11-14 January 2021, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia – A group of 97 senior officials and ambassadors from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change engaged in a four-day UNITAR High-Level e-Workshop to improve their skills and knowledge in environmental diplomacy, in the lead-up to this year’s Conference of Parties (COP26). The activity was made possible with the financial support of SIDA, Sweden’s government agency for development cooperation.

12 February 2021, New York, USA (Virtual) - The United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) New York Office, along with the Columbia Law School, hosted the “Antiracism in Peace-Building and Conflict Resolution” workshop on Friday, 12 February 2021. The workshop was the first session of the Spring 2021 Columbia Law School training series. Over 140 participants joined the session virtually from different parts of the world and was supported with funding allocated from the Swedish International Development Agency’s (SIDA) contribution to the UNITAR Strategic Framework Fund, under the programme ‘Leveling the Playing Field’ which focuses on the development of skills and knowledge of Least Developing Countries.

12 February 2021, Georgetown, Guyana - UNITAR through the Partnership for Action on Green Economy co-organized a workshop on 'Building back better through trade and industrial policy' in Guyana. The workshop aimed at building technical knowledge and skills related to the design, implementation, and evaluation of public policy at the trade and industry interface, thus supporting local agents in the achievement of national sustainable goals.

12 February 2021, New York, USA - Head of UNITAR New York Office, Mr. Marco Suazo, attends the Transfer of Power Ceremony for the newly elected Technical Secretary for the Development of the Indigenous People’s Villages of Latin America and the Caribbean. After receiving a personal invitation from the President of the Directive Council, Mirna Cunningham, UNITAR New York Office Head of office Marco Suazo, attends the ceremonial proceedings. After a brief spiritual introduction, Segundina Flores, member of the Directive Council of FILAC, gave welcoming remarks on behalf of the Native People’s Villages of Bolivia. Once finished, the floor was then passed to Freddy Mamani, Vice counselor of the Multinational State of Bolivia, host of FILAC, where welcoming remarks were also continued by him. Passing the floor then to Amadeo Martinez, Forum Coordinator of Indigenous People of Abya Yala, Amadeo proceeded to speak shortly concerning the aspirations of the Indigenous Villages of Latin America for the new leadership. In full support of the new State’s initiatives that are to be a part of FILAC, Fernando Aguirre, Representative of Colombia voiced his adamant endorsement of the proposed initiatives for the new term. Reaffirming the responsibilities and promises made to the Indigenous Villages was noted to be of prime importance by Higinio Obispo, ONIC. The renewed willingness to support extra-regional states was highlighted by Carmen Castiella in the next session, Vice President of FILAC for the Government of Spain.

10 February 2021, New York, USA (Virtual) – The United Nations Institute for Training and Research New York Office (NYO) successfully concluded the two-day virtual seminar entitled “Induction Course for the Members of the United Nations Peacebuilding Commission. The ambassadorial-level session of the Induction Course for the Members of the United Nations Peacebuilding Commission 2021was attended by over 80 participants and provided the opportunity to discuss priorities.

H.E. Mr. Marco Suazo, UNITAR NYO Head of Office, opened the session by thanking all participants for their attendance and additionally spoke about the goals of the Commission, especially considering the COVID-19 pandemic. Mr. Nikhil Seth, Assistant Secretary-General and Executive Director of UNITAR, followed Mr. Suazo with introductory remarks on the importance of the Commission, including his own experience in it.

2020 was a year of both challenges and accomplishments for UNITAR-UNOSAT. Our mapping teams delivered 1,136 products and services based on over 300 analyses to partners in 59 countries. Throughout the year we also successfully designed and implemented several capacity development activities: UNITAR-UNOSAT delivered 16 learning-related events in 2020 to 471 beneficiaries consisting mostly of government officials, 6 of which were web-based and 10 of which took place face-to-face.

9 February 2021, New York, USA -
The United Nations Institute for Training and Research New York Office (UNITAR NYO) and the Peacebuilding Commission Office (PBC) hosted the first day of the Induction Course for the Members of The United Nations Peacebuilding Commission on 9 February 2021. It took place in an online format, attracting over 75 delegates.

4 February 2021, Geneva, Switzerland - UNITAR and the Conflux Center for Intercultural Dialogue and Mediation decided to collaborate to empower growth-oriented professionals working in multilateral diplomacy, as well as current and future policy leaders

3 February 2021, New York, USA (Virtual) – The United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) New York office announced the launching of “Harnessing Climate & SDG Synergies to Raise Ambition in the Era of Paris+5 and Pandemic Recovery” an online course series in collaboration with the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA) and United Nations framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC).

03 February 2020, Geneva, Switzerland - UNITAR, UNCTAD, UNHCR and IOM organized the online side event “Entrepreneurship for Migrants and Refugees: Innovative Partnerships for Sustainable Development”, on 25 January 2021, in the framework of the13th Summit of the Global Forum for Migration and Development (GFMD). It was held in English, with interpretation services to Arabic and French. There was a wide participation from all regions, with representatives from States, private sector, academia, and civil society.