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United Nations Development Programme |
The UNDP in the Russian Federation is very proud to present the first ever Textbook on Human Development, jointly authored by independent Russian and international experts.
Human
Development, a Textbook is available in Russian (464 pages) and English (383
pages), with the Russian version containing more detailed information on Russia.
In both, the fundamental content is identical, approaching human development
from several perspectives: providing an overview of the history and basic principles
of the human development concept; presenting the economic aspects of human development,
including economic growth, inequality, employment and living standards; examining
the demographic components of human development, such as health, longevity,
population aging, birth rates and reproductive health; understanding the relationship
between human development and education; and finally, analyzing the role of
the state, gender inequality and environmental aspects in human development.
UNDP offers you the opportunity to purchase this unique publication for only US$ 32.00 per copy (mailing costs not included) or equivalent in rubles (please see attached Method of Payment). 10 copies and more – US$ 22.00 per copy.
Please refer all inquiries to UNDP, United Nations Office, 28 Ostozhenka St. 119034 Moscow, Russia, tel. (095) 787 21 53 (Ms. Olga Bogdanova, Public Relations/HDR Officer) or by e-mail at olga.bogdanova@undp.org
We wish you good reading!
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United Nations Population Fund |
On November 10 UNFPA held an informal meeting with Moscow media on the premises of the Press Club “Four Sides” attended by Mr. Alexey Gromov, President Putin’s Press Secretary, Ms. Olga Sharapova, Deputy Minister of Health, Ms. Inga Grebesheva, Director of the Russian Family Planning Association, Mr. Sergei Zakharov, Centre for Demography and Human Ecology.
Philippe Elghouayel, UNFPA Representative, opened the discussion with an invitation to think about demography from a human and personal perspective rather than in abstract statistical terms. “Population is not about numbers, it is about people» was his message. He gave a start to a lively debate between journalists, officials and experts.
The meeting is the first in a series of media breakfasts scheduled on a regular basis in the press club. Media breakfasts are aimed at sensitising journalists to UNFPA and its activities, as well as providing them with information about population issues including demographic trends, reproductive health, HIV/AIDS, gender issues and many others, as a strong public advocacy tool.
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On November 13-17, 2000 in Tomsk there was a UNFPA seminar “Adolescent. Healthy lifestyle. Fundamentals of adolescent counseling” for doctors, psychologists and pedagogical staff of orphan houses held within the framework of project “Reproductive health and rights of youth in the Russian Federation. The trainers’ group consisted of experts well known in their fields: Irina I. Semenova, a children’s writer, Youth Institute, Irina S. Savelieva, Chief of the International Department of the Centre for Perinatology, Gynecology and Obstetrics, Vyacheslav M. Maslov, a sexologist of Institute of Sexology, Lev O. Perezhogin, a research psychiatrist of Serbsky Institute and Sergei N. Enikolopov, Senior Lecturer of Mental Health Institute.
All trainers used interactive methods of work which was appreciated by the participants. They were able to open up and share their concerns and problems working with adolescents with other colleagues.
Simultaneously, a media seminar was being held with participation of Inga Grebesheva, Director of Russian Family Planning Association, Sergei Zakharov, a demographer and Igor Borisov, a psychologist. UNFPA experts spoke with local journalists about a demographic situation in the country, adolescent reproductive health and sex education issues. Tomsk media took advantage of experts’ presence in the region and broadcast them on local TV.
It is planned to provide assistance to a new local youth clinic with equipment, information materials, contraceptives so that in the future it becomes a youth-friendly place for Tomsk youth.
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UNOPS United Nations Office for Project Services |
Mr.Reinhart Helmke, Assistant UN Secretary-General and the Executive Director of the UN Office for Project Services (UNOPS) visited Moscow at the invitation of the Russian Government November 27-30. It was the first visit to Russia of the chief of this sole UN self-financed organization.
The purpose of his trip was to study potential for public private partnerships. Interest in UNOPS activities and services, which can be offered in the Russian market, was discussed with the Government, representatives of business and financial circles. Concrete project proposals were reviewed. Potential partners considered also the various options for cooperation in light of UNOPS experience worldwide.
The UNOPS Executive Director met Mr.Valerian Victorov, First Deputy Chief of Staff of the Council of Federation, and Mr.Leonid Slutsky, Vice President of the Committee on International Affairs of the State Duma. Concrete partnerships were discussed, including those that UNOPS and the Council of Federation could realize next year, in particular within the framework of the St. Petersburg Economic Forum. Reinhart Helmke also met Mr.Yuri Beletsky, First Deputy Minister of Economic Development and Trade and Mr. Serguey Ordzhonikidze, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Mr.Helmke met also the President of LUKOIL, Vagit Alekperov with whom a framework agreement on partnership was signed. The document states that the agreement is open to other interested parties, including corporations, government, agencies and other UN bodies, regional banks, other international organizations, NGOs, associations of business people and other corporate partners.
