There is no longer any doubt that we have for decades been disturbing the ecological equilibrium of our planet and the time has now come to face these grim realities. Without any doubt, climate change is the greatest challenge humankind has ever faced. The science warns us that the climate crisis is now, and it is a “code red” for humanity. The just closed Climate Conference in Glasgow COP 26 coincided with an important milestone on Montenegro’s development path – its 30th anniversary of declaring itself as an ecologic state. Nothing speaks more about the strength of such commitment than Montenegro’s determination to embed it into the heart of its Constitution. When Montenegro chose to continue its development on a green path, 30 years ago, not many people had expected that, this green path would become the only way forward for all. Only 3 decades later, the alarm bells of climate urgency are deafening, with evidence impossible to ignore: temperatures are reaching new highs; biodiversity is reaching new lows; oceans are warming, acidifying, and choking with plastic waste. Greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuel burning and deforestation are strangling our planet and putting billions of people at immediate and long-term risk, with many of the changes becoming irreversible. Each year we see extreme weather and climate disasters are increasing in frequency and intensity. And this summer, here in Montenegro was no exception with record number of forest fires. The way out? Five years ago, the Paris Agreement paved for humankind a clear way out of this crisis, pointing that limiting the temperature rise under the 1.5°C in this century is key. Unfortunately, scientists also warn that we are already close to reaching that threshold, which would mean reaching point of no return. In order to prevent this from happening, the world needs to join forces around three critical aspects: First, Mitigation – keep the 1.5°C goal within reach, by securing greater ambition from national governments and more net-zero commitments. Secondly, Adaptation – to increase investment into adaptation from current 21% to at least 50% of the overall international climate finance. Thirdly, the Financing – to reach an agreement on a delivery plan for the $100 billion per year, to improve access to financing and to progress on carbon markets. The responsibility for this ambitious agenda lays with all of us, but primely with the national governments. It is the national leaders who bear responsibility for taking urgent steps to reduce emissions, mobilize funding, and boost resilience, and for delivering on the Paris Agreement. National governments can and should greatly rely on United Nations to be a solid partner, convener, and an honest broker, who facilitates multilateral dialogue for national leaders to deliver a successful climate response. This is exactly what the UN is already doing. We have convened world leaders, top experts and scientist, activists as well as corporate leaders to the Climate Conference in Glasgow, for all of them to join forces for climate action. It’s about making choices Montenegro’s commitment to climate action is unequivocal. It’s evident in its recent commitment to cut Green House Gas emissions by 35% by 2030, with evidence and data collection supported by UNDP. However, we believe, there is potential to significantly reduce emissions even further, in the sectors of energy, transportation, and industry in Montenegro. Montenegro, like many low Green House Emitting countries, have low contribution to the rising global temperatures. Despite that, it is, unfortunately, bound to face the consequences of climate change through its undesirable domino effect on human well-being, health, environment and economy. That is why we must turn our attention equally to adaptation and build a resilient future. UN’s extended arm to Montenegro Most of the action in climate response is to take place in the economic sectors and the experience tells us that climate-smart investments outweigh the upfront costs. Montenegro’s National Climate Adaptation Plan, supported by UNDP, with Global Climate Fund financing, is an opportunity to set the baseline for making smart adaptation investments. Another huge potential lies with young people. We know that young people in Montenegro have strong ambitions to do their part and such ambitions must be met by opportunities. Three out of four respondents are ready to change their living habits, including walk every day, reduce waste, recycle and rationalize further use of water and electricity. It is high time to build on these commitments and positive engagement by the youth. The United Nations in Montenegro also supports small and medium size enterprises, through UNOPS in cooperation with local authorities, this work ensures that neither side stay ignorant of environmental protection, helping them to understand that greening is not just about solar panels. But sustainable solutions in combatting climate change is also about investing in human health. As we have painfully learned from COVID crisis, we need to adapt to orient towards long-term, strategic investments in our futures. WHO tells us that strategic investments in integrated public health and primary health-care systems, as well as mature digital systems, are necessary to be able to deliver on the promise of safe, effective and equitable health services for a post-COVID-19 era. Recent analysis of climate risk from a child’s perspective shows that nearly every child in the world is at risk from at least one of climate and environmental hazards like flooding, cyclones, vector-borne diseases, lead pollution, heat waves and water scarcity. Air pollution is the biggest threat as one billion children are estimated to be highly exposed to exceedingly