2013 calendar

C a l e n d a r

The United Nations

Making A Difference

■■ In September 2013, the General Assembly of the United Nations will hold a high-level meeting in New York on disability and development, in support of the aims of the 2006 Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the Millennium Development Goals and other internationally agreed development goals for persons with disabilities.

■■ The United Nations General Assembly declared 2013 the International Year of Water Cooperation—highlighting new potentials and challenges in water management due to increased demand for water access, allocation and services—and the International Year of Quinoa—focusing attention on the biodiversity and nutritional value of this important traditional Andean food resource.

■■ International Mother Language Day, 21 February, promotes linguistic and cultural diversity and multilingualism, including the preservation of endangered

languages. About 7,000 languages are spoken in the

world today.

■■ The International Day of Peace, 21 September, is marked at UN Headquarters with a ceremony at the Peace Bell. The metal in the Bell

was obtained from coins collected by children. The Bell was presented to the

United Nations in 1954 by the United Nations Association of Japan.

■■ The UN Charter entered into force in 1945 on 24 October, now celebrated as United Nations Day. That year the UN had 51 members; today 193 countries are members of the Organization.

■■ The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted on 10 December 1948. Com-memorating this historic occasion, Human Rights Day was the first international day approved by the General Assembly (1950).

■■ Annual UN peacekeeping costs amount to $7.8 billion, which is less than 0.5 per cent of total world military expenditure, estimated at $1.74 trillion in 2011—a figure itself dwarfed by the actual costs of wars and armed conflicts. By sending 66 peacekeeping and observer missions to the world’s trouble spots over the past 64 years, the United Nations has helped restore calm, allowing many countries to recover from the ravages of conflict.

■■ The United Nations, its specialized agencies and staff have been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize ten times.

■■ A 13-year effort by the United Nations resulted in the eradication of smallpox by 1980. A 16-year campaign by the United Nations resulted in the global eradication of rinderpest (‘cattle plague’, associated with famine in Africa and elsewhere) in 2011.

■■ Virtually all UN humanitarian relief is funded by voluntary contributions. In 2011, the United Nations coordinated humanitarian programming valued at $9.4 billion, managed consolidated appeals benefitting 61 million people and provided services in 47 countries.

■■ UN environmental treaties have helped cut down marine pollution worldwide; restricted the use of hazardous pesticides and chemicals; and helped phase out production of substances destroying the Earth’s ozone layer, as well as accord protection to many endangered species of animals and plants.

■■ Do you want to help out? The United Nations Volunteers programme mobilizes more than 7,700 UN Volunteers every year, and also features online opportunities. UN Volunteers assist in organizing and running elections, support humanitarian projects, and comprise one third of all international civilians working in UN peacekeeping operations.

Did you know …

For the most up-to-date listing of United Nations Observances, please visit

www.un.org/observances.

For more information on the UN and its family of organizations, please visit www.un.org and www.unsystem.org.

The United Nations

Making A Difference

2013 Calendar

“I am more than my title,

more than simply Secretary-

General of the United

Nations. I am also a father

and a grandfather. And like

you, I want a world where

our children, our succeeding

generations, can prosper and

be happy. A world where all

people can have a decent job

and live with dignity. A world

where everyone can breathe

clean air, drink safe water and

have enough to eat. Where

everyone can live, confident

in tomorrow. That is the future

I want—that is the future you

want, and we want.”

— Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General of the United Nations, 20 June 2012

Published by the United N

ations Departm

ent of Public Information D

PI/2470 rev.2—11-36429—

October 2011

The United Nations System

UN Principal Organs

Subsidiary Bodies

Main and other sessional committees

Disarmament Commission

Human Rights Council

International Law Commission

Standing committees and ad hoc bodies

Subsidiary Bodies

Counter-terrorism committees

International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR)

International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY)

Military Staff Committee

Peacekeeping operations and political missions

Sanctions committees (ad hoc)

