Top cops from across the globe are meeting at United Nations Headquarters this week to chart a vision for the police components deployed to UN peacekeeping missions.

They are taking part in the two-day UN Chiefs of Police Summit (UNCOPS) which aims to build up the relationship between UN and national policing efforts, strengthening the overall response to transnational threats to peace and security, among other objectives.

More than 11,000 officers from 89 countries currently serve as part of 16 UN operations worldwide; just 10 per cent of them are women.

In his address to the opening ceremony on Thursday, Jean-Pierre Lacroix, head of the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations, shone a spotlight on the heroism and bravery of these men and women, who are known as the “blue berets”.

Increasingly, our blue berets are serving in contexts where there is no negotiated political settlement in place – Jean-Pierre Lacroix, UN Peacekeeping

“Our UN Police colleagues are operating under difficult security and political conditions.  Increasingly, our blue berets are serving in contexts where there is no negotiated political settlement in place,” he said.

“The long-term political horizon – in places like South Sudan, Mali and the DRC (the Democratic Republic of the Congo) – is unclear. “

Mr. Lacroix reported that peacekeeping overall is subject to increasingly dangerous conditions, such as the threat posed by armed groups and extremists.

And while peacekeeping remains a cost-effective means towards achieving sustainable peace and security, he said it is not always seen as a priority.

Ministers, police representatives and other experts from up to 193 countries are attending the summit, and the UN peacekeeping chief appealed for their support.

He called for greater political engagement and said it was vital to avoid or mitigate conflicts before they escalate into a full-blown crisis.

Countries were also asked to provide more French-speaking police officers, both women and men, with particular areas of expertise, such as a track record of tackling serious and organized crime.

Mr. Lacroix added that women peacekeepers can also serve as role models and bridges to communities, especially vulnerable populations.

As safety and security of UN personnel is another challenge, he said steps were being taken in this area.

UN Police is an integral part of UN Peacekeeping, which celebrates its 70th anniversary this year.

The officers help to build and support their national counterparts in post-conflict countries to create the conditions that will allow sustainable peace and development.

For example, in Haiti they currently provide mentoring and strategic advice to senior- and middle-level management, while also helping the country’s police to build trust with local communities.

UN Police saw its first deployment in 1960, to the then Congo, under a UN mission whose mandate included ensuring the withdrawal of Belgian troops following independence, and assisting the government with maintaining law and order.

Hungarian legislation that criminalizes anyone who supports asylum seekers and other vulnerable individuals is “blatantly xenophobic”, “shameful” and “disgraceful”, the UN human rights chief said on Thursday.

Commenting on the Hungarian Parliament’s decision to vote in Government proposals on Wednesday, Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein described it as “an attack on fundamental human rights and freedoms”, as it “makes illegal the act of helping those who may be in dire need”.

The new legislation could enter into force by the beginning of July, soon after a European Union Heads of State summit, in which discussions on finding solutions to migration pressures on the 28-Member bloc are expected to feature prominently.

This Sunday, the European Commission President is convening an “informal working meeting” of government ministers, according to reports, on migration and asylum, aimed at finding solutions to growing concerns over the issue across the continent.

Under the Hungarian legislation, it will be possible to jail “any lawyer, adviser, volunteer or legally resident family member” who helps vulnerable foreigners and to ban organizations that do the same, the High Commissioner noted in a statement.

He added that the authorities also announced this week that they would introduce a 25 per cent tax on funding for non-governmental organizations which “support immigration”.

While stressing that there was no question that Hungary’s border management was its own responsibility, Zeid said that the new law nonetheless “strikes at the heart of the European Union’s values of pluralism, tolerance and solidarity”.

The development “continues and deepens the Hungarian Government’s assault on civic space”, Zeid contended, saying that it threatened those “who work on behalf of the most vulnerable, and in defence of our highest human rights values”.

According to UN refugee agency, UNHCR, since January, Hungary has effectively closed its borders to almost all people wishing to seek international protection.

On average, only two asylum seekers per day are allowed to enter the country through the two “transit zones” at the border with Serbia, it said in a recent statement.

Any asylum seeker who attempts to cross the razor-wire border fence “is automatically removed”.

Prior to the new Hungarian legislation becoming law, UNHCR called on the Hungarian Government of Prime Minister Viktor Orban to withdraw its proposals.

“Seeking asylum is a fundamental human right, it is not a crime,” Pascale Moreau, Director of UNHCR’s Europe Bureau, said at the time of the UNHCR appeal.

She added that there was particular concern that the Government “is targeting those who, in a purely humanitarian role, help people who are seeking asylum”, before urging the authorities “to halt any measures that would further increase the vulnerability of people who are simply looking for a safe haven”.

UNHCR estimates that among the millions of stateless people worldwide, around 570,000 now live in Europe.

The United Nations has announced its readiness to support Eritrea and Ethiopia following recent peace overtures between the two neighbouring States in the Horn of Africa.

Ethiopia this month announced its readiness to accept and implement a 2002 border agreement that ended two years of bloody conflict, in which thousands died. Without a deal, skirmishes continued at the border, with Eritrea reportedly remaining on a war-footing.

In a speech delivered this week, Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki announced plans to send a delegation to Addis Ababa “to gauge current developments directly and in depth, as well as to chart out a plan for continuous future action”, according to media reports.

In a statement released by his Spokesperson on Thursday, the UN Secretary-General welcomed the “positive steps” taken to resolve outstanding issues regarding the normalization of relations between the two countries.

António Guterres also commended efforts by their leaders “to achieve sustainable peace and good-neighbourly relations which, in turn, will have positive repercussions in the entire Horn of Africa region”.