dangerous levels of air pollution. In the coming period, UNICEF will support Montenegro’s children and adolescents’ involvement on air pollution and other climate change issues in the country. But while we focus on the potential work that must be done within Montenegro, we must also be aware of what happens around ourselves. UNHCR warns us that the effects of climate change are increasing hardship on people who are already among the world’s most vulnerable, including refugees. Drought and extreme weather will certainly drive-up competition for dwindling resources on global scale and have tremendous impact on forced displacement, not only on global scale, but will certainly have strong implications for our region and for Montenegro as well. There’s no small contribution By now, all countries should have clearly realized that the old, carbon-burning model of development is a death sentence for their economies and our planet. We need decarbonization now, across every sector in every country. We need to shift subsidies from fossil fuels to renewable energy, and tax pollution much more. We need to put a real price on carbon, and channel that back towards resilient infrastructures and sustainable jobs. The United Nations was founded 76 years ago to build consensus for action against the greatest threats facing humanity. But we have never faced a crisis like this one – a truly existential crisis which, if not addressed properly, threatens the future of mankind. Like never before, the world needs solidarity and truly joint action to counter deafening alarm bells of climate urgency. And it needs it now. And why is contribution of a small country like Montenegro so important for the climate response? The answer is simple, because, more than ever, the world needs positive examples of true transformation which can make a real difference. As Montenegro is now planning for its rapid economic recovery and create new opportunities for its citizens, the country has exceptional potentials for building a greener future, with greener jobs and a greener economy, and I am convinced that Montenegro can and will become a role model to the rest of the world on its green path moving forward – it just need to grab this historical opportunity, now.     Author is the UN Resident Coordinator in Montenegro    

The Radosavljevic-Dobrani are a Roma family of 11, who live in a dilapidated settlement in the northern town of Berane in Montenegro. Like many other Roma families in Montenegro, the family has no identity documents, which deprives them of basic human rights that all of us take for granted. After 35 years of life without any identity documents, Valentina Radosavljevic, finally received ID documents that will allow her to apply for a legal status in Montenegro. She will now be able to confer legal identity to her 9 children, find decent employment, go see a doctor or even open a bank account. Until today, I felt lost all my life. You have to understand that statelessness is like a family virus – you pass it down to your children and wearing a mask and washing hands does not help. I am very happy that this nightmare is over. Valentina Radosavljević Without sufficient proof of their identities, the family was trapped in a legal limbo. The situation was especially critical for the 9 children born in Montenegro, as they only had birth certificates and no citizenship. In the short time that children get to be children, statelessness can set in stone grave problems that will sentence them to a life of limited opportunities and discrimination. Stateless children live in a world in which their status profoundly affects their ability to learn, grow and fulfill their ambitions and dreams for the future. It is heart-warming for us to see that with UNHCR’s assistance the Radosavljevic family, and especially the children, will now be able to achieve a stable legal status. If our hopes for the future generation are to be achieved, then children of this generation must be a meaningful part of the present. Jean Yves Bouchardy, UNHCR Representative to Montenegro. “Not being recognized as a national of any country can create insurmountable barriers to healthcare, social care, jobs and stifles overall life prospects. Statelessness can often have devastating psychological toll not only for young people, but can also rip apart entire families, as it creates legal schism. The ID documents made a huge difference in their lives,“ Valentina says. “We are now one step closer to finally making our family official. My children will not have to beg anymore, and we will be able to receive social assistance. It may seem little to others, but to us this is life-changing”. UNHCR and its legal aid partner, the Civic Alliance, identified Valentina as a beneficiary of a novel form of support provided in cooperation with the Serbian Embassy in Montenegro since 2019. Without any identity documents, Valentina was unable to travel back home to Serbia and apply for ID card and passport. The Serbian Embassy issued an emergency travel certificate that allowed her to go back home, and with the logistical and administrative assistance from UNHCR, receive the identity documents from the Ministry of Interior of Serbia branch office. UNHCR’s work on ending statelessness in the country is one of the major pillars of the joint UN Montenegro programme on integrated social protection and employment - called Activate!, which is funded by the UN’s Joint SDG Fund. So far, 703 people, both formerly displaced and internally displaced and those at risk of statelessness, were provided support by UNHCR for legal status regularization under this programme, which aims to enhance the capacities of the social welfare system in Montenegro and support vulnerable people in accessing social protection and employment.

