New York, 25 November 2007 - Violence against women continues to persist as one of the most heinous, systematic and prevalent human rights abuses in the world. It is a threat to all women, and an obstacle to all our efforts for development, peace and gender equality in all societies.

Announcement. Presentation of the 2007/2008 UNDP Global Human Development Report: ‘Fighting climate change: Human solidarity in a divided world’.

Building on the science of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s Synthesis Report (2007) and the economics of the N. Stern Review The Economics of Climate Change (2006), UN Development Programme Human Development Report (HDR) focuses on climate change consequences for human development and in particular for the poor. It offers recommendations for the solution of these problems.

On November 29 the Ministry for Economic Development and Trade of Russia will host a presentation of a new project, recently launched by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) - Black Sea Trade and Investment Promotion Programme.

New York, 19 November 2007—The United Nations General Assembly is today expected to adopt a resolution proclaiming the period to 2016 as a “decade of recovery and sustainable development” for territories in Belarus, the Russian Federation, and Ukraine that were affected by the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear accident. The goal of the decade is “a return to normal life” for affected communities. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has been tasked with drafting a unified UN action plan and coordinating UN work on the decade.

UNDP/GEF Project “Biodiversity Conservation in the Russian Portion of the Altai-Sayan Ecoregion” supports conservation of rare and endangered species, including famous Snow Leopard – a symbol of the Altai-Sayan eco-region. In order to reduce the conflict between local herders and snow leopards, that threaten livestock, the UNDP/GEF project developed a new initiative with the local population.

15 November, Vladivostok, Russia – A Greater Tumen Initiative (GTI) ministerial-level meeting concluded today with the adoption of the Vladivostok Declaration, including the launch of new institutional structures such as the Business Advisory Council, the Energy Board and the Tourism Council, further strengthening regional cooperation for economic growth and sustainable development in Northeast Asia.

United Nations, 1 November -- The United Nations, Google and Cisco today unveiled a pioneering online site that tracks progress towards decreasing global poverty by 2015, a global campaign known as the Millennium Development Goals, or MDGs.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon launched the project, called MDG Monitor, and highlighted the urgent need to increase global cooperation. The site is available at www.mdgmonitor.org.

Presentation of the 2006/2007 Human Development Report for Russian in Perm

Training course on Occupational Health and Safety in Industry, organized in cooperation with NIVA - Nordic training institute under the ILO Project on Improvement of Occupational Safety and Health system in North-West Russia. rudakov@ilo.org