UNEP/MAP
UNITED NATIONS ENVIRONMENT PROGRAMME / MEDITERRANEAN ACTION PLAN

In 1975, only three years after the Stockholm Ministerial Conference that set up the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), 16 Mediterranean countries and the European Community adopted the Mediterranean Action Plan (MAP). The MAP was the first-ever plan adopted as a Regional Seas Programme under UNEP's umbrella. In 1975, 16 Mediterranean countries and the European Community adopted the Mediterranean Action Plan (MAP), the first-ever Regional Seas Programme under UNEP's umbrella.
Following the Rio Summit Declaration in 1992, the Action Plan for the Protection of the Marine Environment and the Sustainable Development of the Coastal Areas of the Mediterranean (MAP Phase II) was adopted by the Contracting Parties in 1995 to replace the Mediterranean Action Plan of 1975.
At the same time, the Contracting Parties amended substantially the Barcelona Convention of 1976, and renamed it the Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment and the Coastal Region of the Mediterranean.
Seven Protocols addressing specific aspects of Mediterranean environmental conservation complete the MAP legal framework. Through the MAP, these Contracting Parties to the Barcelona Convention and its Protocols are determined to meet the challenges of protecting the marine and coastal environment while boosting regional and national plans to achieve sustainable development.
Today UNEP/MAP involves 21 countries bordering the Mediterranean as well as the European Community. Together, they are determined to meet the challenges of environmental degradation in the sea, coastal areas and inland, and to link sustainable resource management with development, in order to protect the Mediterranean region and contribute to an improved Mediterranean quality of life.
The 22 Contracting Parties to the Barcelona Convention are: Albania, Algeria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Cyprus, Egypt, the European Community, France, Greece, Israel, Italy, Lebanon, Libya, Malta, Monaco, Montenegro, Morocco, Slovenia, Spain, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey.
Key MAP priorities are:
" to bring about a massive reduction in pollution from land-based sources;
" to protect marine and coastal habitats and threatened species;
" to make maritime activities safer and more conscious of the Mediterranean marine environment;
" to intensify integrated planning of coastal areas;
" to monitor the spreading of invasive species;
" to limit and intervene promptly on oil pollution.
" to further promote sustainable development in the Mediterranean region
Economic forecasts show that the Mediterranean region is on the way to becoming an advanced economy, with potential for large investment inflows in the coming decades. This needs a backdrop of stability so that Mediterranean countries can press ahead with a shared vision for a common good and a proactive approach to sustainable development.

The key ingredient in the continued and enhanced success of this regional green  effort is the commitment of the region s inhabitants, and its millions of visitors, to an overall respect for the Mediterranean environment and their will to integrate this respect into their daily lives. The goal is not only to change attitudes but also to motivate and empower people to act for the Mediterranean environment.

Since 1982, the MAP Coordinating Unit (MEDU) has been based in Athens on the basis of a Host Country Agreement signed between Greece and UNEP.

UNEP/MAP:
Address:48, Vassileos Konstantinou Ave.
11635 Athens
Greece
Tel.: +30 210 7273100
Fax: +30 210 7253196-7
www.unepmap.org

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UNHCR
UNITED NATIONS
HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR REFUGEES  

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees was established on December 14, 1950 by the United Nations General Assembly. The agency is mandated to lead and co-ordinate international action to protect refugees and resolve refugee problems worldwide. Its primary purpose is to safeguard the rights and well-being of refugees. It strives to ensure that everyone can exercise the right to seek asylum and find safe refuge in another State, with the option to return home voluntarily, integrate locally or to resettle in a third country.

In more than five decades, the agency has helped an estimated 50 million people restart their lives. Today, a staff of around 6,300 people in more than 110 countries continues to help 32.9 million persons.

The Representation of the UNHCR in Athens, which was established in March 1952, was renamed the Office of the UNHCR in Greece in January 2007. Today, UNHCR in Greece works in cooperation with the Greek government, non-governmental organisations and other local agencies in order to secure, to the greatest possible extent, the protection of refugees, asylum-seekers and others who fall under the UN High Commissioner s mandate. It also strives to raise public awareness and to sensitise the public about the plight of refugees in order to mitigate xenophobia, racism and other acts of intolerance.

UNHCR:
Address: 23 Taigetou Str. - 154 52 Palaio Psychico
tel:210 - 67 26 462/3
fax. 210 - 67 56 800
www.unhcr.gr

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UNIDO
UNITED NATIONS INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT ORGANIZATION

ITPO-Athens is the Investment & Technology Promotion Office of UNIDO in Athens. Our goal is to contribute to the industrial development and economic growth of developing countries and countries with economies in transition by identifying and mobilizing the technical, financial, managerial and other resources in Greece required for the implementation of specific industrial investment and technology projects in these countries.

