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Good Health and Well-Being
State of World Population 2024
This year's report takes the 30th anniversary of the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development as an opportunity to reflect on how far we have come in achieving sexual and reproductive health and rights for all. While the report celebrates the significant gains made it also considers who has been left out of that progress arguing that a more equitable future for all requires a renewed commitment to empowering those furthest behind.
Women are the thread
In an ideal world the advancement of women’s reproductive rights and the promotion of equitable access to sexual and reproductive health and rights would be inherently motivated by the principles of human rights and social justice. But real-world sociopolitical contexts often demand quantifiable arguments on the short-term and long-term returns on investments in such programmes. Indeed this was understood to be the case in 1994. Though the ICPD Programme of Action represented a monumental pivot away from population control policies and towards prioritizing the rights of all individuals the economic rationale nevertheless remained critical for justifying investments in these rights.
Foreword
Thirty years ago governments around the world agreed that reproductive health and rights are foundation stones of global development – a groundbreaking consensus that paved the way for decades of progress. Since then the global rate of unintended pregnancies has fallen by nearly 20 per cent globally. The number of women using modern contraceptive methods has doubled. Today at least 162 countries have adopted laws against domestic violence and maternal deaths have decreased by 34 per cent since 2000.
Weaving a collective future
“If you have come here to help me you are wasting your time. But if you have come because your liberation is bound up with mine then let us work together.” These were the words of Lilla Watson an indigenous activist from Australia at the 1985 United Nations Decade for Women Conference in Nairobi.
A work in progress
A safe birth. A choice of contraceptives. Protection from gender-based violence. More people than ever before have realized these essential life-sustaining rights. But the number of people denied these rights has not yet reached zero – as it can and as it must.
Technical notes
The statistical tables in State of World Population 2024 include indicators that track progress towards the goals of the Framework of Actions for the follow-up to the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the areas of maternal health access to education and reproductive and sexual health. In addition these tables include a variety of demographic indicators. The statistical tables support UNFPA’s focus on progress and results towards delivering a world where every pregnancy is wanted every birth is safe and every young person's potential is fulfilled.
Unravelling inequality
The ICPD Programme of Action emerged in the aftermath of the Cold War a time of upheaval and uncertainty. That year 1994 saw both the end of apartheid in South Africa which held its first multiracial democratic election in April and the eruption of genocide in Rwanda that same month. Sweden legalized civil unions between same-sex partners – making it the third country ever to do so – as the global rate of new HIV infections was reaching its highest-ever peak (UNAIDS n.d.). The promise of collective action and the perils of failing to take such action could not have been more prominent in the minds of ICPD attendees in Cairo.
Counting every stitch
The 1994 ICPD and its resulting Programme of Action not only represented a moment of remarkable consensus around the value of universal sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights (Brown and others 2019; Sen and others 2019; Corrêa and others 2015) it also represented a powerful call for better and more transparent data – a contribution to global standards that has seldom been recognized. In fact an entire chapter of the Programme of Action Chapter XII (UNFPA 1994) is devoted to the need for “valid reliable timely culturally relevant internationally comparable data” including “gender and ethnicity-specific information”. It also called for research into the views of less-empowered groups of people and those in different cultural settings.
Risk Assessment for Industrial Accident Prevention
Risk assessments for industrial facilities are essential for the prevention of industrial accidents. The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) Convention on the Transboundary Effects of Industrial Accidents aims to help its Parties prevent prepare for and respond to industrial accidents especially ones that can have transboundary effects. It also fosters transboundary cooperation among its Parties and beyond. As risk assessment is enshrined in the Convention’s provisions UNECE held a seminar on risk assessment methodologies (Geneva 4 December 2018) to support countries in implementing the relevant provisions. The seminar resulted in conclusions and recommendations on the challenges in executing transboundary risk assessment for industrial facilities and the need for more information exchange on risk assessment methodologies used in the UNECE region including available software.
Selected case studies and available software
This report presents selected case studies where a risk assessment methodology was applied to chemical facilities in the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) region. These case studies span five types of facilities: liquified natural gas (LNG)/liquified petroleum gas (LPG) storage tanks; ammonia refrigeration facilities; oil terminals (hydrocarbon loading/unloading/storage facilities); ammonium nitrate storage facilities; and chlorine facilities. The annex to the present report lists key software tools available to support chemical installation risk assessment.
