7 May 2013: Participants at the Third Global Meeting of the International Dialogue on Peacebuilding and Statebuilding (IDPS) have issued 'The Washington Communique,' appealing to the UN High-level Panel on the Post-2015 Development Agenda (HLP) to tackle conflict and fragility.
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The Russian Federation has set as the objective of its 2013 Presidency of the Group of 20 (G20): developing a set of measures aimed at boosting sustainable, inclusive and balanced growth and jobs creation around the world. The G20 will look at eight areas in particular in 2013: framework for strong, sustainable and balanced growth; jobs and employment; international financial architecture reform; strengthening financial regulation; energy sustainability; development for all; enhancing multilateral trade; and fighting corruption. The G20 brings together finance ministers and central bank governors from 19 countries - Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, the UK and the US - plus the EU. The G20 Leaders Summit in September 2013 is preceded by a series of outreach events organized in five streams: think tanks; business; labour; civil society and youth.
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The Council of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) has approved the dates of the next Committee on Forestry (COFO), set for 23–27 June 2014. The biennial session will be held at FAO headquarters in Rome, Italy, and will bring together heads of forest services and other senior government officials to identify emerging policy and technical issues, to seek solutions and to advise FAO and others on appropriate action. Participants will also include representatives from other international organizations and non-governmental groups. Participation in COFO is open to all FAO member countries.
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10 May 2013: The 11th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal (BC COP11), the sixth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent (PIC) Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade (RC COP6), the sixth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) (SC COP6), and the second simultaneous extraordinary meetings of the Conferences of the Parties to the three conventions (ExCOPs2) convened from 28 April-10 May 2013, in Geneva, Switzerland. Over 1000 participants, including over 80 ministers, attended the meetings.
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6 May 2013: The Adaptation Fund has released the meeting report from the 20th meeting of the Adaptation Fund Board (AFB), during which it approved a new project in Argentina, and placed projects in Belize, Ghana and Uzbekistan in the pipeline.
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23 March 2013: The UN Collaborative Programme on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Developing Countries (UN-REDD) reported plans by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) International Resource Panel to prepare a study on REDD+ and the green economy.
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The Government of Brazil, in partnership with the UN and supported by the Bahia State Government, the International Labour Organization (ILO), the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the World Health Organization (WHO), the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the UN Development Programme (UNDP), the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the World Bank, will organize a regional consultation in preparation for the UN General Assembly's (UNGA) High-Level Meeting on Disability and Development (HLMDD), to be held in New York, US, on 23 September 2013. The purpose of the consultation is to promote dialogue among countries in the region, international organizations and civil society, with a view to contributing to the draft outcome from the HLMDD. The Regional Consultation will take place on the theme, "The Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities in the Sustainable Development Agenda in the Post-2015".
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6 May 2013: The UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) and Goodwill Ambassador for the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), Chinese actress, Li Bingbing, have recently undertaken activities to address wildlife crime and highlight the gravity of its impacts.
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6 May 2013: As part of the 58th annual meeting of the Central American Cooperative Programme for the Improvement of Crops and Animals (Programa Cooperativo Centroamericano para el Mejoramiento de Cultivos y Animales (PCCMCA), held from 22-26 April 2013, working groups were established to address priorities and challenges in adapting to climate change in the region.
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The first session of the high-level political forum (HLPF) on sustainable development is expected to take place on 24-26 September 2013. This will be the first formal meeting of the HLPF since a decision was taken to establish the forum at the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD or Rio+20) in June 2012. The HLPF aims to follow up on the implementation of sustainable development, and to build on the strengths, experiences, resources and inclusive participation modalities of the Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD), and to replace the Commission.
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