Standing committees and ad hoc bodies

Specialized Agencies 4

ILO International Labour Organization

FAO Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization

WHO World Health Organization

World Bank Group

• IBRD International Bank for Reconstruction and Development

• IDA International Development Association

• IFC International Finance Corporation

• MIGA Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency

• ICSID International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes

Departments and Offices

EOSG Executive Office of the Secretary-General

DESA Department of Economic and Social Affairs

DFS Department of Field Support

DGACM Department for General Assembly and Conference Management

DM Department of Management

DPA Department of Political Affairs

DPI Department of Public Information

DPKO Department of Peacekeeping Operations

DSS Department of Safety and Security

OCHA Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

OHCHR Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights

OIOS Office of Internal Oversight Services

OLA Office of Legal Affairs

OSAA Office of the Special Adviser on Africa

OSRSG/CAAC Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict

UNODA Office for Disarmament Affairs

UNOG United Nations Office at Geneva

UN-OHRLLS Office of the High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States

UNON United Nations Office at Nairobi

UNOV United Nations Office at Vienna

IMF International Monetary Fund

ICAO International Civil Aviation Organization

IMO International Maritime Organization

ITU International Telecommunication Union

UPU Universal Postal Union

WMO World Meteorological Organization

WIPO World Intellectual Property Organization

IFAD International Fund for Agricultural Development

UNIDO United Nations Industrial Development Organization

UNWTO World Tourism Organization

Regional Commissions

ECA Economic Commission for Africa

ECE Economic Commission for Europe

ECLAC Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean

ESCAP Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific

ESCWA Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia

Other Bodies

Committee for Development PolicyCommittee of Experts on Public

AdministrationCommittee on Non-Governmental

OrganizationsPermanent Forum on Indigenous IssuesUnited Nations Group of Experts

on Geographical NamesOther sessional and standing

committees and expert, ad hoc and related bodies

NOTES: 1 UNRWA and UNIDIR report only to

the General Assembly.

2 IAEA reports to the Security Coun cil and the General Assembly.

3 WTO has no reporting obligation to the General Assembly (GA) but contributes on an ad-hoc basis to GA and ECOSOC work inter alia on finance and developmental issues.

4 Specialized agencies are autono-mous organizations working with the UN and each other through the coordinating machinery of ECOSOC at the intergovernmental level, and through the Chief Executives Board for Coordination (CEB) at the inter-secretariat level. This section is listed in order of estab-lishment of these organizations as specialized agencies of the United Nations.

5 The Trusteeship Council suspended opera-tion on 1 November 1994 with the inde-pendence of Palau, the last remaining United Nations Trust Territory, on 1 October 1994.

This is not an official document of the United Nations, nor is it intended to be all-inclusive.

Advisory Subsidiary Body

UN Peacebuilding Commission

Programmes and Funds

UNCTAD United Nations Conference on Trade and Development

• ITC International Trade Centre (UNCTAD/WTO)

UNDP United Nations Development Programme

• UNCDF United Nations Capital Development Fund

• UNV United Nations Volunteers

UNEP United Nations Environment Programme

UNFPA United Nations Population Fund

UN-HABITAT United Nations Human Settlements Programme

UNHCR Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees

UNICEF United Nations Children’s Fund

UNODC United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime

UNRWA1 United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East

UN-Women United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women

WFP World Food Programme

Research and Training Institutes

UNICRI United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute

UNIDIR1 United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research

UNITAR United Nations Institute for Training and Research

UNRISD United Nations Research Institute for Social Development

UNSSC United Nations System Staff College

UNU United Nations University

Other Entities

UNAIDS Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS

UNISDR United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction

UNOPS United Nations Office for Project Services

Functional Commissions

Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice

Narcotic Drugs

Population and Development

Science and Technology for Development

Social Development

Statistics

Status of Women

Sustainable Development

United Nations Forum on Forests

Related Organizations

CTBTO PrepCom Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization

IAEA2 International Atomic Energy Agency

OPCW Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons

WTO3 World Trade Organization

Security Council

Economic and Social Council

Trusteeship Council 5

International Court of Justice

Secretariat

General Assembly

The United Nations

Making A Difference

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

27 January International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust

Aiding reconstructionThe United Nations helps countries rebuild after conflict. UN peacebuilding and political offices assist in reconstruc-tion and reconciliation in countries such as Afghanistan, Burundi, the Central African Republic, Iraq and Sierra Leone. By bringing together Governments, donors and financial institutions, the UN Peacebuilding Commission helps other countries such as the Central African Republic, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia and Sierra Leone in recovery and develop-ment. The UN Peacebuilding Fund supports 193 projects in 22 countries by delivering fast, flexible and relevant funding.