Background and acknowledgements
This publication was developed under the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) Convention on the Transboundary Effects of Industrial Accidents. The Conference of the Parties to the Convention recognized the importance of risk assessment in the implementation of the Convention. Members of the Convention’s Bureau Working Group on Implementation and secretariat formed a small group on risk assessment and organized under Switzerland’s leadership the UNECE Seminar on Risk Assessment Methodologies (Geneva 4 December 2018) to support member States in implementing provisions of the Convention and to facilitate an exchange of information and share experiences in applying risk assessment methodologies. This concluded among others with a recommendation to develop a study on risk assessment due to the challenges many countries face in executing transboundary risk assessments and in exchanging knowledge and information on methodologies.
Executive summary
The effects of industrial accidents can severely harm people the environment and economies. As experienced in the past they have led to fatalities disease outbreaks injuries environmental pollution biodiversity loss conflicts political instability financial loss and more. National governments and international organizations have developed legal and policy instruments and tools to support the prevention of preparedness for and response to industrial accidents. The UNECE Convention on the Transboundary Effects of Industrial Accidents is an international legal instrument that obliges its Parties to take safety measures to that effect. As enshrined in Article 6 and Annex V Parties have recognized risk assessment as a key element of the Convention. This publication was developed to contribute knowledge on risk assessment for industrial accident prevention.
Foreword
Industrial accidents can have devastating impacts on people the environment and economies. In 2020 an explosion at a warehouse containing some 2750 tons of ammonium nitrate in the Port of Beirut in Lebanon led to about 300 deaths 6500 injuries and 300000 displaced people. It severely damaged critical infrastructure including port and healthcare facilities and residential and commercial areas. This and other major accidents such as the Toulouse factory explosion in France (2001) Mihăilești explosion in Romania (2004) fertilizer plant explosion in Texas United States (2013) Tianjin explosion in China (2015) and Bata explosions in Equatorial Guinea (2021) serve as urgent reminders of the need to better understand and apply instruments and tools to assess risks and prevent industrial accidents.
Overview of risk assessment methods
The 1992 United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) Convention on the Transboundary Effects of Industrial Accidents entered into force in 2000 aiming to help its Parties prevent prepare for and respond to industrial accidents especially those that can have transboundary effects. The Convention fosters transboundary cooperation in industrial accident prevention preparedness and response among its Parties and beyond including in countries of Eastern and South-Eastern Europe the Caucasus and Central Asia beneficiaries of the Convention’s Assistance and Cooperation Programme. The workplan will guide the Convention’s Parties non-Parties in the UNECE region the Bureau the Working Group on Implementation the Joint Expert Group on Water and Industrial Accidents (Joint Expert Group) and the secretariat in their activities. Activities are mainly focused on the UNECE region but can also benefit States members of the United Nations beyond the region in line with the communication outreach and engagement strategies.
Rapport mondial des Nations Unies sur la mise en valeur des ressources en eau 2024
Les ressources en eau alimentent la prospérité en répondant aux besoins humains fondamentaux en contribuant au maintien de la santé des moyens de subsistance et du développement économique en renforçant la sécurité alimentaire comme énergétique ainsi qu’en préservant l’intégrité environnementale. Ces ressources influent sur l’économie de bien des manières et les dynamiques du commerce mondial comme les adaptations au marché peuvent avoir des effets directs sur la manière dont les économies régionales et locales emploient l’eau. De même les répercussions des conflits sur les ressources en eau sont multiples et souvent indirectes telles celles ayant trait aux migrations forcées et à une exposition accrue aux risques sanitaires. Le changement climatique les troubles géopolitiques les pandémies les migrations massives l’hyperinflation et d’autres crises peuvent exacerber les inégalités d’accès à l’eau. En règle générale les groupes les plus pauvres et les plus vulnérables sont ceux dont le bien-être est le plus menacé. L’édition 2024 du Rapport mondial des Nations Unies sur la mise en valeur des ressources en eau expose les relations complexes d’interdépendance qui existent entre la gestion durable de l’eau la paix et la prospérité tout comme il décrit la manière dont les progrès réalisés sur l’un de ces aspects ont des répercussions positives souvent cruciales sur les deux autres.
The United Nations World Water Development Report 2024
Water nurtures prosperity by meeting basic human needs supporting health livelihoods and economic development underpinning food and energy security and defending environmental integrity. Water influences the economy in many ways and global trade dynamics and market adaptations can have direct repercussions on the water use of regional and local economies. The water-related impacts of conflict are multi-faceted and often indirect such as those linked to forced migration and increased exposure to health threats. Climate change geopolitical unrest pandemics mass migration hyperinflation and other crises can exacerbate water access inequalities. In nearly all cases the poorest and most vulnerable groups are those that suffer the greatest risks to their well-being. The 2024 edition of the United Nations World Water Development Report (UN WWDR) calls attention to the complex and interlinked relationships between water prosperity and peace describing how progress in one dimension can have positive often essential repercussions on the others.