Everybody knows somebody who shares misleading, emotionally charged, or questionable posts. What if that person was you and you didn’t know it? Verified is encouraging the world to pause before you post. Studies show that by pausing before you share, you allow time to think about the information – where it comes from, whether it’s true, when it was written and why you are sharing it. This means you are less likely to spread misinformation. People worldwide are helping spread our #PledgetoPause message across social media. By flooding timelines with this simple message, you can help people stop and think, and slow the spread of harmful misinformation. According to a Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) study, seeing our Pause message on social media makes people significantly less likely to share misleading headlines. There is reliable information online about COVID-19, but many sources are deliberately misleading, and others bend the truth just to get our attention. When misinformation spreads it becomes hard to contain – and every false share can have damaging consequences. Post one of our share graphics on your timeline, get people’s attention, encourage them to pause before they post.   UNICEF Montenegro Q&As: Fact-checking COVID-19 information    

ILO: The COVID-19 pandemic has hit Montenegro hard. How has the UN helped the country? Peter Lundberg: Indeed, Montenegro turned to be the worst hit economy in all of Europe. The health and socioeconomic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic deepened the existing structural weaknesses. The already vulnerable groups are affected the hardest, and new groups face the risk of being left behind. Under the emerging circumstances, we in the UN team swiftly redirected our programmes and activities towards supporting the country’s COVID-19 response. We wanted to help the country cushion the crisis impact and ensure bouncing back better, with particular focus on vulnerable groups. A minimum of 7.64 Mio USD was channeled to COVID-19 response, including 5.96 Mio USD of new funds, primarily to support the health system through procurement of medical equipment (110 ventilators, 10 X-ray devices, PCR kits). We reached 206,000 people through crisis communication and community engagement. Most of our support went to specific vulnerable groups including children, women, victims of violence, migrants and asylum seekers.  In addition to evidence collection in the areas of health and social protection, the UN in Montenegro conducted comprehensive analyses on the economic impact of the crisis, in order to inform the country’s long-term response and recovery. The recent UNCT Progress Report 2020  shows that the immediate UN support to the country clearly indicated the strength of partnerships.  Our agile support to the country has been designed along the UN Socio-Economic Response Plan to COVID-19 for Montenegro , to ensure maximum effect in critical areas, including a) health, b) social protection and services, c) economic response and recovery aimed at protecting jobs, Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and informal sector workers, d) macroeconomic response and e) social cohesion and community resilience. The COVID-19 crisis is a painful reminder of the importance of joint action and a clear indicator that the UN Agenda for Sustainable Development is more important than ever. It is maybe best illustrated by the words of the UN Secretary-General António Guterres, who said last year that “the world is only as strong as the weakest health system in our interconnected world”. What do you expect from the ILO in addressing the socio-economic impact of the pandemic? Apart from dealing with the pandemic, what else do you expect from the ILO as part of the UN community? We have witnessed how national economies throughout the world have suffered a hard hit by the pandemic and Montenegro is no exception to this with the increase of unemployment, lack of job security and increase of poverty. Only in the 3rd quarter of 2020, according to ILO findings, Montenegro saw a 8% decrease of employment rate in comparison with the same period of 2019, which means a loss of over 38,000 jobs. This is where the UN family comes in with its convening power and comparative advantages. The specialized agencies and programmes cover all the necessary aspects of sustainable development. By joining our forces we can make a difference, and the ILO is a valuable partner in our team. As an agency specialized in decent work, the ILO provided essential data on the impact of COVID-19 on many aspects of labour. I also need to single out their contribution to our joint UN programme Activate!, funded by the Joint SDG Fund, which seeks to support NEETs (youth neither in employment, education nor in training). The ILO in Montenegro provides system-wide support to the country to strengthen social dialogue and labour legislation reform. The ILO project on the digitalization of the services of the Employment Agency of Montenegro is ongoing. The support to improve the labour market position of vulnerable groups such as persons with disabilities and LGBTQ persons, the work on the social protection system, collecting valuable data on safety and health at work, as well as on the formalization of informal employment are all extremely important contributions of the ILO that will improve the lives of workers in Montenegro. I am convinced that the ILO is among those who can truly help lead the way, not only towards decent work for more people, but also towards joint approaches and coordinated efforts. Under the UN reform, the UN Resident Coordinator plays quite an important role in coordinating and representing all UN agencies in a country. How will you interpret this role? I see my role as UN Resident Coordinator more as a facilitator and convenor rather than a front leader. I believe that my role - similar to how I see the UN Country Teams’ role in-country - is to lead from behind. I want to create a conducive environment for collaboration, where UN agencies can come together and build joint strategies to support national partners, primarily governments, but also civil societies, marginalized groups and the private sector in a given country. If we as the UN are good at working together then we have a real chance to influence others to work in true partnerships. I believe this is easier at this point in time because many of us realized by now that integrated partnerships are no longer a luxury but an absolute necessity for true and sustainable impact. What did you do before arriving to Montenegro? I come from a humanitarian background mostly, having worked more than two decades for the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA). Before joining the UN family in Montenegro, I worked for my Government (of Sweden) on sustainable development in North Africa and in the Middle East as a head of regional development cooperation at the Swedish embassy in Amman. My first mission with the UN was in Northeast Nigeria, where I worked for one and a half year as the UN Deputy Humanitarian Coordinator on the Lake Chad Crisis. I also worked with the Red Cross family.