Supporting disarmamentThe United Nations has been instrumen-tal in bringing about treaties against weapons of mass destruction and other deadly devices. The Chemical Weapons Convention has led to the destruction of more than 70 per cent of declared stock-piles, while the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons and its Protocols restrict the use of landmines, booby traps, incendiary weapons and laser weapons. The United Nations supports the Biological Weapons Convention and the Anti-personnel Landmine Convention. It also works to curb the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons—the weap-ons of choice of insurgents, gang mem-bers, drug lords, pirates and terrorists. It promotes transparency in military expen-ditures and monitors arms transfers.

Peacekeepers with the UN Operation in Côte d’Ivoire bringing supplies to Ivorians (2011)

UN Photo/Basile Zoma

January 2013

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The United Nations

Making A Difference

A woman in her Gaza workshop microfinanced through the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (2011)

UN Photo/Shareef Sarhan


Promoting decent workThe International Labour Organization

promotes decent work for all, social

justice and internationally recognized

human and labour rights. The ILO

brings together workers, employers and

Governments, giving representatives of

all three areas an equal voice in jointly

shaping labour standards and policies.

Its 189 Conventions have established

standards and fundamental principles

and rights for work, including freedom

of association, the right to collective

bargaining and the abolition of forced

labour, child labour and workplace

discrimination.

Serving industry The United Nations Industrial Development

Organization works to improve living

standards and promote development

through industry. UNIDO provides policy

advice to encourage entrepreneurship

and development of small and medium

enterprises; supports sustainable

production; and promotes the provision

of rural energy. It generates and

disseminates industry-related knowledge;

promotes the integration of developing

countries in global trade through trade

capacity-building; fosters environmental

sustainability in industry; and helps

improve access to energy. Its technical

support to industry-related projects and

programmes around the world is valued at some $772 million.

First week of February World Interfaith Harmony Week

4 February World Cancer Day

6 February International Day of Zero Tolerance to Female Genital Mutilation

13 February World Radio Day

20 February World Day of Social Justice

21 February International Mother Language Day

February 2013

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The United Nations

Making A Difference

March 2013


Villagers in Sainyabuli, Laos, bundling rice harvested in an IFAD country programme (2011)

UN Photo/IFAD/Harald Franzen

Alleviating rural povertyThe International Fund for Agricultural

Development provides low-interest

loans and grants to very poor rural

people. Its country-specific solutions

involve increasing access to financial

services, markets, technology, land and

natural resources, as well as training in

agricultural practices and technologies.

Since 1978, IFAD has invested some

$13 billion in helping over 400 million

women and men increase their incomes

and provide for their families, while

Governments and other local sources

in recipient countries have contributed

$11.7 billion, and international donors

another $9.3 billion in co-financing. Today

IFAD supports some 240 programmes and

projects in 94 countries.

Fighting hungerThe Food and Agriculture Organization of

the United Nations leads global efforts

to defeat hunger, which affects some

925 million people around the world.

FAO delivers practical assistance in

fighting hunger, whether in meeting an

immediate need—such as restarting food

production after a disaster—or in taking

long-term action, such as helping prevent

soil erosion. It supports countries in

mobilizing resources for their food and

agriculture priorities or putting into action

national strategies for food security. FAO

manages over 2,000 field projects and

programmes worth close to $900 million—

more than 95 per cent of which are funded

by voluntary contributions.

