6 November 2017 – Corruption can strike anywhere and deny people’s hope of a better future, United Nations António Guterres, Secretary-General told the world’s largest anti-corruption forum which opened Monday in Vienna, while urging global leaders to set positive examples and restore faith in good governance.

“I have seen how corruption hits the poor, the weak and the most vulnerable of all,” the Secretary-General said in remarks delivered by Yury Fedotov, the Executive Director of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), at opening of the Seventh Session of the Conference of the States Parties (CoSP7) to the UN Convention against Corruption (UNCAC), running through the end of the week in Vienna, Austria.

“It can deny people access to health services, schools and economic opportunities,” said the UN chief, stressing that “corruption obliterates people’s faith in good governance.”

As such, Mr. Guterres called on leaders of all kinds – government, corporate, religious and cultural –to “lead by example and prove themselves trustworthy, to restore people’s faith.”

Delivering his own opening address, Mr. Fedotov said the biennial Conference is dedicated to combatting corruption and “strengthening the fight against crimes enabled by corruption and to protect lives.”

He underscored the UNCAC, the UN treaty of 183 States Parties, as a “remarkable universal, legally binding instrument to fight corruption, promote accountability and support progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).”

UNODC will launch an updated State of UNCAC Implementation Report, both demonstrating the progress made by the review mechanism, and presenting remaining challenges and existing good practices in anti-corruption.

“As guardian of the Convention and Secretariat to this Conference, UNODC continues to provide practical support here at headquarters and on the ground through our field presence,” said Mr. Fedotov.

Moreover, UNODC is working with other international agencies to tackle corruption in wildlife crime, sports, and violent extremism. “This session will take important decisions on the Implementation Review Mechanism, as well as consider resolutions addressing a number of critical areas of anti-corruption work,” said Mr. Fedotov.

Over 1,600 participants are attending COSP7, with about 45 side events and exhibitions will be held on the margins of the conference to promote discussion on anti-corruption activities.

The Convention, adopted in 2003, covers five main areas: prevention, criminalization and law enforcement measures, international cooperation, asset recovery, and technical assistance and information exchange.

6 November 2017 – With ever-increasing numbers of people on the move, travelling away from their homelands in search of better opportunities, a United Nations regional meeting opened today in Bangkok, Thailand, exploring options to make migration safer and better protect their rights.

Convoked as one of the five regional preparatory meetings for the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration, the meeting in Bangkok will focus on all dimensions of international migration.

“Migration has been a positive force for millions of people: migrants themselves, those they leave behind and for the new communities who host them. Yet perceptions of migrants as a burden or even as a threat, have risen, in some countries, from the fringes to the mainstream,” said Louise Arbour, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for international migration, in her keynote address at the meeting.

“The result is both rising intolerance and an environment in which vocal anti-migration sentiments fester,” she added.

Noting, in particular, the area of labour migration – the predominant form of migration in the Asia-Pacific region – Ms. Arbour highlighted that with sound, gender-responsive and rights-based policies, such migration can deliver significant benefits and opportunities for migrant workers, countries and host communities as well as for countries of origin, as well as contribute to economic growth, create jobs and promote innovation.

According to estimates, the Asia-Pacific region hosts about 62 million migrants from around the world, and is the region of origin for over 102 million international migrations, with most of the migrants engaged in labour migration, taking up low-skilled work in developing countries.

Last year, the remittance sent back by Asian and Pacific migrant workers totalled almost $269 billion and accounted for a significant portion of the gross domestic product in some countries. However, many migrants face discrimination and rights abuses due to their race, gender, ethnicity or culture.

“As non-citizens of their countries of residence, and non-residents of their countries of citizenship, migrants are often bypassed in both home and host countries,” said Shamshad Akhtar, the Executive Secretary of the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), which hosted the meeting.

“In a world on the move, addressing these challenges directly is all the more critical,” she added, underscoring the potential for migrants in filling labour force gaps due to factors such as ageing populations, as well as to reap the benefits of opportunities presented by ever more connected and integrated regions and strengthen people-to-people connectivity.

6 November 2017 – The Security Council is deciding whether to increase the number of United Nations peacekeepers in the Central African Republic (CAR), one of the recommendations put forward by Secretary-General António Guterres for strengthening the operation, which was discussed at today’s meeting in New York.

