Development Goal (MDG)?  While it seems rather unlikely that the international community will agree on international targets when it comes to migration in the near future, it is clear that human mobility and the achievement of the MDGs are related.

The United Nations Institute for Training and Research is pleased to announce a French-Language Workshop on Effective Negotiation in Multilateral Conferences to be held on 7 and 8 September at United Nations Headquarters in New York. The workshop, co-organized with the Olof Palme Memorial Fund, is part of the 2010 Negotiation Series “Towards levelling the playing field”.

The United Nations Institute for Training and Research is pleased to announce a workshop on Environmental Negotiations and Climate Change Diplomacy to be held from 26- 27 August at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. The workshop, co-organized with the Olof Palme Memorial Fund, is part of the 2010 Negotiation Series “Towards levelling the playing field”.

The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) are pleased to announce a two-day Orientation Course on Human Rights. The course will be held in New York on 14 and 15 June 2010 and will be run by a team of human rights experts from OHCHR.

Historically, the role of women in diplomacy has remained marginal, at best, evidenced by the low- though increasing- rates of women’s participation in senior level positions in the UN system. Among diplomats to the UN, currently, women account for 23 of the 192 permanent representatives and observers to United Nations headquarters in New York. Women’s participation at senior level positions in the UN system also remains dismal.

NEW YORK, 26 May (UNITAR) — Today, the Olof Palme Memorial Fund, Sweden, and the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) are launching the 2010 Negotiation Training Series “Towards a level playing field”, aimed at enhancing diplomats’ negotiation skills.  With the generous support of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Sweden, this Series marks the fourth year of collaboration between the Olof Palme Memorial Fund and UNITAR.

Even though the movement of people as a response to changes in the environment is not a new phenomenon, this issue has risen on the international agenda as a result of the growing awareness of the reality of climate change and its possible implications. Climate change is predicted to increase climate variability and lead to greater intensity and frequency of extreme weather events.