21–27 March Week of Solidarity with the Peoples Struggling against Racism and Racial Discrimination

8 March International Women’s Day

20 MarchInternational Day of Happiness

21 March International Day for the Elimination of Racial DiscriminationInternational Day of NowruzWorld Poetry DayWorld Down Syndrome Day22 March World Water Day

23 March World Meteorological Day

24 March International Day for the Right to the Truth concerning Gross Human Rights Violations and for the Dignity of Victims

World Tuberculosis Day

25 March International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade

International Day of Solidarity with Detained and Missing Staff Members

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The United Nations

Making A Difference

A mother and daughter visiting a UNICEF and NGO nutrition centre in Port-au-Prince, Haiti (2011)

UN Photo/Logan Abassi


Promoting reproductive and maternal healthBy promoting the right of individuals to make their own decisions on the number and spacing of their children through voluntary family planning, the United Nations Population Fund helps give families—and especially women—greater control over their lives. As a result, women in developing countries are having fewer children—from six in the 1960s to three today—slowing world population growth. When UNFPA started work in 1969, under 20 per cent of couples practiced family planning; the number now stands at 63 per cent. Fewer unintended pregnancies means fewer maternal deaths and fewer abortions. UNFPA and its partners also work to provide skilled assistance during childbirth and access to emergency obstetrical care in 91 countries.

Protecting consumers’ healthFoodborne diseases and threats to food safety constitute a growing public health problem. To ensure the safety of food sold in the marketplace, FAO and the World Health Organization, working with Member States, have established standards for some 300 food commodities, safety limits for more than 3,000 food contaminants, and regulations on food processing, transport and storage. With more food than ever before travelling the globe, harmonized international standards, guidelines and codes of practice protect the health of consumers and ensure the safety, quality and fairness of the international food trade.

April 2013

2 April World Autism Awareness Day

4 April International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action

7 April World Health Day

Day of Remembrance of the Victims of the Rwanda Genocide

12 April International Day of Human Space Flight

22 April International Mother Earth Day

23 April World Book and Copyright Day

25 April World Malaria Day

26 April World Intellectual Property Day

28 April World Day for Safety and Health at Work

29 April Day of Remembrance for all Victims of Chemical Warfare

30 April International Jazz Day

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The United Nations

Making A Difference

Supporting civil aviationThe International Civil Aviation

Organization serves as the forum for

cooperation in all fields of civil aviation

among its 191 member States. It sets

standards and regulations for the safety,

security, efficiency and regularity of

air travel, as well as for environmental

protection. International aviation—now

with 2.7 billion airline passengers

annually—is the first industry sector

with global goals of stabilizing carbon

emissions at 2020 levels and achieving

a 2 per cent annual increase in fuel

efficiency.

Improving shipping The International Maritime Organization

works to make shipping—which serves

more than 90 per cent of global trade—

safer and more secure, and the seas

cleaner. With the help of IMO, ship losses

have fallen and fatalities decreased;

pollution incidents—including total oil

pollution—are down; and air pollution

and pollution from sewage are now being

addressed. All these improvements are

taking place even as the amount of cargo

carried by sea continues to increase: the

total of goods loaded reached 8.4 billion

tons in 2010.

Shipbuilding and ship repair yards in Busan, Republic of Korea (2011)

UN Photo/Kibae Parka


May 2013

25–31 May Week of Solidarity with the Peoples of Non-Self-Governing Territories

3 May World Press Freedom Day

5 May Day of Vesak

8–9 May Time of Remembrance and Recon-ciliation for Those Who Lost Their Lives during the Second World War

12–13 May World Migratory Bird Day

15 May International Day of Families

17 May World Telecommunication and Information Society Day

21 May World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development

22 May International Day for Biological Diversity

29 May International Day of UN Peacekeepers

31 May World No-Tobacco Day

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The United Nations

Making A Difference


June 2013

A girl and her grandfather receiving World Food Programme aid in Benghazi, Libya (2011)

UN Photo/WFP/Abeer Etefa

Saving livesAfter natural disasters and during conflicts,

the United Nations assists people who

need life-saving help. The Office for the

Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

deploys rapid response coordination teams

and works with partners to assess needs,

mobilize funds, advocate for protection and

access, and provide decision makers with

vital data and information. In 2012, OCHA

came to the aid of 54 million people in

19 countries. Funds managed by OCHA help

provide food, water and shelter following

a natural disaster; life-saving nutrition and

medical care for babies born in refugee

camps; and basic life necessities for those

struggling to survive.

