Thursday, 22 September 2011

CGI 2011 - Video Library

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The 2011 CGI Annual Meeting


Watch live streaming video from cgi_plenary at livestream.com


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Saturday, 17 September 2011

GLOBAL CLINTON INITIATIVES 2011 Annual Meeting Topics : " Jobs, Jobs, Jobs,* Sustainable Consumption, *Girls and Women "

GLOBAL CLINTON INITIATIVE (GCI)
The seventh Annual Meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) to be held September 20-22 in New York City

 
The complete program, session descriptions, and participants are available online at www.clintonglobalinitiative.org/ourmeetings.
 
2011 Annual Meeting Topics

*Jobs,Jobs,Jobs
* Sustainable Comsumption
*Girls and Women
 Past CGI Meetings Photos
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Friday, 16 September 2011

Child Mortality Report 2011

PROGRESS TOWARDS Millennium Development Goal 4:
KEY FACTS AND FIGURES

Only four years remain to achieve Millennium Development Goal 4 (MDG 4), which calls for reducing the under-five mortality rate by twothirds between 1990 and 2015. Since 1990 the under-five mortality rate has dropped 35 percent, with every developing region seeing at least a 30 percent reduction. However, at the global level progress is behind schedule, and the target is at risk of being missed by 2015. The global underfive mortality rate needs to be halved from 57 deaths per 1,000 live births to 29—that implies an average rate of reduction of 13.5 percent a year, much higher than the 2.2 percent a year achieved between 1990 and 2010.

Child mortality is a key indicator not only of child health and nutrition but also of the implementation of child survival interventions and, more broadly, of social and economic development. As global momentum and investment for accelerating
child survival grow, monitoring progress at the global and country levels has become even more critical. The United Nations Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (IGME) updates child mortality estimates annually for monitoring progress. This report presents the IGME’s latest estimates of under-five, infant and neonatal mortality and assesses progress towards MDG 4 at the country, regional and global levels.

Child Mortality Report 2011/ Estimates Developed by the UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation



• Overall, substantial progress has been made towards achieving MDG 4. The
number of under-five deaths worldwide has declined from more than 12 million
in 1990 to 7.6 million in 2010. Nearly 21,000 children under five died every day
in 2010—about 12,000 fewer a day than in 1990.

• Since 1990 the global under-five mortality rate has dropped 35 percent—from
88 deaths per 1,000 live births in 1990 to 57 in 2010. Northern Africa, Eastern
Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, South-eastern Asia, Western Asia and the developed regions have reduced their under-five mortality rate by 50 percent
or more.

• The rate of decline in under-five mortality has accelerated—from 1.9 percent a year over 1990–2000 to 2.5 percent a year over 2000–2010—but remains insufficient
to reach MDG 4, particularly in Sub- Saharan Africa, Oceania, Caucasus and
Central Asia, and Southern Asia.

• The highest rates of child mortality are still in Sub-Saharan Africa—where 1 in 8
children dies before age 5, more than 17 times the average for developed regions
(1 in 143)—and Southern Asia (1 in 15). As under-five mortality rates have fallen
more sharply elsewhere, the disparity between these two regions and the rest of
the world has grown.

• Under-five deaths are increasingly concentrated in Sub-Saharan Africa and Southern Asia, while the share of the rest of the world dropped from 31 percent in 1990 to 18 percent in 2010.

• In Sub-Saharan Africa the average annual rate of reduction in under-five mortality
has accelerated, doubling from 1990–2000 to 2000–2010. Six of the fourteen best-performing countries are in Sub-Saharan Africa, as are four of the five countries with the largest absolute reductions (more than 100 deaths per 1,000 live
births).

• About half of under-five deaths occur in only five countries: India, Nigeria, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Pakistan and China. India (22 percent) and Nigeria
(11 percent) together account for a third of all under-five deaths.

• Over 70 percent of under-five deaths occur within the first year of life.

• The proportion of under-five deaths that occur within the first month of life (the neonatal period) has increased about 10 percent since 1990 to more than 40 percent.

• Almost 30 percent of neonatal deaths occur in India. Sub-Saharan Africa has the highest risk of death in the first month of life and has shown the least
progress.

• Globally, the four major killers of children under age 5 are pneumonia (18
percent), diarrhoeal diseases (15 percent), preterm birth complications (12
percent) and birth asphyxia (9 percent). Undernutrition is an underlying cause in
more than a third of under-five deaths. Malaria is still a major killer in Sub-Saharan Africa, causing about 16 percent of under-five deaths.


