This satellite derived geospatial analysis documents damages over the Gaza Strip following the July-August 2014 conflict. It is based on analysis of commercial satellite imagery and quantifies damage to overall building structures, health facilities, education facilities, agricultural fields and greenhouses. The study also compares damage from the 2014 conflict to that of the 2009 conflict.

June 2014, Hiroshima, Japan - The UNITAR Hiroshima Office recently completed training on the adoption of a Green Economy to 20 representatives of the Government of Afghanistan. Hailing from the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, and the Ministry of Economy, and in a programme delivered in close collaboration with the Afghanistan Civil Service Institute and UNDP Afghanistan, the participants represented both Kabul based Civil Servants, as well as Provincial Directors, allowing for some very focused discussions as to the on-the-ground implementability of the issues presented.

The UNITAR Hiroshima Office recently concluded the 11th Cycle of its highly regarded training series on the management and conservation of World Heritage Sites, held between 14-18 April. Attended by 21 participants from countries including South Africa, Fiji, New Zealand, and Thailand, the week-long workshop examined the processes required for the justification for the inscription of cultural landscapes in world heritage site nominations.

April 30 2013, Hiroshima, Japan - UNITAR recently completed a training programme for 24 participants, from 15 countries, examining the nomination process for World Heritage Sites. Held 22 to 26 April, the workshop was the tenth annual cycle in the Management and Conservation of World Heritage Sites Series, and was subtitled World Heritage Serial Nominations and the Vital Role of Comparative Analysis.

March 2013, Geneva, Switzerland - The Executive Director of UNITAR has appointed Dr. Einar Bjorgo of Norway as UNOSAT Manager after a selection process involving internal and external candidates. Bjorgo, who was serving as Senior Officer at UNITAR had been in charge of UNOSAT operations under the previous management.

24 January 2013, Geneva, Switzerland - Mozambique is being affected by flooding that may match in intensity the catastrophic emergency in 2000 that cost the life of 800 people and brought havoc and loss to the country.

29 May 2012, Geneva, Switzerland - The 12th edition of the celebrated Summer Course on International Humanitarian Law will take place on 25 June-6 July 2012, in both Sanremo (Italy) and Geneva, announced the International Institute for Humanitarian Law (IIHL). As in previous years, the course will feature a UNOSAT module on the use of geospatial information and satellite analysis in the application of humanitarian law during conflict and crises.

Within its Geneva-based training offer, UNOSAT has completed in February 2012 a professional training for 6 Officers of the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). UNOSAT training modules on rapid mapping and satellite analysis are well known both in Geneva and in several countries, but this was the first time that Human Rights Officers were hosted in the UNOSAT training facility based at CERN.

February 2012, Geneva, Switzerland - The new application, called “CyberMappr”, has been developed within the Citizen Cyberscience Centre (CCC), created by UNITAR, CERN and University of Geneva as an incubator of new tools involving citizen-to-citizen cyberscience. CyberMappr uses the internet to connect volunteers to each other and to a group of expert analysts at UNOSAT with one common mission.

This year saw the first successful roll out of the new improved version of the well-known GIS training course offered by the Asian Disaster Preparedness Centre that now includes tailored UNOSAT modules on post-disaster impact and damage analysis in emergency response mapping. The course is held once a year in Bangkok around October and lasts two weeks. The UNOSAT module is held on three consecutive days during the course.