Mitigating disastersThe World Meteorological Organization

works to spare millions of people from the

calamitous effects of natural and man-made

disasters. Early warning systems composed

of national meteorological and hydrological

services—including thousands of surface

monitors, sea buoys and satellites—

improve the prediction and management

of weather, climate and water-related

hazards such as tropical cyclones, floods

and droughts. They also provide information

about the dispersal of volcanic ash and

nuclear and chemical accidents.

4 June International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression

5 June World Environment Day

8 June World Oceans Day

12 June World Day Against Child Labour

14 June World Blood Donor Day

15 June World Elder Abuse Awareness Day

17 June World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought

20 June World Refugee Day

23 June International Widows’ DayUnited Nations Public Service Day

25 June Day of the Seafarer

26 June International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking

United Nations International Day in Support of Victims of Torture

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The United Nations

Making A Difference

First Saturday of July International Day of Cooperatives

11 July World Population Day

18 July Nelson Mandela International Day

28 July World Hepatitis Day

30 July International Day of Friendship

July 2013

Girl and boy scouts in El Fasher, Sudan participating in the African Union–United Nations Mission in Darfur project “Eyes of Darfur” (2011)

UN Photo/Albert Gonzalez Farran

Improving literacy and educationThe United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization supports literacy programmes around the world, including the Literacy Initiative for Empowerment carried out in more than 40 countries. Today, 83.7 per cent of adults can read and write and 90 per cent of children attend primary school. The goal is to ensure that, by 2015, all children complete a full course of primary school, and acquire knowledge and skills at a high level of proficiency. While programmes promoting education and advancement for women have been instrumental in raising the female literacy rate in developing countries from 36 per cent in 1970 to 79.2 per cent in 2009, the goal is to ensure that, by 2015, all girls complete primary and secondary school.

Preserving heritageUNESCO has helped 137 countries protect historic, cultural and natural sites for all humanity. It has negotiated international conventions to preserve cultural property, cultural diversity and outstanding cultural and natural sites. Inscribed in its World Heritage List are 962 sites in 157 countries designated as having exceptional universal value. The List of World Heritage in Danger draws attention to 38 such sites, and seeks to prompt action in order to save them. UNESCO campaigns have contributed to restoring world treasures such as the Old City of Dubrovnik in Croatia, the Temple of Borobudur in Indonesia and Angkor in Cambodia.


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The United Nations

Making A Difference

1–7 August World Breastfeeding Week

9 August International Day of the World’s Indigenous People

12 August International Youth Day

19 August World Humanitarian Day

23 August International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition

29 August International Day against Nuclear Tests

30 August International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances

August 2013

Mangrove shoots planted by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and others on Tarawa, Kiribati (2011)

UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe

Coping with climate changeThe Nobel Prize-winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change provides a clear scientific view on the current state of knowledge in climate change and its potential environmental and socio-economic impacts. A partnership of 38 UN bodies assists Governments in measures such as investment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, initiatives to increase energy efficiency, and action to adapt to climate change. The Global Environment Facility allocates some $260 million per year in projects on energy efficiency, renewable energy and sustainable transportation, supplemented by an additional $1,585 million in co-financing from GEF partners.

Protecting the ozone layerThe United Nations Environment Programme and the World Meteorological Organization have been instrumental in highlighting the damage caused to Earth’s ozone layer—the atmospheric shield that filters out dangerous levels of the sun’s ultraviolet rays. Two treaties known as the Vienna Convention and the Montreal Protocol, ratified by over 190 countries, have enabled reductions of over 97 per cent of all global consumption of ozone-depleting substances and their replacement through safer alternatives. This has spared millions of people from contracting skin cancer and eye cataracts because of exposure to increased ultraviolet radiation.