This report was prepared at UNICEF Headquarters by Danzhen You, Gareth Jones and Tessa Wardlaw on behalf of the United Nations Inter‑agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation.Organizations and individuals involved in generating country-specific estimates on child mortality

United Nations Children’s Fund
Danzhen You, Tessa Wardlaw
World Health Organization
Ties Boerma, Colin Mathers, Mie Inoue, Mikkel Oestergaard
The World Bank
Emi Suzuki
United Nations Population Division
Francois Pelletier, Gerhard Heilig, Kirill Andreev, Patrick Gerland, Danan Gu, Nan Li, Cheryl Sawyer, Thomas Spoorenberg
United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean Population Division
Dirk Jaspers Faijer, Guiomar Bay, Tim Miller


Special thanks to the Technical Advisory Group of the Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation for providing technical guidance on methods for child mortality estimation

Kenneth Hill (Chair), Harvard University
Michel Guillot, University of Pennsylvania
Leontine Alkema, National University of Singapore
Jon Pedersen, Fafo
Simon Cousens, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
Neff Walker, Johns Hopkins University
Trevor Croft, Measure DHS, ICF Macro
John Wilmoth, University of California, Berkeley
Gareth Jones, Consultant

Further thanks go to Priscilla Akwara, Mickey Chopra, Archana Dwivedi, Jimmy Kolker, Richard Morgan, Holly Newby and Ian Pett from UNICEF for their support as well as to Joy Lawn from Save the Children for her comments. And special thanks to
Mengjia Liang from UNICEF for her assistance in preparing the report. Communications Development Incorporated provided overall design direction, editing and layout.

Copyright © 2011
by the United Nations Children’s Fund
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Wednesday, 14 September 2011

Secretary-General's Message for the International Day of Democracy 2011

Secretary-General's Message for 2011

This year has been a remarkable one in the history of democracy.  Millions of people participated in the dramatic events in the Middle East, North Africa and beyond, and yet more followed with intense interest.  Their engagement confirmed that democracy is a universal model yearned for by all peoples and alien to no culture.  This year also served as a reminder that democracy cannot be exported or imposed from abroad; it must be generated by the will of the people and nurtured by a strong and active civil society.  The world saw the truth of the saying that countries do not become fit for democracy; they become fit through democracy.  Young people, above all, brought home this message.  They championed the democratic ideal and now face the challenge of working to realize the potential of the transitions they helped to set in motion.
The same truths are borne out by another milestone this year -- the 20th anniversary of the massive transformation in Eastern Europe.  Many of the region’s countries are still in the early stages of their democratic passage.  They know the painstaking work involved in building the rule of law, fostering transparency and accountability, and overhauling political and economic systems.  They know the setbacks that can disappoint expectations, and the passion needed to keep moving forward.  Their experiences provide important lessons. 

The United Nations is there to support these efforts.  It does more than any other single organization to develop and strengthen democratic institutions and practices around the world.  The UN supports free and fair elections, encourages popular participation by civil society, and nurtures dialogue when parties are deadlocked after a disputed vote.  It mediates in fragile political situations to prevent conflict, and fosters accountable security institutions after a conflict has ended.  It deploys experts to help strengthen the rule of law, develop multi-party structures and build effective, accountable public administration, ombudsman institutions, anti-corruption agencies and gender equality bodies.

In all these endeavours, the UN does not seek to export or promote any particular national or regional model of democracy.  It works on the understanding that the democratic ideal is rooted in philosophies and traditions from all parts of the world; that effective democratic governance enhances the quality of life for men and women everywhere; and that democracy provides the foundations for durable peace, security and development.

On this International Day of Democracy, let us redouble our efforts to support all people, in particular the young – the drivers of this year’s momentous events – in making democracy a working reality.  This Day belongs to them.  Let us honour their commitment to a lifelong journey in democracy.


Ban Ki-moon
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International Day of Democracy - 15 September

DEMOCRACY AND THE UNITED NATIONS

The International Day of Democracy provides an opportunity to review the state of democracy in the world. Democracy is as much a process as a goal, and only with the full participation of and support by the international community, national governing bodies, civil society and individuals, can the ideal of democracy be made into a reality to be enjoyed by everyone, everywhere.

The values of freedom, respect for human rights and the principle of holding periodic and genuine elections by universal suffrage are essential elements of democracy.  In turn, democracy provides the natural environment for the protection and effective realization of human rights. These values are embodied in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and further developed in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights which enshrines a host of political rights and civil liberties underpinning meaningful democracies.
The link between democracy and human rights is captured in article 21(3) of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which states:

“The will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government; this will shall be expressed in periodic and genuine elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret vote or by equivalent free voting procedures.” 

The rights enshrined in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and subsequent human rights instruments covering group rights (e.g. indigenous peoples, minorities, people with disabilities) are equally essential for democracy as they ensure an equitable distribution of wealth, and equality and equity in respect of access to civil and political rights.


Democracy : The Past Observances


 

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Monday, 12 September 2011

Message of the Secretary-General on the International Day of Peace 2011



 

 

Message of the Secretary-General

Every year on the International Day of Peace, people around the world commit to non-violence and to harmony among all peoples and nations.
Peace is our mission; our day-to-day quest.
This year’s theme focuses on the timely issue of peace and democracy.
Democracy is a core value of the United Nations.
It is crucial for human rights.
It provides channels for resolving differences.
It gives hope to the marginalized and power to the people.
But democracy does not just happen; it has to be nurtured and defended.
The world needs you to speak out:
for social justice and freedom of the press;
for a clean environment and women’s empowerment;
for the rule of law and the right to a say in one’s own future.
This year, young people have been on the frontlines for freedom.
I salute the activists and ordinary people for their courage and determination to build a better future.
We at the United Nations will work in common cause to realize our shared aspirations for dignity, security and opportunity for all.
To all those seeking peace, this is your day, and we are with you.
Ban Ki-moon

Peace and Democracy: Make your voice heard!




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