The United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) is a dedicated training arm of the United Nations system. UNITAR provides training and capacity development activities to assist mainly developing countries with special attention to Least Developed Countries (LDCs),

Small Island Developing States Small Island Developing States (SIDS) are a group of developing countries that are small island countries which tend to share similar sustainable development challenges. These include small but growing populations, limited resources, remoteness, ...

(SIDS) and other groups and communities who are most vulnerable, including those in conflict situations.

Facts

*Established in 1963 *Close to 133,420 participants per year *Close to 670 training related activities per year *Headquarters in

Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...

(Switzerland) with offices in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

(US),

Hiroshima is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture in Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 1,199,391. The gross domestic product (GDP) in Greater Hiroshima, Hiroshima Urban Employment Area, was US$61.3 billion as of 2010. Kazumi Matsui h ...

(Japan), and

Bonn The federal city of Bonn ( lat, Bonna) is a city on the banks of the Rhine in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, with a population of over 300,000. About south-southeast of Cologne, Bonn is in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr r ...

(Germany); project offices in Port Harcourt (Nigeria), and

Juba Juba () is the capital and largest city of South Sudan. The city is situated on the White Nile and also serves as the capital of the Central Equatoria State. It is the world's newest capital city to be elevated as such, and had a populatio ...

(South Sudan); and UNITAR-UNOSAT Centres in

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estima ...

(Thailand), and

Nairobi Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city proper ha ...

(Kenya). *22 associated training centers ( CIFAL) *About 220 staff and collaborators

History

The idea of a United Nations training and research institute was mentioned for the first time in a 1962 resolution of the

UN General Assembly The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; french: link=no, Assemblée générale, AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as the main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ of the UN. Curr ...

. UNITAR was founded in 1963, following the recommendation of the

UN Economic and Social Council The United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC; french: links=no, Conseil économique et social des Nations unies, ) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations, responsible for coordinating the economic and social fields ...

to the General Assembly, which commissioned the

UN Secretary-General The secretary-general of the United Nations (UNSG or SG) is the chief administrative officer of the United Nations and head of the United Nations Secretariat, one of the six principal organs of the United Nations. The role of the secretary-ge ...

with the establishment of a United Nations Institute for Training and Research as an autonomous body within the

UN system The United Nations System consists of the United Nations' six principal organs (the General Assembly, Security Council, Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), Trusteeship Council, International Court of Justice (ICJ), and the UN Secretariat), ...

. The creation of UNITAR coincided with the addition of 36 States since 1960, including 28 African States to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

. That unprecedented wave of

decolonization Decolonization or decolonisation is the undoing of colonialism, the latter being the process whereby imperial nations establish and dominate foreign territories, often overseas. Some scholars of decolonization focus especially on separatism, in ...

created a critical need for assistance, as many of the newly independent States lacked the capacity to train their young diplomats. Shaped by its first four Executive Directors originally from newly independent African States, the Institute's vision of training was developed considering the very needs and priorities of recipient countries. UNITAR commenced functioning in March 1965. The Institute originally had its headquarters based in

. In 1993, UNITAR's headquarters were transferred to

(Switzerland).

UNITAR today

The Institute provides training and learning services to national and local government officials of

UN member states The United Nations member states are the sovereign states that are members of the United Nations (UN) and have equal representation in the United Nations General Assembly, UN General Assembly. The UN is the world's largest international o ...

and

civil society Civil society can be understood as the "third sector" of society, distinct from government and business, and including the family and the private sphere.UN member States The United Nations member states are the sovereign states that are members of the United Nations (UN) and have equal representation in the United Nations General Assembly, UN General Assembly. The UN is the world's largest international o ...

, especially the Least Developed Countries, for capacity development in the thematic areas of the

2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) or Global Goals are a collection of 17 interlinked objectives designed to serve as a "shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future".United Nations (2017) R ...

. UNITAR helps governments to understand

climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...

, chemicals and

waste management Waste management or waste disposal includes the processes and actions required to manage waste from its inception to its final disposal. This includes the collection, transport, treatment and disposal of waste, together with monitoring ...

, and

green economy A green economy is an economy that aims at reducing environmental risks and ecological scarcities, and that aims for sustainable development without degrading the environment. It is closely related with ecological economics, but has a more politi ...

. The institute also assists ministries of finance through its courses on public debt management, finance and trade, and it provides government officials with training in

Peacekeeping Peacekeeping comprises activities intended to create conditions that favour lasting peace. Research generally finds that peacekeeping reduces civilian and battlefield deaths, as well as reduces the risk of renewed warfare. Within the United N ...

and conflict prevention. Through the United Nations Satellite Centre (

UNOSAT UNOSAT is the United Nations Satellite Centre. It is hosted at the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR), with the mission to promote evidence-based decision making for peace, security and resilience using geo-spatial informa ...

), the Institute supports United Nations funds, programmes, specialized agencies and Member States with satellite imagery analysis over their respective territories, and provide training and capacity development in the use of geospatial information technologies. Since 2003, UNITAR provides courses to support municipal and regional leaders dealing with complex

public policies Public policy is an institutionalized proposal or a decided set of elements like laws, regulations, guidelines, and actions to solve or address relevant and real-world problems, guided by a conception and often implemented by programs. Public p ...