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The United Nations

Making A Difference

September 2013

Farmers using tube wells installed with the support of the UN Development Programme in Hafizabad, Pakistan (2011)

UN Photo/UNDP Pakistan/Satomi Kato


8 September International Literacy Day

10 September World Suicide Prevention Day

12 September United Nations Day for South-South Cooperation

15 September International Day of Democracy

16 September International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer

21 September International Day of Peace

27 September World Tourism Day

28 September World Rabies Day

Last Saturday in September World Heart Day

Last week of September World Maritime Day

Providing safe drinking waterThe second International Water Decade (2005–2015) aims to reduce by half the number of people—currently some 780 million—without a source of clean drinking water. Since 1990, with the help of the United Nations, more than 2 billion people have gained access to improved drinking water sources such as piped supplies and protected wells. While current trends suggest that more than 90 per cent of the global population will use improved drinking water sources by 2015, over 2.4 billion people will still lack improved sanitation. Investment in safe drinking water and sanitation, however, contributes to economic growth. For each $1 invested, the World Health Organization estimates returns of between $3 and $34, depending on the region and technology.

Advocating for indigenous peoplesIndigenous peoples enrich our cultural diversity, speaking more than two thirds of our languages and contributing an extraordinary amount of traditional knowledge. The United Nations advocates for the 370 million indigenous people living in some 90 countries who number among the most disadvantaged and vulnerable groups in the world. The 16-member Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues works to improve the situation of indigenous peoples with regard to development, culture, human rights, the environment, education and health. The Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and a United Nations independent expert promote indigenous rights and monitor their application.

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Making A Difference

October 2013

Fishermen bringing in the daily catch in south-eastern Viet Nam (2010)UN Photo/UNDP/Tran Vinh Nghia

Countering fish stock depletionAccording to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, about 30 per cent of the world’s fish stocks are overexploited, depleted, or recovering from depletion, while 50 per cent are fully exploited. FAO monitors global fisheries production and the status of wild fish stocks, and works with countries to improve the management of fisheries, stamp out illegal fishing, promote responsible international fish trade and protect fragile species. According to FAO and World Bank estimates, the world economy could gain up to $50 billion annually by restoring fish stocks and reducing fishing capacity to an optimal level.

Banning toxic chemicalsThe Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants seeks to rid the world of some of the most dangerous chemicals ever created. Ratified by 176 countries, the Convention and its amendments protect human health and the environment by targeting 22 hazardous pesticides and industrial chemicals such as PCBs and DDT that can cause cancer and birth defects, damage the nervous and immune systems, and interfere with child development. Other United Nations conventions and action plans help preserve biodiversity, protect endangered species, combat desertification, clean up seas and curb cross-border movements of hazardous wastes.


Second Thursday in October World Sight Day

11 October International Day of the Girl Child

13 October International Day for Disaster Reduction

15 October International Day of Rural Women

16 October World Food Day

17 October International Day for the Eradication of Poverty

24 October United Nations DayWorld Development Information Day

27 October World Day for Audiovisual Heritage

4–10 October World Space Week

24–30 October Disarmament Week

1 October International Day of Older Persons

2 October International Day of Non-Violence

5 October World Teachers’ Day

First Monday in October World Habitat Day

9 October World Post Day

10 October World Mental Health Day

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United Nations Day

The United Nations

Making A Difference


The week of 11 November International Week of Science and Peace

6 November International Day for Preventing the Exploitation of the Environ-ment in War and Armed Conflict

10 November World Science Day for Peace and Development

12 November World Pneumonia Day

14 November World Diabetes Day

16 November International Day for ToleranceWorld Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Day

Third Sunday in November World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims

20 November Africa Industrialization DayUniversal Children’s Day

Third Thursday in November World Philosophy Day

21 November World Television Day

25 November International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women

29 November International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People

November 2013

Containers at the port of Balboa, Panama, being inspected in a joint UNODC/World Customs Organization project (2011)