ITPO-Athens is a member of UNIDO's extensive network of ITPOs and IPUs worldwide (see here) promoting the transfer of know-how between businesses through local contacts in UNIDO's field offices (here).

Operating within the framework of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization ITPO network, ITPO-Athens focuses on improving efficiency through networking, cooperation and synergies to facilitate more effectively investment flows and technology transfer to countries of interest to the Greek business community thereby contributing to technological progress, productivity enhancement and the fight against poverty.

UNIDO:
Address: 7 Stadiou St. (7th Floor),
Syntagma Sqr,
10562 Athens,
Greece
Tel: (+30 210) 3248303 or (+30 210) 3248319
Fax: (+30 210) 3248778
www.unido.gr

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UNRIC
UNITED NATIONS REGIONAL INFORMATION CENTER  

The United Nations Regional Information Centre (UNRIC) opened in Brussels on 1 January 2004. The Regional Centre replaces nine UN Information Centres based in Europe (Athens, Bonn, Brussels, Copenhagen, Lisbon, London, Madrid, Paris, Rome), which closed on 31 December 2003, following a decision by the UN General Assembly at its 58th session.

UNRIC services Western Europe and provides information and documentation to the countries of the region. Its information outreach activities extend to all segments of society and joint projects and events are organized with key partners, including governments, the media, NGOs, educational institutions and local authorities.

UNRIC also disseminates information materials, major UN reports and documents, press kits, posters, fact sheets and brochures.

A Reference Library, open to the public, maintains a collection of UN documents and publications in English, French and Spanish, as well as information materials available in other West European languages. UNRIC regularly responds to all inquiries by telephone, e-mail and postal mail.

A common UNRIC website is operational in 13 languages of the region: Danish, English, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Icelandic, Italian, Nederlands (Dutch/Flemish), Norwegian, Portuguese, Spanish and Swedish. Each language site gives information about the most important current UN-related events, activities and observances, as well as UNRIC and UN family programmes in the region.

The sites in non-official UN languages (all except English, French and Spanish that have links to the UN headquarters website) also present basic information on the UN organization, including its structure, goals, main documents, affiliated agencies, employment opportunities and main areas of work.

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Countries Served

Since 1 January 2004, the new United Nations Regional Information Centre (UNRIC) in Brussels provides information services to the following Western European countries:

Belgium, Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, the Holy See, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, San Marino, Spain, Sweden and United Kingdom.

UNRIC also provides liaison with institutions of the European Union in the field of information.

UNRIC:
Address: Rue de la Loi/Wetstraat 155, Block C2, 7th floor
1040 Brussels
Belgium
Tel: +32 (0)2 788 8484
Fax: +32 (0)2 788 8485
www.unric.org/

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WHO
WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION

Mediterranean Zoonoses Control Programme of the World Health Organization

Preamble: A resolution on the Prevention and Control of Zoonoses and Foodborne Diseases due to Animal Products  was endorsed by the WHO Member States at the 31st World Health Assembly held in 1978. Following this resolution, WHO created the Mediterranean Zoonoses Control Programme (MZCP), while for the co-ordination and implementation of its activities, the Mediterranean Zoonoses Control Centre (MZCC) was established in 1979 in Athens, Greece.

The MZCP is a WHO directed and supervised interregional (Mediterranean and Middle East) Programme, closely collaborating with the WHO-Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean, Cairo, Egypt, the FAO/UN and O.I.E., as well as with a network of specialized WHO & MZCP-Collaborating Institutions.

Main objectives: Promoting programmes for the prevention, surveillance and control of zoonoses and related foodborne diseases; strengthening collaboration between animal health and public health sectors; implementing training activities; promoting veterinary public health activities; public health education; fostering collaboration among Member Countries, etc.

Participating Countries: Bulgaria, Cyprus, Egypt, Greece, Iraq, Kuwait (State of), Lebanon, Oman (Sultanate of), Saudi Arabia (Kingdom of), Spain, Syrian Arab Republic, Turkey and United Arab Emirates

Associated Countries: Algeria, Italy, Jordan, Morocco, Portugal & Tunisia

Governing Body: The Joint Co-ordinating Committee

Zoonoses of Major Interest in the Mediterranean and Middle East Regions: Brucellosis, Cystic Echinococcosis, Leishmaniasis, Rabies and Foodborne Zoonotic Diseases

The Programme s operation is based on rules provided by its Statutes signed by each Member State. Its activities and services depend on the annual contributions of its participating States and on the contributions in kind (technical, scientific etc.) of its collaborating institutions.

WHO
Address: 24, Stournari Str.
GR 106 82 Athens, Greece
Tel.: +30210 3814703/3815179
Fax: +30210 3814340
www.mzcp-zoonoses.gr

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