Briefing the Council, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for CAR, Parfait Onanga-Anyanga, said the proposal to increase the strength of the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission (MINUSCA) by 900 troops is part of “a comprehensive strategy to address the deteriorating situation,” while working closely with the Government and creating space for the political process.

“We will seek to improve the protection of civilians with a stronger emphasis on early warning and prevention, and we will put greater efforts to ensure humanitarian access to populations in need,” said Mr. Onanga-Anyanga.

The senior UN official, which also the head of MINUSCA, told the Council that intra-communal fighting has forced nearly 600,000 people from their homes within CAR and another half-million outside of its border.

“Many more have disappeared, in oblivion and silence, without burial. Their fate and the volatility of the security situation further darkened an already disastrous humanitarian environment,” he added, calling CAR “the most dangerous country for humanitarian action.”

The recommendation to increase the troop strength is listed in the latest Secretary-General’s report, and would include 300 troops to reinforce the military in the east and the centre of the country, and an additional 600 troops as part of the Force Commander’s reserve in those regions.

The goal, according to the report, is that the additional strength would help to create conditions to allow the political process to unfold by reducing the gains from armed groups, while also creating favourable conditions for the deployment of State administration and goods, such as humanitarian needs.

Speaking after closed door consultations on the proposals, Sebastiano Cardi, the Permanent Representative of Italy to the UN and president of the Council for November, said the Council seems to have a “fairly good consensus” on what the Secretary-General is proposing.

He told the media that the Council is discussion not only troop numbers, but also wants “to make sure that these troops are able to perform successfully. We have to make sure the troops will have the capacity to conduct.”

A decision is expected before 15 November, when MINUSCA’s mandate expires.

6 November 2017 – The current harvest season has not brought enough food to end the hunger crisis in South Sudan, as conflict persists in most of the African country and hyperinflation puts food out of reach for many, the United Nations said Monday.

“The harvest season has not brought much relief to the millions of people in South Sudan who don’t have enough food. The country’s greenbelt has been ravaged by fighting, and finding a peaceful solution to this man-made tragedy should be the top priority or the situation will get even worse next year,” said Serge Tissot, South Sudan Representative of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), in a press release jointly issued by the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the World Food Programme (WFP).

According to the updated Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) released Monday by the Government of South Sudan, UN agencies and other humanitarian partners, the number of people experiencing severe food insecurity across the country for the October-December period is likely to increase by 1.4 million from a year earlier to 4.8 million, although the number represents a drop from six million in June.

The report also projects the food security situation will deteriorate at the start of 2018, and the “hungry season” will arrive three months earlier than usual, when households will likely run out of food before the next harvest.

“A massive humanitarian response helped stop famine in parts of the country this year. But even in the current harvest period, millions of people need sustained assistance to survive,” said Adnan Khan, WFP Representative in South Sudan. “It is chilling to see that in a worst-case scenario, similar conditions could appear in multiple places in the lean season in 2018.”

Critical levels of malnutrition

Malnutrition has also worsened compared to the same period last year, with surveys showing malnutrition rates in most communities well above the WHO’s emergency threshold of 15 per cent, and with more than 30 per cent of the population malnourished in several counties.

More than 1.1 million children under the age of five are forecast to be malnourished in 2018, including nearly 300,000 severely malnourished and at a heightened risk of death.

“Too many children are going hungry in South Sudan. More than one in five of those struggling to feed themselves is a child under five years of age,” said Mahimbo Mdoe, UNICEF’s Representative in South Sudan. “This has created a malnutrition crisis that is putting many lives at risk.”

Soaring food prices

Coupled with a failing economy, insecurity continues to hamper food production and disrupt markets, leading to extremely high food prices. Large sacks of staples such as sorghum, maize, and wheat flour have increased in price by up to 281 per cent compared to last year, and were as high as 560 per cent during May, the peak of the lean season.

In Juba, a 100kg bag of sorghum costs 11,285 South Sudanese Pounds (SSP), compared to 4 314 SSP a year ago, and is vastly beyond what most families can afford.

Despite enormous logistical and security challenges, FAO has provided fishing, crop- and vegetable-growing kits to more than 4.2 million people, many in difficult to reach or conflict-affected areas. FAO has also vaccinated more than 4.8 million livestock.

UNICEF, together with its partners, has treated more than 160,000 children with severe acute malnutrition (SAM) so far this year. UNICEF has also provided over 750,000 people with safe drinking water and a further 230,000 people with access to sanitation facilities.