. Another task of the institute is to organize knowledge sharing events for the

, including the annual seminar for Special Representatives of the UN Secretary-General as well as strategic meetings for UN Departments. UNITAR also spearheads UN inter-agency initiatives such as the one UN Learning Platform on

Climate Change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...

or the Global Migration Group. UNITAR's research activities are focusing on knowledge systems and their practical applications. They support the Institute's

training Training is teaching, or developing in oneself or others, any skills and knowledge or Physical fitness, fitness that relate to specific practicality, useful Competence (human resources), competencies. Training has specific goals of improving on ...

activities through the provision of learning environments adapted to respond to the needs of adult learners, thus facilitating the increase, efficiency and outreach of the Institute's capacity development activities.

Governance

Operated as an autonomous body within the

United Nations system The United Nations System consists of the United Nations' six principal organs (the General Assembly, Security Council, Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), Trusteeship Council, International Court of Justice (ICJ), and the UN Secretariat), ...

, UNITAR is headed by an Executive Director and governed by a Board of Trustees.UNITAR Board of Trustees
/ref> The Executive Director and the members of the Board of Trustees are appointed by the

United Nations Secretary-General The secretary-general of the United Nations (UNSG or SG) is the chief administrative officer of the United Nations and head of the United Nations Secretariat, one of the six principal organs of the United Nations. The role of the secretary-ge ...

. UNITAR Executive Directors:

Funding

UNITAR is a project-based organization and does not receive any funds from the regular United Nations budget. The institute is financed entirely from voluntary contributions mainly from

UN Member States The United Nations member states are the sovereign states that are members of the United Nations (UN) and have equal representation in the United Nations General Assembly, UN General Assembly. The UN is the world's largest international o ...

, other

UN agencies The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmonizi ...

, international and

Intergovernmental organization Globalization is social change associated with increased connectivity among societies and their elements and the explosive evolution of transportation and telecommunication Telecommunication is the transmission of information by various typ ...

NGOs A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in h ...

and the

private sector The private sector is the part of the economy, sometimes referred to as the citizen sector, which is owned by private groups, usually as a means of establishment for profit or non profit, rather than being owned by the government. Employment The ...

Offices

Headquarters are based in

(Switzerland), complemented with three out posted offices in

(US)

(Japan), and

(Germany); two project offices in Port Harcourt (Nigeria), and

(South Sudan); and two UNITAR-UNOSAT Centres in

(Thailand), and

(Kenya). UNITAR also delivers training through its CIFAL Global Network (''Centre International de Formation des Autorités et Leaders'') composed of 22 international, associated training centers. These CIFAL centers are located across

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

, the

Americas The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World. Along with th ...

and the

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

Areas of Work

UNITAR has training expertise in multilateral diplomacy, conflict prevention and

peacemaking Peacemaking is practical conflict transformation focused upon establishing equitable power relationships robust enough to forestall future conflict, often including the establishment of means of agreeing on ethical decisions within a community, ...

peacekeeping Peacekeeping comprises activities intended to create conditions that favour lasting peace. Research generally finds that peacekeeping reduces civilian and battlefield deaths, as well as reduces the risk of renewed warfare. Within the United N ...

adaptation to climate change Climate change adaptation is the process of adjusting to current or expected effects of climate change.IPCC, 2022Annex II: Glossary öller, V., R. van Diemen, J.B.R. Matthews, C. Méndez, S. Semenov, J.S. Fuglestvedt, A. Reisinger (eds.) InClimat ...

environmental governance Environmental governance (EG) consist of a system of laws, norms, rules, policies and practices that dictate how the board members of an environment related regulatory body should manage and oversee the affairs of any environment related regu ...

, chemicals and

, local governance, as well as

public finance Public finance is the study of the role of the government in the economy. It is the branch of economics that assesses the government revenue and government expenditure of the public authorities and the adjustment of one or the other to achie ...

and trade, and supporting coherence for the

2030 Agenda The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) or Global Goals are a collection of 17 interlinked objectives designed to serve as a "shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future".United Nations (2017) R ...

amongst others. UNITAR also serves as a research centre for application of

satellite imagery Satellite images (also Earth observation imagery, spaceborne photography, or simply satellite photo) are images of Earth collected by imaging satellites operated by governments and businesses around the world. Satellite imaging companies sell ima ...

to humanitarian, conflict or disaster situations, through

, the United Nations Satellite Centre. The work of the institute is organized under five pillars: * Promote peace and just and inclusive societies ''(Peac

' * Prosperity through sustainable economic growth ''(Prosperit

' * People and social inclusion '
People)
' * Planet, environmental protection and restoration, and climate change ''(Plane

' * Optimizing the use of technology and supporting coherence for the 2030 Agenda (''Cross-fertilizing knowledge and expertis

'

References

External links

UNITAR official websiteUNOSAT official websiteUNITAR Online Course CatalogueUNITAR E-Learning Platform
{{DEFAULTSORT:United Nations Institute For Training And Research Organizations established in 1963 UNESCO United Nations Development Group Research institutes in the United Nations System United Nations organizations based in Geneva