Reinhart Helmke delivered a lecture at the Moscow State Institute (University) of the International Relations (MGIMO) entitled «UN: Cooperation With Private Sector for Development» at the presence of Mr.Anatoly Torkunov, Rector of the institution, business community, professors and other specialists. A number of students attended the lecture.
Mr.Helmke also referred to the Global Compact* of the UN Secretary-General and the role the UN should play in the future in the contest of the fast growing globalization and the development of public private partnerships to address human, social and environmental issues. Students flowed the speaker with questions after the lecture, testifying so of the actuality of the theme.
At the meeting with journalists of leading news agencies before returning to New York the UNOPS Executive Director stated, that his visit has been successful and fruitful. In the interview with ITAR-TASS Reinhard Helmke said: «I look very optimistically towards the future of our cooperation in Russia. Among our plans is the establishment of a UNOPS presence in Moscow in 2001”.
*At 1999 Davos forum, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan proposed a Global Compact between business and the UN in raising environmental and labor standards and promoting human rights.
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International Labor Organisation |
On November 19 the International Labor Organization’s (ILO) Convention on Interdiction and Immediate Measures for the Liquidation of the Worst Forms of Children’s Labor came into effect. The following day Russia celebrated Universal Children’s Day.
The coincidence of these two events is symbolic for Russia. Two trends come out in the development of the very important issue of the situation of children, for which the attention of the world has been increasing rapidly. These are the problem of consistent and effective application of the UN Convention on the Rights of Children, ratified by Russia in 1989, and the important worldwide fight against one of the most pressing social issues, the neglect and exploitation of children, a problem directly linked to the new convention.
Slavery, sale and trade of children as well as the prolonged servitude, recruitment for use in armed conflicts, utilization of children for prostitution and production of pornography, production and sale of narcotics are all related to the “worst forms of children’s labor”. On a large scale, this also includes all the situations, which pose a threat to the security, health and equality of children.
The undertakings of the world community in the past years dedicated to building a “normal” context for the physical, intellectual and fair development of children have produced results. In the framework of the international programme for the elimination of child labor launched in 1992, concrete steps were made in many countries, including Bangladesh, Nepal, Tanzania, Sri-Lanka, and countries in Central America. The basic efforts were dedicated to stop using child labor in tea and tobacco cultivation; in extraction mining; in production of carpets, clothes, and bricks; and as household servants.
In Russia, in 1999, in St. Petersburg the programme “Street Children” was initiated. It is targeted to give direct support to working children (according to estimations there are from 20,000 to 30,000) so as to impove their working opportunities, create conditions to help 5,000 children to stop working and offer for the rest of the children long term perspectives to quit the labor force in such an early age. Since the moment the Convention came into effect, almost 50 countries signed it, pledging steadfast and permanent attention toward elimination of child labor in its worst forms.
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UN Information Center |
The conference on the theme “Entering the 21st Century: Towards the Rule of Law in International Relations” organized on November 2 – 3 by the UN Information Center in Moscow and the Russian Association for International Law was a decisive step in the year 2000 work programme of the Information Center. The fact that the rule of law in international affairs is a very topical question was confirmed by the participation in the conference of the chairman of the State Duma Committee for International Affairs, Dimitry Rogosin, eminent Russian scholars, diplomats, practicing jurists, and specialists in international law from the CIS, Europe and the United States.
“I have to recognize that during the two days of the conference, the discussions were far more interesting, challenging, incentive to reflection that I first awaited”, noted the UN Under-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs, Hans Corell, who participated in this meeting, in his letter to the Director of the Information Center. (The script in Russian of Hans Corell’s speech can be found with other documents on the website www.un.org/law/counsel/info.htm).
How do globalization and international law relate to each other? Where is the fragile frontier, upon which the leaders of the world countries stand, facing this painful dilemma: traditional principle of state sovereignty or protection of human rights? What does “conception of humanitarian intervention” mean? What are the new challenges in the international legal sphere faced by the international community? The participants of the conference, including the Minister for Foreign Affairs Igor Ivanov, whose clear and vigorous speech elevated the intellectual scope of the debates, attempted to find an answer to all these questions.
The conference was held in the aftermath of the Millennium Summit organized in New York on September 6 – 8. The results of the Summit and the global issues dealt with at the current session of the UN General Assembly were at the center of the debates of the Moscow Conference: progress in the development of international law during the past years and perspectives on the elaboration of new legal norms. The participants in the discussion underlined that during the past years, under the UN aegis, decisive steps were taken with the goal of making international law more effective all over the world. These are related to international law and norms concerning the protection of human rights and the environment, and the opposition to such threats as terrorism, international criminality, and the propagation of narcotics. In the already complex realm of international law it should be possible to build new universal frameworks, indispensable if one wants globalization to be a leading force to guarantee the progress of the humanity.