The UN chief also underlined his readiness to provide “all support that may contribute to advancing and consolidating” engagement between the two countries, the statement continued.

Tens of thousands of people were killed in the two years of war between Ethiopia and Eritrea, which began in 1998 over a border dispute.

The UN deployed a peacekeeping mission to the region, UNMEE, whose mandate included monitoring the cessation of hostilities, providing mine action assistance and coordinating humanitarian and human rights activities.

The operation was established in 2000 and was terminated by the Security Council eight years later following “obstructions” by Eritrea that undermined the mission’s mandate.

Not only has space exploration captured the world’s imagination, it can also help humankind address existential challenges back on earth, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Wednesday, in his message to the UN’s key forum on space affairs.

In a video message to the opening of the high-level session of UNISPACE+50, the UN’s main forum to discuss the peaceful uses of outer space, Mr. Guterres highlighted that despite major political differences on the ground, “countries have worked together for progress in outer space.”

The collaboration has led to “great scientific and technological achievements,” he continued.

“We must ensure that everyone can access and benefit” from advanced space technologies, added the UN chief.

Taking place in the Austrian capital, Vienna, UNISPACE+50 commemorates the 50th anniversary of the 1968 UN Conference on the Exploration and Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, which was also held in the same city.

Also addressing the opening segment, Alexander Van der Bellen, the President of Austria, underscored that space will become a crucial driver for sustainable development, and the collective mission to reach the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030.

Space technology can play a “crucial role” in addressing the complex and diverse challenges which confront us all, he said, ranging from natural disasters to devastating impacts of climate change.

In addition, with many new actors entering the space field and breaking new ground in uses of space, humankind needs “to ensure that space resources are used for peaceful purposes only, and in a sustainable manner compatible with international law”, urged the Austrian President.

Yury Fedotov, the Director General of the UN Office at Vienna, also highlighted the importance of global space cooperation and governance, to the SDGs.

“The benefits of space encompass every aspect of our lives, from agriculture and health, to disaster mitigation and humanitarian assistance,” he said, noting that deliberations at the forum would strengthen the role of space as an “inclusive tool” to promote global development.

Simoneta Di Pippo, the Director of the UN Office of Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA), which is organizing UNISPACE+50, highlighted a draft resolution concerning use of space in sustainable development that will be presented to the General Assembly for adoption in October.

“The vision and actions contained in the agreed text of the draft resolution to continue to develop the ‘Space2030’ agenda and its implementation plan will set the course for strengthening the contribution of space activities and space tools to achieving internationally agreed development goals,” she said.

The draft resolution was endorsed later in the day by the UN Committee on Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, which began its 61st session the same day.

UN News/Vibhu Mishra

UN Champion for Space Scott Kelly presents the UNISPACE+50 commemorative stamps to the President of Austria, Alexander Van der Bellen.

UN Champion for Space unveils commemorative UNISPACE+50 stamps

Also on Wednesday, the UN Champion for Space Scott Kelly, who as a NASA astronaut spent more than a year in space, unveiled a set of special commemorative stamps, marking UNISPACE+50.

The stamps “represent humankind’s achievements in space,” said Mr. Kelly, noting the benefits that space brings to life below. 

“As United Nations Champion for Space, I am also personally honoured to feature on one of these stamps, as a representative of all human space explorers, past, present and future,” he added.

The stamps have been officially released by the UN Postal Adminstration and can be used to mail letters or other postage from any UN post office to any address in the world.

UN News, currently in Vienna covering UNISPACE+50, had a whimsical question for one of the UNPA representatives attending the unveiling. Did they think the stamp could someday be used to mail letters to an address beyond the earth’s orbit?

“Definitely,” was the emphatic answer.

UNPA

Composite graphic showing the UNISPACE+50 commemorative stamps.

UN News is on location in Vienna covering UNISPACE+50 and its associated events. Follow us at @UN_News_Centre for news and highlights.

Although more people are leading better lives than a decade ago, persistent poverty and hunger, as well as rapid urbanization, are challenging global efforts to create a more just and equitable world, according to a United Nations report launched on Wednesday.

The study provides a snapshot of progress towards achieving the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), adopted by world leaders three years ago.

“With just 12 years left to the 2030 deadline, we must inject a sense of urgency,” UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a forward to the report.

The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2018 reveals that conflict and climate change were major contributing factors to increased hunger and forced displacement, among other challenges.

For the first time in more than a decade, the number who are not getting enough to eat is trending upwards, and there are now approximately 38 million more hungry people in the world: rising from 777 million in 2015, to 815 million a year later.

United Nations

Sustainable Development Goals Report 2018: World Hunger infographic.

Meanwhile, conflict is now one of the main drivers of food insecurity in nearly 20 countries.

The report also points out some good news, such as the significant decline in the number of people living on less than two dollars a day.

That number fell from 26.9 per cent in 2000, to 9.2 per cent in 2017.

The mortality rate for children under-five also has dropped, by almost 50 per cent in the world’s least developed countries.

However, dark spots remain, such as the 2.3 billion people who still lack basic sanitation, while more than 890 million worldwide continue to practice open defecation: that is, using the bathroom outdoors.

And whereas there were 210 million cases of malaria in 2013, the number jumped to 216 million just three years later.

United Nations

Sustainable Development Goals Report 2018: Youth Unemployment infographic.

Francesca Perucci, Assistant Director of the UN’s Statistics Division, with the Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA), also pointed to the importance of timely data collection and analysis to monitor progress.

 “The report highlights the need for political leadership, adequate resources and commitment to further expand on tools available for data collection, production and dissemination, to ensure that all countries have rigorous evidence and comprehensive data to guide programmes and efforts towards 2030,” she said.