WFP and its partners have has assisted 4.6 million people so far in 2017 with cash or food, including nutrition support for children under the age of five years. Emergency mobile teams usually travelling by helicopter on over 135 missions to areas isolated by conflict have supported 1.8 million people this year.

6 November 2017 – The United Nations Climate Conference opened on Monday in Bonn, Germany, with the aim of a greater ambition for climate action, as the world body’s weather agency issued a stark warning that 2017 is set to be among the three hottest years on record.

The Bonn Conference of the State Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNTCC), informally known as COP 23 and which runs until 17 November, is chaired by Fiji, an island State particularly affected by the impacts of our warming climate.

“The need for urgency is obvious. Our world is in distress from the extreme weather events caused by climate change – destructive hurricanes, fires, floods, droughts, melting ice, and changes to agriculture that threaten our food security”, said COP 23 President and Prime Minister of Fiji Frank Bainimarama, at the opening of the conference.

“Our job as leaders is to respond to that suffering with all means available to us. [We] must not fail our people. That means using the next two weeks and the year ahead to do everything we can to make the Paris Agreement work and to advance ambition and support for climate action before 2020.”

The Paris Agreement, which was adopted by the 196 Parties to the UNFCCC in December 2015 in the French capital after which it is named, calls on countries to combat climate change by limiting the rise of global temperature below 2 degrees Celsius and strive not to exceed 1.5 degrees Celsius.

A year ago, the Marrakech Climate Conference concluded with the Marrakech Action Proclamation, for our climate and sustainable development, in which the UNFCCC States Parties affirmed their “commitment” to the “full implementation” of the Paris Agreement. Today, 169 Parties have ratified the Agreement.

UN weather agency warns 2017 to be among hottest years ever

As this year’s Conference got under way, the UN World Meteorological Organization (WMO), released its provisional statement on the State of the Climate. “It is very likely that 2017 will be one of the three hottest years on record, with many high-impact events including catastrophic hurricanes and floods, debilitating heatwaves and drought,” said the agency.

For his part, WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas told delegates in Bonn that the past three years have all been in the top three years in terms of temperature records. “This is part of a long term warming trend,” pointing to recent “extraordinary weather,” including temperatures topping 50 degrees Celsius in Asia, record-breaking hurricanes in rapid succession in the Caribbean and Atlantic reaching as far as Ireland, devastating monsoon flooding affecting many millions of people and a relentless drought in East Africa.

“Wherever we live, we are all vulnerable and need to act,” Mr. Bainimarama told delegates, explaining that Fiji is helping build a Grand Coalition for decisive, coordinated action by governments at every level, by civil society, the private sector and all citizens on earth.

“That’s why we installed an ocean-going Fijian ‘drua’ canoe in the entrance here to remind everyone of the need to fill its sail with collective determination to make COP23 a success and confront the biggest challenge humanity has faced,” he said.

Patricia Espinosa, UNFCCC Executive Secretary, reminded the participants that: “We have some very specific goals we must achieve while we are here in Bonn. We expect these negotiations to be the next essential step that ensures that the Paris Agreement’s structure is completed, its impacts are strengthened, and its goals achieved. We also need to move forward to fulfil the commitments that are due in 2020. In this regard, finance and mitigation pledges are essential.”

The Bonn Conference will feature a series of meetings and events, including the high-level segment, on 15 November and 16 November, attended by Heads of State and Government, Ministers, and UN Secretary-General António Guterres.

Mr. Guterres has invited leaders to consider championing six high-impact areas at a special Climate Summit in 2019. These areas are investment in clean technology, maturing carbon pricing, enabling the energy transition, risk mitigation and building resilience, augmenting the contribution of sub-national actors and business and mobilizing climate finance.

Among the side events scheduled at COP 23, several will be organized under the Marrakech Partnership for Global Climate Action, to show how cities, regions, private sector companies and investors are trying to implement the Paris Agreement in the areas of energy, water, agriculture, oceans and coastal areas, human settlements, transportation, industry, and forests.

In this photo, from left to right: Jochen Flasbarth, German State Secretary; Patricia Espinosa, UNFCCC Executive Secretary; Inia Seruiratu, Fijian Minister for Agriculture, Rural & Maritime Development & National Disaster Management & Meteorological Services, and Global Climate Action Champion participate in symbolic bike ride ahead of COP23. Photo: UNFCCC