UN Photo/UNODC/Joey Loreto

Tackling the world drug problemThe United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime helps countries reduce the supply of and demand for illicit drugs under the three main United Nations conventions on drug control. It advocates measures to reduce vulnerability, treat drug dependence and prevent the spread of infections associated with drug use, such as HIV. The Office works with rural communities to provide farmers with legal livelihoods and wean them away from illicit crop cultivation. Because several countries and regions remain vulnerable to the instability caused by drug crop cultivation and trafficking, UNODC is particularly engaged in Afghanistan, the Andean countries, Central Asia, South-East Asia and West Africa. The Office supports joint law enforcement initiatives, security sector reforms and disrupting the links between drug trafficking and other forms of organized crime.

Combating international crimeUNODC provides legal and technical assistance to counter transnational organized crime, drug trafficking and terrorism; accurate and reliable research to inform policies and operational decisions; and support for law enforcement. It helps build fair and effective criminal justice systems by assisting States in reforming their criminal justice systems, with particular emphasis on vulnerable groups such as women and children. The Office has developed projects in the areas of juvenile justice, penal reform and victim support. It is a leader in the global fight against trafficking in persons and the smuggling of migrants.

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December 2013

A UN online volunteer from Mexico, who helped design FAO agricultural manuals, visiting the Wall for Peace in Paris (2012)

UN Photo/UNV/Laura GanemMobilizing volunteersVolunteerism is a powerful means for tackling global challenges. The United Nations Volunteers programme contributes to peace and development by mobilizing more than 7,700 volunteers every year nationally and internationally. Of these, 80 per cent come from developing countries, and more than 30 per cent volunteer within their own countries. Volunteers help organize and run local and national elections and support humanitarian projects; they also compose one third of all international civilians working in United Nations peacekeeping operations. In addition, UNV connects development organizations and volunteers worldwide by coordinating online volunteering opportunities.

Transforming slums In many cities in developing countries, slum dwellers number more than 50 per cent of the population, and have little or no access to shelter, water and sanitation. With over 150 programmes and projects in some 70 countries, the United Nations Human Settlements Programme seeks innovative solutions enabling towns and cities to meet such challenges. UN-Habitat projects that aim to provide secure tenure for the urban poor involve local financing which, in turn, stimulates investment in housing and basic services. One of these—a participatory slum upgrading programme for improving living conditions—benefits 63 cities in 38 coun-tries through pilot projects, policy develop-ment, good governance and management, and other support.


1 December World AIDS Day

2 December International Day for the Abolition of Slavery

3 December International Day of Persons with Disabilities

5 December International Volunteer Day for Economic and Social Development

7 December International Civil Aviation Day

9 December International Anti-Corruption Day

10 December Human Rights Day

11 December International Mountain Day

18 December International Migrants Day

20 December International Human Solidarity Day

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All data are the latest available and are current as of July 2012.

Published by the United Nations Department of Public Information New York, New York 10017, United States of America

Designed by the Graphic Design Unit, DPI

12-42821—August 2012—3,100—DPI/2581

■ Aiding reconstruction

■ Supporting disarmament

■ Supporting civil aviation

■ Improving shipping

■ Providing safe drinking water

■ Advocating for indigenous peoples

■ Promoting decent work

■ Serving industry

■ Saving lives

■ Mitigating disasters

■ Countering fish stock depletion

■ Banning toxic chemicals

■ Alleviating rural poverty

■ Fighting hunger

■ Improving literacy and education

■ Preserving heritage

■ Tackling the world drug problem

■ Combating international crime

■ Promoting reproductive and maternal health

■ Protecting consumers’ health

■ Coping with climate change

■ Protecting the ozone layer

■ Mobilizing volunteers

■ Transforming slums

Cover image: Children in Sulaymaniyah, Iraq, taking part in a UNICEF mine awareness programme (2011)

UN Photo/Bikem Ekberzade

December

August

April

November

July

March

October

June

February

September

May

January

2013 Calendar

Every day the United Nations works to tackle global challenges.

Documents

2013 calendar